May 23: New Beginnings: The Way to a Greener World

Rev. Dr. Carrie Knowles (she/her)
Rev. Dr. Carrie Knowles reviews the chances for success in limiting climate change, as the pandemic’s end offers hope for the survival of the interdependent web of all existence.

Rev. Dr. Carrie Knowles describes herself as a recovering psychologist and recovering attorney, who graduated from Starr King in 2011 and was ordained to UU ministry in 2013. Along with providing pastoral care at BFUU and preaching at Bay Area churches as a guest speaker, she writes poetry, short stories, and is working on a memoir.

May 30: Reparations:  An Act of Ancestral Atonement
Toni R. Battle (she/her)
image “Juneteenth reparations rally to demand reparations from the United States government” by Fibonacci Blue is licensed under CC BY 2.0
In this day and age of the 21st century, America is painfully experiencing a reckoning on its past and present issues of race. The act of Reparations is the national conversation of how do you atone for the legacies that have been birthed from the histories of enslavement, Jim Crow, segregation, police brutality and systemic racism. Hear from a lynching descendant on the path to truth, healing and reparations.

Toni Renee Battle is a native of San Francisco, CA and was partially raised in the Southern state of Louisiana. Toni owns a small business called “Embrace Diversity…Embrace Success,” specializing in consulting services in the fields of Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO), communications and diversity. Currently, she is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Programs Senior Specialist with the City and County of San Francisco. She is also Founder of a cultural enrichment program called The Legacy Project which teaches culture, tradition and histories of Blacks and Native Americans to youth 7^th through 12^th grades. Her goal is to transition it into a Saturday school and eventually a Freedom School. She has more than 15 years of experience in these fields in both private and public sectors. She attended Fisk University in Nashville, TN, obtaining a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Communications; and attended Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, OH, obtaining a Master of Arts degree in Communication Studies.  She is currently a Doctoral Candidate at Saint Mary’s College of CA in Moraga, CA majoring in Educational Leadership with an emphasis in Social Justice.  Her dissertation research focuses on historical harm trauma, generational grief and healing. Specifically, her research focuses on the impact of being descended from The Trail of Tears, slavery, banishment and lynching histories – on both the victim and perpetrator sides. She has received fellowships from Teach With Africa-South Africa and Columbia University’s Summer Teachers and Scholars Institute (STSI).

Toni specializes in diversity, communication, cultural dynamics, race relations, trauma and healing, and intra-racial prejudice. She has worked and trained in governmental, private, and educational organizations.   She has certification in diversity dynamics from National Multicultural Institute (NMCI), in Washington, DC, specializing in cross-cultural dynamics/communication, sustained mediation dialogue, developing diversity initiatives, and diversity design& implementation, creating diversity councils, and recruiting and retaining a diverse workgroup. She holds additional certification in social justice mediation from Association for Dispute Resolution (ADR), Kingian Nonviolence training, and Culturally Responsive Pedagogy in Practice. Her professional background includes: Television News Producer, Public Information Officer, Equal Employment Opportunity Manager, and Consultant; where she conducted media campaigns, produced television news, investigated discrimination complaints, customized mediations, and diversity consultations.  

Toni has been a featured speaker and facilitator for clients which have included: Out & Equal Workplace Advocates, Bradley University, National Association of Multicultural Education (NAME), and Rosiland Franklin Medical School.   Her specialty areas also include intra-racial prejudice and customized mediation techniques. She is a member of Lambda Iota Tau Honor Society (English/Literature), serves on the board of the Association of Dispute Resolution for Northern California (ADRNC), member of the California Association of Equal Rights Professionals, member of Equal Justice Society, member of National Association of Multicultural Education (NAME), and is Co-Founder of Welcome To the Table (WTTT), the San Francisco Bay Area Chapter of Coming to The Table (CTTT).