summer 2017

Alumni Profile: David Hinojosa, How Community Building Happens Musically

Anonymous — Thu, 08 Jun 2017 04:24:48 +0000

Alumni Profile: David Hinojosa, How Community Building Happens Musically Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 06/07/2017 - 22:24

David Hinojosa is a musician and a change maker. He is following his passion for world music through a creative career in recording and performance for social justice, international understanding, collaboration, communication and peace. David -- also a father -- sees this as the highest use of his talents and passion for music, as well as a way to be a role model for his son.

David is beginning a new business venture by co-founding ID Music Productions in Broomfield, babyֱ��app. He has had a successful career performing all over the world as a dancer and drummer. David is now using his talents as he engages in community leadership and activism, including participating in a recent community gathering regarding strategy and skills for supporting and allying with Native Communities at Standing Rock, with the Sioux Tribe in North Dakota.

David attributes his focus on making a living while making a positive difference to skills he learned and values he cultivated while he was an INVST student from 2007 - 2009.

He says, “INVST holds a significant place in my heart and life. As I approach the world in personal life, career, fatherhood, relationship, and every other aspect of being, INVST continues to play a critical role in my understanding of the world and how to best step forward as a gentle leader who engages in compassionate action. While my career path has unfolded in many different ways, the core ideals of working to create a more just and sustainable world are ingrained into my being. I focus on my heart path, my passions, my ideals and the path unfolds. Thank you, INVST, for everything that you are to me and to the thousands more that you will continue to touch.”

David Hinojosa is a musician and a change maker. He is following his passion for world music through a creative career...

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New Student Proflile: Joshua McNulty Seeks the Skills to Make Positive Change

Anonymous — Thu, 08 Jun 2017 04:12:46 +0000

New Student Proflile: Joshua McNulty Seeks the Skills to Make Positive Change Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 06/07/2017 - 22:12

Joshua McNulty

Joshua McNulty joins The INVST Community Leadership Program as a new student in the Class of 2017-2019.

As a new student in INVST, I am excited to embark upon this learning experience. Currently, I am a music major at the University of babyֱ��app Boulder and am interested in getting involved with community-based work. As a musician, I am passionate about how music can be used as a tool for promoting social change.

Through my training in INVST, I seek to discover how music and community work can be combined. As an individual, I am motivated to become affiliated with work that promotes environmental justice and social sustainability. Through INVST, I am excited to learn from real-life experiences with community work and activism. This kind of training will help me develop a better understanding of how I could use my skills as a musician within the context of social and community work. Furthermore, by being engaged in activist work, I seek to learn more about how social issues affect communities and what can be done to lessen negative consequences.

Through my training in INVST, I strive to develop my skills as a public speaker. In the past, I have tended to shy away from speaking in public. This is a necessary skill set to develop for being an effective community leader. How can one be a truly engaging leader if they are unable to address groups of people convincingly? Being in INVST will give me a unique opportunity to strengthen my public speaking skills.

Due to the variety of social problems that continue to persist, it is important that individuals continue to work towards creating a just world. Without individual and group efforts, the social issues that plague society will persist. I am passionate about becoming involved with work that promotes sustainability.

Through my actions, I seek to be a part of the solution, not the problem. Being a part of the INVST program will give me a great opportunity to make a difference. I am grateful that I am able to participate in the INVST organization.

Joshua McNulty is just about to begin a two-year curriculum with INVST. Beginning in July with the Climate Justice Summer, he and 17 cohort mates will travel in 3 states in the US Southwest, learning about the coal industry, natural gas, rural economies, climate change, and sustainable innovation.

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Tackling Timely Topics: Immigration, Sanctuary, Climate Justice

Anonymous — Thu, 08 Jun 2017 04:03:59 +0000

Tackling Timely Topics: Immigration, Sanctuary, Climate Justice Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 06/07/2017 - 22:03

We have made a significant change to the INVST curriculum!

In the wake of recent political events and in line with our longstanding commitment to inclusion, we realized we would need to change our second summer curriculum in order to authentically include everyone. Specifically, we realized that international travel would exclude undocumented CU students from being able to participate in INVST. So, in Directors' Committee we decided to change our International Summer Service-Learning Experience to a new offering that would focus on some of the same topics, but would do so INSIDE the United States, so as to include all learners. Our Curriculum Committee then took up the task of re-designing the second summer curriculum. We launched it in July 2017.

We were thrilled to have two INVST alumni, Shannon Cleary and Somer Stapleton, who accompanied our second-year INVST students on the first-ever Economic Justice Summer.

Listen to our PODCAST to hear how it went.

Here is a summary of what it included: the Economic Justice Summer began in Garden City, Kansas where immigrant workers contribute to the agricultural sector and the meatpacking industry. INVST students learned first-hand about employment opportunities and the economy in a rural setting. Then INVST traveled to Chicago, Illinois to partner with the Mexico Solidarity Network. Students stayed with host families in the North Chicago neighborhood of Albany Park, which is one of the most diverse neighborhoods in the entire country, with a high percentage of foreign-born residents. The Mexico Solidarity Network exposed students to grassroots organizing on issues related to fair wages, access to affordable housing, healthcare and immigration reform.

In Detroit, Michigan, we learned from the James and Grace Lee Boggs Center to Nurture Community Leadership about education alternatives in a post-industrial city. The Boggs Center's aim is to "help develop visionary leaders and critical thinkers who can devise proactive strategies for re-building and re-spiriting our cities from the ground up." INVST students examined babyֱ��app alternatives in times of change, hosted by Rich Feldman of the Boggs Center board. Then in Omaha, Nebraska, we learned about Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids on meatpacking plants, as well as the Heartland Workers Center's efforts to defend immigrant workers in court.

Finally, in Denver, babyֱ��app, while learning about the sanctuary movement to protect undocumented families from deportation, INVST worked with American Friends Service Committee, Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network, DeLaney Farm and the babyֱ��app Immigrant Resource Center. The learning experience concluded with students meeting elected officials at the babyֱ��app State Capitol who shared their differing political approaches to leadership on these matters. INVST students et former babyֱ��app Governor Richard Lamm, for example, who opposes chain migration, as well as Rep. Joseph Salazar of the State House who advocates for keeping families together.

We are thrilled to partner with some of the most innovative community organizations in order to expose INVST students to these timely topics. In the process, INVST prepares learners to be effective & responsible community leaders.

Also each summer, as always, our Climate Justice Summer helps students develop knowledge around justice, community, and leadership; and explore theories of power, privilege, oppression, democracy, and participatory engagement. They also examine historical and cultural contexts of environmental problems.

We hope these first-hand learning opportunities that occur in community will help INVSTers develop democratic dispositions. INVST stresses collaborative & cooperative, compassionate, reflective, critical & analytical ways of being and doing. We also examine the structural causes of social and environmental problems, strive to help students develop empathy with those who are oppressed (both human and non-human), and focus on working WITH people, not FOR people, in reciprocal relationships.

Highlights of our timely Climate Justice Summer include learning about organic farming, permaculture, coal mining, extraction, rural economies, water scarcity, oil & gas, & hydraulic fracturing (fracking). We have the opportunity to camp at Delicious Orchards annually, with INVST graduate Jeff Schwartz, owner of Big B’s Organic Apple Cider.

In addition, we study the Dakota Access Pipeline and the Keystone XL Pipeline and learn industry perspectives on energy independence.

INVST also travels annually to Piñon, Arizona to visit the Navajo Reservation and learn about the legacy of coal mining’s impact on indigenous people. Black Mesa Water Coalition (BMWC) is dedicated to preserving and protecting Mother Earth and the integrity of Indigenous Peoples' cultures, with the vision of building sustainable and healthy communities. By working alongside BMWC on permaculture projects, INVST students are inspired by leaders who are building a green economy.

In Taos, New Mexico, our students see INVST co-founder Gaia Mika and stay with Daniel Escalante, who has created Casa Taos, an activist retreat center, with his partner Betty Artes. INVSTers study community and culture in Northern New Mexico, Native American sustainability, diversity of leadership approaches, water, and land stewardship.

Finally, INVST ends our Climate Justice Summer by meeting with lobbyists and babyֱ��app lawmakers at the State Capitol.

In the wake of recent political events and in line with our longstanding commitment to inclusion...

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Celebrating INVST Graduates: Class of 2017

Anonymous — Thu, 08 Jun 2017 02:46:20 +0000

Celebrating INVST Graduates: Class of 2017 Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 06/07/2017 - 20:46

Emily Valdez and Naomi Lopez speak at INVST graduation.

INVST graduation took place on Saturday, May 13 at CU Boulder. Leticia Abajo provided translation so that we could offer a bilingual graduation ceremony in Spanish and English for the first time. Jake McWilliams gave the keynote speech on how to go from being a bystander to being an actor who intervenes, when we encounter those who are struggling. He helped show what an INVST education consists of and described the qualities and attributes of our graduates.

The students who completed INVST are:

Andrea Baeza
Elana Brown
Casey Dwire
Ben Foxman
L LeNard
Naomi Lopez
Francisco Maldonado
Hayley Monahan
Hannah Mook
Mary Riposta
Makaila Rosin
Emily Valdez

Sonder Root Sky graduates from the INVST Community Leadership Program at the University of babyֱ��app Boulder.

Through six upper-division courses on campus, as well as off-campus internships, community-based projects and two summer travel experiences, Sonder Root Sky completed our demanding two-year academic program. This dedicated group of remarkable young people performed 8,208 hours of service in our community!

Their accomplishments are many: one INVST graduate has matured into a woman’s health professional & is well on her way to starting her own company. Another has become a researcher who is dedicated to discovering the range of differences in human brain function, by studying the autism spectrum. Another INVST graduate has already secured a paid position with the Immigrant Legal Center of Boulder County, the same place where he was an INVST intern. Several of the students will continue their work on Community SOL (Serving * Organizing * Leading) Projects they launched during the past year. Every one of the graduates from the INVST Community Leadership Program, as they join our alumni family, reminds us what it means to be thirsty for change now.

INVST graduation took place on Saturday, May 13 at CU Boulder. Leticia Abajo provided translation so that we could offer a bilingual graduation...

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