2008 WNPJ Executive Committee and By-Laws

 

Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice Executive Committee and By-Laws

WNPJ members of the 2008 Executive Committee
 



Many thanks to these WNPJ EC members, retiring from the 2007 Board:

Hiroshi Kanno, Char Thompson, James Denomie, Kathy Dakter, Mary Meyst, and Rick Guerard

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WNPJ Executive Committee (2008)

Officers:


John Peck, Co-Chair
Madison, WI
familyfarmdefenders@yahoo.com

 

John Peck is a long-time Madison activist, currently working as the executive director of Family Farm Defenders. John has also been active with WNPJ, leading the Corporate Accountability team. He can often be found at the Madison Infoshop, working on projects such as: Reclaiming Food Sovereignty - Putting the Culture Back into Agriculture ; Free Trade vs Fair Trade - Challenging Corporate Globalization ; Public School or Shopping Mall? - How to Democratize Your Campus; Grassroots Transformation in the Global South (with slides from Zimbabwe, East Timor, etc.); NonViolent Direct Action Strategies for Social Change (a hands-on skills building workshop) ; Political Street Theater 101 (a hands-on skills building workshop) ; Books for Prisoners Project; and much more!

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Janet Parker, Co-Chair
Madison, WI
janetparker8@yahoo.com

Janet Parker is a Madison activist with the National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance (www.iraqpledge.org) which uses Gandhian nonviolence to work to end the war in Iraq. She has been arrested six times for nonviolent civil disobedience. She helped with supporting WNPJ committees and fundraising during 2004 – 2005, and worked on media for the Bring Our Troops Home referenda campaigns in 2005 - 2006. She is a Quaker and is trained as a draft counselor. Janet is employed by the Community Action Coalition as a community organizer serving people in Madison's 26 community gardens, helping gardeners grow vegetables and community together. Before moving to Madison in 1999, Janet worked for community gardeners in Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Havana and coordinated a large youth environmental education project in west Baltimore from 1994 – 1998. Janet speaks Spanish and holds an masters in Land Resources from the Gaylord Nelson Institute at UW-Madison. Janet lives with her partner Walt Novash who works in renewable energy.

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Stefania Sani, Treasurer
Madison, WI
 stefania_sani@hotmail.com

Stefania Sani has gained experience working with the budgets and finances in two areas: she served as Treasurer for the 4 Lake Greens in Madison, and more recently, served as the Treasurer for the Madison coalition to Bring Our Troops Home Referendum.

Stefania has been active with her local union, SEIU, as she works at UW Hospital as a nurse. She coordinated efforts to pass a resolution at the statewide SEIU conference in 2001 to resolve that the US should not invade Afghanistan. Stefania is committed to making the world a better place to live for all; more equitable and sustainable. Her experiences as a world-citizen, living in Italy and India, brings a broad perspective to WNPJ about why we all need to live in harmony on our planet. She has a son living here in Madison and a partner, Gil Halsted, who works in radio.

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Dennis Bergren – Madison - Secretary

dbergren@charter.net

Dennis Bergren, nominated to the WNPJ Board as a representative of the LGBT
community:

Dennis is a retired German teacher. He taught H.S. students in the Madison
school district. He spent long time abroad in Europe. For many years, he
has been an active member of the following organizations:

LGBT organizations:
Madison Area Gay/Bi Fathers Group (past secretary and President)
OutReach (library committee)
Frontiers Gay/Bi Men's Club (former officer and board member)
Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG)
Fair Wisconsin (formerly Action Wisconsin)
Gay Straight Alliance for Safe Schools (formerly GLSEN)
Lambda Legal Defense Network
Human Rights Campaign
Task Force Foundation

He is also a member of the Wisconsin Green Party, and Chair or their
Lavender (LGBT) caucus.


Committee Chairs:

Hildegard Dorrer, Newsletter Editor

Waunakee, WI
hdorrer@tds.net

Hildegard Dorrer spent time in Chicago and Milwaukee in the fifties and sixties to Madison from the seventies on...”I have been at the fringe of a number of movements and organizations both national and international, civil rights and anti-war. The twenty years as a State Employee in Madison reduced my involvement to a few basics: Companion Community with Torola, El Salvador and anti-war efforts at the time of Grenada, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Iraq. At the beginning of the Supermax I was involved in stemming its horror - you can see the results in Boscobel. My WNPJ connection was mainly by way of NL folding and mailing until it escalated into being the Editor.”

Alfred Meyer, past chair

608-513-4354 ameyer@ananuclear.org

Alfred Meyer served as the Executive Director of the Madison, Wisconsin chapter of Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR). During the past four years, he has been involved with Nuclear and Security issues, including SMART Security, Wisconsin’s Nuclear WatchDog, Anti Ballistic Missile Treaty abrogation, National Missile Defense, and Yucca Mountain. Meyer has also been involved with the creation of the Wisconsin Environmental Health Network, a project to link medical professionals and environmentalists, and helped organize three statewide activists conferences, "Making the Connection; Human Health and Environmental Exposures". Alfred also served as Chair of the Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice for over 5 years. He is currently working in Washington DC - to keep our world safe form nuclear weapons and exposure. He received an AB degree from Dartmouth College.

 




Members-at-Large:


Chuck BayntonWhitefish Bay, WI
cbaynton@gmail.com

Chuck Baynton was born in 1949 in Montreal and immigrated to the United States at age 6 and became a US citizen at age 17. His "professional student" days ended with graduation from medical school, having studied mathematics and economics before that. In July 2001, he retired from my internal medicine practice in rural Maine. A family cabin in Wisconsin’s north woods had been passed down to his wife, Anne, and she wanted to live closer to it, so they relocated to Milwaukee County in 2002.

“When George Bush said, in the first days after the September 11 attacks, ‘We will rid the world of the evil-doers,’ I knew I had anti-war activism in my future. Besides opposition to the Afghan and Iraq wars, my activist energies have focused on nuclear disarmament and prisoner abuse.”

“If you want to know more details of what I think, you can find them by visiting the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s website, www.jsonline.com, which by now has a pretty good sample of what I’ve had to say.”

“Besides WNPJ, I belong to the American College of Physicians, Physicians for Social Responsibility, Human Rights Watch, the Democratic Party, The American Civil Liberties Union, Peace Action Wisconsin, the Institute of World Affairs at UW- Milwaukee, and the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin.”

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Barbara Boehme
Middleton, WI
barbarab@tds.net

Barbara Boehme, a member of the Executive Committee from Middleton, moved to the Madison area from Milwaukee for a position with the State. She has been active with Madison Urban Ministry during most of the last twenty-plus years. She was at the original meeting that spurred the establishment of WNPJ and has been in touch or involved the last twelve years. She has served on a number of Committees. She is also involved in the Bring Our Troops Home Referendum effort in Middleton.

 

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Cindy Breunig
Milwaukee, WI
cindy@vocesdelafrontera.net

 

Cindy Breunig is the New Sanctuary Movement Coordinator for Voces de la Frontera in Milwaukee. She grew up outside of Cross Plains, WI in the Black Earth Creek watershed, a landscape that shaped both her spiritual and activist roots. Her past work has involved -  campus social justice activism and literacy work in the Barry Farms public housing community in Washington D.C.;  coordinating a post-war grassroots women's mental health program in Guatemala – including organizing a post-war mental health training program for women midwives and lay health promoters in rural Mayan communities;  and working as a Spanish Medical Interpreter in Madison, WI. She is a founder and member of the Groundwork anti-racism collective in Madison, WI, (2003) which works with white social justice activists to challenge white privilege and work for racial justice.

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Bill Christofferson

Milwaukee, WI
xofferson@wi.rr.com

Bill Christofferson is a Vietnam veteran and former journalist who later spent 20 years as a campaign/media consultant for Democrats in Wisconsin.
 
In between, from 1980-83, he was the first director of Nukewatch, then Madison-based and loosely affiliated with The Progressive. Nukewatch did public education on nuclear power and weapons, and worked closely with campaigns to stop Project ELF and oppose storage of high-level nuclear waste in Wisconsin. He was also one of the key organizers of the 1982 nuclear freeze referendum, the first statewide vote in the country, which carried 3-1, working closely with Midge Miller, one of WNPJ's founders.
 
Since retiring in 2007, he serves as a member of the national Iraq Moratorium committee, a board member of the Wisconsin Anti-Violence Effort (WAVE), which works to prevent firearm violence, and a board member of the Greater Wisconsin Committee, a progressive issue advocacy group.

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Wix Covey
Wausau, WI
wcovey@wausau.k12.wi.us

Wix Covey. Dear friends in peace, my interest in peace studies and actions has taken a dramatic turn in the last five years. It is now my passion and this offer to join you comes at an important moment for me. I believe it will reinforce my work with your different perspectives and hopefully your ideas will help to guide my activism for future steps along my journey.

I have written in my journals a lot, read much and am trying to contribute to a more peaceful world through my art work, my elementary teaching position in art and interactions with friends. But these steps often seem too little response to offset the suffering in our world. My hope is that I can learn more ways to channel my ideas and solutions for peace. I want to help to overshadow the fear and hatred shown to us. I also hope to be able to share my work and thoughts with you.

During my life, I have found much peace from my daily practice of tai chi, from my writings and artwork, from my family and friends and through my work with children as an art instructor. I have been blessed with the work I do teaching because it gives me opportunity to stress one's creativity and individuality. My one rule for the classroom is to be kind to others and yourself at all times. This is taken for the Dali Lama's thought: kindness is my religion. It is most rewarding to give this one simple idea and to still be able to teach art every day.

I have much hope for our world. Thank you for inviting me to be with your organization. Until we meet.....Wix




Carol Hannah 
Hayward, WI
carolh@cheqnet.net

Carol retired from Corporate America to the peace of the North Woods of Wisconsin. But the current administration doesn't bring much peace. So she became a founding member of Peace North. The Peace North membership agreed that WNPJ is worthwhile and we're now members, glad that an umbrella organization exists and glad that it is reaching out to Northern Wisconsin.

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Rev. Bob Hanson – Neshkoro koshin@centurytel.net 

My name is Bob “koshin” Hanson. I now live outside the village of Neshkoro, Wisconsin. I have been ordained as a Christian/Lutheran pastor for over 41 years, serving mostly African American congregations and communities in Milwaukee and Detroit, as well as Bay View/Milwaukee and Brookfield. I have a life time of experience in interfaith relations and understanding as a member in the 60’s & 70’s of the Order Ecumenical of the Ecumenical Institute/Institute pf Cultural Affairs, living & working in Japan and brief work in South Korea, Africa and other countries.. I also work as a volunteer with the Milwaukee Zen Center twice a month with a meditation group in Red Granite Correctional Institution. It was there that I served as Executive Director of InterFaith Works for over three years. I have served two years on the Board of the Interfaith group in Milwaukee with my wife as representatives of the Milwaukee Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. We are now representatives for the East Central Synod of the ELCA to the Wisconsin Council of Churches. I am serving part time now at a small but active parish in Saxeville, WI, St. Johns. In the near future I will be retiring and will have more time to give to justice and peace. As members of Peace Action here in Wisconsin we continue to fight for an end of the war and peace in all its present realities. Thanks for your consideration. Peace, koshin, Bob Hanson

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G. Simon Harak, SJ 
Milwaukee, WI
gsharaksj@gmail.com

 G. Simon Harak, S. J. entered the Society of Jesus (an order of Catholic priests) in 1970, and has served as a missionary in Jamaica and the Philippines. He has a B.A from Fairfield University, an M.div from the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley, and an M.A. from the University of Notre Dame. He finished his Ph.D. from Notre Dame in ethics on a national fellowship and began teaching ethics at Fairfield University in 1986. He was John Early Visiting Professor at Loyola College in Baltimore, MD in 1992-3. In 1995, he was chosen “Teacher of the Year” by the Fairfield University students. In 1998, he gave the Staley Lecture for Distinguished Christian Scholars, at Buena Vista University, Storm Lake, IA, and attained the rank of full professor at Fairfield, having served 5 years as Chair of the Academic Council.

He has written Virtuous Passions: The Formation of Christian Character (Paulist, 1993), edited Aquinas and Empowerment: Classical Ethics for Ordinary Lives (Georgetown University Press, 1996), and Nonviolence for the Third Millennium: Its Legacy and Its Future (Mercer University Press, 2000), co-edited _Beyond Boundaries: Student Volunteers in the Developing World_ (JASPA, 1998). He has published numerous articles and is currently writing Vicious Passions: The Deformation of Christian Character.

He is a member of various professional organizations in theology and ethics, including the Society for Christian Ethics and the American Academy of Religion. He is a member of the Executive Committee of the Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice.

He has been active in the peace movement, and helped found Voices in the Wilderness, which was nominated in 2000, 2002. and 2003 for the Nobel Peace Prize. He has traveled to Iraq three times with VOICES, where he openly and publicly violated US/UN sanctions to bring medicine and toys to Iraqi hospitals. During one of his visits, he was the only American representative among 500 international participants at the Baghdad International Conference on the Sanctions [May 1-4, 1999], presenting 2 plenary papers, and a paper to the Committee on Humanitarian Effects of the Sanctions. He has since then made over 2,000 presentations on Iraq on TV, radio, and at different venues in the US and abroad, and to a congress of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) at the UN building. In 1998, he resigned his full professorship at Fairfield University, to work full time with Voices in the Wilderness against the sanctions.

Among his many presentations, he was honored to give the Inaugural Richard McSorley, S. J. Lecture for Peace and Justice at Georgetown University in Washington, DC, and the Augustana Theological Lecture at Augustana College in Alberta, Canada.

In 2003, Harak joined the War Resisters League as its National Anti-Militarism Coordinator, where he organized a National Speakers Bureau on war profiteering, and a national conference on war profiteering at St. Thomas University in Minneapolis-St. Paul in 2006. In 2006, he was named Pax Christi’s Long Island’s National Peacemaker of the Year, and Pax Christi’s New York City’s Peacemaker of the year. He has written articles and given numerous presentations on war profiteering across the country, spending July 2006 in Germany on a speaking tour. He will return to speak in Germany and Poland in the Summer of 2007.

In January 2007, Harak left his position as at the War Resisters League to join Marquette University in Milwaukee as a professor of theology and as the Director of the Marquette University Center for Peacemaking.


Carol Lukens

Wausau, WI
clukens@charter.net

(sharing an EC position with Wix Covey)
Carol Lukens worked for years as a paralegal before returning to school and receiving a teaching degree from UW-Stevens Point with majors in History and Broadfield Social Science.She is a member of Northwoods Peace Fellowship in Wausau, regional organizer for the War Resisters League and particularly involved in its programs on corporate war profiteering and the issue of militarism and women.

A personal passion of hers is also involvement with the Hmong community. Carol has researched and presented on Hmong history, culture and immigration at high schools and colleges, and her interest in the Hmong involves not only their culture, but the fact that their immigration and the prejudices they’ve experienced are a direct result of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War.


  

Tom McGrath,
Wausau, WI
 tommcgrath1@gmail.com

- I was born in Milwaukee. I spent four years in the Navy as a Electronics Technician ( three years of which were on a Destroyer) in the 1960's. Upon leaving the Navy, I went to work for a large Computer Corporation as a technician in Milwaukee.

- I moved to Wausau in 1979 and raised four children (all of which, now live out of the state). Currently I am divorced, and I am now retired from the Computer Corporation.

- I became involved in the "Northwoods Peace Fellowship" through friends in Wausau over the last couple of years and through that became aware of WNPJ. Over the years I have become quite disillusioned with the current administration in Washington; since I seem to disagree with them on just about every issue.  Over the years, I've become quite aware of the amount of corruption in government, the ineptness of the current administration in Washington, and the lack of integrity among our politicians.

- I am hoping to affect some of these issues by becoming more socially/politically active. It is a never ending learning process.

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George Martin

414-745-5740 george@peaceactionwi.org
Peace Action Wisconsin 1001 E. Keefe Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53212
414-964-5158 www.PeaceActionWi.org 

"Until the Lion writes his own story, the tale of the hunt will always glorify the hunter." --African Proverb ---
George Paz Martin, an African American at 60 years young, is a life- long community activist, a leader in the U.S. and international peace movements, a U.S. political and foreign policy analyst and a powerful speaker against the War in Iraq.

As a National Co-Chair of United for Peace & Justice (UFPJ), the U.S.’s largest peace coalition with more than 1,400 organizations, Martin helped lead the organizing for ‘04 Republican Convention Demonstration (largest political convention demonstration in U.S. history) and the ’05 September 24-26 D.C. Anti-War Mobilization (including the largest grassroots lobby day in U.S. history with 550 congressional office visits), both with more than a 1/2 million people.

Visiting Iraq in ’04 on a fact-finding mission, he personally witnessed the plight of the Iraqi people and our U.S. troops. A knowledgeable and compassionate presenter, George Paz Martin speaks truth to power across the U.S. and around the world on the “Reality of Iraq.” Since then, he has spoken at almost every national peace demonstration in the U.S. and to numerous organizations and colleges.

Internationally, George Paz Martin works through the World Social Forum (WSF) movement to give U.S. past and current political analysis and collaborate with peace coalition leaders of dozens of countries on the war in Iraq. In Italy in ’04, he spoke and participated in an international “Reclaiming Our United Nations” working group. In Brazil, at the ’05 WSF (the largest international gathering in the history of earth of 180,000), George Martin’s speech against the War in Iraq was broadcast to more than 350 TV and radio stations across the U.S. In ’06, Martin also participated in the European Social Forum in Athens and the World Peace Forum in Vancouver, British Columbia. Also at the ’06 WSF in Venezuela, he was part of an international peace delegation that met with President Hugo Chavez.

In the U.S., Martin has organized and spoken on many panels and workshops against the war and other foreign policy issues at numerous Midwest Social Forums. In his local community of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, he works against violence, access to hand guns, police brutality and racism.

At 16 years of age, George was 10 feet away from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during his ‘I Have a Dream” speech. That was his ‘coming of age’ as an activist in the Civil Rights movement, the Black Panther Party and the War on Poverty. By 25 years old, George Martin had served on community boards of directors in the areas of housing, healthcare, credit unions, youth development, employment and training. He has also served as staff, consultant, steering committee or board member to more than 100 community-based organizations and as a consultant to U.S. corporations and the U.S. Departments of Health and Labor.

For a period of time, George worked in the corporate and entrepreneurial business world in marketing and promotions. His background in this area has given has given him skills to apply in promoting the cause of peace and justice.

Politically, George Martin is a national leader of the Green Party of the U.S., a founding member of its national Black Caucus, Wisconsin’s alternate national delegate and a member of its International Committee. A former two-term co-chair of both the Wisconsin and Greater Milwaukee Green Parties, he remains a leader in both.

For the past 18 years, Martin has served the homeless, especially homeless veterans, primarily as a volunteer and also as staff and consultant to community based organizations and both the state and federal governments in developing, fundraising and operating both facilities and programs. He continues that work as a volunteer leader in Wisconsin Stand Down, a bi-annual event bringing hundreds of homeless veterans off the streets of Milwaukee for holistic services, now including our Iraq War veterans.

As Program Director of Peace Action Wisconsin, George works on a non-partisan basis throughout the state of Wisconsin organizing, training and speaking. He initiated the Milwaukee Bring the Troops Home Referendum Campaign and the Wisconsin Peace Voter Campaign, contributing to the ’06 midterm election success and Mandate for Peace.

Speaking against the War in Iraq, George Martin has appeared on every major U.S. television network, C-Span, CNN, BBC and Democracy Now along with countless radio and television stations around the world.
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Marilyn Miller
Milwaukee, WI

 marilyn@lhra.org

 

Marilyn Miller is the Executive Director of the Lutheran Human Relations Association (LHRA), a national peace and justice organization founded almost 55 years ago. Marilyn is an educator/trainer who has served as an adjunct faculty member of Concordia University (then College), as Advisor and Program Director for the Multicultural Engineering Program at the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee, and as Director of Youth and Congregational Ministries for LHRA. This work has spanned over 30 years. Marilyn is a native Milwaukeean who has served locally and nationally in helping people reach their full potential educationally and relationally. She is currently serving her second term on the Board of Directors for Frieden's Community Ministries. Other service to the community includes working with the Milwaukee Human Rights Coalition, serving as Co-Convener for the Greater Milwaukee Synod's Anti-Racism Team (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America - ELCA), and as a member of the Human Resources Committee for the National Council of Churches of Christ USA. Marilyn is a member of Cross Evangelical Lutheran Church in Milwaukee and recently completed a Certification Program in Youth and Family Ministry through Wartburg Seminary in Iowa.

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Chamomile Nusz
Amherst, WI
chamomile@arthaonline.com


Chamomile Nusz was the Executive Director of Citizens Energy Cooperative of Wisconsin and currently works as the director of the Artha Center for Sustainable Living. She received her degree from the University of Minnesota in Women’s Studies, with a Minor in dance. She has been immersed in the world of Non-Profits and Cooperatives for her entire life, working directly for them the last 9+ years. She was raised by environmentally conscious parents in a home that is off the grid. Three years ago she was hired to head the formation of the first renewable energy co-op of its kind in the United States. With her work and dedication the Co-op has grown to have system installations on residences and community facilities throughout Wisconsin. Her work has greatly increased the use of renewable energy in the state making the air and water quality better and moving us closer to energy independence.

"I live my life with the belief that I can make a difference, and that the work I do each day needs to be moving us towards a better world. This belief in right livelihood has given me the chance to work with many great people, and affect change on an individual, community and global level."

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Mary Beth Schlagheck, Conference Committee Chair
Windsor, WI
mbspeace1@charter.net

Mary Beth Schlagheck, Born September 3, 1938 in Richland Center, Wisconsin, Mary Beth was raised on a farm in Bear Valley. She moved to Milwaukee in 1956 where in 1965 she married James Schlagheck in 1965. Following moves from South Bend, IN and Cedar Rapids, IA, they settled in Madison in 1969. Employed by the University of Wisconsin until 1978, she dedicated herself to volunteerism in both church and community. Her activism led her to be involved in nonviolent civil disobedience, protests, line crossings and acts of religious obedience which included the Nevada Test Site, Las Vegas, NV; Whiteman A.F.B., Knob Noster, MO; Offut Air Force Base, Omaha, NB; Truax Field Air Force Base, Madison, and St. Raphael Cathedral, Madison. In response to the Reagan Administration military build-up in 1981, she joined two other women to create a weekly Vigil for Peace in front of the IRS building in downtown Madison. This Vigil continues in front of the Municipal Building in downtown Madison to the present day. In 1982 Mary Beth and Jim began the domestic support of Helen Dery Woodson by helping to care for her large family. Beginning in 1984 until the present when Helen’s civil disobedience resulted many long prison sentences,  Mary Beth and Jim along with the support  of many others, became full time caregivers of seven Woodson children. Jim Schlagheck passed away in January of 1997. In 1999 Mary Beth married John Marhoefer and moved to Windsor, WI. where she continues guardianship of the three youngest members of the Woodson family. Mary Beth remains committed to the values and ideals of nonviolence and peace through the lens of social justice for all.


Jack Tiffany
Madison, WI
jacksontif@aol.com

Jack Tiffany’s lifelong commitment to peacemaking is an example for us all. In 1987 he retired as Professor Emeritus from University of Wisconsin Extension Department of Educational Communications. A major part of his work at the UW was the production of educational and documentary films. Two of his 35 films are relevant here. One, "To Find a Home", on racial discrimination in housing, won the Chris Award. "White Collar Grievance" was on an alternative dispute resolution process.. His formal training in conflict resolution was with University of Wisconsin Extension and the Lombard Mennonite Peace Center. Active in the peace movement since1953, he is currently a member of the Wisconsin Association of Mediators, the Fellowship of Reconciliation and Madison Friends Meeting and long-time member of WNPJ. Jack’s lifelong commitment to peacemaking is an example to us all.

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Dan Wadle, Green Bay

daniel.wadle@citizenactionwi.org

 

Dan joined Citizen Action in February 2007. Dan received his B.S. in Political Science and History from the University of Northern Iowa in 1983, and his J.D. from the University of Iowa College of Law in 1987. Prior to joining the staff, Dan had been an Employee Benefits Administrator/Consultant and Trust Officer with financial services companies, as well as a writer and researcher. During that time, Dan was a campaign volunteer for multiple Progressive candidates.

Prior to Dan's career in banking, Dan was a Presidential campaign staffer during Gary Hart's 1984 campaign, and during Paul Simon's 1988 campaign in Iowa. Dan was also a Congressional campaign staffer for Progressive candidates in Iowa in 1982 and 1986. He is currently employed by Citizen Action of Wisconsin as their NE Wisconsin Organizer. (Dan is a contact for this member group)

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Xong Xiong – Onalaska xong_xiong@yahoo.com or xiong.xong@students.uwlax.edu 

I am part of a member driven non-profit organization that operates primarily on Hmong and Indigenous cultural survival, sustainability, social justice and environmentalism within the greater La Crosse, Wisconsin area. We currently have four main initiatives: Hmong youth cultural project, Hmong Voters Project, Native and Hmong traditional organic gardens/Peace Poultry, and a quarterly newsletter that we put out to the Hmong communities. Our belief is that the traditional knowledge of the worlds of Indigenous peoples hold valuable lessons for securing a sustainable, just, compassionate and ecologically sound world for all people. We work in many capacities as a community to facilitate the perpetuation of traditional culture and practices of sustainable agriculture and land stewardship, community development, the strengthening of our spiritual and cultural heritage and above all education for social justice and change.


WNPJ BY-LAWS 2008

 

2008 BY_LAWS of the WISCONSIN NETWORK FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE

122 State Street, Suite 402 Madison, WI 53703

 

BYLAWS

(As accepted at the General Assembly on 10-6-2007)

 

Chapter 1. Purpose

Section 1. Purpose. The purpose of the Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice (WNPJ) is to facilitate activities, cooperation, and communication among Wisconsin organizations and individuals working toward the creation of a world free from violence and injustice.

 

Section 2. Political Status. WNPJ is a non-partisan, non-profit, membership organization.

 

Chapter II. Fiscal Year

The fiscal year of WNPJ shall commence on January 1 and end on December 31 of each year unless otherwise determined by the Steering Committee or the Executive Committee.

 

Chapter III. Membership

Section 1. Members.

A. Organizations. Any organization whose members hold regular meetings or activities, which subscribes to the statement of purpose, is approved by the Executive Committee, and pays the annual organizational fee will be a member in good standing. The organizational member shall be entitled to a seat on the Steering Committee and General Assembly and to cast one vote.

B. Individuals. All individuals who subscribe to the statement of purpose and who pay an annual fee shall be members of the WNPJ. Individual members may serve on committees and Task Groups and serve as officers.

C. Membership Open. The WNPJ especially welcomes as members those who face discrimination based on race, socio-economic status, gender, sexual preference, disability, age, conscientious objector status, or other forms of oppression; in order that its membership and its wok embody the vision of a society where all are heard and included.

 

Chapter IV. Steering Committee

Section 1. Members. The Steering Committee shall be composed of one representative or her or his designee from each organizational member.

 

Section 2. Meetings. The Steering Committee shall hold a meeting each spring to share reports of their organization's activities, to hear reports from Task Groups, and to conduct any necessary Network business.

 

Section 3. Quorum. A majority of the Steering Committee or ten (10) representatives, whichever is smaller, shall constitute a quorum for any meeting.

 

Chapter V. The General Assembly

Section 1. Meetings. The General Assembly shall hold a meeting each fall for the purposes of:

1) electing officers of the organization;

2) electing at least three at-large members of the Executive Committee;

3) reviewing the financial status of the WNPJ;

4) reviewing the year's activities;

5) setting priorities for the next year's activities;

6) making any necessary Bylaws changes;

7) conducting such other business as may be deemed necessary;

8) presenting a program on topic(s) of general concern.

Notice of the meetings of the General Assembly including the agenda, nominations and any Bylaws changes shall be sent to all designated organization representatives and individual members at least three weeks prior to the Assembly.

 

Section 2. Decision Making. Decisions shall be made by consensus of the members present. See Chapter XI for procedures.

 

Section 3. Special Meetings.

A. Special meetings of the General Assembly may be called by the Chair, the Executive Committee, or by request of at least 10% of the Steering Committee.

B. If there is a call for a special meeting, notice shall be sent by mail to each representative and individual member at least ten (10) days prior to the meeting.

 

Section 4. Meetings to be Open. All meetings shall be open.

 

Chapter VI. Officers

Section 1. Terms of Office. The officers of the WNPJ shall be Chair or Co-Chairs, Vice Chair, Secretary, and Treasurer. Terms of office shall be for one year and shall begin upon election at the General Assembly.

 

Section 2. Powers and Duties. The officers of the WNPJ shall be responsible for day-to-day oversight of the personnel, administration, and finances of the WNPJ and shall have powers and duties as prescribed in these Bylaws or as otherwise prescribed by the General Assembly or the Steering Committee. These powers and duties shall include:

<!--[if !supportLists]-->A. <!--[endif]-->Chair. The chair (or co-chairs) of the WNPJ shall have general supervision of the

affairs of the network, and may in the name of the WNPJ, either alone or together with other officers as may be appropriate or directed, execute all documents required; and serve as chief spokesperson for the organization.

In addition the chair shall convene Executive Committee meetings; prepare the agenda for and preside at Executive Committee meetings and the annual meetings of the steering committee and the general assembly; grant excused absences from the Executive Committee and Steering Committee; and perform such other duties as are incident to the office or are properly required of the Chair by the Executive Committee.

B. Vice Chair. In the event of the absence, disability, resignation or death of the chair, the vice chair shall act as chair until a new chair can be elected and shall have such other responsibilities as are assigned by the chair.

C. Secretary. The secretary shall keep the minutes of all Steering Committee, General Assembly, and Executive Committee meetings and shall have such other responsibilities as assigned by the chair.

D. Treasurer. The treasurer shall have general charge of the receipt of funds of the WNPJ; shall be responsible for the keeping and rendering of accurate accounts of receipts and disbursements; shall assist in the preparation of the annual budget; and shall be responsible for the filing of all fiscal reports.

 

Section 3. Vacancies. Vacancies shall be filled by the Executive Committee for the remainder of the vacated term.

 

Section 4. Censure, Removal, Appea1. Any officer may be censured or removed upon a decision of either the Steering Committee or the General Assembly.

 

Chapter VII. Executive Committee

Section 1. Members. The Executive Committee shall consist of the officers of the WNPJ, the Committee and Task Group Chairs (or co-chairs), the members elected at-large, the past chair, the newsletter editor, and the webmaster. A member's unexcused absence from three consecutive Executive Committee meetings shall be considered to constitute a resignation from the Executive Committee.

 

Section 2. Responsibilities. The Executive Committee shall meet at least quarterly to oversee the operation of the WNPJ. The committee shall develop and adopt a budget to carry out the priorities set at the General Assembly meeting. It shall set policy and procedures for the operation of the WNPJ. It shall approve the recommendation of the officers in personnel issues, and in the hiring and termination of staff, in accordance with those policies and procedures. It may initiate and organize statewide actions.

 

Section 3. Quorum. Two thirds of the members shall constitute a quorum.

 

Section 4. Alternatives to Meeting. Any action required or permitted by the Bylaws, to be taken at a meeting of the Executive Committee, may be taken without a meeting if there is consent by phone, postcard, or e-mail.

 

Section 5. Committees. There shall be four (4) standing committees and such other committees as from time to time the Executive Committee, the Steering Committee, or the General Assembly shall determine. The Chair of the WNPJ shall serve ex-officio on all committees except the Nominating Committee.

A. The Conference Committee shall be responsible for organizing the spring Steering Committee, the fall General Assembly, or other special conferences as approved by the Executive Committee or the Steering Committee.

B. The Outreach Committee shall be responsible for building membership and public support for the WNPJ and its mission.

C. The Development Committee shall be responsible for activities of the WNPJ relating to fund raising. It. shall include members of the Executive Committee.

D. The Communications Committee shall insure the publication of a newsletter, the maintenance of a website, and the use of such other methods of communication as will promote the mission of the WNPJ.

 

Section 6. Vacancies. Vacancies within the Executive Committee shall be filled for the remainder of their term by appointment of the Chair with the consent of the Executive Committee.

 

Section 7. Meetings to Be Open: Exceptions. All meetings shall be open. The Executive Committee reserves the right, by majority vote of those voting members present, to go into closed session for the discussion of personnel or buying property.

 

Chapter VIII. Nomination Committee: Election of Officers

Section 1. Membership. The Nominating Committee shall consist of three members who shall be chosen by the Steering Committee at the spring meeting.

 

Section 2. Term of Office. The term of office for members of the nominating committee shall be one year.

 

Section 3. Procedure. Nominations will be solicited by an open procedure made known to each member. Notice of the proposed slate shall be sent for review to all members at least three (3) weeks prior to the General Assembly meeting.

 

Section 4. Diversity. The Nominating Committee must make every effort to ensure that the slate reflects the many diversities of the WNPJ including, but not limited to, geography, gender, race, class, religion, or sexual orientation.

 

Section 5. Nominations from the floor. Any member of the WNPJ has the right to place a name in nomination, provided the person named is present OR has consented in writing to the nomination, and is an individual member of WNPJ or designated contact of a member organization of WNPJ.

 

Chapter IX. Task Groups

Section 1. Formation. When a priority is identified by the Steering Committee or the General Assembly or when the Executive Committee deems that an issue of concern to the WNPJ needs intensive long term advocacy, the Executive Committee may establish a Task Group to carry out such action as is needed.

 

Section 2. Notice to the Membership. When a Task Group is established, notice shall be published in the WNPJ newsletter. An organization or individual shall be considered a member of the Task Group only when affirmative notice of participation is received by the Task Group Chair (co-chairs).

 

Section 3. Purpose. The purpose of a Task Group is to study, investigate, and make recommendations and proposals to the Executive Committee for approval. The Executive Committee may refer such recommendations and proposals to the Steering Committee or the General Assembly for approval. The Executive Committee retains the right to dissolve a Task Group when it deems the Task Group is no longer needed.

 

Section 4. Task Group Funds. All funds received by a Task Group shall be given to and disbursed by the WNPJ Treasurer as approved by the Executive Committee.

 

Section 5. Members. Members of a Task Group shall appoint a chair or co-chairs and conduct business in a manner decided by the members of the Task Group. Chairs and members of a Task Group shall be members in good standing of the WNPJ.

 

Chapter X. Miscellaneous Provisions

Section 1. Contacts. The Executive Committee may authorize any officer, agent or agents to enter into any contract or execute or deliver any instrument in the name of or on behalf of the WNPJ which relates to the conduct of business and affairs, and such authority may be limited or general.

 

Section 2. Inspection of WNPJ Records. All books, records and minutes of the WNPJ shall be open to inspection at the request of any member.

 

Section 3. Fiscal Matters.

A. All checks and drafts or other orders for payment of money, notes or other evidences of indebtedness issued in the name of the WNPJ shall be signed by such officers, agent or agents of the WNPJ, and in such a manner as shall be determined by resolution of the Executive Committee.

B. No loans shall be contracted on behalf of the WNPJ and no evidence of indebtedness shall be issued in its name unless authorized by a resolution of the Executive Committee. Such authority may be general or confined to a specific instance, borrowing, line of credit or institution.

 

Chapter XI. Decision-making Procedure

Section 1. Consensus. WNPJ shall operate under a consensus process. If there is no consensus, members may either stand aside, which allows a proposal to proceed, or to block consensus, which prevents a proposal to proceed. In the latter case, the body may take a two-thirds (2/3) vote to proceed under Roberts Rules of Order, Newly Revised.

 

Section 2. If a vote must be taken. If it is necessary to proceed with a vote, the following procedure shall be followed:

A. All designated organizational representatives and individual members in good standing shall have the right to vote on all issues and elections at meetings of the General Assembly.

B. No proxy votes shall be allowed.

C. In the event that the office of chair is shared by two persons, only one vote shall be, accorded to the two members, in order that a tie vote of the representatives may be broken.

 

Chapter XII. Amendment of Bylaws

These Bylaws may be amended or repealed by using the procedures set forth in Chapter XI, provided that the substance of the text of such a proposed change is included in the notice of meeting at which the change is to be considered.

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Nonviolent Society

Peaceable and Safe Environment

Truly Democratic Society