Carolyn McCoy, Board Clerk of Earth Quaker Action Team (EQAT), announced the appointment of Amy Ward Brimmer as the organization’s new executive director, effective July 1. In making the announcement, the Board of Directors expressed its unanimous approval of the appointment, stating their confidence in her “gifts of leadership, adaptability, and strategic process.”
“I am excited and honored by the opportunity to serve as EQAT’s next director,” Amy says. “From Day One I have marveled at this group’s ability to grow quickly and become extremely effective in applying the power of nonviolent direct action to our campaign for environmental and economic justice. EQAT’s dedicated staff and growing band of committed volunteers makes working with EQAT a deeply satisfying experience. Our distinctive approach, firmly rooted in the powerful Quaker tradition of nonviolent social change, has never been more needed than it is today. Earth Quakers are bringing positive transformation to their own religious community and to the world at large.”
A founding member of EQAT, Amy has served on its board since September 2011. A resident of Yardley, PA, she is a member of Fallsington Friends Meeting and currently serves as Clerk of Bucks Quarter, and is a member of the George School Committee (board of trustees). Amy has served as Director of Outreach and Development for Friends Council on Education and is owner of Way Opens, a wellness education program, where she teaches the Alexander Technique.
In response to the leadership transition, outgoing Executive Director Ingrid Lakey said, “We are delighted that Amy has agreed to assume this important leadership role. She’s got the energy, skills, and spiritual grounded-ness that EQAT will need to expand. It has been a joy to do this work with her and watch her grow in her capacity as a nonviolent warrior.”
Earth Quaker Action Team is a faith-based organization working to build a just and sustainable economy through nonviolent direct action. The current campaign is BLAM! (Bank Like Appalachia Matters!), a strategic effort to get PNC Bank out of the business of financing mountaintop removal coal mining. The group’s intention is to shine the light on PNC, one of two primary financiers funding this devastating surface mining practice that has destroyed over 500 mountains and 2,000 miles of river and streambed in Appalachia. Green Your Money is the newest initiative of the BLAM! campaign, dedicated to organizing individuals, faith communities, and other organizations to close their bank accounts with PNC. The group recently completed a 17-day, 200-mile walk across Pennsylvania from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh, taking their campaign to a statewide regional level.
Reblogged this on NonviolentConflict.