When good people are silent, they allow racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, anti-Semitism, anti-Islam, and all other forms of oppression to persist unchallenged.
Fire service personnel should be inspired and equipped to provide respectful support and advocacy, rooted in justice, for their colleagues and all communities they serve. Personnel must also be trained and empowered to intervene in oppressive or hurtful behaviors they witness.
In this session, participants will practice their skills of intervening in oppressive behaviors while working to re-build trust, using real-life, fire service scenarios.
jona's Biography
jona olsson is the director of cultural bridges to justice, offering cultural diversity programs for non-profit groups. She is the Fire & EMS Chief of the Latir Volunteer Fire Department in northern New Mexico, having served as Chief for 16 years. Joining her two passions – emergency service and social justice – jona offers programs to individual departments, brigades, and fire conferences in the U. S., the UK, Canada and Australia. jona lives in the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in northern New Mexico, with her wife, Jane, and several rescued, 4-footed friends, Tumbleweed the 21 year old cat and Bader, the 6 month old puppy.
