Urban Program Guest Speakers
Below you will find descriptions of some of the guest speakers for the Urban Studies and Practicum Seminar courses at the Urban Program.
Kirk Adams
Kirk Adams is the Director of Urban Young Life for the Southeast region of San Francisco, including the Bayview/Hunter’s Point neighborhood and Visitation Valley. A native of San Francisco, Kirk has worked with inner city youth here for a number of years.
David Batstone
David Batstone is a Professor of Ethics at the University of San Francisco and founder and president of Right Reality, an international social venture firm. He has authored seven books, the two most recent being Not For Sale and Saving the Corporate Soul . He was a member of the founding team of Business 2.0 magazine and served six years as executive editor of Sojourners magazine and founder of the SojoMail e-zine. He writes regularly in USA Today Weekend edition as "America's Ethics Guru." and serves as a senior editor of Motto magazine. He has contributed articles to the New York Times, the Chicago Tribune, the San Francisco Chronicle, Wired, and SPIN. He is the recipient of two national journalist awards and was named National Endowment for the Humanities Chair at the University of San Francisco for his work in technology and ethics. During the 1980s, he founded a non-governmental agency dedicated to economic development and human rights in Latin America.
Click the links below to learn more about two of his current ventures:
www.notforsalecampaign.org
www.rightreality.com
Wendy Georges
Wendy Georges has worked at the Alameda County Healthcare for the Homeless Program for over 20 years. The HCHP provides a wide variety of health care and support services to homeless clients throughout Alameda County, primarily through a mobile van clinic which travels to sites throughout Alameda County to provide services. Wendy has worked tirelessly to ensure that homeless people have access to health care and support services while instilling a sense of hope and encouragement to homeless people.
Alameda County Healthcare for the Homeless Program
Teresa Moore Goines
An alum of Westmont, Teresa started her professional career working as a probation officer in Santa Barbara. Through her work she realized that much of the violence and acts of crime committed by young people stem from being in a desperate economic situation. She came to understand that without addressing the issue of poverty first, it made many other efforts fruitless. Upon moving to the Bay Area she continued to work with incarcerated youth. When she decided to leave work as a probation officer, she recognized the importance of the trust she had built with the youth and decided to continue to mentor and support ten youth on her own time. She is the founder of The Old Skool Café, which offers sustainable employment to at-risk youth. The Old Skool Café focuses on teaching youth essential life skills in a supportive environment, while at the same time providing excellent food and entertainment.
Francisco Herrera
Francisco Herrera is a cultural worker who uses music as a tool to raise consciousness and promote social change. He has been involved in community organizing, mental health and pastoral work for over 25 years in California, México and Central America. Currently, he presents workshops and performances for educators, community groups, and churches, and he has collaborates with various youth groups to promote leadership through cultural work and community organizing. These presentations and projects form the foundation for the work of "Trabajo Cultual Caminante" or "Cultural Work." He says this about his present calling: "In our current environment of anti-immigrant sentiment, cuts in economic programs, and increased violence and alienation of children, it is more important than ever to draw on the strengths of people's roots--their traditions, values and cultural arts--to strengthen our communities and improve people's lives”.
Mark Scandrette
Co-Founder and present Director of ReImagine!, a San Francisco based Emergent Church group, Mark is a frequently interacts with SF Urban through a “Spiritual Walk” program (a guided walk for our students to see the spiritual side of the city), guest speaking (both at SF Urban and at Westmont’s main campus) and through his book, “Soul Graffiti” (Jossey-Bass, 2007).
Mark, his wife Lisa and their two daughters, live in the Mission District, where they use their home as a base for ReImagine!, and for welcoming and teaching in the name of Jesus. Students are invited to attend regular seminars led by Mark and his team including the “Sugarlump Theology Salon” and the “Jesus Dojo”, all contemporary dialogues on following Jesus in a post-Christian culture.
Craig Wong
Craig Wong is the Director of Grace Urban Ministries, a congregation-based nonprofit corporation serving children, youth and families in San Francisco through academic assistance, job training, and other community services.
Westmont Urban Program - 301 Lyon St, San Francisco, CA 94117 - (415) 931-2460 or (800) 61-URBAN