Jessica Vazquez Torres (she/her) is an effective communicator and critical thinker. For over 25 years she has been passionately committed to dismantling the social structures and constructs that oppress and harm People of Color, Queer, and Immigrant communities. When she’s not facilitating leading a non-profit, facilitating a workshop, coaching, or tackling seemingly unsolvable problems, Jessica tries to listen to what the bread dough wants as it teaches her to be humble. When not arguing with dough, Jessica cultivates vibrant community with her spouse Laura, enjoys chaotic moments with her dog Magpie, and immerses herself in a multitude of books and podcasts.

Relational meetings are the foundational component for organzing and change making. In relational meetings, we learn to listen deeply for the sound of the genuine in the other person as we connect with the sound of the genuine in ourselves. These relational meetings can be used in organizing and church life alike.

Austin Almaguer (he/him) is a pastor and community organizer committed to helping everyday people take collective action to build communities of greater justice, liberation, and love. For more than a decade as the Lead Pastor of Vienna Baptist Church, Austin has led initiatives to expand community partnerships with a focus on inclusion and antiracism. As a former co-chair of the grassroots power organization VOICE and a leader of the founding team for the Just Power Alliance, Austin has led multi-racial, multi-class, multi-faith and multi-issue coalitions to make lasting policy change on issues like affordable housing, criminal justice reform, and public transportation. He is passionate about helping people of faith ground their public witness in the integration of spirituality and social justice. Austin and his family live in Arlington, VA. A native Tejano, he is a proud girl dad who is nourished by good music, good food, and good conversations.

So much of the racism we are experiencing feels new and alarming, but so much of it is patterns baked into a very old system. This conversation explores how the very concept of whiteness has deeply formed white people and that has kept white people from authentic and meaningful solidarity with their siblings of color. The hope lies in new practices that interrupt that unhelpful formation.

The Rev. Dr. Jennifer Harvey (she/her) is an award-winning author, educator, and public speaker, who seeks to create space for justice-filled, transformative connections that nurture a world where everyone can flourish. Her books include Antiracism as Daily Practice: Refuse Shame, Change White Communities, and Help Create a Just World, which explores how white US-Americans can confront racism in their daily spheres of influence, and the New York Times bestseller, Raising White Kids: Bringing Up Children in a Racially Unjust America. Jen has written for CNN, The New York Times, Sojourners and other venues. She been a guest on Good Morning America, CNN’s Town Hall Against Racism with Sesame Treat, NPRs Weekend Edition of All Things Considered and other shows. Dr. Harvey currently serves as Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean at Garrett Evangelical Seminary. She is a graduate of Union Theological Seminary and ordained in the American Baptist Churches (USA).

Artists imagine a future of possibility, but they also must gain clarity around what they are willing to risk and release. They work through feelings of grief and fear and anger in order to remain connected to themselves and to the world. This allows them to build a collective power that resists oppression in the world.

Rev. Shawna Bowman (they/them/theirs) is an artist and pastor. They are the first called and installed pastor of Friendship Presbyterian Church and have been doing ministry with the creative and justice-seeking folks there since 2011. In 2019 Friendship launched a not for profit called Friendship Community Place to create a neighborhood hub as a collaborative and resource rich space on the NWSide of Chicago, Shawna serves as the Executive Director. Shawna is a trained educator and artist that graduated with a studio art and education degree from Iowa Wesleyan College and completed a M.Div. at McCormick Theological Seminary where they have also served as Affiliate Faculty. Shawna and their wife Jennie are  doing intergenerational life with their three young adult children and their good dog Bentley in the Portage Park Neighborhood in Chicago where Shawna loves to garden, make art and cook all the good things to eat.

Storytelling is a powerful force that shapes culture, deepens understanding, and drives both personal and collective transformation. Engage in these four ways stories are powerful: building coalitions, changing minds, reinforcing or challenging the status quo, and inspiring social movements. Stories are essential to human connection, identity, and the shaping of our shared world.

Jen James (she/her) is on staff for NEXT Church as the Director of Programs and Operations. She is a facilitator, trained coach, and educator who loves working with congregations to help church leaders assess, realign, and strategically transform ministries. Jen was on the original writing team for Cultivated Ministry and was a co-writer for the Updated Edition. She has led workshops across the country on Cultivated Ministry since its release in 2018. Jen holds a Master of Divinity from Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington. DC. When she’s not working in the church world, Jen is offering unsolicited political commentary, cheering on her twin boys at the pool or baseball/soccer fields, and conjuring up a new house project with her husband who is a finance entrepreneur and Methodist pastor.