Why feminist campaign school?
We are intersectional feminists – we recognize that the complexity and sometimes changing identities shape how we experience the world, and more importantly, how the world perceives us. Old school white feminism erases that complexity and has actively harmed people who are made marginalized by the power of patriarchy, white supremacy, ableism, gender binary ideologies, heteronormativity, classism, individualistic culture, and fat phobia. Intersectionality, as we have learned from Dr Kimberlé Crenshaw, recognizes the unique and complex experiences we all have from our many identities we carry.
We are not a campaign school for women – we are committed to people who are historically excluded and consistently under represented in elected office and who share values of anti oppression, social justice, compassion, and more.
Trudi Goels (she/her)
Trudi is a connector – she loves to introduce people who will spark and in time, take on big issues together. She’s a thinker, a doer, a spreadsheet maven, and a lover of plain language. Her time is joyously spent as a co-chair at Women Transforming Cities, a board director at the New West Farmers Market, and as an advisor for the Poetic Justice Foundation . She’s a co-founder of Women on Wednesdays, a champion of body liberation, an advocate for accountability, and is passionate about seeing the Lower Mainland Mayors Council become diverse, progressive, and representative of the region we live in. She offers coaching support, though she really dislikes the word coach.
Trudi is also a fat, white, disabled cis-woman who comes from the working class and moved along the class spectrum between poverty and middle class all of her adult life. Her ancestry is a bit fuzzy as her mother was born in Canada and left here by her biological family and we assume they originated in northern Europe. Her dad immigrated alone from Austria. Trudi has spent a lot of time contemplating why her family chose and landed in Canada and how she can continue to learn and unpack the privileges she has from those choices. She lives and works as an uninvited settler on hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ speaking peoples’ land (see the end of this page for more about the people, water, and land).
Nadine Nakagawa (she/her)
Nadine is a community organizer, creative writer, and a second-term city councillor in New Westminster. Her community and political work has focused on affordable housing, community inclusion, the climate crisis, and equitable public engagement. In all spheres, she works to push back on the systems that oppress us in ways that range from practical and boring to dreamy and whimsical.
Outside of her council work, Nadine is a skilled facilitator and trainer on topics relating to anti-racism, unconscious bias, and working with resistance.
Nadine identifies as a queer Hafu cisgender woman. She identities as currently abled and middle class, having grown up in a working class family. She has a Master’s Degree in Interdisciplinary Studies and is currently in her practicum of a Master’s Degree in Counselling Psychology Program.
When not working on community projects, Nadine prances with delight towards patches of wildflowers, is fond of skirts and dresses that encourage twirling, and can be found hugging trees and embracing whimsy. She is also a creative writer, and spends time wandering around looking at moss and mushrooms, and snuggling her two cow-patterned cats Bill and Moo.
Nadine is a sought-after speaker on timely, challenging topics. She is a mixed-race settler on the unceded territory of the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ speaking peoples.
The land
This school is being created and taught from the unceded and unsurrendered territory of the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ speaking peoples. hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ is the downriver dialect of halkomelem which highlights its connection to the water. We use the language group to describe the location of this land because New Westminster was the first colonial capital of British Columbia and there has been a lot of work done to erase the real history of the people, the land, and the water. As we continue learn, we will update this acknowledgement and honouring statement on an ongoing basis.
With consultation from:
Shila Avissa, RSW
Hummingbirds Rising
Live Educate Transform Society (LETS)
Moms Against Racism
The Feminist Campaign School is a project of Ablaze Services Workers Cooperative.