About the Beacon

The Bucks County Beacon is an independent media outlet that offers news, analysis, and opinion from a progressive perspective. We also report the stories that other local media outlets can’t or don’t cover, especially the growing threat of right-wing extremism to our schools, government, and democracy. Local media in Bucks County has been decimated over the past decade by corporate layoffs and the Beacon is working to fill the information gap. We publish writers and activists who may be your neighbors in Bucks County, or who are reporting and organizing across Pennsylvania for a progressive future.

We are a reader-supported, popular, and participatory media outlet that acts as a catalyst for community organizing and action, and progressive change. To be part of this progressive movement media, contact Editor Cyril Mychalejko at cmychalejko@gmail.com. Sign up for our weekly newsletter, and follow us on Twitter and Facebook to read and share all of our stories.

Staff

Emily Smith | owner & publisher

Emily Smith is the Owner & Publisher of the Bucks County Beacon. She is a seasoned design professional with nearly a decade of experience in strategic communications. Emily has spent nearly two decades working with startups and small businesses. Beyond her design chops, Emily is a creative problem solver, and business strategist. She has also owned her own graphic design firm since 2003, working with nearly every imaginable client including small businesses, giant corporations, non-profits, and community organizations.

Cyril Mychalejko | Editor in Chief

Cyril Mychalejko is the Editor-in-Chief of the Bucks County Beacon.  He has over two decades of journalistic experience. His work has appeared in The Bucks County Courier Times, The Intelligencer, Upside Down World, Common Dreams, TruthOut, and other publications. Read his columns on Sundays and follow him on Twitter.

Virginia Flanagan | Executive Assistant

Virginia Flanagan (they/them)is the Executive Assistant at the Bucks County Beacon, bringing with them over a decade of experience in project and program management. Virginia’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion drives everything they do, from strategizing impactful social media campaigns to leading initiatives that uplift marginalized communities. Whether advocating for the disabilities community or supporting LGBTQIA+ rights, they are committed to making a positive impact.

Key contributors

Jenny Cohn 300x300 1 - Bucks County Beacon - About Us

Jennifer Cohn

Jennifer Cohn is an attorney, election integrity advocate, and political writer whose articles have appeared in the New York Review of Books, Who What Why, The Independent, TYT Investigates, The Brad Blog, and Salon. You can follow her on Twitter at @jennycohn1.

silhouette of a beautiful girl confidently looking forward, a young woman's head with a curl on a white isolated background

Jenny Stephens

Jenny Stephens is a freelance journalist who has written for a variety of publications, including The Reporter. An avid collector of all things vintage, she resides in Lansdale, PA.

kierstyn zolfo

Kierstyn Zolfo

Kierstyn Zolfo is a volunteer organizer with Indivisible Bucks County and Pennsylvania Indivisible. She and her husband live in Newtown Township.

mollyparzen - Bucks County Beacon - About Us

Molly Parzen

Molly Parzen is Executive Director of Conservation Voters of Pennsylvania, a statewide environmental advocacy group.

kadida kenner - Bucks County Beacon - About Us

Kadida Kenner

Kadida Kenner is the CEO of the New Pennsylvania Project, a statewide voting rights organization with a primary focus on voter registration, civic engagement and mobilization, and co-chair of Why Courts Matter — Pennsylvania, a campaign educating Pennsylvanians about the importance of the independence of both the federal and state courts. She writes from Chester County. She writes from Chester County.

More Contributors

Jenny Brown is an assistant editor at Labor Notes.
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Dr. William Horne is a teacher, writer, speaker, editor, and historian of racial capitalism and Black liberation. He is the co-founder and editor of The Activist History Review and a…
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David Iskra is a Bucks County native who has been producing live events globally for over 2 decades. He has worked in both, film and television and his photography has…
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Jen Moore is an associate fellow of the Institute for Policy Studies. Karen Spring is the Tegucigalpa-based co-coordinator for the Honduras Solidarity Network. They are coauthors of the new report…
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Caroline Craig is a writer from Bucks County covering the Council Rock School District and Bucks County Government beats for the Beacon. She received her Bachelor of Arts in journalism…
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Mel Lee is an immigrant community leader and a member of the Pennsylvania Immigration Coalition. Mel is the executive director of the Woori Center, an Asian American nonprofit organization based…
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Colin Coyle is a former Supervisor of Lower Makefield Township, where he and his wife both grew up and are now raising their own family of three very loud girls…
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Blair Haney grew up in Newtown and Holland, Bucks County, graduated from Council Rock, and now resides in New England where he attended college. Blair is an avid outdoorsman, public…
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Nada Hassanein is a health care reporter for Stateline with a focus on inequities.
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The Associated Press is an independent global news organization dedicated to factual reporting.
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Aidan Tyksinki is a recent graduate from La Salle Univeristy in Philadelphia, where he majored in media and journalism and minored in political science. Before writing for the Beacon, he…
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Kiley Bense covers climate change and the environment with a focus on Pennsylvania, politics, energy, and public health. She has reported on the effects of the fracking boom in Pennsylvania,…
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Peter Hall has been a journalist in Pennsylvania and New Jersey for more than 20 years, most recently covering criminal justice and legal affairs for The Morning Call in Allentown.…
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Lela Casey has been writing professionally for over a decade. Her work has included entertainment journalism, scientific articles, and historical profiles. She has spent the last few years dedicated to…
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Erin Flynn Jay is a freelance reporter based in Philadelphia. Recent national writing includes First for Women, Woman's World Magazine, Bar & Restaurant News, and World Tea News.
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Bill Lueders, former editor and now editor-at-large of The Progressive, is a writer in Madison, Wisconsin. He is author of An Enemy of the State, the biography of the late…
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Holly is an award-winning photographer, writer, and design student at Lehigh University. Born and raised in the Pocono Mountains, she is most interested in how visual and written art can…
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Sofia Resnick is a national reproductive rights reporter for States Newsroom, based in Washington, D.C. She has reported on reproductive-health politics and justice issues for more than a decade.
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Edie Weinstein, MSW, LSW is a licensed social worker, psychotherapist, journalist, interfaith minister, speaker and author. She is the co-founder of Bucks County Kind.
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Rob Boston is Senior Adviser at Americans United for Separation of Church and State and Editor of Church & State, AU’s monthly membership magazine. Rob, who has worked at Americans…
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Carter Walker is a reporter for Votebeat in partnership with Spotlight PA. Contact Carter at cwalker@votebeat.org.
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Martha Burk (@MarthaBurk) is the director of the Corporate Accountability Project for the National Council of Women’s Organizations (NCWO).
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Victor M. Verbeke, Esq, was a Souderton Area School Board Director from 2005-2009.
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Mark Wingfield serves as executive director and publisher of Baptist News Global. He is the author of Honestly: Telling the Truth About the Bible and Ourselves and Why Churches Need…
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Megan Thiele Strong is a sociology professor at San Jose State University and a Public Voices Fellow at the The OpEd Project.
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Pat LaMarche is a freelance journalist and author. She lives in central Pennsylvania with her husband. Pat has written nine books on poverty and homelessness.
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Sue Berman Kress is a retired clinical child and adolescent psychologist with degrees from the University of Michigan and Purdue University. A resident of the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh,…
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Sonali Kolhatkar is an award-winning multimedia journalist. She is the founder, host, and executive producer of “Rising Up With Sonali,” a weekly television and radio show that airs on Free…
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Karen Dolan directs the Criminalization of Race and Poverty project at the Institute for Policy Studies.
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Peter Greene is a recently retired classroom secondary English teacher of 39 years. He lives and works in a small town in Northwest Pennsylvania, and blogs at Curmudgucation.
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Laura Rose is a recovering advertising manager and owner of the human i. A Newtown native, she is also an organizer with Indivisible Bucks County. You can read her weekly…
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Julie Hollar is FAIR’s senior analyst and managing editor. Julie has a Ph.D. in Political Science from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York.
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Melissa Ryan is the author of Ctrl Alt-Right Delete, a newsletter devoted to covering the rise of far-right extremism, white nationalism disinformation, and online toxicity, delivered on a weekly basis…
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Dr. Michael D. Gambone is the author of nine books, including most recently Modern Conspiracies in America: Separating Fact from Fiction (2022) and The New Praetorians: Modern American Veterans, Society,…
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Syd Vincent (she/they) grew up in the Pocono Mountains and is an advocate for equality and inclusion in rural spaces. As a writer, she hopes to bring all types of…
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David McCall is the international president of the United Steelworkers Union (USW).
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Steve Nolan spent 30 years in the military and 25 years as a mental health professional. He has published in numerous journals and his poetry was featured on National Public…
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Tabitha Dell'Angelo is a former school board member at Central Bucks School District. She is currently interim Dean of the School of Education and professor at The College of New…
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Sarah Anderson directs the Global Economy Project and co-edits the Inequality.org website at the Institute for Policy Studies. This op-ed was adapted from Inequality.org and distributed for syndication by OtherWords.org.
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Meredith Torres is a resident of Telford, PA and has two children in the Souderton Area School District.
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Maurice T. Cunningham, PhD., J.D., is author of Dark Money and the Politics of School Privatization. He is a retired professor of political science at the University of Massachusetts Boston.
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Annika Brockschmidt is a trained historian, author and freelance journalist. She writes for German and U.S. news outlets like Der Freitag, Religion Dispatches and Zeit Online, hosts multiple podcasts and…
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Ian Wright is a Henry A. Wallace Fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies and a student at Rice University from Dallas, Texas.
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Kevin Hardy covers business, labor and rural issues for Stateline from the Midwest.
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Correspondent Nick Field covers Philadelphia and its suburbs for the Pennsylvania Capital-Star.
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Connor OHanlon, CPA, is host of the Greater Society Podcast, Chair of the Doylestown Democrats, Director of Candidate Development for the Bucks County Democratic Committee, and EMPA Program Representative for…
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Rick Pidcock is a 2004 graduate of Bob Jones University, with a bachelor of arts degree in Bible. He’s a freelance writer based in South Carolina and a former Clemons…
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Susan Harley is the Managing Director of Congress Watch at Public Citizen.
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Aaron Chapin is a Stroudsburg Area middle school teacher and president of the Pennsylvania State Education Association (PSEA). An affiliate of the National Education Association, PSEA represents about 177,000 active…
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Kira is a consultant and textbook author who has been studying Christian Dominionism primarily in Pennsylvania. Kira's research & posts on X have been featured in Bucks County Beacon, Religion…
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Anita Raj is executive director of Tulane University’s Newcomb Institute.
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Jessica Huseman was previously the lead elections reporter for ProPublica, and helped manage the Electionland project for three federal election cycles, sharing information and tips with hundreds of newsrooms across…
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Alliyah Lusuegro is the Outreach Coordinator for the National Priorities Project at the Institute for Policy Studies.
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Steve studied philosophy at the University of Chicago where he developed critical inquiry and writing skills that enriched all his endeavors in life. He moved with his family to Bucks…
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Adam Barrington is a staff member of Railroad Workers United and a national organizer for the Public Rail Ownership Campaign.
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Elizabeth Catte is a writer and public historian living in Virginia. She is the author of What You Are Getting Wrong About Appalachia and Pure America: Eugenics and the Making…
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Barbara Rodriguez is our state politics and voting reporter. She most recently worked at the Des Moines Register, where she covered health care, politics and state government. Before that, Barbara…
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Matt Vasilogambros covers voting rights, gun laws and Western climate policy for Stateline. He lives in San Diego, California. Stateline is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit…
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Ian Karbal covers state government for the Pennsylvania Capital-Star. He's particularly interested in the influence of money in politics and how arcane policies affect Pennsylvanians across the state.
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Jake Bolster is a multimedia journalist who covers climate change, energy, and the natural world across the United States.
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Christopher D. Cook is a senior writer at the New School, contributing writer for The Progressive and an award-winning journalist whose writing has appeared in Harper’s, The Atlantic, The Nation,…
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Carrie Levine is Votebeat’s managing editor and is based in Washington, D.C. She edits and frequently writes Votebeat’s national newsletter. Contact Carrie at clevine@votebeat.org.
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Alexandra Bradbury is the editor of Labor Notes. Follow her on Twitter: @al_bradbury
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Zach D. Roberts is a freelance photojournalist who has covered protest and activism around the country. He covered the 2017 Unite the Right rally and is a Puffin Artist Grant…
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Brett Wilkins is a staff writer for Common Dreams. Follow him on Twitter: @BrettWilkinsSF.
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Garen Meguerian is a civil rights, free speech lawyer, practicing in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
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Georgia Jensen is a Henry Wallace Fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies.
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Lauren Bradley is a mother of three who lives in Bedminster Twp, in Pennridge School District. She is co-founder of Ridge Network, a community group in Pennridge that describes its…
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Earth Quaker Action Team (www.eqat.org) is a grassroots, nonviolent action group including Quakers and people of diverse beliefs, who join with millions of people around the world fighting for a…
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Catherine Caruso is a Pennsylvania-based freelance writer with a focus on culture, politics, education, and LGBTQ rights.
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Ruth Conniff is Editor-in-chief of the Wisconsin Examiner. She formerly served as Editor-in-chief of The Progressive Magazine where she worked for many years from both Madison and Washington, DC. Shortly…
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Mitchell Zimmerman is an attorney, longtime social activist, and author of the anti-racism thriller Mississippi Reckoning.
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Kim Lyons is a veteran western Pennsylvania journalist who has covered people and trends in politics and business for local and national publications. Follow her on Threads @social_kimly
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Bruce Gourley is Editor of Church & State magazine, the monthly member publication of Americans United for Separation of Church and State.
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Jacob Kornbluh is the Forward’s senior political reporter. Follow him on Twitter @jacobkornbluh or email kornbluh@forward.com.
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Patrick Garraud is a transit rider and lifelong resident of Bucks County. He rides the Trenton line and the 14 and 127 most frequently, and is currently the Transit Fellow…
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Kristine Howard is a Democratic member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, representing the 167th legislative district.
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Jeff Brumley is Senior News Writer for Baptist News Global. A veteran newspaper reporter, he lives in Jacksonville, Fla., with his dog, Nosey.
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Amy Knecht is a local writer, activist and student of American history. She occasionally guest hosts Raging Chicken Press's The Friday Show with Kevin Mahoney discussing local school boards and…
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Damon Orion is a writer, journalist, musician, artist, and teacher in Santa Cruz, California. His work has appeared in Revolver, Guitar World, Spirituality + Health, Classic Rock, High Times, and…
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Rudy Burruss is an instructional paraprofessional with the State College Area School District. Since 2021, he has served as president of the Education Support Professionals with the Pennsylvania State Education…
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Rachel Laser is the president and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State.
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Bradley Kirsch, 84, is a retired Executive/Operation Analyst who started his career as a Truck Driver. His political experience includes campaigns in PA and NJ, Elected School Director, Bucks County…
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Longtime senior fellow and acting research director Peter Montgomery has studied the religious right movement and its political allies for more than two decades. He has written extensively about marriage…
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Democratic State Rep. Joe Ciresi serves the 146th Legislative District in Montgomery County.
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Jeff Abbott is an independent journalist currently based out of Guatemala. His work has appeared in The Progressive, NACLA Report on the Americas, Al Jazeera English, and In These Times.…
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Darren Laustsen has lived in Bucks County for over 35 years. He recently became involved in local politics after witnessing extremism creep into his daughters’ school district. Darren is a…
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Jennifer covers the nation’s capital as a senior reporter for States Newsroom. Her coverage areas include congressional policy, politics and legal challenges with a focus on health care, unemployment, housing…
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Abigail Henry is an African American History teacher and adjunct professor in West Philadelphia. She has helped spearhead curriculum development at the School District of Philadelphia, won a Pulitzer Grant…
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Lindsay Owens is the executive director of Groundwork Collaborative.
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Carla Ventura is a mother, founder of the nonprofit Food for All, and an Expert on Poverty with RESULTS from Columbia, South Carolina.
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Yasemin Smallens is a senior coordinator with the LGBTQ+ rights program at Human Rights Watch.
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Steven Rosenfeld is the editor and chief correspondent of Voting Booth, a project of the Independent Media Institute. He has reported for National Public Radio, Marketplace, and Christian Science Monitor…
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John Cole is a journalist based in Philadelphia. He's worked for various outlets such as The Northeast Times, PoliticsPA, and PCN. In these previous roles, he covered a wide range…
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Suhanee Mitragotri is a student at Harvard University and a passionate advocate for youth empowerment and education.
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A retired public defender, Roy Zipris has been a resident, variously, of Bucks, Philadelphia and Montgomery Counties since 1980. For many years, he was the coordinator of the Legal Defense…
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Logan M. Davis is a progressive researcher and writer based in Denver, specializing in the threat posed by right-wing extremism. He is also a political communications consultant. He is a…
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Tiffany Tagbo is a mother of two from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and an Expert on Poverty with RESULTS.
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Russell Armstrong is the Senior Director of Campaigns and Advocacy at Hip Hop Caucus. He is a graduate of American University Washington College of Law, Loyola University Chicago and the…
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Omar Ocampo is a researcher for the Program on Inequality and the Common Good at the Institute for Policy Studies.
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Coleman Poses is the chair of Blue Pennsylvania – a committee of Philly Neighborhood Networks.
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Chris Mills Rodrigo is the managing editor of Inequality.org.
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Sara Youngblood Gregory is a lesbian journalist and author of The Polyamory Workbook. Sara is a former staff writer for POPSUGAR and was the 2023 News and Narrative Fellow for…
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John Thompson is an award-winning historian and retired Oklahoma City teacher; author of A Teacher’s Tale: Learning, Loving, and Listening to Our Kids.
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Susan Spicka is executive director of Education Voters of Pennsylvania, a non-partisan organization established to promote a pro-public education agenda with elected leaders, legislators and the public of Pennsylvania.
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Eileen Flanagan is an award-winning author and Quaker climate activist. In her former role as co-director of Earth Quaker Action Team, she helped to launch the global campaign against Vanguard.
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David Badash is the founder and editor of The New Civil Rights Movement, a news and opinion site focused on progressive news, politics, and LGBT civil rights. Founded in 2008,…
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Zackari Bourgeois is a Graduate student from the Department of Theological Studies at Concordia University in Montréal, Quebec. His main areas of interest are political theology, postmodern theology, discourse analysis…
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Shauna Taradash is a Public Voices fellow of The OpEd Project and The National Black Child Development Institute. She holds an M.A. from Stanford University in Psychology with a focus…
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Jacqueline White is a consultant on how to stabilize chosen family hosting arrangements to prevent youth homelessness. She lives in Minneapolis.
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Svante Myrick is the president of People for the American Way and a former mayor of Ithaca, New York.
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Hank Kennedy is a Detroit area educator, socialist, and longtime comic book fan.
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David Rosen is the author of six nonfiction books, as well as numerous scholarly studies, popular pieces and book reviews on media-tech, politics, sexuality and American life. For more information,…
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LeeAnn Hall is the executive director of Just Strategy.
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Bill Firestone is a retired professor of education at the Rutgers Graduate School of Education in New Brunswick, NJ. A longtime Bucks County resident, he is active in the Lower…
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Eden MacDougall is a freelance journalist and Temple University alum. He also covers education for Billy Penn.
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Dedrick Asante-Muhammad is the chief of Race, Wealth, and Community at the National Community Reinvestment Coalition. Chuck Collins directs the Program on Inequality and co-edits Inequaity.org at the Institute for…
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Josh Cowen is a professor of education policy at Michigan State University. He has been studying vouchers and other school choice initiatives since 2005.
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Dale Mezzacappa is a senior writer for Chalkbeat Philadelphia, where she covers K-12 schools and early childhood education in Philadelphia. Contact Dale at dmezzacappa@chalkbeat.org.
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Rann Miller is an educator and freelance writer based in New Jersey. His Urban Education Mixtape blog supports urban educators and parents of children attending urban schools. He is the…
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Rick Perlstein, , an In These Times board member, is the author of Reaganland: America’s Right Turn, 1976-1980 (2020), The Invisible Bridge: The Fall of Nixon and the Rise of…
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Shailly Gupta Barnes is the policy and research director for the Kairos Center for Religions, Rights, and Social Justice.
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Kazmyn Ramos is a Program Manager for an NGO that delivers cash to people in poverty, founder of the affordable housing nonprofit Seeking 1610, and a Poverty Expert at RESULTS.…
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Kevin E. Leven is co-leader of the Bucks County Anti-Racism Coalition, A 501(c)(3) nonprofit charity organization dedicated to educating, informing, and taking action on matters of racial justice.
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Glenn Daigon is a Washington, D.C.-based reporter. He has worked in the labor movement for over twenty-four years as an opposition researcher and is a graduate of Oberlin College. Glenn’s…
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Raegan McDonald-Mosley, MD, MPH, is the CEO of Power to Decide. Dr. McDonald-Mosley is a board-certified Obstetrician-Gynecologist with a background in women’s reproductive, public and global health.
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Lina Blount is the Director of Strategy and Partnerships at Earth Quaker Action Team, a grassroots group including Quakers and people of diverse beliefs who use nonviolent direct action to…
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Ian Donley is a writer based in Southern California who specializes in sexuality and identity.
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Cheyenne Garcia is a senior research data analyst and a Public Voices Fellow of The OpEd Project in partnership with the University of California- San Francisco Benioff Homelessness and Housing…
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Bucks County’s Alisa Shargorodsky is the principal of ECHO Systems (www.ourechosystem.com), an S Corporation & Non-profit whose focus is the design and implementation of reuse models that drastically reduce single-use…
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Dr. Alison Dagnes is a Professor of Political Science at Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania. She is the author of "Super Mad at Everything All the Time: Political Media and Our…
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Rahna Epting is the Executive Director of MoveOn.org.
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Bill Leonard is founding dean and the James and Marilyn Dunn professor of Baptist studies and church history emeritus at Wake Forest University School of Divinity in Winston-Salem, N.C. He…
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David O'Donnell recently ran for School Board Director in Pennridge SD. He has been a manager in Retail and Hospitality for over 20 years. He works within the community through…
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Alexandra Filindra is an associate professor of political science and psychology at the University of Illinois Chicago, a Public Voices Fellow through The OpEd Project and the author of Race,…
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Heather, her husband Gerard, and their two children love living in Buckingham, serving and enriching the community of which they're proud to be a part. Her boys are students in…
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Dan Wood is a long time Doylestown resident and a graduate from Central Bucks and Penn State University. Dan is currently serving his community as an elected township supervisor.
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Tracy Carluccio is Deputy Director of the Delaware Riverkeeper Network (DRN), where she works as an environmental advocate since 1989, working throughout the Delaware River Watershed in New Jersey, Pennsylvania,…
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Donna Provencher (Christendom College, class of 2006) is a freelance journalist in San Antonio, Texas. Bridget Randolph (Christendom College, class of 2009) is a freelance writer and consultant in Brooklyn,…
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Denise Kohr is a Carlisle, Pennsylvania-based Amazon associate and leader with the nonprofit workers rights organization United for Respect.
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Ava Lobach is a Community Media Intern at Raging Chicken Media. Ava is especially passionate about LGBTQ rights and environmental justice.
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Stephanie Frank is the Chief of Staff for the New Pennsylvania Project, a voting rights organization that centers communities of color, immigrant communities, and the youth in their work. Stephanie…
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Barbara Simmons retired after serving as executive director of The Peace Center for over thirty years, a peace and justice organization in Bucks County. Simmons spent 20 years as an…
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Jonathan Sharp is Chief Financial Officer at Environmental Litigation Group, P.C. Headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, the law firm provides assistance to veterans affected by toxic exposure at military bases nationwide.…
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Lynne Iser is President of Elders Action Network, and directs their Fix My Funds campaign as they works to build a movement of elders addressing the critical issues of our…
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Khalif Ali is the Director of the New Pennsylvania Project. A Pittsburgh resident with a background in community organizing/engagement and public policy, Khalif has been working closely with community-based organizations,…
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Doreen Stratton is a Doylestown, third generation African American who along with her sister, resides in the same family home where their Grandparents had settled in 1887. Her blog, THE…
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Jacob Goodwin is a sixth grade social studies teacher and the 2021 New Hampshire History Teacher of the Year.
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Ben Hodge is the founder and faculty advisor of the Panther Anti-Racist Union. A 20-year veteran of the classroom, he teaches Acting classes at Central York High School and serves…
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Jake Whitney is a journalist based in New York. In addition to The Progressive, his work has appeared in The New Republic, The Daily Beast, the San Francisco Chronicle, and…
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Rick Haring is running for Central Bucks School Board in Region 6 as part of the CBSD Neighbors United slate.
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Eleni Schirmer is a writer, educator, and organizer, currently living in Montréal. Her writings have appeared in the New Yorker, the New York Times, the Nation, Boston Review, Rethinking Schools,…
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Linnea Hjelm is a PhD candidate at the University of Wisconsin School of Human Ecology. She has worked in violence prevention in high schools, colleges, and nonprofit organizations with youth…
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Thom Hartmann is America’s number one progressive talk-show host and the New York Times bestselling author of The Hidden History of American Healthcare and more than 30 other books in…
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Robert P. Jones serves as president and founder of PRRI and is the author of The Hidden Roots of White Supremacy and the Path to a Shared American Future and…
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Kassidy Jacobs is a Next Leader at the Institute for Policy Studies.
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Linda Wiggins-Chavis is a research and policy coordinator with Faith in Florida.
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Rev. Graylan Scott Hagler is Senior Advisor at Fellowship of Reconciliation and pastor emeritus at Plymouth United Church of Christ, in Washington, D.C.
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Maya K. van Rossum is the Delaware Riverkeeper and 30-year leader of the regional Delaware Riverkeeper Network. She is founder of the national Green Amendments For The Generations movement and…
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Bucks County’s James Fine is a former Quaker International Affairs Representative and humanitarian worker and lobbyist with the Friends Committee on National Legislation.
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Rev. John Backe is a Lutheran pastor living in New York City. A member of FOR-USA’s National Council from 2019-22 (as well as decades past), John is a regular volunteer…
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David Shih (@professorshih) is a professor of English at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, The New Republic, Slate, Inside Higher Ed,…
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Tom Conway is the international president of the United Steelworkers Union (USW).
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Hans Peters has lived in Bucks County most of his life. Notwithstanding a stint in the Army during the Vietnam era, he has long been a member of Southampton Friends…
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Anusha Viswanathan is a parent in the Central Bucks School district. Her love for books began in the fourth grade, when she was the “new kid” in a new country.…
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Rachel Fitzpatrick and Jessica Dziobecki (pronouns she/her/hers) are PFLAG Bucks County leaders.
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Leo Burchell is a student at Central Bucks High School West with a passion for activism and writing. Leo leads the Sexuality and Gender Alliance at West and also contributes…
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Jay Arzu is a Ph.D. student in City and Regional Planning at the University of Pennsylvania Stuart Weitzman School of Design and the chief marketing officer at Collective Form, interactive…
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Lydia Joy Launderville is a writer, copywriter, ghostwriter, editor and reading interventionist in Norfolk, Va., who covers an array of topics with a special focus on religious abuse and trauma…
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Carol Burris is the Executive Director of the Network for Public Education.
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Kimi Waite, Ph.D., is yonsei/fourth-generation Japanese American and the 2021 California Council for the Social Studies Outstanding Elementary Social Studies Teacher of the Year. Her writing has appeared in The…
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Martin J. Raffel, resident of Langhorne, is on the board of Democratic Jewish Outreach Pennsylvania. Before his retirement in 2014, he served as senior vice president at the Jewish Council…
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Daniel Parker (he/they) is a writer, adjunct lecturer, and community organizer living and working in the Philadelphia area.
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Alexandra Coffey is an activist and organizer with both Bucks Liberation Coalition and Youth4Unity. She is a rising junior at CB West.
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Ray Bailey is a multidisciplinary artist, activist and teacher from Philadelphia.
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Zoya Teirstein is a journalist covering climate change for Grist. Follow her on Twitter @zteirstein.
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David I. Backer is an associate professor of education policy at West Chester University. His research and organizing focus on ideology, school finance, and facilities. He tweets at @schooldaves.
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Mark Pinsley has over 25 years of professional experience in innovation and marketing. Pinsley is the Controller of Lehigh County and a small business owner. He has his MBA from…
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Ariel Gold is the executive director of the Fellowship of Reconciliation. She was the national co-director of the antiwar group CODEPINK, where she specialized in campaigns for Palestinian rights. She…
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Ron Wurz is a Pennridge School Board Director.
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Cassie Miller is a Senior Research Analyst at the Southern Poverty Law Center.
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Mindy Freeman (she/her) is a resident of Buckingham Township which is located in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, an hour north of Philadelphia. She graduated from Pennsylvania State University in 1994 with…
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Dr. Christopher Harris is a school district library director in western New York and a senior fellow in the American Library Association’s Public Policy and Advocacy Office.
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Nijmie Dzurinko is co-founder and co-coordinator of Put People First PA! and a member of Poor People’s Campaign: A Call for Moral Revival.
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Sean Kitchen is a researcher and writer who's been working in Harrisburg for the previous 8 years.
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A 3-decade veteran of the news business, John L. Micek is the Pennsylvania Capital-Star's Editor-in-Chief. An award-winning political reporter, Micek’s career has taken him from small town meetings and Chicago…
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Nick Marcil is a member of the Pennsylvania Cancel Lunch Debt Coalition and is a Debt Collective (@StrikeDebt) organizer.
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V. Jo Hsu is an assistant professor of rhetoric & writing at the University of Texas at Austin, a Public Voices Fellow of the Op-Ed Project, and the author of…
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Laura Ellis serves as project manager for Baptist Women in Ministry. She is a former Clemons Fellow with Baptist News Global and earned a master of divinity degree from Boston…
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Emily French is a resident of Bucks County and has worked in the fields of community based Youth Drug & Alcohol prevention. She currently works to educate students throughout Bucks…
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Amy Covill is a recently retired Psychology professor and has been an EQAT volunteer for 3 years.
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Domenica Ghanem is the Director of Public Relations at Community Change.
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LT Talarico is a public dental hygienist, a leader with Put People First! PA and the Nonviolent Medicaid Army, and a member of the Pennsylvania chapter of the Poor People’s…
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Rebekah Entralgo is the managing editor of Inequality.org at the Institute for Policy Studies.
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Sandra Jones served as an investigative reporter for nearly two decades. She has received numerous awards for her broadcast reporting.
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Chuck Collins is author of The Wealth Hoarders: How Billionaires Pay Millions to Hide Trillions. He directs the Program on Inequality at the Institute for Policy Studies where he co-edits…
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Tracey L. Rogers is an entrepreneur and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion consultant in Philadelphia.
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Kevin Crawford is a professional photographer in Bucks County. Find out more about his work at Kevin Crawford Imagery https://www.kevincrawfordimagery.com/ and follow him on Instagram @YouBetKev.
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The Reverend Dr. Liz Theoharis is Co- Chair of the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival with the Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II. She is the…
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Eve Gutman is the Media and Research Coordinator at Earth Quaker Action Team, which is a member of the VanguardS.O.S. campaign.
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Stephanie Barnett Jamison is a social worker, community organizer and mom who lives in Souderton with her family.
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Ellen Glover is the Drug Policy, Harm Reduction, and Criminal Justice Campaign Director at People’s Action.
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Alexa Offenhauer is an Assistant Professor of English at Raritan Valley Community College, and in 2021 earned a Ph.D. in English Education from Columbia University, Teachers College. She is a…
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Lindsey Mauldin is Vice President of Public Policy and Advocacy at Planned Parenthood Southeastern Pennsylvania.
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Jessica Klemens is an OB-GYN physician serving patients across Bucks County and Southeastern Pennsylvania.
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Julie Wertheimer lives in Center City with her husband. She can often be found at Citizens Bank Park.
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Debbie Wachspress served as a Pennsbury School Board Director from 2013-2021. She was also a former Democratic congressional candidate.
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Robin Reid is a senior at Pennridge High School. You’ll often find her volunteering at local events. She’s a passionate advocate for all students, and is looking forward to learning…
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Kevin Mahoney is a professor at Kutztown University. He is also founder and editor of Bucks County’s progressive Raging Chicken Media podcast.
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Concerned resident from Bucks County, PA
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Sarah Zhang (she/they) is a 2021 CB East graduate and rising sophomore at UNC-Chapel Hill studying computer science, political science, and data science. She is currently the field organizer for…
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Luisa Marcela Ossa is a humanities professor in the Philadelphia region.
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Christina Lengyel is a freelance writer and editor. She is passionate about service and community.
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Devyn Costello-Henderson is a 19-year-old activist who has been organizing for the pro-choice movement in Bucks County, Philadelphia, New York City, and Washington D.C. She is currently studying classical vocal…
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Kelly DeJong was born and raised in central Bucks County PA. She is a graduate from Carnegie Mellon University. Today, she is raising her daughters and beloved pets with her…
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Lily Freeman (She/Her) is a female of Trans experience and Jewish Activist located in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. As a Central Bucks student, she strives to help in school districts as…
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Kyle Esposito is a Democratic Committeeperson in East Rockhill Township.
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Jazmin Kreimer is the grant partnerships associate at More in Common and an attorney, who is passionate about civil rights and human rights issues.
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Leon Mopecha is a nonbinary Cameroonian that lives and works in Philadelphia. They are an active linguist and documentarian who focuses on immigrant and queer people of color experiences. Leon…
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Natalie Cimonetti is a resident of Telford, PA, in the Souderton Area School District, where she has lived with her husband and children since 2013.
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Howard Zinn was a historian, author, professor, playwright, and activist. His life’s work focused on a wide range of issues including race, class, war, and history, and touched the lives…
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Melissa del Bosque is co-founder of The Border Chronicle, a weekly Substack newsletter that publishes original, on-the-ground reporting, analysis, and commentary. She has written about the U.S.-Mexico border since 1998…
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Rethinking Schools is the country's leading grassroots magazine for social and racial justice in education.
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Conservation Voters of PA is the statewide political voice for the environment. We elect environmentally responsible candidates to state and local offices, advocate for strong environmental policies, and hold our…
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Christina Ellis is a 17 year old African-Caribbean American highschool senior and activist. She is the Vice-President of a club called the Panther Anti-Racist Union, better known as PARU. Christina…
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Samantha Hull is a parent of two young children and board director for the Pennsylvania School Librarians Association. She is also a high school librarian and district supervisor. Her work…
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A former editor and reporter at The New York Times, Linda Lee has written seven books, and started a magazine about real estate and design in Miami. While her interest…
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Freda Savana is a veteran reporter and editor in Bucks County.
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