Faces of Change is an ongoing series from the Leading Change Network to tell the stories of people developing leadership and enabling communities to create change all over the world.

Marshall Ganz sits down with Nisreen Haj Ahmad to explore her inspiring journey to leadership. 

From a young girl forced to leave Palestine with her family, returning years later to advise the Palestinian team on peace negotiations with Israel, through to discovering organizing and committing herself to building new civic leadership across the Middle East.

Faces of Change: Nisreen Haj Ahmad

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Throughout the world people who have accepted responsibility for leadership, their communities, and their allies are stepping up with courage and showing us that change is possible.

Marshall Ganz sits down with leaders from around the world each month to explore how these people were called to leadership, how they organize their communities, and how they’ve begun building the power their people need to achieve real change. 

This month Marshall sits down with Art Reyes, the Executive Director of We the People-Michigan, a statewide multi-racial community organization that is building people-power for social and economic justice in Michigan. 

Their mission is to transform the politics of Michigan from the ground up, moving away from simply mobilizing around elections, but by embedding the organizing infrastructure needed for people to shape politics from their community up. 

In Marshall’s conversation with Art, we learn how he was called to organizing at an early age, and is leading an innovative – and challenging – effort in one of the most segregated states in America. 

We also hear how mastery of the organizing craft grows form sustained learning across diverse domains, issues and communities, and what it takes for people to mobilize the power they need  to shape their communities, their politics and their state.

Faces of Change with Marshall Ganz

Faces of Change with Marshall Ganz: Art Reyes III

Mariali is the co-Founder of Vía Educación, the trailblazing civil society and education organization that is combining community organizing and innovative education approaches to build the citizenship skills of children and young people.

Mariali and Vía Educación’s work on citizenship education is being implemented as part of Mexico’s national curriculum.

Embedding this into the curriculum is just the foundation, requiring the organizing of teachers and communities to embed the framework and tools across the country.

Their work on the ground is focused on both upskilling children and young people with citizenship skills and creating spaces to exercise their agency on the issues they care about — including the environment and development.

Mariali sat down with Marshall Ganz to share how they're doing it and what called her to leadership.

Faces Of Change with Marshall Ganz: Mariali Cárdenas

An ongoing series to amplify the stories of people developing leadership and enabling communities to create change all over the world.

Leading Change Network

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