Sangita Nayak
Template:TOCnestleft Sangita Nayak is a feminist activist based in Milwaukee, WI, and Project Advisor with the Institute for Southern Studies.
Nayak is the public relations coordinator for 9to5, National Association of Working Women. Along with her communications work on behalf of 9to5, Nayak is a leader in 9to5’s Women of Color Caucus. She has co-led diversity trainings for Human Resources Departments and has spoken before a wide variety of groups including APHA and the Global Social Forum on issues pertaining to social justice.[1]
Background
"I am a daughter of some fierce, resilient, and loving parents. I fundamentally credit my family and the conditions I was raised in for awakening my social justice consciousness. My city, as many across the Midwest, has faced a steep economic decline in the decades since I was born. In an immigrant family, I quickly got the sense that my neighborhood was not alone in struggle. My work has been in exposing the transnational corporations that create our current conditions, organizing for decent work, amping up the communications of communities in struggle, and defending access to public education."
Sangita Nayak is an experienced organizer, communicator, and teacher grounded in effective movement practice. Over the last dozen years, she has organized for decent working conditions with 9to5 National Association of Working Women, for Gulf recovery through the Katrina Information Network (KIN), for corporate influence transparency at the WHO through the Network for Accountability of Tobacco Transnationals, for refugee access to local services at the Hmong American Women’s Association, and for continued alliance building through the recent Wisconsin Uprising. Her work is community-led, infused with a racial justice lens and grounded in accountability.
She has facilitated workshops for numerous agencies in relation to media, networks, and movement strategy. They include Operation Welcome Home, National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, US Human Rights Network, SAALT, National Lawyers Guild, Nonprofit Center of Greater Milwaukee, SisterSong and Public Allies. She currently serves part-time as the communication director with Freedom Inc, a racial justice agency in Madison. As part of her social justice vision, she invests in the future of her community as a Montessori teacher through the Milwaukee Public Schools. She is also a Reproductive Justice Collective advisor and co-chair on the Progressive Communicators Network board.[2]
Institute for Southern Studies Project Advisors
The following members served as Project Advisors at the Institute in December 2011:[3]
- Joe Atkins, Professor, University of Mississippi
- Julian Bond, Chair, NAACP
- Steve Bradberry, Lead Organizer, New Orleans ACORN
- Carlos Guerra, Columnist, San Antonio Express-News
- Pronita Gupta
- Bob Hall, Co-Director, Democracy North Carolina
- Jim Hightower, Author and radio host
- Naomi Klein, Syndicated columnist and author, No Logo
- Darryl Malek-Wiley, Louisiana Environmental Justice Organizer, Sierra Club
- Sangita Nayak, Policy/Communications Director, Praxis Project
- Angie Newsome, Reporter, Asheville Citizen-Times
- Tram Nguyen, Executive Editor, ColorLines
- William Quigley, Professor, Loyola University New Orleans Law School and Director, Poverty Law Clinic
- Lisa Seitz Gruwell, Political Director, Skyline Public Works
RoadMap
Sangita Nayak is a consultant with RoadMap, a Freedom Road Socialist Organization affiliated consultancy group .[4]
Radical pizza
Matt Nelson June 11, 2015 ·
And last but not least, Coleta's Pizza Collective! The 4th business (3rd chronologically) and the one and only pizzeria. The people and the pizza were equally unforgettable. Pizza y Libertad! So much community love, and I miss our daily community meals at Coleta's. Much could be written about our sacred pizza circle. To date, I've never had better pizza or worked with a better team of people. Yes to collective brilliance! Back then, I felt like we owned a slice of Milwaukee! Special recognition to Chuck. So honored to know this brother and continue to work with him all these years! — with Jennifer Ward, Charles Daniels, Jr., Iris Acevedo, Sangita Nayak and Leana Nakielski.