Ben Manski Director Next System Studies and Assistant Professor of Sociology at George Mason University

Building the Next System: Here and Now
Santa Barbara County Action Network Roundtable via Zoom
FRIDAY, JULY 11
Noon-1:30pm (Pacific)

Register using this Zoom link. 

• How can we build the next system even as we resist attacks on our communities and institutions?
• And what is Santa Barbara's role in global system change?

Join us to hear from four U.S.-based activists who argue that if we take our social, political, economic, and ecological crises seriously enough, we have what it takes to build a world that is democratic, sustainable and just.

Guest Speakers:

	Joe Guinan, President The Democracy Collaborative
April Doner, Asset-Based Community Development Institute Steward, Goldin Institute Peace Fellows Trainer
	Matt Nelson, Executive Director Presente.org

In different regions of the world, deep local relationships are developing as communities, local governments, and universities mobilize their assets to build economic democracy and solidarity and to grow community power and wealth.

We will explore where this emerging “uni-muni-community” strategy is headed.

Drawing on cases ranging from Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, DC, Jackson, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, and Northern Virginia in the United States, as well as Belfast, North Ayrshire, and Preston in Ireland, Scotland, and England, what can we learn about how best to build a new social base for progress?

More information on our guest speakers:

April Doner is a connector, roving illustrator, and community building coach with an enduring belief in the power of neighbors using their gifts to act together. Based in Chicago, she has spent 16 years blending asset-based community building work with artistic practices to cultivate locally controlled economies, self-determination, and authentic networks of care. She is affiliated with the ABCD Institute, Goldin Institute, and Resist & Build Network and is cofounder of Living World Studios.

Joe Guinan is President of The Democracy Collaborative. His focus is on political economy, strategy, and economic system change, and he is co-author (with Martin O’Neill) of The Case for Community Wealth Building (Polity, 2020) and (with Christine Berry) of People Get Ready! Preparing for a Corbyn Government (O/R Books, 2019), which was named one of The Guardian’s best politics books of the year in 2019.

Ben Manski, Director of Next System Studies and Assistant Professor of Sociology at George Mason University, studies the participation of ordinary people in the deliberate constitution of their societies. His work takes in social movements, law, politics, climate and ecology, digital technology, and the corporation, focusing on democracy, constitutionalism, and system change, and he has published widely on these themes. Prior to joining the faculty at GMU, Manski devoted more than two decades working as a public interest lawyer, nonprofit executive, lobbyist, issue campaign director, direct action campaigner, and election campaign manager.

Matt Nelson is the Colombian-born, Midwestern-raised Executive Director of Presente.org. Before his work at Presente, he was the Organizing Director at Color Of Change. Matt also co-founded several worker-owned cooperatives in multiple Midwestern cities. He is a seasoned campaign strategist who has won dozens of local and national campaigns and a skilled community organizer who has trained thousands of activists. Matt co-edited the book “How We Win: Energizing Strategies, Voters, and Agendas” (Routledge 2024). He is finishing a new book on how Latinx organizing and cultural power is reshaping U.S. politics.

Don't forget to register using this link. We look forward to seeing you next Friday!