Taking action to build agency and belonging among high school students who want to make an impact in their communities
Community Organizing with Intentionality, presented with Laura Baeza
Everyone can be an organizer, but a great organizer is conscious of identity and intentional with every choice they make – and great organizers make stronger and more sustainable movements. In this workshop, we will reflect on what can be learned from great youth organizers and activists who preceded us. We will also discuss some basic principles and practices to go forth organizing to effect change with greater intentionality. Whether you have organizing experience or not, you are welcome to join us!
GAIA CROSTON
Gaia Croston (she/her/hers) grew up in San Diego, and has been organizing since high school in support of youth civic engagement, access to medicine, LGBTQIA+ rights and wellbeing, the election of progressive candidates to office, and the furtherance of civil rights and civil liberties. She has been a proud member of the She Fest San Diego planning committee since 2017. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography and Sociology from the University of Edinburgh.
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She is also the Digital Organizer at the ACLU of San Diego & Imperial Counties, and joined the staff in March 2017. In her role at the ACLU, she develops and implements strategies so that effective and impactful communications, data management, and digital organizing help us to empower leaders and achieve advocacy wins throughout the region. She aspires towards greatness motivated by the loved ones and organizers whose shoulders she stands on, and whose experiences inform the interconnecting movements she holds dear.