Victoria Shoemaker is a multi-instrumentalist with a deep affinity & talent for the flute. Classically trained, but having discovered her deep passion in improvisational flute, and having been mentored by Eau Claire’s grammy-nominated flute artist, Peter Phippen, Victoria’s gifts are impressive and diverse. She rocks, folks, classicals & can definitely spin ethereal music of the spheres. Plus she’s been twice nominated for the People’s Choice Award for Best Music Teacher in NW Wisconsin. All this and she is still a few years away from 30. Also, catch her onstage with Peter Phippen in the mini rock duo Virginia Steel.

Racial Color-Blindness & Diversity Training can't get us to MLK's Dream, but maybe Race-Conscious Parenting can. Jennifer Harvey is the author of Raising White Kids: Bringing Up Children in a Racially Unjust America, with both practical & philosophical guidance for those who would like to make the dream real. Jennifer's Ph.D. from Union Theological Seminary is in Christian Social Ethics, and she is Professor of Religion at Drake University.

Past/current religious/spiritual influences:
American Baptist, Baptist, Liberation Theology

In the land of "he who dies with the most toys wins" and where we're taught that more-and-more possessions will make us happy, it's hardly a surprise that hoarding is of epidemic proportions. Though the disorder has been addressed piecemeal, Catholic Charities of Milwaukee created a comprehensive Hoarding Intervention & Treatment Program in 2016, whose Director, Carla Alejo, is also chair of the Milwaukee Hoarding Task Force.

Katy Vernon is a rare combination of deep, joyful, heart-rending, creative, and spritely. Wielding her trusty ukulele and backed up by a rich assortment of instruments, her voice, tunes, & lyrics will embed themselves in your heart. Born & raised in England, Katy landed in Minnesota in 1993, and has produced 3 CDs over the past 10 years. Just recently she performed her 4th Toilet Tune with Sarah Morris.

While the nation & the state have veered into conservative and even regressive social directions, there has been refuge & hope locally in the Eau Claire City Council, which included a strong progressive majority as of spring, 2018. Even while others were dragging their feet, work was proceding locally on sustainability, reducing the incarceration system, and increasing responsiveness to citizen concerns. We speak today with 3 members of the city council, Jill Christopherson (in her 1st year), Kate Beaton (in her 3rd year), & acting council president, Andrew Werthmann (in his 10th year).

Too many people ignore the power of local government to transform the most crucial aspects of our world, focusing only on our national government. A groundswell of local activism tilted the county board of Eau Claire, WI, in the progressive direction, and the lessons & possibilities are promising around the country. We speak with 3 recent members of the board of supervisors about their experience & motivations: Martha Nieman, Sandy McKinney, & Don Mowry.

Past/current religious/spiritual influences:
Quaker, Unitarian Universalist, Unity Churches

The music of Jennifer Levenhagen stirs deep currents and invites soul rejuvenation. While she’s shared her guitar, piano, violin, and exquisite voice in many settings, including playing bluegrass music, her current calling is to the meditative, rooting, flowing end of the spectrum, as evidenced by her recent release of piano improvisations, Another Sea, and her growing work in what she calls Listening Rooms, a place for personal deepening, reflection, and settling.

Ecologist Huda Alkaff is a founding member and director of Wisconsin Green Muslims, a volunteer environmental justice group based in Milwaukee. She uses her advanced education and her Muslim faith to educate others and forge interfaith collaborations in the service of sustainability. She also has connections with other environmental justice organizations, including Wisconsin Interfaith Earth Network, Wisconsin Interfaith Power and Light, Wisconsin Water Thinkers Network, Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice and Greening Ramadan.

Xanthe Alexis is a captivating and enchanting musician from Colorado Springs who so clearly captures power, meaning and charm through her music. She self-describes her music as sepia-toned Americana, and while I don’t see it exactly that way, there is something reflective and deep that the listener will receive from her music, She performed for many years as part of The Hopeful Heroines including on their album, Goddamn Mess (Live), and just returned from the annual Folk Alliance International session in Montreal.