Goodbyes and Welcomes
Earth Quaker Action Team has a new Director of Strategy and Partnerships!
We’re saying a big thank you to Eileen Flanagan, who joined EQAT’s staff in the autumn of 2021 as Campaign Director and, later, Director of Strategy and Partnerships, for what we knew would be an interim basis. With Eileen’s help, EQAT implemented an increasingly bold campaign strategy to highlight Vanguard’s climate destruction, organized thoughtful actions with our partners, forged relationships with new organizations, and restructured our staff to include a co-directorship model.
We are deeply grateful for the countless ways Eileen has shaped our campaign. Now it’s time for Eileen, already an author of two books, to focus on writing her next book, which will include the Vanguard campaign!
Eileen (center) with Reverend Rhetta Morgan and Rabbi Arthur Waskow at an action at Vanguard.
Photo by Lisa Lake/Getty Images
We’re happy to announce that Lina Blount is EQAT’s new Director of Strategy and Partnerships. Lina, most recently one of our Campaign Organizers, has participated in EQAT for over a decade, including serving on our Board of Directors as a co-clerk. Lina has also worked on the education team at Pendle Hill Quaker retreat and study center, with the Divestment Student Network, and as a canvass director and anti-fracking organizer in Pennsylvania.
Have you met Lina at a past EQAT action or event? We asked her to share a bit about herself beyond her professional bio:
Q: How did you first get involved with EQAT?
A: My sophomore year of college, I was invited by fellow students to a nonviolent direct action training offered by EQAT in Philadelphia. Attending that training really lit my fire and I kept showing up! The timing of the Occupy movement in 2011 plus EQAT’s strategy of running nonviolent direct action campaigns helped bring me further into this work, and the rest is history.
Q: What’s one of the things you’re most proud of from your time as Campaign Organizer?
A: I’m proud of my work with the “nimble action” volunteer team to help train folks in new action roles and with the “spiritual preparation” volunteer team to increase our grounding and capacity for risk-taking ahead of our big action this past April.
Q: What’s your favorite song that we sing at EQAT actions?
A: I love “Step by Step”! It’s the first new song I learned from EQAT.
We hope you will join us in welcoming Lina into her new role! You can find her at one of our next webinars or general meetings.
Top photo by Laran Kaplan. Lina (left) with EQAT volunteers, Jean and Ann, at an action at Vanguard.
