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Mission and Philosophy

The mission of the Folk Education Association of America is to identify, support, and facilitate community-based, learner-led education as a strategic tool for community organizing.
We use the term folk education as an umbrella to include the many traditions of peer education that allow community members to work together to critically analyze oppressive systems, build a knowledge base, and apply this knowledge to create alternative possibilities for institutions that shape our lives. We believe that this democratic method of analysis and action should be one basis of organizing, and we focus our work on supporting this education. This process entails “participants,” “learners,” or “constituents” being seen as leaders, collectively finding ways to use their voices and actions for social change. Folk education, by its nature, is applied research that grows directly out of people’s real life situations.

Rather than focusing on a single issue area, our work seeks to support this type of political education as a tool in a range of community initiatives, including increased economic equality, workers’ rights, work against racism and sexism, as well as alternatives to environmental degradation, environmental racism, militarism, and the weakening power of people’s voices in the face of unaccountable politicians and corporations.

Board of Directors


Jerry Jackson, President
Executive Director of John C Campbell Folk School (Brasstown, North Carolina, US)

Dawn Murphy, Vice President
Action Researcher (Olympia, Washington, US)
Ryan Sartor, Treasurer
Self-Employed Bookkeeper specializing in small businesses and nonprofits (Berea, Kentucky, US)

Kirsten Skoglund, Secretary
Program Coordinator for the Marine Mills Folk School (Marine on St. Croix, Minnesota, US)
Mary Cattani, Board Member

Former Director of the Scandinavian Seminar (Amherst, Massachusetts, US)

Jennifer Escobar, Board Member
Director of the Berea Festival Dancers and folk singer (Berea, Kentucky, US)
Kerri Hamos, Board Member
Programs Director for The Folk School Fairbanks (Fairbanks, Alaska, US)
Scott Hayden, Board Member
Executive Director of Adirondack Folk School (Lake Luzerne, New York, US)
Terri Van Orman, Board Member
Involved in folk education since the 1990's and currently the Executive Director of Folklore Village (Dodgeville, W)
Devon Lee, Board Member
Executive Director for Antiquary Folk School (Maberly, Ontario, CAN)


CONTACT US

admin@folkeducation.org
www.FolkEducation.org

Tel: +1 (360) 943-5749
info@FolkSchoolAlliance.org

www.FolkSchoolAlliance.org


© 2023 Folk School Alliance | Folk Education Association of America
The Folk Education Association of America is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.
 

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