Radical Transformational Leadership with Dr Monica Sharma: Guest Speakers: Martine Watkins & Shebreh Kalantari-Johnson

Radical Transformational Leadership: What does this imply? Guest Speakers: Martine Watkins and Shebreh Kalantari-Johnson

Shaping Democracy with Integrity

We invite you to a discussion with Shebreh Kalantari -Johnson and Martine Watkins.

Shebreh Kalantari-Johnson has lived in Santa Cruz County for the past 20 years. She is a candidate for Santa Cruz City Council. Join us to explore how her work has built multi-sector partnerships to address complex social justice issues such as substance use, mental health, criminal justice reform, immigration rights, homelessness, early care and education and more and brought over $30 million dollars into her community.

Martine Watkins has dedicated her career to public service. She is currently a Santa Cruz City Council member. Let’s learn how Martine is builds consensus, and how she effectively champions issues that matter to everyone- addressing climate change, health care, early childhood development.

Martine and Shebreh see Democracy as a part of change, locally and in the world:

• To really embrace how we at a local level impact the global conversation as it relates to climate change; a lot of our cities are contributing to carbon emissions, how we as city policy makers are impacting that
• At the local level with democracy, leaders are so much more accessible to residents which feels great during this difficult time. We need leaders connected to our communities.
• Individualistic ‘freedoms’ are often related to our preferences, and hinder our global freedom/ We see ourselves as part of a species, where our very existence is interdependent with others: our freedom is interdependent.
• Pivotal moment in history where we have an opportunity to majorly transform what was already under way but accelerated. They are working on Democracy as transparent and authentic inclusion, through concrete action.

They will talk about how a resilient community overcomes hardships, meets community needs, and maintains lasting health. Health in All Policies (HiAP) is a conceptual frame which requires us to look at every decision we make through the lens of health, equity and sustainability. As we recover, we can reinforce our city’s resilience and ability to adapt.

Guests:   Martine Watkins and Shebreh Kalantari-Johnson

Bio: Martine Watkins received her Master’s Degree in Public Policy from CSU Monterey Bay and the Leon & Sylvia Panetta Institute of Public Policy, and has dedicated her career to public service. Martine was elected to the Santa Cruz City Council in 2016 and served as Mayor, December 2018-December 2019. She is currently a Santa Cruz City Councilmember. Martine is a strong advocate for climate adaptation and change representing the City of Santa Cruz at the United States Conference of Mayors where she was a co-sponsored a resolution to the US Conference of Mayors for formal adoption, that supports cities’ rights and efforts to mitigate climate change damages and protect taxpayers from related costs. More than an advocate for our environment, Martine has proven to be a consensus builder, championing the Health in All Policies initiative to improve the health of the Santa Cruz community. Martine is also a Senior Community Organizer at the Santa Cruz County Office of Education and for nearly 15 years has overseen several youth and family support service programs - ranging in focus from cradle to career. In her capacity as a Senior Community Organizer, Martine works with community partners to initiate measures for youth to succeed.

Bio: Shebreh Kalantari-Johnson is a native of Iran and has lived in Santa Cruz County for the past 20 years. Shebreh is a grant writer who also provides project coordination, strategic planning, and facilitation services to agencies working in the areas of public health, education and social services. She has been doing this work for over two decades. Her work has brought over $30 million dollars into her community and built multi-sector partnerships to address complex social justice issues such as substance use, mental health, criminal justice reform, immigration rights, homelessness, early care and education and more. Shebreh’s work has generated increased investment and funding in the community, innovative projects, and health focused local policies. Shebreh currently serves in leadership roles including Central California Alliance for Health Board, the Pajaro Valley Health Trust Board, and Dignity Health Community Advisory Board’s Community Giving Body. Shebreh has been practicing the Conscious Full Spectrum Response framework for the last seven years. She has also supported the training of hundreds of other leaders through the Leadership for Community Transformation Santa Cruz County and Leadership for Equity and Opportunity Bay Area. She received her B.A. in Psychology and French/Francophonie Studies from University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) and a Masters in Social Work from San Jose State University. She is a mother of two boys, is married and lives in Santa Cruz California. She is a candidate for Santa Cruz City Council. Shebreh strives for equity and compassion in her work and in her every day.

Learn more about Dr. Monica here: www.radicallytransform.org

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