2023 Annual Peace Conference Think Large, Act Locally
This year, four esteemed Nebraska State Senators will join Nebraskans for Peace for a panel discussion on the 2023 Legislative Session. Our theme for this year’s Peace Conference, Think Large, Act Locally, asks us to consider the condition of the planet and its people and to take action in our own communities to correct the atrocities we see happening around us. We know that what happens on a local level is a microcosm of what is happening on a national and global level. Join us to find out what we can do to support our Nebraska State Senators in the 2024 Legislative Session and to let them know how they can better support Nebraska communities.
We are excited to announce that we will gather again in person for our 2023 Annual Peace Conference! On November 4th, 2023, we will gather at Aldersgate United Methodist Church at 8320 South Street in Lincoln. Aldersgate won the Sacred Grounds award from the National Interfaith Power and Light’s Cool Congregations Challenge for transforming its 1.9 acres of lawn into a neighborhood arboretum with a nature-based playground.
Senator Danielle Conrad was first elected to the Nebraska Legislature in 2006; and re-elected in 2010 and 2022. Senator Conrad graduated from the University of Nebraska College of Law in 2003. Senator Conrad is a member of the Nebraska Bar Association board, Legal Aid of Nebraska board, and Nebraska Lawyers Trust Account Foundation.
Senator Conrad served as Executive Director of the ACLU of Nebraska from 2014 to 2022. Senator Conrad serves Nebraskans on the Education, Government, Military, & Veterans Affairs, and Nebraska Retirement Systems Committees.
Senator Terrel McKinney was born and raised in Omaha, NE. He attended Omaha North High School, graduating in 2008. McKinney is a father and state Senator representing District 11. He serves as the chair of the Urban Affairs Committee and is also a member of the Business & Labor and Judiciary Committees. He is a devoted community organizer, activist, and wrestling coach within the North Omaha community.
Before running for office, Senator McKinney worked as a community organizer focusing on food insecurity, Medicaid expansion, and other community initiatives. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Sport Business Management from Maryville University-St. Louis has a Master’s in Business Administration from Midland University. Senator McKinney is pursuing a law degree at Creighton University School of Law.
Senator Machaela Cavanaugh, an Omaha native, was first elected to the Nebraska Legislature in 2018 and re-elected in 2022, serving the 6th District in Omaha. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration.
Senator Cavanaugh has nearly 20 years of experience in community engagement and public affairs. Before her time in the Legislature, Senator Cavanaugh worked at the Buffett Early Childhood Institute at the University of Nebraska and she has served as Director of Development for Opera Omaha and as a Staff Assistant in Washington D.C. for U.S., Senator Ben Nelson.
Senator Tony Vargas has devoted his career to public service and advocacy. He began his career as a middle school science teacher and then went on to serve on the Omaha Public Schools Board. Since 2016,
Senator Vargas has served District 7, the communities of Downtown and South Omaha, in the Nebraska Legislature, where he focused on addressing educational equity, economic opportunity, and healthcare access. He is a member of the Appropriations Committee, the Executive Board, the Legislature’s Planning Committee, and the Nebraska Retirement Systems Committee.
We hope you will plan on attending the NFP Peace Conference on Saturday, November 4th at Aldersgate Methodist United Church in Lincoln not only to hear our tremendous Nebraska State Senator champions but three afternoon workshops as well. You will be able to choose to attend one of the three workshops that align with NFP’s priorities.
Our Anti-War Workshop by Omaha Alternatives to Violence “Making Friends with Conflict”
Omaha Alternatives to Violence Project (AVP), the local chapter of AVP-USA, is a volunteer-led non-profit. Founded in 1995, Omaha AVP has ben a prison-based program teaching transforming power to incarcerated citizens. Transforming power is the power to change a potentially violent behavior or situation to peaceful ones.
In 2022, AVP expanded is work to the greater Omaha Community, offering community workshops to its ongoing prison work. Suzanne King has been with Omaha AVP in 2016 and Jerrold McLeod joined in 2021.
Our Social Justice Workshop from RISE’s Jasmine Harris “The Juvenile Justice System in Nebraska”
Jasmine L. Harris is the director of public policy and advocacy at RISE. She received her Master of Public Health degree from the University of Nebraska Medical Center in 2010 with an emphasis in Community Health Education and her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Nebraska at Omaha in 2005. With RISE, Jasmine has worked to increase policy advocacy engagement around criminal justice issues and increase efforts through Dream.org’s National Day of Empathy, which is Nebraska’s only lobby day dedicated to increasing awareness about the impacts legislation has on people who have experienced the criminal justice system, their families, and communities.
Our Environmental Workshop with previous OPPD Board Member Rick Yoder, NPPD Board Member Mary Harding, and LES Board Member Chelsea Johnson “How to Engage with Public Power?”
Rick Yoder, now retired, began his career in the public sector at the North Slope Borough and then the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation before relocating to Nebraska in 1992, where he worked at the Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department and the University of Nebraska at Omaha College of Business Administration. The throughline of his professional career was providing technical assistance to businesses so they could reduce risk to human health and the environment from their business operations. Rick served one term on the OPPD Board from January 2017-January 2023.
Mary Harding has been an advocate for the environment since helping found, Nebraska Citizen Action in 1988. She was Executive Director of the Nebraska Environmental Trust from its inception through 2006. Subsequently, she served for two years as the Executive Director of the Nebraska League of Conservation Voters. She has represented southeast Nebraska on the board of Nebraska Public Power District since 2003. She introduced the first renewable energy goal for the District, and as Chair of the Board led the process to adopt a net-zero carbon goal.
Chelsea Johnson is the Deputy Director of Conservation Nebraska, a nonprofit that protects our state’s environment by educating the public, supporting communities, and increasing civic engagement. She is a member of the Lincoln Electric System Board of Directors, and is currently serving her second term on the Lower Platte South NRD Board.
We are excited to announce that we will gather again in person for our 2023 Annual Peace Conference! On November 4th, 2023, we will gather at Aldersgate United Methodist Church at 8320 South Street in Lincoln. Aldersgate won the Sacred Grounds award from the National Interfaith Power and Light’s Cool Congregations Challenge for transforming its 1.9 acres of lawn into a neighborhood arboretum with a nature-based playground.
Senator Danielle Conrad was first elected to the Nebraska Legislature in 2006; and re-elected in 2010 and 2022. Senator Conrad graduated from the University of Nebraska College of Law in 2003. Senator Conrad is a member of the Nebraska Bar Association board, Legal Aid of Nebraska board, and Nebraska Lawyers Trust Account Foundation.
Senator Conrad served as Executive Director of the ACLU of Nebraska from 2014 to 2022. Senator Conrad serves Nebraskans on the Education, Government, Military, & Veterans Affairs, and Nebraska Retirement Systems Committees.
Senator Terrel McKinney was born and raised in Omaha, NE. He attended Omaha North High School, graduating in 2008. McKinney is a father and state Senator representing District 11. He serves as the chair of the Urban Affairs Committee and is also a member of the Business & Labor and Judiciary Committees. He is a devoted community organizer, activist, and wrestling coach within the North Omaha community.
Before running for office, Senator McKinney worked as a community organizer focusing on food insecurity, Medicaid expansion, and other community initiatives. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Sport Business Management from Maryville University-St. Louis has a Master’s in Business Administration from Midland University. Senator McKinney is pursuing a law degree at Creighton University School of Law.
Senator Machaela Cavanaugh, an Omaha native, was first elected to the Nebraska Legislature in 2018 and re-elected in 2022, serving the 6th District in Omaha. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration.
Senator Cavanaugh has nearly 20 years of experience in community engagement and public affairs. Before her time in the Legislature, Senator Cavanaugh worked at the Buffett Early Childhood Institute at the University of Nebraska and she has served as Director of Development for Opera Omaha and as a Staff Assistant in Washington D.C. for U.S., Senator Ben Nelson.
Senator Tony Vargas has devoted his career to public service and advocacy. He began his career as a middle school science teacher and then went on to serve on the Omaha Public Schools Board. Since 2016,
Senator Vargas has served District 7, the communities of Downtown and South Omaha, in the Nebraska Legislature, where he focused on addressing educational equity, economic opportunity, and healthcare access. He is a member of the Appropriations Committee, the Executive Board, the Legislature’s Planning Committee, and the Nebraska Retirement Systems Committee.
We hope you will plan on attending the NFP Peace Conference on Saturday, November 4th at Aldersgate Methodist United Church in Lincoln not only to hear our tremendous Nebraska State Senator champions but three afternoon workshops as well. You will be able to choose to attend one of the three workshops that align with NFP’s priorities.
Our Anti-War Workshop by Omaha Alternatives to Violence “Making Friends with Conflict”
Omaha Alternatives to Violence Project (AVP), the local chapter of AVP-USA, is a volunteer-led non-profit. Founded in 1995, Omaha AVP has ben a prison-based program teaching transforming power to incarcerated citizens. Transforming power is the power to change a potentially violent behavior or situation to peaceful ones.
In 2022, AVP expanded is work to the greater Omaha Community, offering community workshops to its ongoing prison work. Suzanne King has been with Omaha AVP in 2016 and Jerrold McLeod joined in 2021.
Our Social Justice Workshop from RISE’s Jasmine Harris “The Juvenile Justice System in Nebraska”
Jasmine L. Harris is the director of public policy and advocacy at RISE. She received her Master of Public Health degree from the University of Nebraska Medical Center in 2010 with an emphasis in Community Health Education and her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Nebraska at Omaha in 2005. With RISE, Jasmine has worked to increase policy advocacy engagement around criminal justice issues and increase efforts through Dream.org’s National Day of Empathy, which is Nebraska’s only lobby day dedicated to increasing awareness about the impacts legislation has on people who have experienced the criminal justice system, their families, and communities.
Our Environmental Workshop with previous OPPD Board Member Rick Yoder, NPPD Board Member Mary Harding, and LES Board Member Chelsea Johnson “How to Engage with Public Power?”
Rick Yoder, now retired, began his career in the public sector at the North Slope Borough and then the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation before relocating to Nebraska in 1992, where he worked at the Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department and the University of Nebraska at Omaha College of Business Administration. The throughline of his professional career was providing technical assistance to businesses so they could reduce risk to human health and the environment from their business operations. Rick served one term on the OPPD Board from January 2017-January 2023.
Mary Harding has been an advocate for the environment since helping found, Nebraska Citizen Action in 1988. She was Executive Director of the Nebraska Environmental Trust from its inception through 2006. Subsequently, she served for two years as the Executive Director of the Nebraska League of Conservation Voters. She has represented southeast Nebraska on the board of Nebraska Public Power District since 2003. She introduced the first renewable energy goal for the District, and as Chair of the Board led the process to adopt a net-zero carbon goal.
Chelsea Johnson is the Deputy Director of Conservation Nebraska, a nonprofit that protects our state’s environment by educating the public, supporting communities, and increasing civic engagement. She is a member of the Lincoln Electric System Board of Directors, and is currently serving her second term on the Lower Platte South NRD Board.
