Pat Hoertdoerfer is a mother to 4 adult children, partner to Manfred for 50+ years, Oma to 7 grandchildren, and enjoys retirement living in the lakes region of New Hampshire. Through her many decades, she has lived her passions of sharing stories around a campfire, engaging multigenerational spiritual growth and participating in cross-cultural adventures. Rev. Patricia Hoertdoerfer is a professional educator and a retired Unitarian Universalist minister who practiced her leadership in academic institutions, congregations, community organizations, UU camps and conference centers, and interfaith communities over the past 40 years. As a certified Sage-ing® Leader, she is currently sharing her ministry with elders while engaging in service to future generations.
John Ivey currently resides in Alaska, following a lifetime of exploring the frontier of the American landscape and the wild terrain of his own soul. He has experienced both the solitary confinement of the American prison system and the liberating solitude of extended solo wilderness journeys. For eleven years he apprenticed with the guidance of a Buddhist hermit who taught him how to sit still in the vastness of silent winter mountains. He is currently engaged with CEN’s “Elder Activists for Social Justice” team, and in various writing projects for his own reflection and to give voice to the conditions of native peoples and landscape ignored by corporate culture’s devotion to profit
Carl Anthony is an African American architect, regional planner, social justice activist, and author. He is the founder and co-director of Breakthrough Communities, a project dedicated to building multiracial leadership for sustainable communities in California and the rest of the nation. He is the former President of the Earth Island Institute and is the co-founder and former executive director of its Urban Habitat Program, one of the first environmental justice organizations to address race and class issues. His recent book, The Earth, the City, and the Hidden Narrative of Race addresses ways to heal the wounds of racism, build equity, and bring people together to protect and restore our shared environments.
Lynne Iser became an “elder activist” motivated by her love for her children and the beauty of our world. She was the founding Director of the Spiritual Eldering Institute, now teaches in the ALEPHSage-ing® Mentorship Program, and offers her own workshop series “Becoming Vibrant Elders in Our Evolving World” – using the teachings of Joanna Macy. She founded her website, Elder-Activists.org, to inspire, educate and support others— primarily on issues concerning climate change and social justice. When she discovered CEN she knew that she had found “her tribe’ and now serves as the co-convener of the CEN Elder Activists Social Justice Team. She is a recent empty-nester, living in Philadelphia
Patricia St. Onge (Haudenosaunee and Quebecoise, adopted Lakota) is a grandmother and mom. She’s also the founder of Seven Generations Consulting and Coaching, working primarily with social justice organizations. She is the lead author of Embracing Cultural Competency: A Roadmap for Nonprofit Capacity Builders. Patricia is currently the Interim Director of Community Engaged Learning at Pacific School of Religion. She is adjunct faculty at Mills College and serves on the board of directors of Highlander Research and Education Center in Tennessee. Between them, she and her life partner have six grown daughters. Patricia is part of a growing community in East Oakland called Nafsi ya Jamii (The Soul Community), and Education & Spiritual Center and urban farm.