CLARION – Nearly 100 people from six western Pennsylvania counties attended Indivisible We Rise West Central Pennsylvania’s Rural Summit on June 1, at the Clarion Ramada Inn.
Depending on their interests, attendees could choose to learn about building effective grass roots movements, developing political strategies or putting faith into action.
Among the sessions were:
- “Unveiling and Ending Corruption in PA Government” by Rabbi Michael Pollack, executive director of the March on Harrisburg;
- “Having a Productive and Civil Conversation Including Religion and Politics” by Dave and Erin Ninehouser of the “Hear Yourself Think” Project;
- “Building and Sustaining a Healthy Group” by Olga Liapis-Muzy, Sara Marino and Mikhel Harrison of the Indivisible Training Team;
- “How Progressive Values Mirror Rural Values” by Dwayne Heisler, Jordi Comas and Susan Boser;
- “Similar Interests – Bridging the Rural/Urban Divide” by Kadida Kenner of the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center;
- “Moving away from a Dirty Energy Economy” by filmmaker Mark Dixon;
- “Why Medicare for All is the Solution to the Rural Healthcare Crisis” by Ed Grystar and three physicians from the Western PA Coalition for Single Payer Healthcare; and
- “Indivisible’s Goals” by Dwayne Heisler, the Pennsylvania Democratic Progressive Caucus chair, and Mikhel Harrison from Indivisible National.
Because the Rural Summit was so enthusiastically received by participants, Indivisible We Rise West Central PA plans to hold more such events in the future.
Indivisible We Rise West Central PA is a non-partisan watchdog group serving Clarion, Jefferson, Forest, Venango and Clearfield counties.
As an offshoot of the national grassroots organization Indivisible, the group is dedicated to watching for –and resisting –efforts to undermine democracy.
Individuals interested in preserving democracy are invited to visit Indivisible.org or check out the Facebook page: Indivisible We Rise West Central PA.