Stories Lived. Stories Told‪.‬ Abbie VanMeter and The CMM Institute

How are you showing up?Where can you learn to “hold space”?…Aminata Cairo is an anthropologist, psychologist, educator, storyteller, and “love-worker”." She is an independent consultant “who works with people." She is the former lector of Inclusive Education at The Hague University of Applied Sciences and the former lector of Social Justice and Diversity in the Arts at the Amsterdam University of the Arts. She is particularly interested in using her academic, artistic and community skills to ...

How do you show up for your community? For people outside your community?What could we do together if we were all committed to protecting the human dignity of all people?…Janie Mac is a co-founder of Refugee Community Kitchen, a volunteer-run organization that has been serving hot, nourishing meals to displaced people in Northern France and the UK since 2015. Today, Janie explains her work with the Refugee Community Kitchen, exploring why she and her co-founders were motivated to create RCK, ...

What communities are you a part of?How can you engage in action around immigration?..Sandy Ovalle Martínez is a table-setter and space-curator, rooting her work in the deep faith and strength of Chicane and Latine spiritual teachers. She is a native of Mexico City. A mujerista theologian and an organizer, she currently directs campaigns and mobilizing for a faith-based non-profit in Washington, D.C., where she oversees mobilization and activist engagement around different justice ar...

What stories have you been told about migration?…Karen Gonzalez is a speaker, writer, storyteller, and immigrant advocate, who herself immigrated from Guatemala as a child. Karen is a former public school teacher and attended Fuller Theological Seminary, where she studied theology and missiology. For the last 15 years, she has been a non-profit professional, currently working for an organization that serves refugees and other immigrants. She wrote a book about her own immigration story and so...

How does hearing Dora’s story shape your perception of immigration? How can you seek out more stories that humanize those who migrate? …Dora Rodriguez, an unwavering advocate for migrant rights, survived the 1980 tragedy in Organ Pipe National Monument, AZ, where Salvadorans fled civil war, resulting in 13 deaths, including 3 minors. This experience propelled her into the forefront of the sanctuary movement in Tucson, AZ. Residing in Tucson, AZ, with her husband and five children, Dora is als...

What changes when we go beyond sustainability and strive for “regeneration” instead?…Abrah Dresdale, MA, is a bold and visionary social designer of cultural change at the intersection of land and justice. She consults through the national organization she co-founded, Regenerate Change, serves as faculty at UMass-Amherst and Omega Institute, and is the author of Regenerative Design for Changemakers: A Social Permaculture Guide.Today, Abrah and Abbie discuss what it means to be a social designe...