Social Justice in the Central Valley

As the ILRC's policy specialist, Abraham Bedoy manages their California Policy Portfolio (bills and budget advocacy) in Sacramento. For the conference, and keeping in mind it’s theme, he will be discussing the difficult and violent realities facing our immigrant families at the federal level, how families and allies can best prepare for immigration enforcement campaigns heavily targeting our region, and what California is doing to fight back.

Dr. Nolan Cabrera is an award-winning scholar and nationally recognized expert in the areas of racism/anti-racism on college campuses, whiteness, and ethnic studies. He is currently a Professor in the Center for the Study of Higher Education at the University of Arizona, and was the only academic featured in the MTV documentary White People. Dr. Cabrera's book, White Guys on Campus: Racism, White Immunity, and the Myth of "Post-Racial" Higher Education, is a critical examination of race in higher education, centering whiteness, in an effort to unveil the frequently unconscious habits of racism among white male undergraduates. It was the winner of the 2019 Outstanding Book Award from the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE).

Will Davis was appointed by United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, as the Director of the United Nations Information in Washington, DC beginning in August, 2024. Mr. Davis brings a wealth of experience to this post, having spent more than two decades working in various positions in the UN, as well as the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Mr. Davis has also served in numerous positions in the U.S. Federal Government, including Director of Legislative Affairs at the National Security Council, and as a Senior Advisor in the State Department’s Bureau of Legislative Affairs. Mr. Davis is an expert in the budget and appropriations process for the U.S. international affairs budget, and he brings a deep understanding to his current role of the often complex relationship between the U.S. and the United Nations system. Mr. Davis holds a Bachelor's Degree in Political Science from Duke University, and a Master’s Degree in Public Policy, also from Duke. He has been an adjunct member of the faculty at George Washington University’s Elliot School of International Affairs and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Angela Drew is a mother, dancer, author, poet and self-proclaimed linguistic artist who has loved the rhythm of words for as long as she can remember. Born in Berkeley, CA, she began writing at age eight and has always understood that words have the power to soothe, stir, or solidify connection. She has played with the magic of storytelling ever since. 

Angela is the current Poet Laureate of Modesto, CA and is the winner and first-place slam champion of Modesto’s 2021 ILL List 16 Poetry Slam. She has performed her spoken word poetry at an array of venues, just to name a few: Yoshi’s Jazz Club, Oakland, CA, Gallo Center for the Arts and The State Theatre, Modesto, CA, Brickhouse Art Gallery, Sacramento, CA, and Apache Cafe, Atlanta, GA – a landmark poetry lounge that is home to some of ATL’s finest creatives. She is the author of ElderBerry Wine, a children’s book written in poetic verse, that celebrates the beauty & majesty of our elders and the richness they bring by simply being a part of our lives.

Angela (a.k.a. She Spits Fire) is currently curating a spoken word poetry album, along with accompanying book, slated for release in April 2025.

Winona LaDuke (Anishinaabe) is one of the world’s most tireless and charismatic leaders working on issues of sustainable development, climate change, Indigenous rights, local food systems, grass-roots organizing, alternative sources of energy, and the priceless value of clean water.

She co-founded and is the former Executive Director of Honor the Earth, whose mission is to create awareness and support for Native environmental issues and to develop needed financial and political resources for the survival of sustainable Native communities. Her other organizations, Akiing and Winona’s Hemp and Heritage Farm, help communities produce sustainable energy and materials for a restorative and regenerative economy.

Winona lives and works on the White Earth reservation in northern Minnesota and is the founder of the White Earth Land Recovery Project, one of the largest reservation-based, non-profit organizations in the country. She is also a two-time vice-presidential candidate with Ralph Nader for the Green Party. A rural development economist and graduate of Harvard and Antioch Universities, she writes extensively on Indigenous struggles for environmental justice.

Her seven books include: Recovering the Sacred: The Power of Naming and Claiming; All Our Relations: Native Struggles for Land and Life; The Militarization of Indian Country; and a novel, Last Standing Woman. Her latest book, To Be a Water Protector: Rise of the Wiindigoo Slayers is an expansive, provocative engagement with issues that have been central to her decades of activism, including seven years battling Line 3, an Enbridge tar sands oil pipeline in northern Minnesota.

Winona is also the recipient of many awards, including a 2007 induction into the National Women’s Hall of Fame and in 1994, recognition by Time Magazine on their list of fifty most promising leaders under forty years of age. Her White Earth Land Recovery Project won the prestigious 2003 International Slow Food Award for Biodiversity. Winona was also Co-founder and Board Co-chair of the Indigenous Women’s Network for fifteen years and maintains a significant role in international advocacy for Indigenous people, including numerous presentations at United Nations forums.

Bethany L. Padron is a third-year doctoral student in Interdisciplinary Humanities at UC Merced, where she focuses on Critical Race and Ethnic Studies. An alumna of Stanislaus State’s McNair Scholars and University Honors Programs, she is also a Chancellor’s Fellow for Inclusive Excellence. A mother, partner, and multidimensional artist, Bethany has published books and albums, performed as a musician, and creates art that extends her research. Her work bridges Black feminist theory, performance, music, and art—treating creative practice as both archive and liberatory method.

Sam Pierstorff is a poet, professor, podcaster, president, and part-time ninja. He has been teaching at Modesto Junior College for more than twenty years after earning his Master of Fine Arts degree in poetry from CSU Long Beach. He became the youngest Poet Laureate ever appointed in the state of California when he was selected to the position in 2004 by the city of Modesto, and in 2019, his college honored him with The Purdy Award for Teaching Excellence.

Sam is also the co-owner of the Queen Bean Coffee & Social House, a historic 1908 home converted into a coffee shop and event space that has become the epicenter of arts in Modesto. From poetry and comedy nights to film screenings, music showcases, and community gatherings, the Queen Bean has become a hub for creativity and connection.

He is the founder and executive director of the award-winning Modesto Artists Movement, a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating great art and cultivating the next generation of artists through events, education, and support. Believing that art transforms lives, builds empathy and joy, and can transform entire communities, Sam has made it his mission to expand access to art in the Central Valley.

He is also the host & creator of The ILL LIST, California’s most prestigious annual poetry slam competition at the historic State Theatre, where he also serves as President of the Board of Directors. As a performer, he has won UC Merced's Grand Slam championship, the Rogue Festival Poetry Slam, and he was the first non-singer to ever win the Grand Prize at The Valley Talent Project presented by the Gallo Center for the Arts.

Sam has published more than 200 poems, and his autobiographical story about growing up Muslim in America was selected as the opening piece in the anthology Salaam, Love (Beacon Press). He was subsequently invited to Harvard University to read and was later invited to deliver a TEDx Talk. He is the author of Growing Up in Someone Else's Shoes and co-editor of More Than Soil, More Than Sky: The Modesto Poets, which launched to #1 on Amazon's Poetry Best Seller list upon its release.

He is one-third of the Burn & Rave comedy podcast, and a two-time contestant on NBC's American Ninja Warrior, certifying him as the world's first #NinjaPoet. He can also be found on TikTok & IG @njapoet, where his fitness and teaching tips have amassed more than 485,000 followers.

Indy is the Executive Director of Cultivating Self, whose mission is to expand the framework of healthcare to include ecological medicine, food and nature as medicine, cultural medicine, and health advocacy and civic engagement.  He is an avid regenerative farmer, an ecological steward, and advocate for farmers. Indy is also the lead Pollinator with California Doughnut Economics Coalition, which is researching and documenting the holistic economic health of the state of California and launching regional doughnut accelerators throughout California. Indy co-founded Cosmic Labyrinth to reimagine work and mitigate disasters through nature-based solutions and community action festivals. Indy has been a commissioner in local government, regularly secures business contracts with municipal and state governments, and organizes hyperlocal citizen assemblies that bring stakeholders together in more dynamic civic spaces. He also hosts the podcast, Political Hope, which is a journey to connect with people and projects practicing civic imagination and systemic metamorphosis.