AF3IRM Leadership to push for new directions for feminism at October 21st CenterShift II Conference in New York City

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NEW YORK—The bold leaders of AF3IRM – including three of its past and current national chairpersons — will continue to challenge the ideals and boundaries of feminism in the United States at this year’s national conference. The push by leadership has always been to theory build, to imagine, and to take action, with these efforts taking on even more urgency in a time of heightened neo-fascism and white nationalism.

Ivy, Ninotchka, and Jollene in DC for the Women’s March on January 21, 2017

At AF3IRM’s Center Shift II Conference in New York City,  National Chair Ivy Quicho, past Chairperson Jollene Levid, and founding GABNet Chairperson Ninotchka Rosca will join activists of differing histories and cultures to help chart possible directions for this current wave of feminism during this October deliberations.  The three have been pivotal in the meteoric rise of AF3IRM as a center for women of color and transnational women in the struggle for equity, rights and liberation.

Born in Alberta, Canada, Ms. Quicho, who now resides in Los Angeles, has worked in the labor movement for almost a decade, advocating on behalf of resident physicians and nurses, and currently works for the Directors Guild. Ms. Levid, a Los Angeles native, is a well-known union organizer with a history of fighting for women workers. She now organizes with UTLA, fighting against the privatization of education. She served as AF3IRM’s National Chair from its launch in 2010 to 2016. Renowned author and former political prisoner Ninotchka Rosca was the founding chair of GABNet in 1989 and has been an outspoken advocate for women’s rights for decades.

As first national chair of AF3IRM, Ms. Levid oversaw the organization’s survival from the near-catastrophic impact of severing its ties with a hierarchical political organization.  Under the slogan “A woman’s place is at the head of the struggle,” she affirmed the right and duty of women to have a voice in social transformation movements.  

Ms. Quicho, who was elected to chair position in the seventh year of AF3IRM’s existence, launches her term with the slogan “a woman’s place is at the helm of the struggle,” in a declaration of women’s right to ideological and political leadership to guide movements toward the building of a just and equitable social organization.  

Ms. Quicho will formally open the Conference, delivering the parameters of deliberations and discussions for the presenters and participants.  

Ms. Levid will facilitate and moderate the plenary panel “Constellations of History” which will present the achievements, strategy and tactics of women struggling in different cultures.    

Ms. Rosca along with the New York chapter of AF3IRM have been leading the efforts of the CenterShift II Conference, bringing together a stellar lineup of speakers for the Constellations of History panel, shaping its ideological direction, and working with sister chapters to organize workshops.

Leaders and current members of AF3IRM chapters from across the United States are flying in to New York to take part in these deliberations and to add their own experience.  Join in this historic gathering by registering at http://bit.ly/af3rr17. Space is limited. For questions, please email [email protected].

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