Mindful-Driven Advocacy workshop is an opportunity to become a stronger, more resilient advocate. You will co-create possibilities with facilitators on how mindfulness can be foundational to your daily advocacy efforts. You’ll explore mindfulness as a core competency for your advocacy, to drive and sustain your work amid challenge.
We are thrilled to announce that NEW YORK CITY MAYOR ERIC ADAMS will deliver welcoming remarks!
Register today: https://bit.ly/3tAO7EC
Run of Show:
12:00-12:20p Intro and welcome activity: Matthew J. Camp & Joey Uy (TC); Welcoming remarks: New York City Mayor Eric Adams
12:20-12:50- Grounding meditation- Rev. Qalvy Grainzvolt, M.S., MHC-LP (NYU)
12:50-12:55- Break
1:00-2:00- Activism and Wisdom Traditions- Raaghav Pandya and Christina Torres (TC)
2:00-3:15- Cultivating Beloved Community- Robert Taylor, Jr. (NYU)
3:15-3:30- Closing- Matthew J. Camp and Joey Uy (TC)
Before and after the workshop, join TC Student Wellness staff to develop your core values, and how to care for yourself and others:
Friday, April 8th: Values Clarification Workshops. Clarify your values, drawing from Bernice King’s Nonviolence 365, and get a framework for values-driven activism.
- 9am - 10:30am
- 10:45 am - 12:15 pm
- 1:30 pm - 3:00 pm
- 3:15 pm - 4:45 pm
https://teacherscollege.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJUuceGspjojGNC5zY2r2I3zpINH91vDEU6e
April 11-15: Activist Self-Care & Well-Being: Develop a pattern to care for yourself to sustain yourself for the long haul:
- Protect yourself from burnout to be effective supporting others
- Recognize your energy levels and do an emotional cost benefit analysis.
- Embrace your limits to embrace your humanity
Monday, April 11th, 5:30 PM https://teacherscollege.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJMvdOysqDIoHdLd3QwTe7EyG8zyHECyiLfL
Tuesday, April 12, 9:00 AM https://teacherscollege.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJIpd-uppz8tHtxnvIKZ-0cBG5tooOVb1u7N
Friday, 4/15 3:30 PM
https://teacherscollege.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAvc-uvrjsuG9b6RqLN1j1A0xRGd5-W5INS
Facilitators:
Matthew J. Camp:
Matthew J. Camp is founding Director of Government Relations for Teachers College, Columbia University, and co-creator of the Advocacy Academy, a workshop series to build advocacy and political action skills that is open to the general public. Matt is adjunct professor at NYU's Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, where he teaches a Capstone course on political action and advocacy. He holds a Ph.D. in Politics & Education at Columbia University, a Masters of Public Policy from Rutgers University and a B.A. with distinction from the University of Delaware. Matt is a certified yoga instructor and a graduate of Wild Earth's teacher apprenticeship.
Reverend Qalvy Grainzvolt:
Rev. Qalvy Grainzvolt is a native New Yorker and an ordained Shinnyo-en Buddhist priest. Qalvy (pronounced: KAL-VEE) has been focused on service and wellbeing including during his time in the U.S. Army National Guard, as a police chaplain in Westchester County, and the first Buddhist chaplain in the history of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and New York City Transit system. In 2018, Qalvy helped bring mindfulness to the New York City Police Department as part of its official training curriculum. He continues to promote mindfulness as a visiting mindfulness instructor for the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY), after a tenure of teaching meditation for various New York-based organizations such as Bryant Park’s official programs, the Horticultural Society of New York, and at CNN news headquarters. Qalvy also holds a Master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling and currently uses those skills in psychotherapy with incarcerated individuals in the jail system of the Westchester County Department of Corrections. Qalvy’s main talents are being tall, cleaning the high windows at his temple and meditation center, as well as having a unique name that works well in Scrabble, if ever proper nouns get their day. https://shinnyocenternyc.org/
Raaghav Pandya:
Raaghav is a PhD candidate in the Math, Science Technology Department at Teachers College, Columbia University under Dr. Chris Emdin, along with being a physics/engineering educator in a public school magnet program. At Columbia, he studies the intersections of Indian contemplative philosophies, science education, and the nature of science and is a course instructor for classes, such as Science, Teachnology, & Society and Hip-Hop & Multicultural Studies. With background as an associate researcher in climate science at the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, he is currently a lab member at the Collaborative for Spirituality in Education within Teachers College. He is a recipient of the Ruth Gottesman Award and winner of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Oratory Event.
Robert Taylor Jr:
Robert Taylor Jr. is the Program Administrator for MindfulNYU & Global Spiritual Life at New York University. He is grounded in the Caribbean diasporic community which influences his everyday experiences navigating life as a Queer, Afro-Caribbean American Blackademic.
Robert is an educator committed to lifting up the voices of BIPOC and drawing upon scholarship to inform his practice. A graduate of New York University, he holds a Bachelor of Arts in History and Gender & Sexuality Studies and is currently working on a Master’s degree in History examining the intersection of slavery, afro-syncretic faith traditions, and gender in the Caribbean. You can find his work on Queeribbean.com, a transnational collective that endeavors to translate queer, Caribbean life, language, and culture while developing a sense of home and community in the Diaspora.
Christina Torres:
Christina Torres is a doctoral student in the Science Education program at Teachers College, Columbia University. She is a 2020-2022 Zankel Fellow for the Youth At The Center project, which aims to engage NYC students in climate science and action. She is also co-president of the Sustainability Task Force, a student organization at Teachers College. She is an adjunct professor at the Fashion Institute of Technology, where she teaches an Ecology and Environmental Problems course to students that pursue sustainable fashion. Her research interests focus on utilizing local biodiversity to integrate ecology concepts and sustainable thinking into urban classrooms.
Joey Uy:
Joey Uy is a graduating Masters candidate of the International Education Development program at Teachers College, Columbia University, and is currently an Associate at the Office of Government Relations at Teachers College. Joey specializes in incorporating an interdisciplinary approach to policy research, community engagement, and advocacy building. They hold a B.A. in Urban Studies and Planning and International Relations at the University of California, San Diego. Joey is a former McNair Research Scholar, Americorps VISTA Member, and an alumni of the Gates Millennium Scholarship Program.
To request disability-related accommodations, contact OASID at oasid@tc.edu, (212) 678-3689, as early as possible.