Sarah van Gelder

The election of Donald Trump is taking us into uncharted territory. Local action is where we can resist the dangers, reconnect to each other and to the earth, and re-conceive the world we want.

YES! Magazine co-founder and editor at large Sarah van Gelder drove 12,000 miles, living in her tiny truck camper, interviewing people on Native reservations, in rust belt cities, Appalachian hamlets, and southern cities. Her book, The Revolution Where You Live: Stories from a 12,000 Mile Journey Through a New America, tells the stories of broken economies, devastated ecosystems, and communities divided by racism and conflicting worldviews. But the focus of her sharing is on the extraordinary work of ordinary people who are transforming their communities, even in the places that seemed to have run out of hope. Find details here: https://revolutionwhereyoulive.org/the-book-the-revolution-where-you-live/

In her talk, van Gelder will tell stories from her road trip and from her reporting trips to Standing Rock, the unprecedented gathering of Native peoples fighting to prevent the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline.

Sarah van Gelder is cofounder and editor at large of award-winning YES! Magazine, where she writes a bi-weekly column, also called, “The Revolution Where You Live.” She explores the leading edge of change, writing and speaking internationally on topics ranging from cooperative economics to mass incarceration, from health to sustainable lifestyles, and on the role of solutions-oriented journalism in building a better society. Sarah is a regular guest on public radio and has also appeared on the PBS NewsHour program, Thom Hartmann’s Big Picture, Democracy Now!, The Laura Flanders Show, and Free Speech TV. She is the editor of the books This Changes Everything: Occupy Wall Street and the 99 Percent Movement and Sustainable Happiness: Live Simply, Live Well, Make a Difference.