Changemakers: Acting Up at Any Age

A panel of older activists celebrate their ongoing work to break barriers, catalyze social change and work for a healthier, more equitable world, while showing younger activists how they can do the same.

Speakers

Aisha H.L. al-Adawiya is the founder of Women in Islam, Inc., an organization of Muslim women which focuses on human rights and social justice. Ms. al-Adawiya organizes and participates in conferences, symposia and other forums on Islam, Gender Equity, Conflict Resolution, Cross-Cultural Understanding, and Peace Building. She also represents Muslim women’s Non-Governmental Organizations at United Nations forums. Ms. Al-Adawiya coordinates Islamic input for the Preservation of the Black Religious Heritage Documentation Project of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. She also serves as a consultant to numerous interfaith organizations and documentary projects on the Muslim American experience. Additionally, she serves on the boards of numerous organizations related to the interests of the global Islamic community.

Poet, essayist, and educator, José Angel Figueroa writes about the Latino experience and contributions in the United States. A leading writer of the early Neorican literary movement and the Nuyorican Poets Cafe, his writings have been widely published in the US, Latin America, Puerto Rico, and Europe, and he is proud to be included in the Norton Anthology of Latino Literature. A master of poetic storytelling, visual imagery and metaphor, Figueroa chronicles a contemporary history and the rapidly changing reality of the Latino Diaspora in the Americas. He is perhaps best known for his poetry, a diverse body of work that includes searing social commentary that tackles cultural, gender, economic and political issues that are written in an uncompromising manner, as well as the occasional bittersweet personal pieces that talks about family, life and love.

Ed Lewis founded Essence Communications, Inc. (formerly Essence Communications Partners) in 1968 and serves as its Chief Executive Officer. He is Co-Founder and Publisher of ESSENCE magazine and Latina Media Ventures, LLC. He serves as a Director of Lower Manhattan Development Corp., and The Apollo Theater Foundation Inc. and is a Trustee of Central Park Conservancy. He also serves as a Member of the Leadership Council of the Tanenbaum Center for Inter Religious Understanding, the Harvard Business School Board of Directors of the Associates. He has a Doctorate of Letters from the University of New Mexico.

Sandy Warshaw is a formerly heterosexual, lesbian, grandmother, and 4th degree black belt in karate. She began her advocacy work initially in women’s rights advocacy through the National Older Women’s League, an advocacy organization for midlife and older women. When she came out at 60 she joined SAGE  - then  Senior Action in a Gay Environment. She also teaches Wise Aging a program developed by the Institute for Jewish Spirituality to empower older adults to advocate for themselves as they meet the ageism and internalized ageism of our society. She now advocates for LGBT issues in health, aging and civil rights. She is the mother of two, grandmother of three, and author of the book, Gay and Gray: What Will I Tell My Grandchildren.

Terrie Williams began her career as a medical social worker at New York Hospital counseling terminally ill, and physically challenged patients. In 1988 she founded The Terrie Williams Agency (TTWA), a public relations firm. Her first clients were Miles Davis and comedian Eddie Murphy. Over the years, it has represented public figures such as Prince, Chris Rock, Janet Jackson, Sean “Diddy” Combs. Corporate clients include HBO, Revlon, Time Warner, Essence magazine and Forest City Ratner Companies. In 2003 Williams suffered a severe bout of depression which led to her writing Black Pain: It Just Looks Like We’re Not Hurting. Her book examines the role of unaddressed mental and emotional illness in spreading physical disease, substance abuse, violent crime and broken families among African Americans.