Contributors

Contributors to Together in Dignity come from every continent and every walk of life.  Below are short profiles of some of them with links to their posts.

asha bandele is an award-winning author and journalist who first attained recognition when she penned her 1999 debut book, The Prisoner’s Wife, a powerful, lyrical memoir about a young Black woman’s romance and marriage with a man who was serving a twenty-to-life sentence in prison. With the hope that they would live as a couple in the outside world, she became pregnant with a daughter. A former features editor for Essence Magazine, she is also the author of two collections of poems and the novel, Daughter. She lives in Brooklyn with her daughter, Nisa.

The Beat Within has a mission to provide incarcerated youth with consistent opportunity to share their ideas and life experiences in a safe space that encourages literacy, self-expression, some critical thinking skills, and healthy, supportive relationships with adults and their community. Outside of the juvenile justice system, The Beat Within partners with community organizations and individuals to bring resources to youth both inside and outside of detention.

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Matt Davies has been working for the International Movement ATD Fourth World for over 15 years, alongside people experiencing long-term and extreme poverty. This has given him the opportunity to meet amazing people, both courageous and inspiring, from London to Guatemala, via Madrid. He is currently part of the regional coordination team for Latin America and the Caribbean, based in Mexico City.

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DCTV PRO-TV is the most successful youth media arts training program in the nation. Offering free training to the youth of New York City since 1978, PRO-TV provides positive creative outlets for young people to address the issues affecting their lives and their communities.

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Gligor Tashkovich (United States)

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Cintia de Caravlhaes

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Ben Fehsenfeld is the National Director of Finance and Administration for ATD Fourth World USA and lives in New Mexico.

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Isadora Gotts is a Franco American currently an intern with the ATD Fourth World team in New Mexico. She will join the ATD Fourth World Volunteer Corps after in Montreal in January and will continue discovering ATD Fourth World and its approach to fighting poverty.

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Mariana Guerra is a Brazilian member of ATD Fourth World’s volunteer corps. She has worked in Brazil, Peru, Bolivia and France with people living in extreme poverty since 2001.

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Sarah Kenningham (@Skenningham) is a British member of the ATD Fourth World international volunteer corps and is currently based in London where she is on the National Coordination Team.  Prior to her return to the UK in 2008, she held various responsibilities within teams in the Philippines, the Netherlands, France and Belgium, where she spent five years working in link with the European Union institutions in Brussels.

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Anne-Sylvie Laurent has been a member of ATD Fourth World since 2006. She discovers realities of extreme poverty by interacting with the ones who experience it and with others involved (or not) in the construction of a sustainable world for all. She also discovers by reading or watching documentaries and movies. She has been part of teams in Switzerland, Paris and now since 5 years in the Philippines. Mabuhay! (Be welcome)

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Amanda Lee (@altforgetful): helps motivated survivors & addicts to transform their lives. She is an International Speaker, Author, Psychologist, Artist, & Humanitarian with extensive mission experience in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas. Founder of the Our Lives Our Stories Project and Terminally Forgetful resource site.

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Paul  MacDonald has been a member of ATD for 11 years and likes to spend his time playing guitar, web surfing, and coming up with new ideas. He particularly enjoys political debate, and he blogs regularly at tledge.wordpress.com.

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Magdalena Macinska is part of the circle of friends of ATD in Warsaw dazzled by the thought of Fr. Joseph Wresinski that “Every human is a chance for humanity”. She works for the Polish Youth Council and as a conference interpreter. Magdalena is passionate about blogging, peaceful conflict resolution and languages.

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Guy Malfait has been a member of ATD Fourth World since 1996. Since 2010, after missions in France, Haiti and the Netherlands, he has been based in Manila together with his wife Vanessa and their three boys. His life is an unbalanced challenging mix of craziness, love, commitment, humor, anti-McDonalds and pro Belgian waffles.

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Kristy McCaskill is a Full-Time Volunteer Corps Member with ATD Fourth World in New Orleans, Louisiana. A native of Oklahoma, Kristy is currently completing her bachelor’s degree in social science from the University of Oklahoma. Kristy has also worked with social service organizations in Europe and Africa, primarily within the homeless community.

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Dave Meyer (@Permacyclists) edits the blog and writes occasional posts as well. He is a writer and filmmaker splitting his time between Brussels, Belgium and Woodstock, New York.

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René Muhindo is a Tapori facilitator in Bukavu, Democratic Republic of Congo.  He has worked with Tapori since his childhood, helping to bring children together to fight poverty.  A video covering his work is available online as part of the Unheard Voices project. He is currently doing training with ATD Fourth World’s team in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

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Maureen O’Connor was a VISTA volunteer as part of the War on Poverty working in a poor part of North Carolina in 1968-69.  After retiring from teaching history and ELL in Massachusetts in 2011,  she has volunteered in the Boston public schools.  She is a member of Citizens for Public Schools and the Massachusetts Teachers Association.    Her activism has focused on fighting corporate “education reform” and the privatization of public schools, which, in her view, has often been at the expense of  children of color and poor kids.

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Detrich Peeler is originally from North Carolina, but being a military brat he has lived all over the US including Texas, DC, and San Diego. Not being able to stay in one place to long, he left his native US to discover foreign lands like Brazil, Egypt, France and now Senegal.

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Justin Rodriguez (@YouthFightBack) is a 27 year old community organizer currently residing in Washington, DC. For over five years he has been tackling issues involving homelessness, housing, and at risk youth.

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Julia Sick is a full-time volunteer corps member with ATD Fourth World in New York City. Since joining Fourth World and the New York team in June 2012, she has worked alongside communities all over the city on a variety of different projects aimed at building tools for empowerment with children, youth, and adults living in and experiencing poverty.

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Diana Skelton (@Dianaskelton) has been a member of ATD Fourth World’s Volunteer Corps since 1985, in Madagascar, France and at the United Nations. Currently part of ATD’s International Leadership Team, she works on redesigning community organizing with people who are the most isolated by extreme poverty in Haiti, Lebanon, the Central African Republic, Ireland, Honduras, and elsewhere.

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Devendra Tak (@Devendratak) works with Save the Children and was previously associated with the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, UNICEF and CIVICUS where his work has taken him across continents. He has engaged in several humanitarian situations, in countries including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Nepal, South Africa and Sri Lanka.

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YouthFX Film Experience is, “an intensive hands-on program designed to introduce teens aged 14-18 to the artistic and technical process of digital filmmaking by offering a thorough overview of the production process from script to screen. Focusing on visual storytelling, artistic expression and performance, participants create digital video projects in various genres, including documentary, narrative short fiction and public service announcements. Youth FX participants work with experienced media instructors, filmmakers and artists to learn the various aspects of digital video production such as cinematography, editing, sound, and lighting.

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