2025 EXPERTS & AFICIONADOS
INSPIRATION FROM AROUND THE CORNER AND ACROSS THE GLOBE
2025 SPEAKERS AND EVENTS
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DECEMBER 21, 2025 | 10:30 AM | HUMAN LIGHT: A CELEBRATION OF REASON, COMPASSION, AND HOPE
Human Light is a secular holiday that occurs annually on December 23rd. It's a day to celebrate and express the positive, secular, human values of reason, compassion, and hope. HumanLight illuminates a positive, secular vision of a happy, just and peaceful future for our world, a future which people can build by working together, drawing on the best of our human capacities. |
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DECEMBER 7, 2025 | RESPECT MO VOTERS: LET THE PEOPLE DECIDE! | OLIVIA SIGMUND
Olivia Sigmund will present on the origins of Respect MO Voters and the campaign’s three main goals:
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Olivia Sigmund serves the Respect MO Voters campaign as Saint Louis Regional Field Director, including St. Louis City, St. Louis, St. Charles, and Jefferson counties. She coordinates volunteer events and trainings, working with everyone from signature gatherers and notaries to phone bankers and drivers. Olivia, like many RMV volunteers, joined the campaign to create change on a local level when so much of the political landscape in the United States feels overwhelming and untouchable. This campaign provides an accessible and effective way to get involved and put power back where it belongs: in the hands of the people.
Laura Flanders
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NOVEMBER 30, 2025 | THINKING OUTSIDE OF THE BOX: WHAT IF THESE AREN’T THE WORST OF TIMES? | AEU ALL-SOCIETIES PLATFORM
Laura Flanders is the host and executive producer of Laura Flanders & Friends, a nationally syndicated TV and radio program which reports on progressive change-making in the worlds of arts, politics and economics. In New York, Laura Flanders & Friends is seen weeknights on CUNYtv and WLIW, and heard on WBAI and WNYE. Nationally, you can find the show on close to 300 PBS stations and on YouTube as well as wherever you get your podcasts. Laura is also the author of several bestselling books and a contributing writer to The Nation Magazine. Follow @lauraflanders on social media or subscribe at lauraflanders.org. |
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NOVEMBER 23, 2025 | TRANSGENDER DAY OF REMEMBRANCE | NOKIE RAE
We used this time to honor each individual transgender person murdered in the US in the last 365 days. Many more murders took place in other countries or went unreported. Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR) was started in 1999 by transgender advocate Gwendolyn Ann Smith as a vigil to honor the memory of Rita Hester, a transgender woman who was killed in 1998. The vigil commemorated all the transgender people lost to violence since Rita Hester’s death, and began an important tradition that has become the annual TDOR. Nokie Rae, the Executive Director of the Metro Trans Umbrella Group (MTUG) joined us to talk about the history of MTUG, why it’s needed in the metro area, the work they do, and why TDOR is so important. |
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NOVEMBER 9, 2025 | PHILIP DONZE | HELPING THE UNHOUSED AND MAT WEAVING
Philip Donze, Ethical Society Mid Rivers member and founder of the Saint Louis chapter of Athiest Alliance Helping the Homeless, spoke on the extreme need for help for people suffering homelessness. he discussed the growing population of the unhoused in Saint Louis city, and Saint Charles and Saint Louis counties, especially the increase in children experiencing homelessness. We followed his discussion with weaving sleep mats for the unhoused out of the clean, dry plastic bags. The first mats will be donated to Americorps Saint Louis. The Ethical Action/Social Justice Committee will decide where future mats will be donated. |
Scott Wright, President, AEU Board of Directors
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NOVEMBER 2, 2025 | BUILDING THE ROAD FOR THE FUTURE OF THE ETHICAL CULTURE MOVEMENT | SCOTT WRIGHT
In February 2025, the Board of Directors of the American Ethical Union (AEU) adopted the AEU Roadmap as a tool and guiding document to inform AEU activities through July 2026. This Roadmap is a plan of measurable goals broken down into deliverables & tasks, and a timeline for their completion. Scott Wright, one of the originating authors of the AEU Roadmap, will share with us his hopes for how the AEU can get back on track through utilizing the Roadmap as a tool, highlight some progress that has been made over the past year, and share how you can get involved in accomplishing AEU goals and deliverables moving forward. |
Scott Wright has been a member of the Ethical Society of St. Louis since 2015. He has served on their Board of Trustees since 2023, and as their representative to the AEU Board of Directors since 2024. As the ESSL Board Representative, he led a Task Force to examine the relationship between ESSL and the AEU. The ultimate culmination of this work was the creation of the AEU Roadmap. In July of 2025 he was elected as the President of the AEU Board of Directors.
Scott holds Bachelor's degrees in Business Management and Psychology from Truman State University, and just recently completed his Master's degree in Project Management at Washington University, where is employed doing project management and change management work.
Scott holds Bachelor's degrees in Business Management and Psychology from Truman State University, and just recently completed his Master's degree in Project Management at Washington University, where is employed doing project management and change management work.
Jan Crossen
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OCTOBER 26, 2025 | LIVING AUTHENTICALLY IN A DISAPPROVING WORLD | JAN CROSSEN
Imagine you are a teenage girl living in a small midwestern Ohio town during the conservative 1960's. You're a high school senior, a cheerleader, and you're running for homecoming queen. You have a steady boyfriend but are secretly in love with your best friend, a girl. She feels the same way about you and, you've confirmed your feelings with a night of passionate kisses. As long as you can remember you've been attracted to girls. You are keenly aware that this is taboo; something you must keep secret. You know that you have to be straight, or at least act straight, in order to fit in and be accepted. |
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Jan will join us live over zoom to discuss her auto-biography, Colors of the Sky. It is her story of self-discovery; of hiding her true self as she struggled to live authentically in a disapproving world.
Jan is a gold-level Mom's Choice Award winning author who has written over 20 books for children and young adults. She is a grandmother and lives on a small farm on a rural island in the Pacific Northwest with her wife and numerous animals. |
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OCTOBER 12, 2025 | MUSIC SUNDAY | HOMEGROWN TALENT
Music Sunday is one of our favorite events! This is our opportunity to enjoy musical entertainment from within our Society. This is NOT a talent show or competition of any kind. All levels of performance are welcome. Serious music, parodies, cover songs, original work...and we enjoyed an enthusiastic and wonderful array of performances. |
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OCTOBER 5, 2025 | AEU ASSEMBLY REPORT & REFLECTIONS | JILL and BILL AUL
Ethical Society Mid Rivers members, Jill and Bill Aul recently attended the 110 th Assembly of the American Ethical Union, hosted by the Philadelphia Ethical Society. They will share with our society their experiences, impressions of the various workshops, and talks, and their community with members of Ethical Societies from across the nation. |
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SEPTEMBER 28, 2025 | CAPITAL PUNISHMENT—WHY IT STAYS & WHY IT SHOULD GO | KRISTI KIMMEL
Kristi will briefly touch on the history of the death penalty and the reasons it is still practiced. She will further discuss the fallacy of many beliefs held from citizens as well as our government on why we need to still uphold the punishment. She will wrap up with a bit of her own story of how she went from a supporter of capital punishment to a staunch abolitionist. Kristi left the U.S. in the early 90s, returning to U.S. after spending almost three decades in Europe. She finished her masters degree last year with a thesis on the death penalty illustrating the huge contradiction between the U.S. and western, democratic nations. |
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SEPTEMBER 21, 2025 | INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEACE CELEBRATIONS | 2025 GLOBAL PEACE DAY THEME: ACT NOW FOR A PEACEFUL WORLD.
We will use our time together to honor the International Day of Peace. In a time of turbulence, tumult, and uncertainty, it is critical for everyone to take concrete action to mobilize for peace. From peacekeepers on the front lines of conflict, to community members, to students in classrooms around the world, everyone has a role to play. We must speak up against violence, hate, discrimination, and inequality; practice respect; and embrace the diversity of our world. |
There are many ways to act right now. Spark conversations about the urgent need for understanding, non-violence, and disarmament. Volunteer in your community, listen to voices different from your own, challenge discriminatory language in your workplace, report bullying both online and off-line, and take the time to verify facts before you post on social media.
You can also speak up with your choices, opting to purchase items from socially-conscious brands, or donating to organizations that promote sustainability and human rights.
The United Nations also works in each of these areas, leading global efforts to advance human rights, fight climate change, and prevent and respond to conflict.
You can also speak up with your choices, opting to purchase items from socially-conscious brands, or donating to organizations that promote sustainability and human rights.
The United Nations also works in each of these areas, leading global efforts to advance human rights, fight climate change, and prevent and respond to conflict.
Connie Feutz
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SEPTEMBER 7, 2025 | HOW TO MOVE THE NEEDLE IN OUR CURRENT POLITICAL CLIMATE WHILE BUILDING SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES | CONNIE FEUTZ
Connie Feutz, an organizer for Troublemakers in Bellingham WA, will be discussing Troublemakers’ philosophy, theory of change and actions in their effort to mobilize communities into a nonviolent movement to resist the widespread injustice in our current political climate. In her 20’s, in 1981, Connie was one of two U.S. representatives sent by War Resisters League to an international women’s conference against militarism in Scotland. A year later, the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) sent her to Berlin to meet with other peace activists and to give talks on the “Other side of America”. Her political activism took a back burner with graduate school and raising a family. She is ecstatic to have found Troublemakers as it is her perfect political home. |
Supplemental information and suggested follow-up reading from Connie Feutz:
- Troublemakers Agreements
- Musk x post
- Val Costa's Guardian Opinion Piece
- Video Created by Troublemakers
(Nicholas Kristof noted in his opinion piece for The NY Times, “Three Well-Tested Ways to Undermine an Autocrat”, the first method is humor, mockery and ridicule...) - Followup reading, "This is an Uprising" by Mark Engler and Paul Engler
Hamilton Nolan
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AUGUST 31, 2025 | LABOR POWER CAN BEAT FASCISM (BUT WE BETTER GET TO WORK) | HAMILTON NOLAN
This Labor Day, the outlook for organized labor power in America is grim. Already, the Trump administration has decimated the federal work force, torn up union contracts, broken our system of labor law enforcement, and pushed us down the road to fascism and oligarchy. Despite all that, however, one fundamental, structural truth has not changed: Labor power is still one of the only things that can pull us back from this precipice. What would that look like? Let’s talk about it. |
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Hamilton Nolan is an author and journalist who writes about labor, politics, and class war. He has written for Gawker, In These Times, The Guardian, and many other publications. Today, he runs his own site, How Things Work. In 2015, he and his colleagues made Gawker Media the first major online media company in America to unionize. Hamilton has remained a union activist ever since. He is the author of the 2024 book, The Hammer: Power, Inequality, and the Struggle for the Soul of Labor. He lives in Brooklyn.
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Sheri Wiltse, President and CEO, Community Living Inc.
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AUGUST 10, 2025 | PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES LIVING THEIR BEST LIVES | SHERI WILTSE, PRESIDENT and CEO of COMMUNITY LIVING INC.
Sheri Wiltse has a passion for working with people with disabilities and giving them the opportunity to realize their dreams. She embraces each day as a challenge to make a positive difference in someone’s life whether a person with a disability, a friend, a co-worker or a complete stranger. Sheri started in the field of disabilities in 1981, working at a day camp for kids with disabilities in Springfield, Missouri. After getting a degree in Special Education at Missouri State University, she returned to St. Louis and worked for a year at the St. Louis Arc. In 1984 She started working at Community Living Inc. After working in various capacities for Community Living, Sheri accepted the position of Chief Program Officer in 1998, overseeing programs for approximately 1100 children and adults with disabilities. In January of 2023, she took over as President and CEO |
Community Living, Inc. serves individuals of all ages with intellectual and developmental disabilities throughout St. Charles County. They offer a wide range of programs tailored to meet each person’s unique needs and goals. Our services include employment, respite, day habilitation, and recreation. Plus a groundbreaking program for young adults, teen summer camp, and teen after school care. This presentation will provide an overview of each program and highlight how they support individuals in living their best lives as active and valued members of their community.
Sheri is involved with the following organizations: Starling, a state-wide trade association, (current President Elect); Athena Leadership Foundation of St. Charles County; Gateway Coalition of Service Providers (past president); Cottleville Weldon Spring Chamber of Commerce, (past board member); Greater St. Charles County Chamber of Commerce; Vision St. Charles County Leadership - graduate of the class of 2017.
Sheri currently lives in Kirkwood, MO. She has two adult children she is incredibly proud of. Her oldest is a Social Worker at Ranken Jordan Pediatric Bridge Hospital and her youngest teaches 4 th grade at Null Elementary in the City of St. Charles School District. Her favorite activities are spending time with her family, reading books and anything that involves a white, sandy beach!
Sheri is involved with the following organizations: Starling, a state-wide trade association, (current President Elect); Athena Leadership Foundation of St. Charles County; Gateway Coalition of Service Providers (past president); Cottleville Weldon Spring Chamber of Commerce, (past board member); Greater St. Charles County Chamber of Commerce; Vision St. Charles County Leadership - graduate of the class of 2017.
Sheri currently lives in Kirkwood, MO. She has two adult children she is incredibly proud of. Her oldest is a Social Worker at Ranken Jordan Pediatric Bridge Hospital and her youngest teaches 4 th grade at Null Elementary in the City of St. Charles School District. Her favorite activities are spending time with her family, reading books and anything that involves a white, sandy beach!
Rev. Joseph T. Farkas, M.Div.
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AUGUST 3, 2025 | WHAT AM I DOING HERE? | REV. JOSEPH T. FARKAS, M.Div.
Humanist chaplains provide spiritual care from both Humanist and Ethical Culture perspectives. Rev. Joseph T. Farkas will share stories from his experience as a Humanist atheist Chaplain playing in a traditionally theistic role in moments of intense human experiences. "What am I doing here?" explores those moments of connection and disconnection, meaningfulness and meaninglessness, love and antipathy of his professional journey. Farkas, who holds a Master of Divinity (M.Div.), has served as a Humanist chaplain and celebrant through The Humanist Society for more than 10 years. He is also currently an Ethical Culture Leader-in-training. When he isn't learning how to be an Ethical Culture Leader or working at one of several Chicagoland hospitals, Joseph enjoys working out and spending time with his wife and their dog. |
Louise Jett, Ethical Culture Leader
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JULY 13, 2025 | FINDING BEAUTY IN THE GRAY: LESSONS FROM THE OREGON COAST | LOUISE JETT, ETHICAL CULTURE LEADER
We live in a time of deep uncertainty. Global instability, climate anxiety, political polarization, economic stress. It all feels like a heavy fog hanging over us. And yet, on a recent morning along the northern Oregon coast, Ethical Culture Leader Louise Jett witnessed something quietly profound that rose above all the noise. Wrapped in the stillness of dawn, she watched as the mist stretched its fingers over the mountain tops. Long, delicate tendrils reached over the ridgeline for the other side of the mountain, as if the sky itself were trying to coax something wondrous into the light. It was a moment suspended in silence and awe. And in that moment (and many moments along the coast), Louise found not only beauty, but meaning. |
Not every beautiful place is warm and sunny. Sometimes the most powerful landscapes are draped in gray. This talk will explore what it means to live (and lead) with presence during murky times. Let’s reflect on the courage it takes to move forward, even when we can’t yet see the way.
Julia Angwin
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JUNE 29, 2025 | SAVING DEMOCRACY: A CONVERSATION with JULIA ANGWIN | AEU ALL-SOCIETIES PLATFORM
Award-winning investigative journalist, bestselling author, and New York Times contributing Opinion writer Julia Angwin dialogued with Ethical Culture Societies around the country about what we are doing to effectively resist and reverse the current slide into authoritarian government, and how to work together to do it better. The Ethical Culture Society of Bergen County hosted this All-Societies Platform with 22 Societies across the country. Julia is an award-winning investigative journalist, founder of the nonprofit journalism studio Proof News, a bestselling author, and a New York Times contributing Opinion Writer |
She is a winner and two time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Explanatory Reporting for her work at The Wall Street Journal and ProPublica. She founded the nonprofit newsroom, The Markup. And she is the author of the New York Times bestseller “Dragnet Nation: A Quest for Privacy, Security and Freedom in a World of Relentless Surveillance” (Times Books, 2014) and “Stealing MySpace: The Battle to Control the Most Popular Website in America” (Random House, March 2009).
She earned a B.A. in mathematics from the University of Chicago, and an M.B.A. from the Graduate School of Business at Columbia University. She is currently a Walter Shorenstein Media and Democracy Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School’s Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy and was previously Entrepreneur in Residence at Columbia Journalism School’s Brown Institute for Media Innovation.
She earned a B.A. in mathematics from the University of Chicago, and an M.B.A. from the Graduate School of Business at Columbia University. She is currently a Walter Shorenstein Media and Democracy Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School’s Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy and was previously Entrepreneur in Residence at Columbia Journalism School’s Brown Institute for Media Innovation.
Galen Gritts (Cherokee)
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JUNE 1, 2025 | FORGOTTEN TRUNK IN THE ATTIC | GALEN GRITTS (CHEROKEE)
Missouri, like most states in the center of the U.S., has no extant tribes like many other states have. Like Arkansas, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee, Missouri has no Native reservations or tribal governments in it. Therefore, the knowledge of either the history of Natives, or the experience of contemporary Native Americans, is one step further removed from people's consciousness. Using startling facts as stepping-stones to fascinating and forgotten stories, this presentation starts to remedy this unusual and weird phenomenon as Native people have been in this state for at least 14,000 years. |
The first Europeans to visit Missouri were the French explorers Louis Jolliet and Jacques Marquette in 1673. That was only 352 years ago. What was this area like before European incursion? Fasten your seatbelt, in fact, pull that bar down, we will go on a roller coaster ride of facts and stories.
An established Missouri Humanities Council speaker, Galen Gritts is a registered member of the Cherokee Nation. Born and reared in Missouri, Mr. Gritts has a degree in history from UMSL. He serves on many advisory boards and committees representing Native Americans and is a founding member of the Alliance for Native Programming & Initiatives. He is bemused to find out he is now an Elder and grateful that he has made it this far. One of his goals when he was young was to be old.
An established Missouri Humanities Council speaker, Galen Gritts is a registered member of the Cherokee Nation. Born and reared in Missouri, Mr. Gritts has a degree in history from UMSL. He serves on many advisory boards and committees representing Native Americans and is a founding member of the Alliance for Native Programming & Initiatives. He is bemused to find out he is now an Elder and grateful that he has made it this far. One of his goals when he was young was to be old.
Tim (T.J.) Akey
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SUNDAY, MAY 4, 2025 | ON THE PATH TO A RIGHTEOUS EXTINCTION | TIM (T.J.) AKEY
From a strong foundation in the Christian church, through science and then philosophy, this is the story of how one man came to understand that there are two possible outcomes for the human race. Journey along with him as he abandons long-held beliefs and discovers the urgency of finding a better path forward to assure our species' survival. Tim (T.J.) Akey is a former commercial pilot and motorcyclist. He grew up in the church and raised his three daughters in the Christian faith, but in 1998 he left the church. In 2013 he gave up his bike and sports car, sold everything, and moved onto his 42-ft sailboat with his wife to go cruising the East Coast and Caribbean waters for six years. Now land-bound, he spends his days playing his collection of 12 ukuleles, reading, studying, and writing. |
Murphy Lisch
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APRIL 27, 2025 | WHEN CERTAINTY CRACKS - ONE EXPERIENCE WITH RELIGIOUS DECONSTRUCTION | MURPHY LISCH
After living a faithfully devoted life in a conservative religion, Murphy experienced, in her thirties, a crisis of faith. In this presentation she will explore and describe the initial impacts of doubt, the changing mindset and worldview that comes through a loss of faith, and the ways that we, on the outside, can support and help those deconstructing their own systems of belief, whatever those are, in self-directed, empowering ways. Murphy was born and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah, and has lived the last two and a half years in Missouri. After working as a Social Worker in Utah for several years, she took time off to raise three children and several cats. Currently she is employed full-time behind the front desk of her local Middle School, while simultaneously working towards her Masters in Education - in hopes that she can eventually graduate to her own classroom, to teach teenagers about the Constitution or the importance of water resources for human settlement. (Social Studies.) |
Jonathan Sawday, Ph.D.
Saint Louis University |
APRIL 13, 2025 | WHAT MAKES US HUMAN? | JONATHAN SAWDAY, Ph.D.
We will enjoy an insightful presentation from Saint Louis University's Jonathan Sawday, Ph.D. Professor Sawday received the James Russell Lowell Prize for the most outstanding book published in 2023. In the UK, Sawday has been a regular broadcaster on BBC Radio, presenting features and contributing to discussions on a wide variety of topics including: Robert Burton’s Anatomy of Melancholy; technology and culture; the human genome; the history of syphilis; the passing of Concorde; fear in the modern world; spontaneity (with Malcolm Gladwell); the heart; Renaissance magic and alchemy; technophobia; materialism; the brain; superheroes; blood; the great fire of London; privacy; vulgarity (with comedian Alexei Sayle and novelist Andrew O’Hagan). His five-part Radio series The King Returned was first broadcast on BBC Radio 3 in the UK in 2010, and he has also been a regular presenter of the BBC Freethinking Festival (Liverpool and Newcastle). His UK TV work includes writing, presenting, and contributing to programs on Renaissance anatomy (Channel 4 / Union Films); the photography of Lennart Neilson (Channel 4); student finance (BBC1); Contemporary Body Art (LWT) |
Amrita Chaturvedi, Ph.D.
Saint Louis University 
Casey Olearnick
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APRIL 6, 2025 | HUMAN FLOURISHING | AMRIT CHATURVEDI, Ph.D., AND CASEY OLEARNICK
Saint Louis University (SLU) School of Education Assistant Professor, Amrita Chaturvedi, Ph.D., leads the Consortium for Human Flourishing at SLU. Education for Flourishing is a project of the Consortium for Human Flourishing at SLU. This project uses an interdisciplinary approach to promote individual and community flourishing in K-12 and higher education settings by connecting research to practice. The Human Flourishing Program at Harvard University and the Teacher Education for Flourishing Collaborative at Notre Dame of Maryland University are partners with SLU’s consortium. Casey Olearnick is an administrator at Fort Zumwalt North High and is in his 18th year as an educator. He only started his flourishing journey in earnest this past August, but has already noticed the difference the process has made in his thoughts and daily life. Casey enjoys family and gaming and music and other stuff, too. He is very excited to share what he can about human flourishing. |
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MARCH 30, 2025 | THE BRICK WALL BRAIN: WHY FACTS (USUALLY) DON’T CHANGE MINDS | AEU ALL-SOCIETIES PLATFORM with SETH ANDREWS
We present solid data. They go blank, get angry, or walk out. Why isn’t evidence breaking through belief barriers? Seth Andrews shares his perspective on “Identity Beliefs” and how to perhaps carve the crack that lets in some light. If bullet points aren’t working…what does? Seth Andrews is a former evangelical and Christian broadcaster who now hosts The Thinking Atheist…one of the most popular podcasts and online atheist communities in the world. The Thinking Atheist is not a person. It is an icon encouraging all to reject faith and pursue reason and evidence. He also hosts a second podcast, True Stories with Seth Andrews. With a mix of humor and heart, Seth Andrews has spoken for audiences large and small in the U.S, Canada, Europe, and Australia about his former faith, the promotion of science and skepticism, the importance of Humanism in this often crazy world, and why we should all pursue a personal relationship with reality. |
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MARCH 23, 2025 | ABORTION ACTION MISSOURI | SARAH SHEAHAN
Abortion Action Missouri was founded in 1969 as the Committee for Legal Abortion in Missouri. Their name has changed but their work has remained the same; fight for abortion access for all Missourians. When the devastating Supreme Court Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade triggered Missouri’s abortion ban, Abortion Action Missouri was joined by elected leaders and supporters from across the state as they stepped boldly into their future. Through organizing, providing clinic support, storytelling, sex education, research, and community engagement, Abortion Access Missouri is helping Missourians rebuild abortion access and reproductive freedom for all. |
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MARCH 9, 2025 | ETHICAL ACTION WORKSHOP: HOW TO BE HEARD IN THESE TUMULTUOUS TIMES
We held an Ethical Action Workshop. Attendees were invited to share thier thoughts and learn about effective ways to make their voice heard in these tumultuous times. |
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MARCH 2, 2025 | BETSY MILLER | THE ASHREI FOUNDATION'S NORTH CITY PHOTO ID PROJECT
This talk looked at the need for IDs in everyday life as well as the barriers that exist for some community members to obtain an ID and/or the underlying documents needed. Betsy will share examples of grassroots efforts to remove such barriers as well as growing the state-wide capacity for ID access. Betsy Miller is the Program Coordinator for the Ashrei Foundation North City Photo ID Project. She has been supporting community members since the program’s inception, first as a volunteer and now as an employee. Upon retiring from the corporate world, Betsy sought out work that has the potential to impact economic justice. The North City Photo ID Project fit the bill! When she’s not working, she is usually traveling. Betsy is the mother/stepmother of three adult children and grandmother of two. |
The Ashrei Foundation imagines a just Missouri where the way we look, where we are from, or who we define ourselves to be does not limit our access to quality and affordable healthcare, education, housing, technology, and economic stability. Ashrei exists to empower and activate the St. Louis community and partners throughout the state of Missouri to promote economic justice, to relieve suffering, and interrupt cycles of poverty. Through the North City Photo ID Project, the Ashrei Foundation offers assistance to people who live in St. Louis by offering guidance on the process of applying for a Missouri non-driver photo identification card, including acquiring the required documentation. For many people, this means obtaining a certified copy of their birth certificate. The Ashrei Foundation will also cover the cost of obtaining this kind of ID and a birth certificate issued anywhere in the United States.
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FEBRUARY 23, 2025 | INTERNATIONAL DARWIN DAY CELEBRATION | SCIENCE, EDUCATION, AND HUMAN WELL-BEING
We will enjoy a fun day of interactive learning about science, life on our globe, and the theory of evolution. It will be a great time for humans 1 to 100! International Darwin Day is celebrated on February 12th to inspire people throughout the globe to reflect and act on the principles of intellectual bravery, perpetual curiosity and learning, scientific exploration, and hunger for truth. Darwin Day is a day of celebration, activism, and international cooperation for the advancement of science, education, and human well-being. |
To learn more about Charles Darwin, his involvement in the abolitionist movement, and understand what he risked by publishing On the Origin of Species, we recommend the following, well-researched book, Darwin's Sacred Cause: Race, Slavery and the Quest for Human Origins by renowned Darwin scholars, Adrian Desmond and James Moore. Darwin's belief in human unity was in direct contrast to many of his contemporaries. You can also watch the author, James Moore speak on the book here.
Christian Hayden, Ethical Culture Leader
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FEBRUARY 9, 2025 | CO-CREATING THE FUTURE: IMAGINING (THE) SOCIETY IN 25 YEARS
We joined Ethical Culture Leader, Christian Hayden for an exercise in imagining the path of the Ethical Society and society at-large- what could this congregation, movement, and world look like in the future? Pulling from Octavia Butler's Parable of the Sower, shifts in Humanist service that happened since his time in Ghana, Christian will lead folks in collective speculation and process philosophizing. Christian Hayden (he/him), is a certified Ethical Culture Leader, who works with a non-profit called Women Against Abuse in Philadelphia, facilitating workshops about healthy relationships and teen dating violence prevention. He spent a year in 2015-2016 in Ghana serving with the Humanist Service Corps. He is a graduate of The College of Wooster with a major in Urban Studies and a minor in Africana studies. He is also a talented photographer and poet. Christian lives in Philadelphia. |
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FEBRUARY 2, 2025 | THE FIRST POLITICAL ORDER, HOW SEX SHAPES GOVERNANCE AND NATIONAL SECURITY WORLDWIDE | HEATHER READ & LEIGH JENKINS-JOHNSTON
Leigh and Heather will present on the recent book club selection, The First Political Order, How Sex Shapes Governance and National Security Worldwide, by Valerie M. Hudson, Donna Lee Bowen and Perpetual Lynn Nielsen. Global history records an astonishing variety of forms of social organization. Yet almost universally, males subordinate females. How does the relationship between men and women shape the wider political order? The First Political Order is a groundbreaking demonstration that the persistent and systematic subordination of women underlies all other institutions, with wide-ranging implications for global security and development. |
Blake Marduk
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JANUARY 26, 2025 | AUTHENTIC JOY: BARRIERS, BOUNDARIES AND BEYOND YOURSELF | BLAKE MARDUK
In a time of political strife, it’s important to actively seek joy and engage in things that bring it about within yourself and your community. Blake will discuss explorations of barriers, boundaries, and concepts that are beyond just yourself and shed light on the crucial practice of seeking joy. Blake Marduk is a Graduate of Truman State University where they studied the teaching and the physiological effects on the human body after being exposed to various forms of hypnotism, storytelling, and humor stimuli. After leaving school Blake went on to become an entrepreneur in the stand-up comedy business in Jefferson City and Columbia. Since Covid, Blake has moved to St. Louis and has found their new passions in playing DND, writing poetry, and making new connections within the Ethical Culture. |