PROGRAM

2016 AVP/USA National Gathering

Denver, CO

May 27 - May 30, 2016

 

Program Description

 
 

 

THURSDAYMAY 27, 2016

 
AVP/USA Planning Session  - Join us in a discussion about how to move our organization forward to be more inclusive and responsive to the needs of local groups.  Dawn Addy, President of AVP/USA will lead a discussion on AVP's involvement in prisons, communities and schools and will explore what the greatest barriers are for each.  Everyone is invited and encouraged to attend.
 
 

FRIDAYMAY 28, 2016

 
AVP Inside Out  at Denver Women's Correctional Facility
3600 Havana St., Denver CO  80239
Join the active group of inside AVP facilitators at Denver Women's Correctional Facility will present this workshop.  This is their way of participating in the AVP/USA gathering and connecting with outside AVP facilitators throughout the country.  Some of the topics will be: building strong inside and outside facilitation teams, sharing stories of Transforming Power, exploring similarities and differences between the inside and outside.  Registration will require Guest Clearances that will need to be submitted by April 22, 2016. 
 
Friday Evening Opening Session
  • Join us in the opening gathering to meet and greet  AVP facilitators from far and wide. 
  • Enjoy the first evening of showcasing the work of imprisoned artists from around the nation.  Friday evening will celebrate the release of "Captured Words/Free Thoughts" and a presentation by the Lyrical Vagabonds.
 
SATURDAY MAY 24, 2016
 

Morning Plenary Keynote Talk

Featured speaker, Lisa Calderon, the director of the Community Re-Entry Project, an initiative of the City of Denver's Crime Prevention and Control Commission, will speak to the theme of the conference, " Envisioning Alternatives to Violence - From Retribution to Restoration."  Lisa holds a Master's degree, law degree, and is currently working on her doctorate in education.  As an active community member, she is involved with several community-based initiatives including her role as Co-Chair of the Colorado Latino Forum Denver Chapter which helps create more opportunities for marginalized women, low-income communities, youth of color, and justice system involved persons
 
Morning Plenary Panel Discussion
Lisa will join Christie Donner, State Representative Pete Lee and Lynn Lee in a panel discussion on their visions for criminal justice reform n America, moderated by Jeff London, professor of Criminal Justice and Criminology at Metropolitan State University in Denver. 
  • Christie Donner is Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition's (CCJRC) Executive Director and founder.  She has over fifteen years of experience in working in criminal justice reform advocacy, community organizing, policy research and lobbying.  Christie co-authored Parenting from Prison: A Resource Guide for Incarcerated Parents in Colorado.  She is also the co-author of CCJRC's publication Getting on After Getting Out:  A Re-Entry Guide for Colorado.
 
  • Pete Lee is the State Representative for Colorado House District 18.  He has been a lawyer, a small business owner, and an executive at a NYSE listed corporation.  He has sponsored legislation to transform our criminal justice system from one of retribution to one of restoration and rehabilitation.
 
  • Lynn Lee has a passion for restorative justice that has led her to the Chair position of the Pikes Peak Restorative Justice Council where she received the John Gallagher Restorative Justice Volunteer of the Year Award because of her work as a trained facilitator of the victim offender conferences, for the Manitou Springs Restorative Justice Council and the Youth Transformation Center.
 
 Saturday Afternoon Breakout Sessions:
  • Restorative Justice - Lynn and Paul Lee
  • AVP and the Brain - Nancy Shippen and John Shuford 
  • Compassionate Listening - Julia Halaby
  • Starting in a New Community:  Changing Face of AVP - Irene Serrano, Justin Lin, J.P. Herrado
  • Ouch! Micro Aggressions Hurt as Bad as Getting Hit - Myron Anderson, Kathryn Young
Saturday Afternoon AVP/USA Committee Meetings:
  • Education
  • Research
  • Public Relations
  • CLARG - Committee of Local and Regional Groups
  • AVP/USA for Newbies
Sunday Morning Breakout Sessions
  • Gender Equity and Reconciliation - Shell Goldman
  • Pathways to Restoration:  How Might I Help You in Reentry? - Alfonso Simmons
  • Talking about Racism - Bruce Thron-Weber
  • Role Playing Sensitive Issues - Mark K Thomas
  • Adding Reflection into Workshops - Nancy Shippen
  • Peace Fellows Panel (Youth Initiative) - Martin Krafft moderator
  • Uncovering the Power of the "I" Statement - Lynn Huber, Christine Dianni
  • Domestic Violence and AVP, Part 1- Joyce Victor, Emilio Reyna
  • Mindfulness - Definition, Exercises, and Application - Ed Ladon, Margaret Vrana
  • Move Your Council from Lone Ranger to Power Rangers - Pat Hardy, Michele Hanson
Sunday Afternoon Breakout Sessions
  • Countering Violent Extremism - the Role of AVP - Maji Peterx
  • The Art of Facilitation:  Dealing with Difficult Behaviors - Sunny Walker
  • Domestic Violence and AVP, Part 2 - Joyce Victor, Emilio Reyna
  • What? Raise Money for AVP? - Pat Hardy, J.P. Herada
  • When Freedom Isn't Enough, Connecting with AVP after Release - Ann Boone, Jeff Rerrotte
Sunday Afternoon AVP/USA Committee Meetings:
  • Communication
  • Youth
  • History
  • Finance
  • Conference
AVP/USA Annual Business Meeting

Monday Morning Breakout Sessions

  • The Next Generation in AVP: Changing Faces of AVP - AVP California
  • Setting Boundaries when Working in Prisons and Schools - Dawn Addy
  • Aiki AVP Mini Workshop: Reintroducing "AVP Somatics" - Bill Leicht
  • AVP New Mexico Rocks! Bright New Exercises and Brightening Old Ones - Joyce Victor, Margaret Willen
  • Building a Better Basic - Marge Schlitt
  • Sharing Best Practices in Technology for AVP - Martin Krafft
  • Beyond the 3 Workshops: Support, Refreshers, and Supplements - Valentine Doyle

Meet the AVP Peace Fellows 

Meet the first AVP/USA Peace Fellows, a program to uplift youth from around the country who are working to build peace in their communities.  Hear from this young diverse team of AVP facilitators as they put their ideas into action from the local to national scale.
 
  • Gracious Grace has facilitated workshops with various communities including refugee youth, incarcerated women, and the Non-Violent Communication group. "AVP taught me to communicate in situations of conflict that engage the other person with honesty and without violence.

  • Mischievous Mahal became involved in the Alternatives to Violence Project at Carleton College where she became the program director. She then returned to her hometown, Memphis, TN where she now serves as the Community Action Coordinator at BRIDGES, a non-profit aimed at youth-led social change. Coordinating a group of 30 youth organizers, Mahal works on juvenile justice reform.

  •  Quality Quan was recently paroled from Solano State Prison, where he began his AVP journey of transformation. Today he resides in Anaheim, California and enjoys playing guitar, snowboarding, journaling, and creative writing. He believes he can sow seeds of love and light to sprout wherever he walks.

  • Journeying Justin is an outreach coordinator with the AVP/CA Innovative Grants team. In 2013 he was drawn to AVP in a quest for personal healing and now works to develop and implement new strategies to create diverse and sustainable local councils in Northern California.

  •  Mosaic Meg is currently channeling her endless curiosity into adventures in teaching elementary school students creative expression, spending time with thirteen housemates in an international community that houses refugee/asylum seekers, and investing in anti-racist work in Baltimore city where she's lived for the past three years.

  •  Kinesthetic Kelsey graduated from Guilford College with a dual major in Peace and Conflict Studies & Sociology/Anthropology, and a minor in Community Studies. She worked on the U.S./Mexico border as a humanitarian aid presence for people in migration before moving to Atlanta, GA to live in intentional community as a part of Quaker Voluntary Service. In Atlanta she has been facilitating a broad range of community conversations for the past three years and has just entered a residency where her focus will be on developing AVP in Atlanta.