In This Issue:
- From the Director
- February Classes
- What Participants are Saying
- Featuring our Trainer – James Arana
- Andrea’s Gazette Column: Hope and the human connection
Delighted and grateful! Excited and energized! That is how the Truth School Leadership Team is feeling because we have just hired two new remarkable people to join our TS staff! ivy tillman (ze/zir/zirs) has been a part of the Truth School family since our very earliest days six years ago as a class participant, trainer, and donor. ivy lives in Madison, Alabama, and will be working remotely, joining MJ Adams as the Co-coordinator of our Host Program. This is a big, important, and hard job–full of outreach, scheduling, details, and sometimes swift changes and adjustments. We owe a HUGE debt of gratitude to Chris Mohn who has held this position, with MJ, for the past four years. Chris has been a fabulous shepherd for the Host Program and has worked faithfully, tirelessly, and cheerfully, managing the details, the ups and downs of hosting, and the challenges of making sure every single Truth School class has at least one Host support person to handle the logistics and the administrative side of running the class. Chris, how can we ever thank you for all you have given and done? Don’t stray too far from the School; we consider you part of the family and want to keep you close. And MJ, thank you for hanging in and hanging on. You will have a wonderful time working with ivy, who is detail-oriented, tech-savvy, responsive, and hilarious! Welcome ivy!
Andrea


Choose one session to attend!
Tuesday, February 7th, 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM
Wednesday, February 15th, 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM
FEBRUARY CLASSES
Below is a list of February classes. Click on the links below for more information and to register for classes. All classes for our spring semester will be on Zoom. All class times are Eastern Standard Time.
If you register for a class but can’t make it, please let us know at registrar@truthschool.org. Accurate information about class size is important for trainers to know for preparation and planning purposes.Thank you for this courtesy.
Amber Chand
This class is a series. Participants are expected to attend both sessions.
Saturday, February 4, 2023, 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM and
Saturday, February 11, 2023, 4:00 PM to 6:00 PMBeing the Change You Wish to See
Sarah Hickman and Tiffany McGee-Hickman
This class is a series. Participants are expected to attend both sessions.
Thursday, February 9, 2023, 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM and
Thursday, March 9, 2023, 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM
Walk The Talk: A Workshop for Men
Natalia Muñoz
Thursday, February 23, 2023, 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM
Race, Class, and Gender: A Cross-Generational, Frank, and
Free-Wheeling Discussion!
Olivia Ilano Davis, Thulani Davis, Tahirah Amatul-Wadud, and Safiyah Bey
Saturday, February 25, 2023, 4:00 PM – 5:30 PM
Repercussions of Revolution
Keamo Mokone
Tuesday, February 28, 2023, 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
WHAT PARTICIPANTS ARE SAYING
FEATURING OUR TRAINER:
James Arana
James Arana is a social worker, facilitator, mediator, and community organizer with 35 years experience working with people of all ages and diverse cultural background. James inspires and challenges individuals, youth programs, community organizations, and international NGO’s to strengthen their work in transforming masculinity, domestic violence prevention, gender equality, organizational visioning and program development, and cultural competence.
As a MERGE Senior Trainer, James supports the development of men’s initiatives to reduce gender-based violence and promote a healthy, compassionate, and responsible model of masculinity. James facilitates a consciousness-raising process, using a popular education methodology, to assess and analyze the privileges and challenges of traditional masculinity with communities all around the world. James served as the Co-Founder and Associate Director of the former Men’s Resources International (MRI), where he worked with organizations such as CARE International, the International Rescue Committee, the YMCA, and the Women’s Peacemakers Program in Zambia, Nigeria, Liberia, Rwanda, Cote d’Ivoire and Niger.
James will be teaching a Truth School class titled, Creative Youth Development: Youth Voice, Community-Building, Social Justice, and the Arts this spring semester along with Julie Lichtenberg.
Columnist Andrea Ayvazian: Hope and the human connection
I was recently interviewed on a local radio program about my reflections on the state of the peace and justice movement in the Valley and around the country. At the end of the show, the host asked: “So Andrea, what keeps you going? What gives you hope?”