The Maverick Lloyd Speaker Series
Each year, the Maverick Lloyd Speaker Series welcomes pioneering speakers with a strong foundation in social justice activism and civil engagement to CSW, informing and empowering students to actively promote justice in their communities and beyond.
Youth-Powered Climate Justice with Our Children’s Trust
CSW is excited to announce an upcoming series of events with Our Children’s Trust, a groundbreaking nonprofit organization that empowers youth to secure their legal rights to a life-sustaining climate.
Join us to hear the story of Held v. State of Montana — the first children’s constitutional climate case in history to go to trial — in which 16 youth successfully sued the state of Montana to protect their equal rights to a healthy environment, life, dignity, and freedom.
Join us to hear the story of Held v. State of Montana — the first children’s constitutional climate case in history to go to trial — in which 16 youth successfully sued the state of Montana to protect their equal rights to a healthy environment, life, dignity, and freedom.
AS SEEN IN THE AWARD-WINNING DOCUMENTARY, YOUTH V GOV!
Featured Presenters
Mat dos SantosCo-Executive Director & General Counsel, Our Children's Trust
Mat leads legal compliance and risk management at Our Children's Trust, overseeing finance, operations, and development. They bring their excellent impact litigation strategic thinking gained over the nearly 20 years of experience they have litigating high profile cases on behalf of historically oppressed communities as well as fortune 500 companies.
As legal director of the ACLU of Oregon, Mat worked on a variety of civil right issues including freedom of speech, student’s rights, voting rights, LGBTQ+ rights, immigration, and criminal justice reform, and frequently advised local and state governments on compliance with constitutional and statutory requirements. During their tenure, Mat was recognized as a “Best LGBT Lawyer Under 40” by the National LGBT Bar Association (2016), and received the Oregon Gay and Lesbian Lawyers Association Award of Merit (2017), Richard M. Ginsburg Outstanding Leadership for Immigrant Rights Award from the American Immigrant Lawyers Association of Oregon (2017), and the Aguila Award from LatinoNetwork in recognition of extraordinary contributions and commitment to ensuring a thriving Latinx community in Oregon (2018).
Read more about Mat
Laura GehrkeEvents Manager, Our Children's Trust
Laura Gehrke grew up in the sunny state of Florida. She attended Florida State University, earning a B.S. in Hospitality Management. Laura began her career as an event professional in 2012, and received the Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) designation in 2016. She is passionate about sustainability, and increasing awareness of the vulnerability of island nations due to the climate crisis. At Our Children’s Trust, Laura plans, promotes, and facilitates events to educate and engage the community in youth-led efforts for climate litigation. Laura enjoys bread-making, classic cinema, camping, and hiking.
Join Us for a Community Conversation
April 24, 2024
7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Free and open to the public
After spending the day on campus with students, faculty, and staff, Mat and Laura will host a community conversation, open to the public.
All are welcome to join for a lively discussion of the practice and power of youth activism and the extraordinary ripple effect of Held v. State of Montana nationwide — followed by an opportunity to join CSW’s IDEA Committee for a student-led Action Hour!
About the Maverick Lloyd Speaker Series
At CSW we have pride in our conviction that students learn from exposure to different perspectives, and that engaged citizenship requires awareness of the historical and contemporary issues that impact our world today. Guest speakers are yet another opportunity for student growth and inspiration.
The Maverick Lloyd Speaker Series — established by Arthur Berndt '68 to honor and remember Henry Demarest Lloyd (1847 – 1903) and his daughter-in-law, Lola Maverick Lloyd (1875 – 1944) — is designed to bring a wide range of pioneering speakers and thought leaders to campus to inspire learning beyond our walls and empower the CSW community to institute change around the world.
From nationally and globally recognized scientists, to artists, politicians, environmentalists, scholars and activists, the The Maverick Lloyd Speaker Series encourages us to explore a diversity of topics and perspectives, illustrating and acknowledging that we live in a complex world that exists at the intersection of many areas. Through this program we hope to inform and empower students to explore their interests and passions, envision themselves as change makers, and find ways to make meaningful change in their communities and beyond.
Henry Demarest Lloyd
Henry Demarest Lloyd was a 19th-century American progressive political activist and pioneer muckraking journalist and author. He is best remembered for his exposés on abuses of industrial monopolies, particularly Standard Oil. He was a leading figure in the progressive reform movement and a strong supporter of women's suffrage and the trade union movement. He was consistently pro-labor, defending child labor laws and the eight-hour work day.
Lola Maverick Lloyd
Lola Maverick Lloyd was an American pacifist, suffragist, and feminist. She was one of the delegates that founded the Women's Peace Party in Washington, D.C. in 1915, which later became the American branch of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF). She was also an early supporter of the National Women's Party and was deeply involved in the international peace and world government movements during the first half of the 20th century.
Recent Speakers
Rev. Sharon Washington Risher
Rev. Sharon Washington Risher was catapulted into the limelight after the Charleston, SC, shooting at the Mother Emanuel AME Church on June 17th, 2015. Her beloved mother and church sexton, Mrs. Ethel Lee Lance, was killed along with eight others, including two cousins and a childhood friend. Since that horrific tragedy, Sharon has been outspoken about American gun laws and is a national spokesperson for the grassroots advocacy groups Everytown and Moms Demand Gun Sense. She has met with President Barack Obama at the White House on several occasions and has been a guest speaker for several Martin Luther King, Jr. memorial events, including ours in January.
Erin I. Kelly
Erin Kelly is the 2022 winner of the Pulitzer Prize in Biography for Chasing Me to My Grave: An Artist's Memoir of the Jim Crow South, which she co-authored with the late artist Winfred Rembert. The memoir takes readers into Rembert's life and "summons us as readers to confront painful and urgent realities at the heart of American history and society." Chasing Me to My Grave has also earned accolades from NPR, ART News, and more.
Kelly earned her PhD from Harvard and is the Fletcher Professor of Philosophy at Tufts University. She specializes in ethics and criminal law and is the author of The Limits of Blame: Rethinking Punishment and Responsibility.
Kelly earned her PhD from Harvard and is the Fletcher Professor of Philosophy at Tufts University. She specializes in ethics and criminal law and is the author of The Limits of Blame: Rethinking Punishment and Responsibility.
Julie Lythcott-Haims
Julie Lythcott-Haims roots for humans. Humans need agency in order to make their way forward; Julie is deeply interested in what impedes us. She is the New York Times bestselling author of How to Raise an Adult, an anti-helicopter parenting manifesto which gave rise to one of the top TED Talks of 2016, and now has over 4 million views. Her second book is the critically-acclaimed and award-winning prose poetry memoir Real American, which illustrates her experience with racism and her journey toward self-acceptance. A third book called How to BE an Adult, for young adults, is forthcoming. She is a former corporate lawyer and Stanford dean, and she holds a BA from Stanford, a JD from Harvard, and an MFA in Writing from California College of the Arts. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her partner of over thirty years, her mother, and her itinerant young adults.
CSW—a gender-inclusive day and boarding school for grades 9-12—is a national leader in progressive education. We live out our values of inquiry-based learning, student agency, and embracing diverse perspectives in every aspect of our student experience. Young people come to CSW to learn how to learn and then put what they learn into action—essential skills they carry into their futures as doers, makers, innovators, leaders, and exceptional humans who do meaningful work in the world.