Todd E. Vachon, PhD is Assistant Professor of Labor Studies and Employment Relations at Rutgers University and serves as the Director of the Labor Education Action Research Network (LEARN)—the university’s labor education program. Todd has written extensively about labor and climate... Read More →
Friday April 4, 2025 9:00am - 9:30am EDT
Hannaford HallAbromson Community Education Center, 88 Bedford St, Portland, ME 04101
Leticia Zavala was born in Zacapu, Michoacan in 1979. At the age of six, her family migrated to the United States and immediately started following the migrant stream from Florida to Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania. In her teenage years, she became a member of the Farm Labor Organizing... Read More →
Friday April 4, 2025 9:30am - 10:30am EDT
Hannaford HallAbromson Community Education Center, 88 Bedford St, Portland, ME 04101
Rick Levy is the President of the Texas AFL-CIO, a position he was elected to in 2017. As President, Rick has focused on building a broader, bolder and more inclusive labor movement, and weaving a culture of solidarity to address the challenges faced by working people in Texas. Under... Read More →
Friday April 4, 2025 10:30am - 11:00am EDT
Hannaford HallAbromson Community Education Center, 88 Bedford St, Portland, ME 04101
Join assistant professor of Digital Art Janna Ahrndt and MS in Computer Science Nick Largey in a discussion about the environmental and labor impacts of AI and the widening gap between developers and users through a hands-on data and circuit bending workshop. We'll dissect discarded electronics and manipulate digital data, turning frustration into art. Even if we can't save the world, you'll walk away with a newfound appreciation for the ethics of the glitch.
Please bring a laptop to this workshop if you are able to.
Assistant Professor of Digital Art, University of Southern Maine
Janna Ahrndt is unable to focus, and her medium-agnostic art practice seems to reflect that fact often making work utilizing creative coding, video, textiles, and altered household electronics. Born to a working-class family in Northern Indiana, their work follows themes of labor... Read More →
Friday April 4, 2025 1:45pm - 3:00pm EDT
TBDAbromson Community Education Center, 88 Bedford St, Portland, ME 04101
This workshop will be participatory as well as educational. Christopher will share his expertise in using literary and performance art addressing the climate crisis, racial injustice and inequity, and how he's worked with environmental groups to make an impact. He will ask the audience questions throughout this workshop engaging them in the process. Some questions will be: Where have you experienced this in your community?, and Where have you witnessed effective collaborations in your community where the Arts have been used to address injustice, inequity, and the climate crisis?
We will then compile these examples and create a working, shareable document that participants can use as resources to take home and share with their social and spiritual communities to continue this important work.
Please note: This workshop is geared towards Climate Activists.
Have you ever been frustrated by the number of people involved in your activities, disappointed by weak participation in your actions, and/or the lack of attendance at your events or meetings? This participatory workshop will include exercises that will explore who is and isn't part of the Climate Justice movement and why. We will describe the barriers to involvement and how we can address them to increase participation, strengthen our efforts and win what we want for the long haul!
Senior Labor Educator, U-Mass Dartmouth Labor Education Center
Camilo is long time labor and community organizer from a working class immigrant family in SE Mass. He is a first generation student who graduated from UMass Dartmouth and is passionate about connecting students to workplace and local community struggles. In his work he uses popular... Read More →
Friday April 4, 2025 3:15pm - 4:15pm EDT
Abromson Room 21588 Bedford St, Portland, ME 04101
Todd E. Vachon, PhD is Assistant Professor of Labor Studies and Employment Relations at Rutgers University and serves as the Director of the Labor Education Action Research Network (LEARN)—the university’s labor education program. Todd has written extensively about labor and climate... Read More →
Friday April 4, 2025 3:15pm - 4:15pm EDT
Abromson Room 21688 Bedford St, Portland, ME 04101
Professor of Anthropology, Chair of Native American Programs, and Faculty Fellow at the Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions, University of Maine
Darren J. Ranco, PhD, a citizen of the Penobscot Nation, is a Professor of Anthropology, Chair of Native American Programs, and Faculty Fellow at the Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions at the University of Maine. He has a Masters of Studies in Environmental Law from Vermont... Read More →
