Finding COmmon Ground: PRESENTATION & WORKSHOP SESSIONS (Thursday, october 17)
We are finding common ground. Join us on Thursday, October 17th for a day full of presentations and workshops regarding finding common ground with friends, community members, and professionals from across the country. Each session offers opportunities to connect with others who are engaging in social justice work in different ways, to learn about current social justice efforts happening locally, and more about how you can show up for your community.
Presentations are currently being finalized.
Presentations are currently being finalized.
Social Justice Roundtable 2.0 - Finding Common Ground within and without the movement
Time: 9:00 - 10:00 a.m.
Location: Wyoming Union (Second Floor), Central Ballroom
Presenters:
Location: Wyoming Union (Second Floor), Central Ballroom
Presenters:
- Maia Marces | 7220 Counseling Coalition
- Maia (they/she) grew up in Cheyenne, WY, and has spent the last 8 years making Laramie home. They work as a therapist at 7220 Counseling Coalition and is a social worker who is passionate about social justice work as empowerment and liberation.
- Courtney Titus | Laramie Pridefest Board Member
- Ariel Chai | Laramie Pridefest Board Member
- Continuing the work done with Laramie Pridefest this past summer, please join fellow community organizers of all levels in a roundtable to discuss “Finding Common Ground” within your social justice practices. This interactive discussion invites you to share and learn from the wisdom and experiences of your community.
The Cyber Side of Human Trafficking: The Rise of Cyber Trafficking Disguised as Job Recruitment Through Technological Progression
Time: 10:00 - 10:15 a.m.
Location: Wyoming Union (Second Floor), West Ballroom
Presenters:
Location: Wyoming Union (Second Floor), West Ballroom
Presenters:
- Mercy McAndrews | UW English Graduate Student
- Mercy is an English graduate student focusing on public humanities and composition & rhetoric. She enjoys teaching her English 1010 class and hopes to permanently be a professor one day.
- Cyber trafficking is a growing epidemic that impacts adults looking for jobs through Internet platforms. Cyber traffickers like human traffickers work to exploit through forced labor and illegal means, but through web platforms rather than in person tactics with technological advancements cyber traffickers have updated their recruitment methods thus playing into technological determinism.
The intersection of masculinity, athletics, and violence prevention
Time: 10:00 - 10:30 a.m.
Location: Wyoming Union (Second Floor), Family Room
Presenters:
Location: Wyoming Union (Second Floor), Family Room
Presenters:
- Carl Mehta | PhD candidate in the Higher Education Administration
- Carl Mehta works as the Student Conduct Coordinator in the Dean of Students Office at UW. He is also a PhD candidate at UW in the Higher Education Administration program.
- The presenter will explore the connections between college athletics and masculinity. The presenter will ground this exploration with established scholarship on masculinity, as well as discuss masculinity intervention and violence prevention strategies that have been used across higher education, for both student-athlete and general student populations.
From Conflict to Connection: Meaningful Conversations with Legislators
Time: 10:15 - 10:45 a.m.
Location: Wyoming Union (Second Floor), Center Ballroom
Presenters:
Location: Wyoming Union (Second Floor), Center Ballroom
Presenters:
- Santi Murillo | Communications Coordinator for Wyoming Equality
- Santi is the Communications Coordinator for Wyoming Equality and focuses primarily on advocacy efforts. She is a born and raised Wyomingite and is passionate about protecting LGBTQ Wyomingites.
- This event teaches Wyomingites how to engage in respectful, productive conversations with legislators. Through workshops and discussions, participants will gain skills to navigate tough dialogues and find common ground.
Rings, Tattoos, and Piercings, Oh My! Queer Accessorization and the Pursuit of Self-Description
Time: 10:15 - 10:30 a.m.
Location: Wyoming Union (Second Floor), West Ballroom
Presenters:
Location: Wyoming Union (Second Floor), West Ballroom
Presenters:
- Nikki Rossiter | UW Creative Writing Graduate Student
- Lovingly self-described as a butch-lesbian-trans-woman, Nikki confuses herself as well as others very often on just "what" she is. More definitively, Nikki is a Creative Writing MFA candidate at Wyoming who cherishes the written word and the gay community she left behind in Ann Arbor.
- Why does it take five minutes to take all of our jewelry off at the end of the night? What part of identity is given to these shiny metal objects, these pigmentations of ink within the skin? Let's find out!
Firenze: Threading Mythic and Modern Feminism
Time: 10:45 - 11:45 a.m.
Location: Wyoming Union (Second Floor), East Ballroom
Presenters:
Location: Wyoming Union (Second Floor), East Ballroom
Presenters:
- Erin Carter | UW Assistant Professor of Costume Design
- Erin Reed Carter (MFA) is a costume designer, educator, illustrator and technician serving as the Assistant Professor of Costume Design at the University of Wyoming.
- Cat Kamrath Monson | UW Assistant Professor & Dance Area Coordinator
- Cat Kamrath Monson (MFA, CLMA, RSME, RSDE), Assistant Professor and Dance Area Coordinator, is a dance artist and movement analyst originally from California.
- "Firenze", an original dance production choreographed by Cat Kamrath Monson and costume designed by Erin Reed Carter, explores the intersection between the mythos and diversity of the feminine experience. Together, they will discuss their process and how they integrated their disciplines to create a world where past and present collide.
The Truth About Stories: A Collaborative Storywork Session
Time: 10:45 - 11:45 a.m.
Location: Wyoming Union (Second Floor), Family Room
Presenters:
Location: Wyoming Union (Second Floor), Family Room
Presenters:
- Nancy Small | UW Professor Department of English
- Nancy Small is an English professor who studies and teaches about everyday storytelling and how it creates the worlds we live in.
- Misty Springer | UW PhD Student
- Misty Springer is a PhD student who hopes to be a Public Humanist one day. She is interested in story gathering, food ways, protest performance and San cultural preservation.
- Hallie Guidry | UW PhD Student
- Hallie Guidry is a PhD student in English and Public Humanities. Outside of school, she nurtures storytellers, writes books, and attempts to engage in this wonderful world with courage and kindness.
- Join us to learn a little bit about "Re-Storying the West," a Mellon Foundation funded project at UW. After a short info session, we invite you to delight in our common grounds via a story-sharing session highlighting the power of being both teller and receiver of these special gifts.
Luncheon & Finding Common Ground
Time: 11:45 - 1:00 p.m.
Location: Wyoming Union (Second Floor), Center Ballroom
About:
Location: Wyoming Union (Second Floor), Center Ballroom
About:
- Join us for a free luncheon and a few short discussions from the Shepard Symposium Co-Chairs and the UW Vice Provost for Access and Engagement. This will be a great time to meet with others and find common ground.
Crip Camp Movie Showing
Time: 1:00 - 3:00 p.m.
Location: Wyoming Union (Second Floor), Family Room
Presenters:
Location: Wyoming Union (Second Floor), Family Room
Presenters:
- Dawn Rudolph | Senior Program Manager
- Dawn Rudolph (MSEd) is the Community Living Program Manager, Senior, at the Wyoming Institute for Disabilities. In this role, she works closely with the state's service system supporting people with developmental disabilities to live quality lives in their communities
- There will be a showing of the movie Crip Camp after a few short remarks from Dawn Rudolph. A groundbreaking summer camp for teens with disabilities proves so inspiring that a group of its alumni join the radical disability rights movement to advocate for historic legislation changes.
Finding COmmon Ground: A community talking circle
Time: 1:00 - 2:00 p.m.
Location: Wyoming Union (Second Floor), East Ballroom
Presenters:
Location: Wyoming Union (Second Floor), East Ballroom
Presenters:
- Connor Novotny | Restorative Justice Program Manager
- Connor is from Casper, Wyoming originally. He got started in RJ volunteering for a diversion program for young people in his hometown. Connor believes in RJ as one tool for transforming our communities into places of greater mutual care and responsibility, and is excited to see the work grow in our state.
- The challenging task of finding common ground requires community solutions. Come and participate in a talking circle to learn about restoraitve justice as a tool for transforming our modes of communication and collaboration, while we dive deep into the question of what it takes to find common ground.
A Man's Job: Allyship Through the Masculine Lens
Time: 2:00 - 3:00 p.m.
Location: Wyoming Union (Second Floor), Center Ballroom
Presenters:
Location: Wyoming Union (Second Floor), Center Ballroom
Presenters:
- Robert Vines | Dean of Students Violence Prevention
- Bob Vines is the Violence Prevention Coordinator at the University of Wyoming and a primary prevention specialist that specializes in male engagement.
- Not all men are abusers. Most men aren't. But what roles do men play in providing a safe community for all its members? This session focuses on the socialization of masculinity and ways men can start being better allies to women, the LGBTQAI+ community, and other marginalized populations starting today.
The Power of Political Activism, Awareness, and Civic Engagement
Time: 3:00 - 3:30 p.m.
Location: Wyoming Union (Second Floor), West Ballroom
Presenters:
Location: Wyoming Union (Second Floor), West Ballroom
Presenters:
- Rosa Reyna-Pugh | Civic Engagement Director for Equality State Policy Center
- Rosa Reyna-Pugh is the Civic Engagement Director for the Equality State Policy Center and a dedicated advocate for Hispanic and Latine leadership in Wyoming. Rosa is passionate about empowering underrepresented community members across Wyoming to get involved in their local government by sitting on boards, running for office, lobbying government officials, crafting opinion editorials, and delivering public comments.
- This presentation introduces attendees to the importance of political activism, awareness, and civic engagement, highlighting the work and resources of the Equality State Policy Center and The Chair Project. Through relatable examples, attendees will learn how to influence change that promotes fair representation, creating a more authentic Equality State.
Disability and Sexuality: Changing perceptions
Time: 3:15 - 3:45 p.m.
Location: Wyoming Union (Second Floor), Family Room
Presenters:
Location: Wyoming Union (Second Floor), Family Room
Presenters:
- Erica Mones | Independent Living Specialist at Wyoming Independent Living
- Erica is an Independent Living Specialist based in Laramie, Wyoming. Has personal experience with disability and is a strong advocate for disability rights.
- There is a misconception that people with disabilities are not sexual. This leads to barriers in their life and can cause a person to lose their autonomy. In this presentation I will discuss some of the consequences of society's negative views and how Wyoming Independent Living is working to combat that.
Utopia/Dystopia, Structural Racism, and Afrofuturism
Time: 3:30 - 4:00 p.m.
Location: Wyoming Union (Second Floor), West Ballroom
Presenters:
Location: Wyoming Union (Second Floor), West Ballroom
Presenters:
- Sean McKee | UW Graduate Student in English Department
- Sean is a third year Master's student in the English Department pursuing an Academic career.
- Before common ground can be achieved, it must be imagined. Utopian fiction imagines a perfect society, but that imagined future has produced problems in society, namely structural racism. Afrofuturism offers an imagined alternative, a society rooted in community and inclusion.
Story Sharing Booth
Time: All Day
Location: Wyoming Union (Second Floor), Senate Chambers
Presenters:
Location: Wyoming Union (Second Floor), Senate Chambers
Presenters:
- Nancy Small | UW Professor Department of English
- Nancy Small is an English professor who studies and teaches about everyday storytelling and how it creates the worlds we live in.
- Misty Springer | UW PhD Student
- Misty Springer is a PhD student who hopes to be a Public Humanist one day. She is interested in story gathering, food ways, protest performance and San cultural preservation.
- Hallie Guidry | UW PhD Student
- Hallie Guidry is a PhD student in English and Public Humanities. Outside of school, she nurtures storytellers, writes books, and attempts to engage in this wonderful world with courage and kindness.
- Share your story at a story-sharing booth. The team will share a bit about the project and process and if you decide to share your story then you can do a 10 minute story-sharing session including a recording (if appropriate) and a photo or two. If the storyteller allows it, then we will also produce their contribution to be included in the "Re-Storying the West" public-facing project.