The Change Agency Education and Training Institute is an independent social movement initiative based in Australia with some involvement in international projects.
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James Whelan lives in Newcastle in the Worimi nation. He has worked extensively in the community sector and in research and adult education. As a community educator and activist, James has worked with several non-government and grassroots community and environment groups on campaigns for social and environmental justice. As a researcher, research manager and lecturer, James has been engaged by several Australian universities and has published widely on participatory democracy, environmental politics, popular education and social movements. He has spoken at national and international conferences. His community and academic worlds merge in his work as director of the Change Agency, a not-for-profit which provide education, training, facilitation and action research support for social change groups throughout Australia and the Pacific. He is a research fellow with the Centre for Policy Development.
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| Sam La Rocca (Associate and cofounder) | |
Sam La Rocca, co-founder of the Change Agency, is an experienced activist educator, community organiser and researcher. Since the early 1990s, Sam has worked with a range of grassroots organisations in Australia and overseas on environmental justice issues and community development projects. Sam recently worked with Friends of the Earth International looking at capacity building in the Asia Pacific region and trained with Training for Change. Sam’s work has also included community organising on climate change, strategising with East African queer community, solidarity with West Papuan peace activists, and facilitating alliances between Traditional Owners and environment groups. Sam's research interests have focused on factors influencing participation in social movements and tools for effective campaign strategy.
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| Jason Macleod (Associate) | |
Jason Macleod has been involved in activism since the late 1980s, living that awkward tension between raising hell (nonviolently of course!) and trying to be a nice guy. Jason’s key learnings as an activist have grown out of nonviolent direct action, community development practice, accompanying those at the pointy end of global oppression, gaol, university and all points in between – mostly in the Free East Timor, global justice, Free West Papua, and peace and anti-militarist movements, both in Australia and overseas. Jason’s professional background is in community development, social work, training and popular education, conflict transformation, peace building, and strategic nonviolent action.
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Pru Gell lives on Arrente people's country in Central Australia. Pru is a facilitator, educator and mediator who works alongside diverse communities in urban environments, remote Indigenous communities and South East Asia. Recent work has included facilitating forums where women from Jawoyn people’s country developed their women's centres vision and community education through theatre on social justice themes in Timor Loros'ae and Cambodia. Pru is particulary passionate about facilitating Augusto Boal's Theatre of the Oppressed processes for social change.
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| Lindsay Soutar (Associate) | |
Lindsay's passion for helping create social change was established during her 5 years in the Melong region, where she worked in research, teaching and capacity building roles relating to environment, governance and the impact of dams and development banks. Coming home to Australia in 2006, Lindsay helped set up a local climate group and has since been active in the Australian community climate movement, organising in her own community, facilitating workshops and skillshares and setting up a new national renewable energy campaign.
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| Naomi Blackburn (Associate) | |
Naomi has been facilitating decision-making forums with community groups since her involvement in the inception of the Australian Student Environment Network in 2005. A passion for participatory democracy has seen her facilitating state and national meetings in the climate and student movements, as well as spokescouncils and decision-making plenaries at large events. A highlight has been facilitating at the Australian Climate Action summit in 2009 and 2010, where Naomi found it energising to have such a diversity of political viewpoints working to find common ground.
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| Kristy Walters (Associate) | |
Kristy Walters lives on Turrbal and Jaggera people’s country in Brisbane. She found her passion of helping to create social change through the student environment movement. With a keen interest in activist education, food politics and thoughtful processes, Kristy has facilitated meetings and decision-making plenaries for state and national climate summits, including spokescouncils in direct action settings. Kristy’s educational background is in environmental management, with facilitation, research and community organising forming the backbone of her work.
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