"Tracy Turnblad's bold anti-racist actions and what we can do in present day Vermont."
"Tracy Turnblad's bold anti-racist actions and what we can do in present day Vermont."
Lost Nation Theater is so pleased to announce a post-show Panel Discussion led by the Peace and Justice Center of Vermont. The discussion is open to all - whether you attended the show on Sunday or not! How can Hairspray inspire us to more inclusion, to have more awareness of - and be allies in, social justice?
WHEN: Sunday May 1 (approx. time: 4:15pm)
The panelists:
1. Sha'an Mouliert
2. Mark Hughes
3. Paul Marcus
4. Denise Bailey
5. Rachel Siegel (facilitator),
Cast members will join Peace and Justice Center experts for this discussion
Call the Peace & Justice Center at 802-863-2345 x6 or e-mail program@pjcvt.org for more information.
About the panelists:
Denise Bailey has lived in Central Vermont for approximately 19 years. Originally from Connecticut, Denise graduated from Yale University and the University of Virginia School of Law. Denise has worked as a Labor & Employment attorney at a large law firm and at a corporation. She has also served as counsel at a human rights agency, as the State of Vermont’s Equal Employment Opportunity Officer, and as a coordinator at a disability rights organization where she supervised staff in several offices. Denise is currently Human Resources Compliance Manager for the Burlington School District. Denise sometimes sings with the Montpelier Community Gospel Choir and she has served as a coach for Girls on the Run. She enjoys running and yoga. Denise has two sons, ages 25 and 15.
Mark Hughes, a native of Iowa, is a career information assurance and risk management professional. He is retired from the army, where his focus was on cryptographic (CRYPTO) voice systems in support of the intelligence community globally. Mark has extensive experience in consulting, program development and management and is a seasoned communicator, negotiator and presenter. In 2014, after residing in Vermont for over five years, Mark co-founded Justice for All, a racial justice organization, which identifies and dismantles institutionalized racism while facilitating healing in our communities. Their mission is to ensure justice for ALL through community organizing, research, education, community policing, legislative reform, and judicial monitoring. They address systemic issues such as racially biased policing and other inequities in the criminal justice system.
Paul Marcus is a white anti-racist activist, educator and consultant. He is the Lead trainer at Community Change, Inc. in Boston, MA, an organization where served as Executive Director for 16 years. His own journey has led him to continually examine the limitations the ideological lenses he caries with him as a straight, white, male in a society that structurally privileges people with those identities. Foundational to all of his work is making visible the systemic reality of racism and other forms of oppression – you can’t challenge something if you don’t know it exists. He co-taught and taught the “History and Development of Racism in the U.S.” at Boston College for 16 years and is an adjunct faculty member at the Simmons School of Social Work where he has taught “Dynamics of Racism and Oppression.” He also coordinates the “Reading Frederick Douglass Project” for the Vermont Humanities Council. Paul has had extensive experience planning and conducting workshops and trainings for wide variety organizations and communities. He has worked with organizers and educators from all across the country exploring and challenging the role of white people in perpetuating and maintaining white supremacy, racism and white privilege. Paul lives in Concord, VT with his wife and colleague, Patricia Shine.
Sha'an Mouliert, community organizer, educator, and artist co-founded the African American Alliance of the Northeast Kingdom, a grassroots organization committed to racial justice. She chaired Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom’s (WILPF) racial justice committee and as a WILPF delegate, she attended the 2001 United Nations World Conference Against Racism held in Durban, South Africa. In 2015, Lyndon State College awarded her their Presidential Medal of Distinction. She has facilitated conflict resolution, human potential, creative arts, racial justice and community organizing workshops and trainings nationally and internationally.
Rachel Siegel became the Executive Director of the Peace & Justice Center in 2013. She is raising two children with her partner Jules on their mini-urban homestead in Burlington. She is committed to the causes of economic, racial, and environmental justice; has tremendous organizational and fundraising skills; is a proven leader in the community; and is well-established in Burlington. She has worked for positive change as an advocate for women and economic justice through both Vermont Works for Women and as a founding member of Vermont Access to Reproductive Freedom. She is a Center City Little League coach, served as a Burlington City Councilor, worked with the Committee for Eliminating Racism in Our Schools, is a Founding Advisor with Rights and Democracy, and is an active member of the Progressive Party. Rachel has a degree in Performing Arts from Bryn Mawr College, is a dancer/choreographer and hopes to get moving again soon.