SoCal Secular Coalition
Conference 2022
The SCSC Conference is now over but the work has just begun. Stay tuned for more video recordings of the event and follow-up info. Put the conference into action by joining and supporting some of these organizations and the great work they are doing to support humanism and humanitarian efforts locally and around the world.
The SCSC Conference is now over but the work has just begun. Stay tuned for more video recordings of the event and follow-up info. Put the conference into action by joining and supporting some of these organizations and the great work they are doing to support humanism and humanitarian efforts locally and around the world.
The Southern California Secular Coalition (SCSC: a committee of The Freethought Society) is pleased to present a hybrid, one-day conference entitled “Life Beyond Bars: Compassion and Reform” on Saturday, November 12, 2022. The event is being cosponsored by the American Humanist Association and The Freethought Society.
The Southern California Secular Coalition (SCSC: a committee of The Freethought Society) is pleased to present a hybrid, one-day conference entitled “Life Beyond Bars: Compassion and Reform” on Saturday, November 12, 2022. The event is being cosponsored by the American Humanist Association and The Freethought Society.
The event starts at 9:00 AM (PDT)/Noon (EDT) to 6:00 PM (PDT)/9:00 PM (EDT) with a welcome from Dave Rice, Margaret Downey, and the star of “Adam Ruins Everything” Adam Conover.
The event starts at 9:00 AM (PDT)/Noon (EDT) to 6:00 PM (PDT)/9:00 PM (EDT) with a welcome from Dave Rice, Margaret Downey, and the star of “Adam Ruins Everything” Adam Conover.
There are three great options to attend.
There are three great options to attend.
3. To join IN PERSON in Orange County at the OC Human Relation Council in Santa Ana, register via Eventbrite HERE.
3. To join IN PERSON in Orange County at the OC Human Relation Council in Santa Ana, register via Eventbrite HERE.
A complete schedule, speaker list, bios, speech titles, presentation descriptions, and a list of the in-person site locations can be found at the above registration link.
A complete schedule, speaker list, bios, speech titles, presentation descriptions, and a list of the in-person site locations can be found at the above registration link.
This one-day conference will exam the issue of how our society treats incarceration, from all sides, including the perspective of those with "lived experience." We seek to better understand the causes, effects and challenges of our current system, and review ways to reform from a humanistic perspective. A wide range of expert speakers will provide valuable insight, and help us understand how we can all become advocates for a better, more humane, and effective system.
This one-day conference will exam the issue of how our society treats incarceration, from all sides, including the perspective of those with "lived experience." We seek to better understand the causes, effects and challenges of our current system, and review ways to reform from a humanistic perspective. A wide range of expert speakers will provide valuable insight, and help us understand how we can all become advocates for a better, more humane, and effective system.
Conference Agenda
Conference Agenda
Session 1: 9:00 am -11:00 am PST
Session 1: 9:00 am -11:00 am PST
- Welcome by Dave Rice (SCSC President), Margaret Downey (Freethought Society Founder & President) and Adam Conover (host of Adam Ruins Everything which has explored several aspects of the criminal justice system),
- Nadya Dutchin, Executive Director of the American Humanist Association, speaking on Humanism and Incarceration Reform
- Dr. Michael Golding, lead psychiatrist for the California Department of Corrections speaking on A Dangerous Culture of Incarceration: Physical & Mental Health in Prison
- Jon Guy speaking on The Prison Experience. Jon will speak about what life in prison was like in a Wyoming prison, and what supported him in his journey from being incarcerated to being a published author and science communicator who writes about critical thinking, science, and philosophy. His new book is Think Straight: An Owner’s Manual for the Mind.
Session 2: 11:00 am - 12:30 pm PST
Session 2: 11:00 am - 12:30 pm PST
- Jordan Hyatt, Ph.D., J.D. Associate Professor at Drexel University, and Gina Clark, Superintendent of the Little Scandinavia Prison. Can Scandinavian Principles of Humanity Work in American Prisons? Preliminary Lessons from Pennsylvania
- Dr. Paul Larsson, founder of Law Enforcement Action Partnership, (L.E.A.P.) Scandinavia, and Professor of Criminology at Police University College in Oslo speaking on Drugs and Punishment in an Exceptional Country
- Lawrence Larry, sharing his lived experience perspective, Inside Out
Meal Break: 12:30 pm - 1:15 pm PST
Meal Break: 12:30 pm - 1:15 pm PST
Session 3: 1:15 pm - 3:30 pm PST
Session 3: 1:15 pm - 3:30 pm PST
- Denise Gragg, J.D. an experienced public defender in Southern California capital cases, sharing professional & personal insights gained in dealing with defendants and their families: Confessions of a Public Defender
- Fritzi Horstman, founder of The Compassion Prison Project, speaking on Adverse Childhood Experiences Behind Bars
- Dr. Andy Thompson, evolutionary psychiatrist, speaking on Free Will and the Crimes of the Criminal Justice System,
- JoAnn Mermis and Benny Gutierrez on the impact of their work teaching emotional intelligence from the perspective of both a volunteer and as a previously incarcerated participant: Freedom To Choose Project: Change From the Inside
Session 4: 3:30pm - 6:00 pm PST
Session 4: 3:30pm - 6:00 pm PST
- Margaret Downey, founder of the Freethought Society: Throwing the Book at Them: Shelving Nontheist Literature in Prison Libraries
- Shelley Winner-Dupree speaking on the topic, From Prison to Microsoft
- Dr. Andrea Dauber-Giffin and Dr. Mona Minton, of the Neighborhood House Association, San Diego County. Reentry is a Journey: Challenges and Chances When Leaving Incarceration
- Elizabeth Cavell, J.D. Associate Counsel, Freedom From Religion Foundation: Imagine No Religion: Towards a More Secular Criminal Justice System
There will be time for Q&A throughout the day. Come join us!
There will be time for Q&A throughout the day. Come join us!
SCSC is a committee of The Freethought Society.
SCSC is a committee of The Freethought Society.
Our conference is intended to educate the members of our individual groups (humanists, freethinkers, skeptics, atheists and agnostics) about the reality of our carceral system today and potential, effective, humane reforms. We support reforms that endeavor to protect society from further harm while utilizing science based, compassionate rehabilitation & reintegration of incarcerated people into the world. Our groups, although they have various secular focuses and intentions, all tend to believe that this is the only life any of us will ever have and we support having this one precious life be the best that it can be for all people.
Judy Flattery
President & Editor
Humanist Society of Santa Barbara
Our conference is intended to educate the members of our individual groups (humanists, freethinkers, skeptics, atheists and agnostics) about the reality of our carceral system today and potential, effective, humane reforms. We support reforms that endeavor to protect society from further harm while utilizing science based, compassionate rehabilitation & reintegration of incarcerated people into the world. Our groups, although they have various secular focuses and intentions, all tend to believe that this is the only life any of us will ever have and we support having this one precious life be the best that it can be for all people.
Judy Flattery
President & Editor
Humanist Society of Santa Barbara
Speaker Info (Coming Soon):
Speaker Info (Coming Soon):