Gary Allard

(Brooklyn, New York, USA)

Vice Chair, Steering Committee

Member, Steering Committee's Executive Committee

Chair, Steering Committee's Development Committee

Interim Management Team:  Administrator of Fundraising

Gary Allard is a soulful contemporary singer-songwriter.  He continues to build his unique sound by extracting inspiration from a plethora of genres including pop, folk, gospel, R&B, and Caribbean music.  He composes his lyrics from his own personal and social experiences, striving to connect with his audience through tender yet powerful emotional singing.

------------------------------

Jason Baker

(Montpelier, Vermont, USA)

Interim Management Team:  Administrator of Programs

Jason Baker is a Song Smith and Folk Singer from Vermont performing topical, original, folk-roots songs with a modern lyrical viewpoint, mixed with traditional folk, on guitar, banjo, ukulele & harmonica.

His latest single is "Revolution Right Now", a song for our troubled nation, featuring 12-string guitar.

------------------------------

Huayra Forster

(Alexandria, Virginia, USA)

Member, Steering Committee's Program Committee

Member, Steering Committee's Membership Committee

Huayra is a Quechua name for wind.  Born in from Huancayo, Peru, but raised primarily in Yellow Springs, Ohio, she plays a blend of unknown genres of music from youth hood, that were learned in orchestra, summer camps and children’s theater spaces, and choirs. 

The value of intergenerational and multicultural spaces within tight-knit communities has helped her acquire knowledge for sharing while busking in towns and city streets.  When asked about if she is considers herself an Urban Native, she responded that she might just be a “nomadic village Native.”

While her music can be found through online streaming platforms, and a CD.  Her role in the steering committee has primarily been to stay active in the efforts of the outreach/social media committee, although she is interested in seeing through the creation of a collectively owned PMN songbook for 2025.  She is also active in PMN-DC chapter.

------------------------------

S.K. "Susan" Kelly

(Gaithersburg, Maryland, USA)

Member, Steering Committee's Membership Committee

Member, Steering Committee's Program Committee

S.K. Kelly, is a Social Justice Literacy Peace Teacher & Educational Union Advocate in DC/Baltimore area Public Schools & Local Jails. She’s completed over 1,000 Hours of Yoga Teacher Training Certifications, incorporating Mindfulness, Meditation & Neuro Regulation Awareness. S.K. believes every human being has a right to shine their bright lights and share their unique gifts in a safe, supportive world which prioritizes creativity, health & wellness…

------------------------------

Lucas Meyer

(Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada)

Member, Steering Committee's Finance and Operations Committee

Member, Steering Committee's Program Committee

I am not a musician myself, but I have made videos, done camera work, video editing, and run Zoom sessions to help choirs and musicians here in Vancouver and in PMN.  I have also helped various progressive organizations such as West Coast Labour Chorus [spouse, Susan Weber, is a member], Stop TMX (Environmental group), ACCESS TV (progressive TV show), Canadian Chinese Museum, the Vancouver Historical Society, etc.

I want to continue helping PMN with Zoom sessions and other technical stuff.  However, I also want to help promote PMN world wide.  PMN is a progressive organization.  It appears to me that progressives in the US could use some outside help.  However, Trump and MAGA are also creating some serious bad blood between the US and other countries. So outside connections and outside help may be drying up right when you need it. 

Being Canadian, I am not traveling to the US while Trump is in power. So it would be understandable if PMN wanted people on the steering committee who could be available in person at various times. On the other hand, having an outsider’s point of view on the steering could be valuable. 

------------------------------

Nikki Nesbary 

(New York, New York, USA)

Secretary, Steering Committee

Member, Steering Committee's Executive Committee

Nikki Nesbary is a social justice singer-songwriter, and policy and advocacy professional.  She writes original and parody songs in support of a world where people, workers, and communities can thrive. 

For nearly 15 years, across the Washington, DC, metro area and beyond, Nikki has performed at more than 150 actions and community events with multiple movement music groups and artists.  As a song leader, she has led movement music at national protests and actions, including rallies for Federal workers, Target Boycott pickets, and Free DC rallies.  She has also led movement song workshops at conferences and community events.

Nikki currently serves as a Steering Committee member and officer of the People’s Music Network for Songs of Freedom and Struggle, and as a Senior Program Manager with the Land Trust Alliance -- a national land conservation membership organization for land trusts. She is also a Board officer and former singer with the women’s social justice a cappella group, SongRise DC.

------------------------------

Chris "Oledude" Owens 

(New York, New York, USA)

Chair, Steering Committee

Chair, Steering Committee's Executive Committee

Interim Management Team:  Administrator of Governance

PMN is both a haven for peace-loving and socially-conscious artists like us and a launching pad for action.  Our Steering Committee is the heart.  Passion and the practical are chambers and PMN’s mission is being pumped to all.

PMN can make powerful changes over the next few years, but change must start today or our appeal to others – our health -- will diminish.  We can work better than we do now, love better than we do now, share more than we do now -- and we can make a greater impact.

I have been writing and performing music “for causes” since I was in college.  My themes have included peace/opposition to war, equality/opposition to socio-economic inequality and inequities, human and civil rights.

I joined PMN in 1984 and attended every gathering through 1991.  I was married in 1990 and went on a PMN hiatus until after my second son was born, when I started to attend NY-based gatherings on an intermittent basis.  I re-connected more fully with PMN in 2019 and have been active since then.  Recently, I became much more involved and volunteered to join the Interim Management Team and fill a Steering Committee vacancy.

I served as a Trustee and then Chair of the Trustees for the non-profit Weeksville Heritage Foundation (Brooklyn, NY) during a difficult transition covering 1993 to 2003.  I was an officer of the non-profit Central Brooklyn Martin Luther King Commission (Brooklyn, NY) from 2013 through 2018.  I was a founding Board member of the Brooklyn Scholars Charter School, serving for four years (and as Board Treasurer).   

I was the NY Executive Director of Building Educated Leaders for Life (BELL) from 2007 through 2010 and Interim Executive Director for the non-profit Advocates for Justice (NY, NY) from 2011 to 2013.  Most recently, I managed a 14-month leadership transition as Interim Executive Director for the Philipstown Behavioral Health Hub in Putnam County, NY and am a member of Interim Executive Solutions.

As a Steering Committee member, I hope ...

1.   To contribute to a meaningful Strategic Plan covering the next three to five years.

2.   To improve PMN membership engagement with PMN year-round.

3.   To improve PMN membership retention.

4.   To recruit at least 100 first-time PMN members within 24 months.

5.   To increase the ethnic, racial and age diversity of PMN’s membership.

6.   To increase PMN’s public profile as a “go to” organization for cultural connections and resources.

7.   To increase PMN’s industry profile as a “go to” organization for quality music pertaining to peace and social justice matters.

------------------------------

Rebecca Pomerantz

(Bedford, Massachusetts, USA)

Chair, Steering Committee's Membership Committee

What is your involvement in using music for progressive social change? 

I am an educator, a harmony fanatic, a chorus member, and a rounds collector. I am part of two choruses, one of which is BVocal, a Boston area pop-up protest chorus. I help organize singing gatherings and teach songs in small groups for community building. I’ve sung with adult immigrant English learners, Yiddish enthusiasts, and preschoolers. As a parent, a teacher, and an activist, I know the power of music to educate, to motivate, and to bond us together.

I first went to a gathering in 1983 in Boston, but I’ve been a regular since 1991. I love this community. Every chance I get, I spread the word about PMN/SFS -- to attract diverse new members and to re-engage long-timers. 

I crave harmony – both musically and among people. I like to spend my time singing in community, enabling others to sing together, and using music to motivate myself and other activists to help make the world a better place.

I enjoy applying my skills in community building and networking, and in photography and videography, to build this beloved community. I want to put my time and passion towards connecting members to each other, building consensus where there’s tension, demystifying technology, and getting social justice activists singing together! 

My current efforts to repair the world focus around climate, democracy, and immigration issues.

------------------------------

Joanne Tuller

(Dorchester, Massachusetts, USA)

Treasurer, Steering Committee

Member, Steering Committee's Executive Committee

Chair, Steering Committee's Finance and Operations Committee

Interim Management Team:  Administrator of Finance and Operations

I grew up attending 1960s protests with my activist mom, so I learned early how singing strengthens political movements.  I’ve helped organize numerous PMN events, primarily in logistical roles such as coordinating registration.  To the Steering Committee I bring my organizational skills along with experience in data management, copy-editing for clarity and brevity, and group process and facilitation.

------------------------------

Sarah Underhill

(Kerhonkson, New York, USA)

Chair, Steering Committee's Program Committee

I am a folk music performer and song collector who has a great love for PMN which has nurtured me through many decades as a supportive, musical community.  I want to give my all to developing strategies to sustain the organization economically and to support young, diverse musician/activists.

I served as an Administrative Assistant for PMN years ago and have experience on numerous boards.  I want to give my all to PMN as a member of the Steering Committee.

------------------------------

Angie Whitehurst  

(Washington, District of Columbia, USA)

Member, Steering Committee's Development Committee

Active inclusion and strong productive relationships  … capacity and infrastructure building are my priorities.  Opportunity for all, mentoring and sharing are key to creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship and to growing and maintaining an already vibrant organization. 

I have skills to offer, coming from my experience as a community advocate, a DC Peace team board member, a member of One DC, a 500 hour certified yoga instructor, a life coach, a writer, a poet and artist, and as a vendor and contributor to www.streetsensemedia.org. 

I have previous experience as an employee, consultant, contractor with local, state and federal government domestically and internationally - with extensive training in dance, exhibit management and proposal writing.  I am eager to serve on the PMN Steering Committee. 

------------------------------