Social Justice

Coordinator and founder of HOPE Congo, Paul Gatanga  is joined by Cleophace Mukeba, Activist, speaking on the continuing question fo peace in the Great Lakes Region of Africa.  Part of 'Congo Week'.

Panelists: Tom Torti, President of the Lake Champlain Regional Chamber of Commerce, who served 16 years for two governors of different political parties, as Commissioner of Personnel; Commissioner of Buildings and General Services; Deputy Secretary of the Agency of Administration, and Secretary of the Agency of Natural Resources. A member of the COTS board, Mr. Torti received national recognition for his development of intervention strategies for cases of child abuse and neglect. Frank Cioffi, past president of Vermont Association of Realtors, Commissioner of the Vermont Department of Economic Development in Gov. Howard Dean’s administration, now President of Greater Burlington Industrial Corp. (GBIC) & Cynosure, the Regional Economic Development Corporation for Chittenden County. Rosanne Greco, South Burlington City Council Chairwoman, retired Air Force Colonel, with over 35 years of experience. Col. Greco specialized in strategic intelligence and arms control, and was a delegate for the U.S. to four international arms control negotiations

Part of Burlington College's Institute for Civic Engagement speaker series. As an author and professor John Collins' work focuses on themes of globalization, nationalism, colonialism, violence, memory, political activism, and media criticism. John Collins is professor and chair of global studies at St. Lawrence University in New York. He is the author of Occupied By Memory: The Intifada Generation and The Palestinian State of Emergency and is co-editor, with Ross Glover, of Collateral Language: A User's Guide to America's New War. His articles and reviews have appeared in the Journal of Palestine Studies, Social Text, Globalization, and Middle East Report, among other publications. He holds a Ph.D. in comparative studies in discourse and society from the University of Minnesota, where he was a MacArthur Scholar.

After serving 20 years in the Navy, Commander Leah Bolger retired and became the first female president of Veterans for Peace.  Her talk is part of the Burlington Peace and Justice Center's Cost of War series and is co-sponsored by the Will Miller Social Justice Lecture Series and the Saint Michael's Peace and Justice Club, Harris and Frances Block Foundation, Will Miller Green Mountain Veterans for Peace, and Women's International League for Peace and Freedom.