Mentoring New Activists

Grassroots Leadership partners with United World College-USA to help recruit and train a new generation of community organizers. UWC-USA is committed to teaching students from around the globe about community organizing and constructive engagement of conflict. Long-time activist and Grassroots Leadership senior organizing trainer, Naomi Swinton, is the Director of the UWC-USA Bartos Institute and serves as faculty mentor to those students who work with Grassroots Leadership in special projects and internships.

Organizing from a Faith Perspective

Thanks to the Glenmary Home Missioners, a mission and ministry of Catholic priests, brothers and coworkers serving rural America, Grassroots Leadership hosts Father Les Schmidt. Father Les, a Saul Alinsky trained community organizer, works to halt the creation of for-profit prisons —as called for by the bishops and supported by Glenmary.

Grassroots Leadership staff are honored to work side-by-side with Father Les. More on the work of Father Les and our Keeping Faith program >>

Seeking immigration and detention reform

Grassroots Leadership is a member of Detention Watch Network (DWN). We partner with DWN and Texans United for Families on immigration and detention reform. Along with Texans United for Families we coordinate on-the-ground actions in Texas as part of DWN's "Dignity not Detention" campaign to reform of the immigration detention and deportation system.  Please contactBob Libal for more information about this campaign.

Piloting a prison visitation program

The T. Don Hutto Residential Center in Taylor, Texas incarcerates women awaiting asylum and immigration hearings. Along with our partners the Social Justice Insttute at the University of Texas - Austin and Texans United for Families, we have begun a visitation program. The Hutto Program is a part of Detention Watch Network's Visitation Network. The visitation prograrm seeks to break the isolation of the detained women, monitor conditions at the facility, and to build visitors into advocates for reform of our nation's detention system. More information on our visitation program >>

Divesting in the Prison Industry

Wellington Management, Wells Fargo, General Electric, FIdelity Management, Capital Research Global Investors invest heavily in the private prison corporations. We have joined with Enlace to call on all public and private institutions to divest in Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) and GEO Group. Contact Bob Libal, Senior Organizer for more information on how to join this effort.