Aloha Everyone:
First, as our nation continues to experience a serious economic crisis that is adversely impacting the lives of millions of people, I want to express my hope that you and your loved ones are well.
Second, I want to announce the theme for CSJ this year is: “Continuing Our Commitment for Change: Transforming Our Profession, Schools, Universities, and Communities.” With this theme in mind, I will report on those organizational efforts that CSJ is undertaking that support our commitment to promote changes within CSJ and our profession as well as within the schools, universities, and communities where we live and work; changes that are aimed at fostering a greater level of democracy, justice, peace, and mental health in our world.
However, before summarizing the many exciting projects currently underway in CSJ, I want to state the obvious. It is not possible to accomplish all of the tasks and responsibilities associated with the projects our organization is undertaking by having only a few CSJ members involved in these efforts. In fact, the success of CSJ and the projects we are sponsoring require the help of many members of our CSJ family. To all of the persons who have volunteered to support CSJ with the following projects, I thank you all. I also want to invite the other members of our professional family, who want to become more involved in CSJ, to contact me or other members of the CSJ Board of Directors whose names and email addresses are provided as the end of this message.
Continuing Our Communications with Our Membership – The Activist
The co-editors of the CSJ newsletter, The Activist, have been busy planning for the publication of this issue as well as soliciting articles for the next publication which will be available prior to the annual American Counseling Association’s conference in March 2010. Serving as the co- editors for The Activist, Rhonda Bryant and Beth Durodoye, have done a wonderful job preparing this newsletter and inviting members of our professional family to submit articles that describe their work endeavors and personal experiences as social justice counselors and advocates for the next issue of our newsletter. I hope many of you will answer the call for articles and announcements that Rhonda and Beth can share with our membership in the upcoming issue of The Activist.
Supporting the CSJ Journal – The Journal for Social Action in Counseling and Psychology
You may or may not know that CSJ co-sponsors the Journal for Social Action in Counseling and Psychology with an organization called “Psychologists for Social Responsibility;” an affiliate group with the American Psychological Association. Drs. Rebecca Toporek and Tod Sloan are the co-editors of this peer-reviewed, electronic journal. Rebecca and Tod have done a masterful job reviewing, editing, and publishing a number of issues of this on-line journal. This provides an opportunity for counselors, psychologists, and other mental health professionals world-wide the opportunity to access scholarly publications related to various social justice counseling and advocacy topics. I hope all the members of CSJ will consider helping to expand the existing knowledge-base in social justice counseling and advocacy by submitting articles to the co-editors of the journal in the coming year. A special “mahalo” (the Hawaiian word for “thanks”) goes out to Dr. Toporek and Dr. Sloan for their on-going dedication to serving as the co-editors of this important professional resource and for reviewing future submissions from CSJ members and our allies in the field. You can access our journal by going to the flowing site:
http://www.psysr.org/jsacp/social-action-authors.html
The 2009-2010 CSJ Membership Campaign
CSJ has recently implemented a change in policy related to the cost of becoming a member of our organization. Although CSJ encourages all of our members to join the American Counseling Association (ACA), we have implemented a new membership policy that provides individuals an opportunity to become a member of CSJ without being required to also join ACA. This new policy includes reduced rates for students, new professionals, and retired persons; all of whom can now become CSJ members for $30.00 per year. Professional and Regular membership to CSJ is now $45.00 per year.
This year’s CSJ Membership committee has initiated an ambitious membership campaign to double the membership of CSJ over the next several months. We not only appreciate the work Dr. Judy Daniels (the CSJ Membership Committee Chairperson) and the other members of this committee are doing to implement this year’s membership campaign, but want to highlight this important organizational goal by asking you to respond to the following question. “Will you commit yourself to recruiting at least one new member to CSJ in the next 30 days?” A copy of the CSJ membership form is included in this issue of The Advocate to assist you in doing so. Please help us meet our membership goal by recruiting a new CSJ member today!!!!!
Expanding Announcements, Discussions, and Membership on the CSJ List Serve
There has been a significant increase in the number of announcements and discussions on our CSJ List Serve. This has been possible largely through the time and energy that Dr. Edil Torres Rivera continues to invest in managing this organizational resource. In addition to the many important announcements that have been made on the list serve related to a broad range of issues, I greatly appreciate the different views and perspectives CSJ members have and continue to express. I also want to respectfully disagree with those persons who assert that CSJ members should refrain from expressing conflicting views on issues related to social justice in general; disagreements that may be expressed about different CSJ projects or positions our organization takes on various social justices issues as well as articulating differences in our views with other persons in the counseling profession.
The idea that we should avoid expressing conflicting views about these issues is not only counterproductive to the challenges we face in different settings, but is not natural. Conflicts are both an inevitable and natural aspect of life. In making this statement, I want to also add that I encourage members in our association to express conflicting perspectives on any issue in ways fostering productive organizational and professional outcomes that are consistent with principles of justice.
With this in mind, I want to encourage those persons who are uncomfortable with conflict to consider the following points: Positive and productive outcomes that frequently ensue in an atmosphere that embraces people’s freedom of speech and expression cannot occur when individuals are asked to censor the content or style of what they have to say and how they should say it. In fact, the very suggestion that people should not express themselves in vibrant and passionate ways when articulating their disagreement with others is, from my perspective, a fundamental form of social and professional injustice that needs to be addressed in the counseling profession at-large. As persons committed to promoting justice and peace, I hope you will join me in continuing to articulate disagreements within our professional family as well as in the counseling profession, our workplaces, and our communities in an effort to foster changes that advance the principles upon which CSJ is grounded.
Our list serve provides a practical resource that enables us to engage is different, difficult, and conflicting views on any subject related to social justice that our members are interested in discussing. In doing so, we are able to exercise the types of interpersonal skills that are necessary to foster positive conflict resolution by using the technology available to us as well as sharing announcements about social justice projects and related events with the other members of our association.
If you are not yet a member of the CSJ List Serve and would like to join to be kept informed of the various announcements and discussions that are posted on-line, please contact Dr. Torres Rivera at: edil0001@ufl.edu
CSJ to be Represented at the Global Reconciliation Summit to be held in Jordan in 2010
It was recently requested that CSJ Board of Directors endorse a request to have CSJ represented at the Global Reconciliation Summit to be held in Jordan during the Summer of 2010. At the September 2009 CSJ Board of Directors meeting, it was unanimously agreed that former CSJ President Michael Hutchins and former ACA President Judy Lewis would represent CSJ at this important international event.
CSJ to sponsor a special event at the 2009 ACES Conference in San Diego and at San Diego State University
We are delighted to announce that CSJ is sponsoring two events that will be held during the ACES Conference in mid-October. The first CSJ co-sponsored event is the ninth town hall meeting that our association is organizing with other allies at San Diego State University. This town hall meeting is part of a national project entitled, “Continuing the National Discussion on Race, Justice, and Peace.” The town hall meeting will be held at San Diego State University on Thursday October 15, 2009 from 5:30 – 7:30 pm. Please contact me directly at Michael.dandrea@gmail.com for more details the town hall meeting if you are interested.
The second CSJ sponsored event is a special forum that will be held at the ACES conference on Saturday October 17, 2009 from 5:30 pm – 7:00 pm. This special event is entitled “Implementing Transformative Actions and Building Vital Relational Connections Across Generations: Social Justice Counseling Pioneers and Newly Emerging Leaders Provide an Opportunity for Open Discourse” (see the announcement included in this issue of The Activist form more details about this event).
Thanks to the Administration, Faculty, and Students at the University of Florida
We are very grateful to the administration, faculty, and students at the University of Florida who sponsored three CSJ events in September 2009. This included a presentation on social justice counseling issues that took place in Dr. Cirecie West-Olatunji’s graduate class in community counseling; having CSJ leaders facilitate a brown bag discussion group with administrators, faculty members, and students on a broad range of social justice counseling and advocacy issues; and organizing a standing room only turnout for the eighth Town Hall meeting that is part of the project that is designed to “Continue the National Discussion on Race, Justice, and Peace.” Special thanks go out to Dr. West-Olatunji, Dr. Edil Torres Rivera, Dr. William Conwill, and Dr. Faye Harrison for organizing and facilitating this successful event in Florida.
Changes to Our Website: Technological Transformations
Please take a moment to check out the changes that have been done to the CSJ website!!! Thanks to our web site manage, Mr. Chris Santacroce (misterchris@hawaii.rr.com), we are in the process of transforming not only the “look” of our website, but also are working to greatly improve the information and resources that are provided on this site. Chris has added a ton of new links and related materials on the “links and resources” section of the website. Please let us know if you have suggestions and additional information you would like to be included on our website. Your suggestions and information can be sent to the CSJ Communications Officer, Dr. Nicole Hill at hillnico@isu.edu.
Introducing the 2009-2010 CSJ Board of Directors
As I stated at the beginning of this message, the success of CSJ depends on the willingness of many people to invest the time and energy that is necessary to ensure that the many projects and services offered by our association are successful. Among the most important volunteers that serve our professional family include those individuals who have been elected to various leadership positions by our membership. These individuals are responsible to serve on the CSJ Board of Directors. This year the members of the CSJ Board of Directors meet monthly in computer-based meetings to act on the business of our association. To foster an increased level of transparency and democracy in CSJ, we have invited all CSJ members to attend the regularly scheduled, computer-based Board of Directors meetings as observers if they are interested in doing so.
If you have any ideas or suggestions as to ways that CSJ can be more successful in “Continuing Our Commitment for Change by Transforming Our Profession, Schools, Universities, and Communities,” please contact myself (Michael.dandrea@gmail.com ) or any of the other CSJ Board Members listed below.
In closing, I want to again express my appreciation for all the help we are receiving from many CSJ members who are participating in the various projects listed above as well as the committees that are addressing additional organizational responsibilities. Please get in touch with myself or another member of the Board of Directors to learn how you can become more involved in the important work CSJ is undertaking this year.
In the continuing struggle to promote a greater level of justice, peace, and sanity in our world,
Michael D’Andrea
2009-2010 CSJ President
Members of the 2009-2010 CSJ Board of Directors
Rhonda Bryant <rhonda.bryant@asurams.edu> Newsletter co-editor
Hugh Crethar <crethar@gmail.com> Governing Council Representative
Michael D’Andrea <Michael.dandrea@gmail.com> President
Judy A Daniels <judydaniels@gmail.com> President-elect
Beth A. Durodoye <beth.durodoye@utsa.edu> Newsletter co-editor
Eric Green <luvshinesthru@yahoo.com> Immediate Past President
Tiffany Gunnells <tiffany.gunnells@northrange.org> Community representative
Nicole Hill <hillnico@isu.edu> Communications Officer
Carlos Hipolito <chipoli2@csulb.edu> Treasurer
Judy Lewis <judithalewis@gmail.com> Retired Representative
Latinia Shell <diversityworkscsct@yahoo.com> Student Representative |
