endawnis Spears (Diné/ Ojibwe/ Chickasaw/ Choctaw) is the Co-Director of the Upstander Academy, and a founding member of the Akomawt Educational Initiative, an Indigenous education and interpretive consultancy for museums, K-12 schools, and colleges/universities.  

This year, endawnis is running to keep her seat on the local school board for a regional district in southern Rhode Island. This predominantly white school district includes the Narragansett Indian Tribal community where generations of Narragansett tribal citizens have attended, including, now, her children. Recently, the school board has been a politically contentious space where the underlying dynamics of settler colonialism are now being played out. endawnis and her community are navigating a divided civic landscape and working to repair and strengthen relationships across diverse experiences and political allegiances for the sake of the generations to come.

Originally from Camp Verde, Arizona, she lives in Hope Valley, Rhode Island with her husband and four children, who are enrolled citizens of the Narragansett Indian Tribe.  She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Anthropology from the University of Denver and has worked for the Heard Museum, Museum of Northern Arizona, Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center and is the 2021-2023 Tribal Community Member in Residence at Brown University. 

Speaker: Inspiring Stories: Election 2022 – Where Do We Go From Here?

Nancy Berlin has worked to combat poverty for over 40 years. She has worked in family shelters, on Los Angeles’s skid row, and organized campaigns with low-income people for better pay, healthcare, and public benefits. She has extensive experience in grassroots leadership development, public policy, education, and voter mobilization. She presently serves on the state coordinating committee of the California Poor People’s Campaign and is active with Alexandria House, a transitional residence for women and children in Los Angeles.

Nancy grew up in Philadelphia with community-minded parents active in the civil rights and anti-Vietnam war movements. While they were atheists, they instilled in her the core values of caring for your neighbors, acting with dignity, respecting all, and believing that justice will ultimately win against injustice. She takes in the restorative power of nature whenever she can, walking throughout her neighborhood or in wild places further afield.

She has received several recognitions, including the Outstanding Public Citizen of the Year Award from the California Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers and the Community Building and Justice Award from Alexandria House.

Speaker: Inspiring Stories Election 2022 – Where Do We Go From Here?

Parshan Khosravi is an Iranian American of Zoroastrian faith who is currently a candidate for the city council in Laguna Hills, California. He has over a decade of experience in education advocacy and currently serves as the California Policy Director for uAspire, a national nonprofit focused on higher education access and economic mobility.

A double alum of the University of California, Parshan received his Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Education Sciences from UC Irvine and his Master’s Degree in Public Policy from UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs.  As a devout Zoroastrian, he spends most of his spare time organizing with his faith community at local, national, and global levels. In July 2022, Parshan received the coveted Rising Youth Award at the World Zoroastrian Congress in New York.

Speaker: Inspiring Stories Election 2022 – Where Do We Go From Here?