Wizard Rock is back to play us out on Sunday night. Turn the volume up and make wherever you are the dancefloor! We’re thrilled to welcome back How Airplanes Fly, The Lovegoods, and GLA house band Tonks and the Aurors, with more to come! 

An important part of Camp, make sure you join us for our traditional closing ceremony.

You’ve spent a weekend practicing your activism skills, and now it’s time to take action! Stella’s Nest Action Center (S.N.A.C.) is back and ready to see what we can accomplish together.

Prison and policing abolition might seem like a radical idea now, but we have the power to make it a mainstream one. Learn from a panel of abolition experts how fan activists can become abolition advocates.

KRIS HENDERSON, AMISTAD LAW

Kris Henderson is the Executive Director of Amistad Law Project. They grew up in East Orange, New Jersey-- a majority Black, working class community. Their educational career began in East Orange's underfunded schools, continued at a private Christian School and led to boarding school in New England for high school. Their diverse educational experiences and the realization that a quality education is possible but often incredibly expensive, led them to work towards making sure we all have what we need. They are a movement lawyer, a co-founder of Amistad and a co-founding member of the Coalition to Abolish Death By Incarceration. They are on the steering committee of Free The Ballot! Incarcerated Voter Family Network. They are a 2018 Law for Black Lives and Movement Law Lab Legal Innovators Fellow and a 2019 Soros Justice Fellow.

NIKKI GRANT, AMISTAD LAW

Nikki Grant is Amistad Law Project’s Policy Director and co-founder. She is the proud daughter of Jamaican immigrants and grew up in a tightly-knit, working class West Indian community in Orlando, Florida. As a young person, she witnessed poverty, racial segregation and inequitable schools in her community, as well as her father’s disabling chronic illness. She was inspired by the demonstration of care by primarily Black women neighbors and church family to work towards social equity through a Black feminist lens. Nikki is a movement lawyer, Courtwatch Organizer for the Judge Accountability Table, and a founding member of the Coalition to Abolish Death by Incarceration.   

NEIL PHELPS, ORGANIZING EMPOWERMENT

An organizer, conservationist, bikewrench, and occasional barista committed to work that furthers self-determination, environmental reparation, and access to abundance in communities of color. Neil lives, works, and is in love with Saginaw, Michigan. He’s overjoyed to be part of organizing efforts all over the nation, as part of Organizing Empowerment’s training team.

MODERATOR: KATIE BOWERS

Katie (she/her) has been leading Fandom Forward’s campaigns since 2013, first as a volunteer and then as Senior Staff after joining the team in 2015. Katie has played an integral role in some of our most iconic campaigns, and her commitment to relational organizing and community-centered leadership has played an essential role in shaping the organization into what it is today. An avid reader with a desire to do good, Katie has been integrating her love of pop culture and social justice through youth organizing initiatives and experiential education since 2005.

It’s a bit harrowing trying to navigate the news these days, but don’t worry: you have plenty of skills as a fan that can be applied to being a media expert! Our panel of journalists and rhetoric experts walk you through it.

ASHLEY HINCK

Ashley is an Assistant Professor in the Communciation Department at Xavier University in Cincinnati, OH. Ashley’s research and teaching focus on communication online, rhetorics of citizenship and activism, and fandom communities.

PROMA KHOSLA

Proma Khosla is a writer and dancer based in New York City, but she’s also a director, producer, comic, and professional Harry Potter fan. For updates, check out her Instagram and Twitter (@promawhatup).

CONSTANCE GIBBS

Connie (she/her) is the Director of Content Strategy a writer, editor, podcaster, social media manager, and sometimes photographer from NYC. She is currently the social media manager for a book publisher you’ve heard of. Connie is most often found tweeting about her favorite TV shows and pop culture from her hobbit hole that looks an awful lot like Hufflepuff House.

JOHN VITTI

John Vitti has spent more than 30 years in newspapers, including the last 20+ at the Boston Globe. He has also spent the last 14 years teaching/advising/volunteering in the Watertown (Mass.) Public Schools. In March 2020, he founded Headliners in Education, a 501c3 nonprofit that is all about the wonderfulness of journalism in schools and is affiliated with students and teachers in 350+ schools in 34 states and four countries.

MODERATOR: TAEKIA BLACKWELL

With over 10-years working in the events and/or nonprofit space, I like to think of myself as a jack of all trades. I have an innate skill at helping shape and clarify great ideas with a creativity and tenacity all my own. I am a driven and versatile operations leader with proven success building core infrastructures that fuel organizational and revenue growth. I pride myself on being an energetic director who excels at unifying teams, developing creative solutions, and balancing multiple shifting priorities with ease.

You’ve written 100,000 words worth of fanfiction; you moderate a message board; you volunteer at your favorite convention. But how does this translate into “real world” skills? How can you turn your passion into professional experience? During this hour, we'll talk general resume and job search tips from people who have been on both sides of the hiring process. Bring your resume, and we’ll help you incorporate your fandom experience into a professional resume.

OLIVIA DOLPHIN, she/her @LiviDol

Content creator with diverse background of experience with copywriting, proofreading and video marketing. Also known as the office "Harry Potter expert."

Though presidential administrations have changed in the United States, things at the border have remained largely the same. Hear from Never Again Action how immigration is being handled in 2021 and what you can do to advocate for immigrants.

ALYSSA RUBIN

Alyssa Rubin is a co-founder of Never Again Action and is currently the National Campaigns Director. She is an alumna of JOIN for Justice’s Jewish Community Organizing Fellowship and the Anne Braden Anti-Racism Fellowship. Her justice work is deeply rooted in Jewish values and radical imagination of what is possible when we build unstoppable people power. She currently lives in Boston and when she's not organizing, loves to spend time gardening, biking, and doing highly-involved cooking projects.

SALVADOR SARMIENTO

Salvador Sarmiento coordinates campaigns and legislative efforts for the 50-member National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON), accompanying local, state and national efforts in defense of immigrant and workers rights. Prior to that, he served as Advocacy Officer at the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Human Rights (RFK Human Rights), collaborating with activists in Mexico, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and the US Gulf Coast.

Ethical storytelling aligns the message with the mission. By leading with our values and focusing on the strengths of the communities we serve, we reinforce that our vision for the future is within reach. In this workshop, you’ll learn eight tips that will help you become a stronger advocate and walk away with an outline for your own public narrative about the cause you care about most.

KATE LORD

Kate (she/her/hers) believes that nonprofit organizations can tell stories that lead with their values, preserve the dignity of their communities, and raise money. She is the communications specialist at She's the First, a nonprofit that teams up with grassroots organizations to ensure that girls everywhere are educated, respected, and heard. After more than a decade of working in news and nonprofits, She is currently earning her master's degree in Digital Advocacy and Brand Communication from New York University.

Participating in fandom can often spark your own creative juices. Oftentimes, it is a piece of content or media that we feel very strongly about that inspires us to make our own. Members of the Black Girls Create team will discuss their own journeys from fandom to creation, the triumphs and struggles, and give advice to fans interested in creating.

BAYANA DAVIS

Bayana (she/her) is the co-founder and CEO of Black Girls Create and cohost of the #WizardTeam podcast and the Things We Imagine series on YouTube. She is a fierce advocate of critical fandom, the increased representation of Black women in media, time travel, dragons, and avoiding the AI apocalypse. You can generally find her fangirling and agonizing about writing on Twitter at @yanawroteit.

PORSHÉA PATTERSON-HURST
Porshèa is a storyteller. Data analysis/research, fiction writing, and series co-hosting—Things We Imagine on YouTube as well as podcasts @CastleBlackPod & @SafeNegroPod—are her primary devices. Living in Brooklyn, though hailing from Middle Tennessee, her life is full of travel, reading, things that sparkle, and working with organizations she’s passionate about: book reviewing, partnership development, and highlighting creative works by BIPOC creators at Black Girls Create; co-hosting and media analysis at For All Nerds; and considering the scope of present and future work as a board member of the Harry Potter Alliance. Follow her journey on Twitter @porsheuh.

ROBYN-RENÉE JORDAN

Robyn (she/they) is a community builder, producer, host, and sometimes cultural critic. A true California girl, born and raised all over Southern California, her favorite things include playing vinyl records in dark rooms, browsing city library shelves, sporadic marathons of Star Trek, and preparing for the robot takeover. You can find her live-tweeting TV on Twitter @Robyn_Rambles.

NICOLE HILL

Nicole (they/she) is a Black, queer content creator, community cultivator, brand consultant, and pop culture connoisseur.

As the world begins to understand the long-term impact of the pandemic on our social norms and we collectively navigate what “post” a pandemic even means, rituals can help anchor us in what we want to keep and make space for what we want to create. How do we balance the pandemic rituals we want to hold on to, returning to pre-pandemic rituals we miss, and creating brand new rituals for this new life? Our panel of expert ritualists will explore the question together. 

GRACE GORDON

Grace Gordon (she/her) is an actress and activist. Her podcast THE ART LIFE was founded during a lunch break between GLA sessions. Listen at www.theartlife.show

XANDRA ROBINSON-BURNS

Xandra Robinson-Burns (she/her) is a Writer, the Protagonist of Heroine Training (heroinetraining.com), and co-host of The Art Life podcast. She writes about everyday rituals, being the heroine of our own stories, and finding wisdom in what we do for fun. A Gryffindor and Jane Austen songwriter, she lives in Edinburgh, Scotland.

EZRA BOOKMAN

Ezra is an experience designer, artist, and facilitator exploring the transformational power of ritual and art. Ezra is the founder of Ritualist, a creative studio helping leaders create more conscious companies and connected communities, and the youngest member on the Board of Directors of The Secret City, an Obie Award-winning arts organization.

Fandom communities are just as big and complex as any other, and they're shaped by the fans that create them. Learn how to spot fandom racism, how to address it, and how to be an ally in fandom spaces no matter who you are or where you come from.

STITCH

Writer and critic about antiblackness, Stitch is here to write what needs writing. https://linktr.ee/StitchMM

Relational organizing focuses on building genuine connections with volunteers for your movement, who in turn build more connections of their own. If that sounds familiar, it’s probably because fandom is a great example of relational organizing! We’re sharing the lessons fandom has to teach about this organizing strategy and showing you how your fandom skills can be applied for activism.

NEIL PHELPS, ORGANIZING EMPOWERMENT

An organizer, conservationist, bikewrench, and occasional barista committed to work that furthers self-determination, environmental reparation, and access to abundance in communities of color. Neil lives, works, and is in love with Saginaw, Michigan. He’s overjoyed to be part of organizing efforts all over the nation, as part of Organizing Empowerment’s training team.

JANAE PHILLIPS, FANDOM FORWARD

Janae (she/her) is a writer, experience designer, and community organizer. As Fandom Forward’s Co-Managing Director she has trained thousands of activists around the world and helped shape the landscape of fan activism. She writes about love, community, and the complicated business of everyday life - usually with a bit of magic involved. Janae is from the Sonoran Desert and lives on traditional Tohono O’Odham land in the city of Tucson, AZ. Find her at janae.online

KATIE BOWERS, FANDOM FORWARD

Katie (she/her) has been leading Fandom Forward’s campaigns since 2013, first as a volunteer and then as Senior Staff after joining the team in 2015. Katie has played an integral role in some of our most iconic campaigns, and her commitment to relational organizing and community-centered leadership has played an essential role in shaping the organization into what it is today. An avid reader with a desire to do good, Katie has been integrating her love of pop culture and social justice through youth organizing initiatives and experiential education since 2005.  

THE FORCE IS STRONG WITH THIS ONE: LESSONS FROM STAR WARS

In a time when balance certainly needs to be brought to the force, what lessons can we learn from the struggles and wins of our favorite Star Wars heroes? Join panelists Preeti Chhibber, author of A Jedi You Will Be and contributor to the Star Wars Clone Wars: Anthology, and Annalise Ophelian, documentary filmmaker behind Looking for Leia. Thanks to Annalise, all Campers will receive an access link to watch the full Looking for Leia series! 

ANNALISE OPHELIAN

Annalise Ophelian (she/her) is a San Francisco-based documentary filmmaker, clinical psychologist, and media consultant whose work includes the docu-series Looking for Leia (SYFY, 2019) and MAJOR! (Outfest Audience Award Best Documentary, 2016). She is a member of Reps on Set, a team of production advisors, coordinators, and advocates for underrepresented identities in television and film. www.annaliseophelian.com / www.repsonset.com

PREETI CHHIBBER

Called “Spider-Man super fan and author” by Publishers Weekly, Preeti Chhibber is a YA author, speaker, and freelance writer. She worked as a publishing professional. She has written for SYFY, Polygon, BookRiot, BookRiot Comics, The Nerds of Color, and The Mary Sue, among others. Her debut original middle-grade, Orientation (Marvel’s Avenger’s Assembly #1) came out from Scholastic in August 2020 and her first picture book, A Jedi You Will Be was released by Disney this fall, she is also featured in the forthcoming YA and Adult anthologies Battle of the Bands (Candlewick, Fall 2021) and Stone Sword Table (Random House, 2022). You can find her co-hosting the podcasts Desi Geek Girls and Strong Female Characters (SYFYWire). She’s appeared on several panels at New York Comic Con, San Diego Comic Con, and on screen on the SYFY Network.

Moderator: ABIGAIL E. PAGE

Abby (she/her) is the Volunteer Manager of the Leadership and Education Department at Fandom Forward. She considers herself an Anakin but dreams of being an Ahsoka.

Hope you weren’t up TOO late in the woods last night, because there’s still lots to do today at Camp!

Friends of Fandom Forward join this live edition of the podcast game show and compete to solve Scooby Doo mysteries. Host Mike Schubert will recap mysteries and dole out points while Robyn and Emily play the role of Mystery, Inc. Grab some popcorn and a flashlight and join us to see who will sleuth out the real culprit first. 

MIKE SHUBERT, Meddling Adults @MeddlingAdults

At this point, Mike Schubert is just a professional children's book reader. His first successful foray into podcasting was Potterless, which follows him reading the Harry Potter series for the very first time. He is a founding member of Multitude and the co-creator of HORSE, a basketball podcast about everything except for the wins and losses.

ROBYN JORDAN, Black Girls Create @Robyn_Rambles

Robyn is a community builder, producer, host, and sometimes cultural critic. A true California girl, born and raised all over Southern California, her favorite things include playing vinyl records in dark rooms, browsing city library shelves, sporadic marathons of Star Trek, and preparing for the robot takeover. You can find her live-tweeting TV on Twitter @Robyn_Rambles.

We’ve all got art in our hearts, and it should be shared! The Community Open Mic, hosted by Wizards in Space Literary Magazine, is a mainstay of the Saturday night GLA experience. Community members share their original poetry, prose, and music with fellow Campers! 

Interested in participating in the Wizards in Space Open Mic? Sign up for a spot here.

Are you passionate about social justice, but unsure how to get started as an activist? Join Kerrie Husband and Ashley Clayson from the Fandom Forward Training Team to learn the basics of advocacy and allyship, including what it means to be an advocate or ally, how to educate yourself on social justice issues, and how to talk to others about social justice issues you care about.

KERRIE HUSBAND

Kerrie Husband (she/her) joined Fandom Forward in 2018 as a Wizard Activist School Facilitator and became the Wizard Activist School Team Lead in 2019. In 2021, Kerrie became co-Lead of the Fandom Forward Training Team, which manages Wizard Activist School and produces a variety of free toolkits, activities, and other resources. Kerrie is passionate about utilizing fandom to help others learn the skills they need to become effective advocates and allies while also providing education on ways to prevent burnout and compassion fatigue.

ASHLEY CLAYSON

Ashley Clayson (they/she) is a Training Facilitator at Fandom Forward. They create free, easy-to-use toolkits for fan activism and train activists one-on-one at Wizard Activist School. They hold a PhD in Rhetoric from the University of Minnesota and have been creating exciting learning experiences for learners of all ages since 2011.

Percy Jacskson and the Lightning Thief was published in 2005, but the fandom surrounding it and Riordan Imprint’s growing array of stories continues to be dam active. Join hosts of the Seaweed Brain podcast Carter Nakamoto and Erica Ito for a deep dive into PJO fandom today and how Percy fans do good.

CARTER NAKAMOTO

Carter (they/them) is a co-host of Seaweed Brain, a podcast about Percy Jackson that focuses on Percabeth, queerness, and questions of Western Civilization. Their co-host and them had many formative experiences in fandom as childhood friends and have enjoyed diving in deeper. Outside the podcast, they are a recent college graduate working in academia.

ERICA ITO

Erica (she/her) is the co-host and producer of Seaweed Brain: A Percy Jackson Podcast that seeks to answer the question, is Percabeth the greatest love story ever told? She's a recent graduate of the University of Michigan's Musical Theatre program and a proud fangirl.

MODERATOR: JANAE PHILLIPS

Janae (she/her) is a writer, experience designer, and community organizer. As Fandom Forward’s Co-Managing Director she has trained thousands of activists around the world and helped shape the landscape of fan activism. She writes about love, community, and the complicated business of everyday life - usually with a bit of magic involved. Janae is from the Sonoran Desert and lives on traditional Tohono O’Odham land in the city of Tucson, AZ. Find her at janae.online

We all love and live in many fandoms, but how do they manifest in our everyday lives? How do we bring the stories we love into personal, professional, creative, and activist spaces? Join members of the Black Girls Create team as we discuss how the fandom lives in you!

DONNALIE JAMNAH

DJ (she/they) is a Liberian-American educator, storyteller, and instructional designer who uses her background in ‘people work’ to create art that is compelling and often instructive. She is a mother, a mental health advocate, a Black queer artist, and a gigantic nerd.

PORSHÉA PATTERSON-HURST

Porshèa is a storyteller. Data analysis/research, fiction writing, and series co-hosting—Things We Imagine on YouTube as well as podcasts @CastleBlackPod & @SafeNegroPod—are her primary devices. Living in Brooklyn, though hailing from Middle Tennessee, her life is full of travel, reading, things that sparkle, and working with organizations she’s passionate about: book reviewing, partnership development, and highlighting creative works by BIPOC creators at Black Girls Create; co-hosting and media analysis at For All Nerds; and considering the scope of present and future work as a board member of the Harry Potter Alliance. Follow her journey on Twitter @porsheuh.

ROBYN-RENÉE JORDAN

Robyn (she/they) is a community builder, producer, host, and sometimes cultural critic. A true California girl, born and raised all over Southern California, her favorite things include playing vinyl records in dark rooms, browsing city library shelves, sporadic marathons of Star Trek, and preparing for the robot takeover. You can find her live-tweeting TV on Twitter @Robyn_Rambles.

Whether you’re a fan of pop culture behemoths like Marvel or Star Wars or your fandom is you and like 10 other people, a zine is a fantastic way to share your passion! Join expert zinesters Ames, and Alex for this hands-on workshop to learn how to make your very own fan activism zine. 

AMES NEUMANN

Ames (they/she/he) is a genderqueer writer, fanfic enthusiast, and cat parent. They want you to make zines.

ALEX L COMBS

Alex (he/they) is a San Francisco based cartoonist and educator who makes comics about gender, queerness, and transness. He uses fanzines, perzines, and educational comics to explore identity in relation to fandom, community, and history.

Characters of all personality types can become leaders, just like people in the real world. What can we learn about the qualities of leadership and the ways every type can take charge from some of our favorite characters in media? Connie and Delia, hosts of The Nerds Are Typing: An MBTI and Enneagram Podcast, take a look at some of our favorite fictional rulers, firelords, community organizers, princesses, and bosses and explore how their Myers Briggs Personality type and Enneagram reflect and inform what makes their leadership work.

CONSTANCE GIBBS

Connie (she/her) is the Director of Content Strategy a writer, editor, podcaster, social media manager, and sometimes photographer from NYC. She is currently the social media manager for a book publisher you’ve heard of. Connie is most often found tweeting about her favorite TV shows and pop culture from her hobbit hole that looks an awful lot like Hufflepuff House.

DELIA GALLEGOS

Delia (she/her) has been a nerd longer than she has known the meaning of the word. Texas-born and raised, she’s host of 'The Nerds Are Typing: An Enneagram and MBTI Podcast,' a writer, an off-key singer, and journal enthusiast. When she’s not reading fanfiction into the late hours, Delia enjoys nerding out over K-Dramas, Jane Austen, Lord of the Rings, Doctor Who, and anime. You can nerd out with her on Twitter @deliaistyping or on Instagram @thenerdsaretyping.

Join Jay Justice, cosplay and editor, and Dara Baldwin, Director of National Policy for the Center for Disability Rights, sharing their experiences with disability justice and fandom. Learn how you can be a better advocate and ally to people with disabilities in fandom spaces.

JAY JUSTICE

Jay Justice (@ThatJayJustice) is an award-winning editor, consultant, developer, cosplayer, and advocate from New York City. Her work has been featured by SyFy, BBC America, Disney+, and Marvel Comics. Since 2009 Jay has crafted over 100 costumes and created inclusive programming at conventions, libraries & schools across the country.

DARA BALDWIN

Ms. Baldwin is responsible for legislative work, from research and writing comments, testimonies, letters and reports to assisting with advocacy outreach and working with Congressional staff, the Administration, coalition partners and others on multiple issue areas for improving the lives of persons with disabilities. She has led multiple national and international advocacy campaigns and serves on the Board of Directors for the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC), the Board of SPAN Parent Advocacy Network, and the Board of The Daniel Initiative SET. She also serves as an expert advisor on several research projects or policy movements with organizations such as African American Policy Forum, Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals, and Project South.

MODERATOR: KARTER POWELL

Karter (they/them) is a Nebraska-raised and New York City-based event coordinator, bookish podcast host/producer, fan of fandoms, and activist. Formerly a Fandom Forward volunteer, they are passionate about the way fans can change the world. Currently, Karter spends a lot of time around books and loves to tell the world about them. You can find Karter on the internet @karterdpowell on all platforms.

Reaching your organizing goals is key to bringing about real, lasting change in your community. Whether you're running a campaign or mobilizing to build political power, it's important to make sure your digital organizing is reflective of the times in which we live. Communities all over the country are banding together to fight the impact of the pandemic, combat racism and systems of oppression, and pooling resources to ensure we build healthcare and education systems that work for all of us. Small-dollar donors are an important part of this work, forming a powerful base of supporters who are ready to get involved and push your team over the finish line. During this training, digital fundraising experts from ActBlue, a nonprofit organization that builds online fundraising tools, will show you how to build an online fundraising program that empowers your supporters to take action online.

Presented by ActBlue

RUBY SARRON

In 2016, Ruby (she/her) began her career dedicated to shifting the power structures of our country. Over the years, she's worked as a fundraiser, a campaign staffer and a trainer. In each of these roles, she has developed her ability to reach people where they’re at and her passion for creating a seat at the table for folks who have historically been left out of the political process. In 2019, Ruby moved back to her hometown of Boston to take a position as the first Training Director at ActBlue. Here, in collaboration with the incredible ActBlue staff, she has built out both a training team and accessible training programs to provide candidates, campaigns, nonprofits and movement leaders the information, support and resources they need to create and run a digital fundraising program. Since the creation of the ActBlue training team, they have trained over 3,000 folks. Ruby remains committed to building power in our communities through training.

It’s easy to set goals, but more challenging to create goals that actually help you! As you set off on your Camp journey, learn how to create structured goals that will pull their weight in supporting you.

KERRIE HUSBAND

Kerrie Husband (she/her) joined Fandom Forward in 2018 as a Wizard Activist School Facilitator and became the Wizard Activist School Team Lead in 2019. In 2021, Kerrie became co-Lead of the Fandom Forward Training Team, which manages Wizard Activist School and produces a variety of free toolkits, activities, and other resources. Kerrie is passionate about utilizing fandom to help others learn the skills they need to become effective advocates and allies while also providing education on ways to prevent burnout and compassion fatigue.

ASHLEY CLAYSON

Ashley Clayson (they/she) is a Training Facilitator at Fandom Forward. They create free, easy-to-use toolkits for fan activism and train activists one-on-one at Wizard Activist School. They hold a PhD in Rhetoric from the University of Minnesota and have been creating exciting learning experiences for learners of all ages since 2011.

In the height of the pandemic, many of us had to learn how to find joy in the little things [the rise of cottagecore and the return to favorite childhood games and shows over the past year illustrates this]. Now that things are opening back up, how can we take the lessons we learned about simplicity and self care into this new world? In this interactive workshop, we will create self care plans and learn new ways to follow our passions, set strong boundaries, and live our lives with joy.

TIARA DEGUZMAN

Tiara DeGuzman (She/Her) is a full time Career and Life Coach located in Chicago IL. She is passionate about social justice and centers her work on advocating for and engaging with queer communities of color. Tiara can usually be found doing book reviews on Instagram (@booknerdspells) or working on her book, which she hopes to finish soon!

During this live episode of Bending Not Breaking, participants and your hosts will engage with "The Earth King," episode 18 of Book 2 of Avatar the Last Airbender through a lens of "Change." Participants will walk away with a greater awareness of the various facets of change, a better understanding of how one might learn life lessons from fantasy and fiction, and hopefully more self-awareness.

BEN PRUITT

I am a graduate student with Duke University and UNC-Chapel Hill studying Divinity and Social Work with a focus in spirituality, trauma, queer experiences and mental health. I worked with non-profits for over 10 years in youth development and thoroughly enjoy singing, reading romance novels, cooking, baking and learning. I co-host the Bending Not Breaking podcast, which seeks to cultivate a better world through discovering life lessons in the world of Avatar the Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra.

ALEX MAYFIELD

I have been working with non-profits for 12 years with a focus on youth and leadership development. I have a passion for film, music, and television - especially Avatar the Last Airbender. I am currently doing the Star Wars canon challenge - making my way through all Star Wars media over the course of a year. I enjoy training staff to help our youth become their most authentic and best selves.

In fandom we share a LOT of media, from fanfic to videos to endless memes, and within all of that media there's a story to be found. The team at Harmony Labs uses data analysis to observe what different audiences care about, and how we can better connect with each other. Learn more about their work and what it means for fandom communities looking to make a difference.

RIKI CONREY

The Harmony Labs Director of Science, Riki (she/her) comes to the team with an extensive background in data science for social good. Most known for her work on narrative research projects like Story at Scale and the Peoria Project, Riki has joined Harmony Labs to help researchers connect artists to the insights they need about their audiences. Riki holds a PhD from Northwestern University in Social Psychology but only because data science wasn’t invented yet when she was being educated.

SIMONE VAN TAYLOR

Simone Van Taylor (she/her) seeks to understand human behavior and persuasion by studying social neuroscience and media systems. Currently, she is a Data Scientist at Harmony Labs. When not geeking out over scientific insights, Simone can be found hitting the courts with her shuffleboard team, walking puppies around Prospect Park, and conducting an ongoing study of NYC’s best fried chicken.

JANAE PHILLIPS

Janae (she/her) is a writer, experience designer, and community organizer. As Fandom Forward’s Co-Managing Director she has trained thousands of activists around the world and helped shape the landscape of fan activism. She writes about love, community, and the complicated business of everyday life - usually with a bit of magic involved. Janae is from the Sonoran Desert and lives on traditional Tohono O’Odham land in the city of Tucson, AZ. Find her at janae.online

GOOOOOOOD MORNING! Grab your coffee, your tea, your excellent attitude, it’s TIME FOR CAMP! We’re excited to welcome Xandra Robinson-Burns for some morning Jane Austen-inspired tunes! Then we’ll check in on what to expect for Saturday and you’ll have the opportunity to connect with your cabinmates to think more about what you hope to get out of your Camp experience.

Besides an impeccable taste in media, the hosts of podcast Guilty Pleasures have something else in common: the shared experience of living with chronic pain. Join them for this opening discussion on getting support, drawing boundaries, finding pleasure, and living life with chronic pain.

ZACH KORNFELD

Zach Kornfeld is a producer and director best known for co-creating and starring in The Try Guys, a comedy quartet and popular YouTube channel with over 3 Billion lifetime views. He's a #1 New York Times Best Selling author, award winning podcast host, and runs a production company in Los Angeles that focuses on bridging the gap between digital and traditional. Kornfeld is a chronic pain advocate and founded Zadiko Tea Co. to help with his own invisible illness. Previously, Kornfeld was a Development Partner at BuzzFeed Motion Pictures.

KELSEY DARRAGH

Kelsey Darragh is a Video Producer and Development Partner at BuzzFeed Motion Pictures. Joining the company in early 2015 Kelsey has helped quickly build one of the most popular growing Facebook pages, SOML (rated #15 most viewed as of Jan. 2016), a female-driven comedy page. With over 13.9 million average video views, Kelsey aims to write, direct, and produce content focused on shareability and impact for females like her; ambitious, messy, and unafraid. Currently, Kelsey hosting her own show, Ladies' Room.

GARRICK BERNARD

Garrick is a comedian and writer born and raised in Los Angeles. He was a screenwriter for Buzzfeed and was recently featured on Comedy Central's Up Next, as one of their comedians to watch.
Throughout his time at Buzzfeed, he co-created the series, "Opposite Sex Roommates," and wrote the dark comedy "Moving On," which won a Telly Award. In addition to these accomplishments, he also served as a writer for the YouTube Red series "Broke." He then went on to write sketches for Will Smith at Westbrook Studios. Currently Garrick is a writer for the upcoming shows Solar Opposites and Star Trek: Lower Decks. As a stand-up, you can find Garrick hosting MixTape every second Friday at The Virgil, or performing all around L.A. He REALLY wants to own a dog one day.