Elders Action Network

Elders for Sound Democracy’s Defend Democracy Team
2026-01-05 10:30 - 12:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Zoom video conferencing
Monday, January 5
10:30 – 12:00 pm PT / 1:30 – 3:00 pm ET
Our meetings take place on the first and third Monday of each month.
Topic: Defend Democracy Now!
Our country is at a pivotal crossroads. Which path will we follow?
Our current government is undermining the institutions of democratic self-government, suppressing our freedom to think/speak/learn/and dissent, and restricting people’s right to vote. ESD’s Defend Democracy team plans actions we can take to push back against these authoritarian threats.
History has shown that, if we want to keep our republic, we can’t wait for someone else to do it for us. We must take vigorous action ourselves.
Please join the discussion. Bring your ideas, your energy and your passion. For more information, email Ken Barnes at kbarnes@kenbarneslaw.com.
register

After registering, you will receive an email from Zoom (no-reply@zoom.us) with a unique link to join the event. Please check your email inbox.

Promote the Youth Vote - 2026
2026-01-12 12:30 - 14:00
Monday, January 12
12:30 – 2:00 pm PT / 3:30 – 5:00 ET pm
Join Vicki Shapiro (Chair of the Advisory Board of The Civics Center), Diane Sue (ESD Washington State Team), Mary Perry (ESD CA State Team), and Therese Flaherty (ESD Youth Voting Action Team), as they share what we have all accomplished in 2025, what we have learned, and what we are planning as we gear up for 2026.
Come and get ready to join many other elders in making a difference in youth voting!
Contact: theresef@eldersaction.org
register

After registering, you will receive an email from Zoom (no-reply@zoom.us) with a unique link to join the event. Please check your email inbox.

The Truth Mandala
2026-01-13 10:00 - 12:00
Co-Sponsored by Sage-ing International and Elders Action Network

Tuesday, January 13
10:00 am – 12:00 pm PT / 1:00 – 3:00 pm ET
Join us for “The Truth Mandala” presented by our friends at Sage-ing International. The Truth Mandala ritual offers a sacred, compassionate space to honor the pain we feel as we witness the many crises unfolding in our world. As we absorb the news, talk with friends, or hear the worries of younger generations, we encounter deep emotions – despair, anger, fear, emptiness, and more. Created by Joanna Macy, the Truth Mandala invites spiritual intimacy in hard times by allowing us to speak what’s on our hearts and receive acknowledgement from the community.
The program will include silence, journaling, and sharing. Please arrive 5–10 minutes early so we can begin promptly.
REGISTER HERE

Connect & Refresh with the Civic Values & Culture Team
2026-01-13 12:30 - 14:00
Tuesday, January 13
12:30 – 2:00 pm PT / 3:30 – 5:00 pm ET

Envisioning a Future That Reflects Our Values
Clearly, the world is moving and changing rapidly and radically. We invite you to visit our sustaining community of like-minded elders. We discuss:

envisioning a future based on our values
choosing actions we want to take based on our values

Register below to receive the Zoom link. For more information, email Therese Flaherty at theresef@eldersaction.org.
register

Resilience and Acceptance in the Face of Collapse
2026-01-14 16:00 - 17:30
A free, nine-session online course starting on Wednesday, January 14 at 4:00 pm PT / 7:00 pm ET.
It focuses on inner resilience, adaptive responses, collective acceptance of the climate crisis and provides a worldview pertaining to a new and different future.
After the course attendees will be able to:

Define collapse.
Articulate their own understanding about the Great Unraveling and at what stage of awareness they are.
More freely navigate their emotional responses to a collapse.
Name and put into practice several tools for inner resilience.
Describe and weigh out the benefits of localization for outer resilience.
Live in greater balance and harmony with all the spirits which create and support life.
Identify the benefits of acceptance most pertinent to them and their life circumstances.
Meetings are 1 ½ hours. Preparation: 2-3 hours a week

REGISTER (Maximum 30 participants) Registration starts December 1, 2025

Message From the Course Developers
“With great sadness and great love, we are convinced that this is a time of unraveling…biodiversity loss, ocean degradation, urban flooding, political strife, climate crisis and migrations, economic and political instability, food shortages, wildfires, soil degradation.
We have two choices: turning away or turning toward. For a long time, we have learned to turn our eyes away and live as we have always lived.
With these moving thoughts from the Developer’s in mind: We believe that closing our eyes has not served us. It’s time to turn towards—wake up and see what is happening in the world and in ourselves, in the ways we relate to the entire Community of Life. Turning toward takes courage, honesty and love.”
This course is not about traditional resilience solutions. Instead, the course leads participants through a process of opening their eyes in awareness and turning towards what-is with ever-deepening acceptance, through wise responses to our predicament.”

Elders for Sound Democracy’s Defend Democracy Team
2026-01-20 10:30 - 12:00
Monday, January 20
10:30 – 12:00 pm PT / 1:30 – 3:00 pm ET
Our meetings take place on the first and third Monday of each month.
Topic: Defend Democracy Now!
Our country is at a pivotal crossroads. Which path will we follow?
Our current government is undermining the institutions of democratic self-government, suppressing our freedom to think/speak/learn/and dissent, and restricting people’s right to vote. ESD’s Defend Democracy team plans actions we can take to push back against these authoritarian threats.
History has shown that, if we want to keep our republic, we can’t wait for someone else to do it for us. We must take vigorous action ourselves.
Please join the discussion. Bring your ideas, your energy and your passion. For more information, email Ken Barnes at kbarnes@kenbarneslaw.com.
register

After registering, you will receive an email from Zoom (no-reply@zoom.us) with a unique link to join the event. Please check your email inbox.

Elders for Sound Democracy Community Meeting
2026-01-21 10:00 - 11:30
Wednesday, January 21, 10:00 – 11:30 am PT / 1:00 – 2:30 pm ET
Opportunities for Making a Difference in 2026
Join us on January 21 as we kick off our 2026 programs for the critical work for our democracy.
Together, we’ll explore:

A wide range of meaningful actions we can start taking now to make a real difference
Opportunities to connect with like-minded elders for thoughtful conversations about democracy and how we protect it
Ways to get more involved by joining one of our Action Teams

register

After registering, you will receive an email from Zoom (no-reply@zoom.us) with a unique link to join the event. Please check your email inbox.

Elders for Sound Democracy - A Conversation for Democracy
2026-01-28 10:00 - 11:00
10:00 – 11:00 am PT / 1:00 – 2:00 pm ET
What Can I Do to Make a Difference?
Join with like-minded elders in “A Conversation for Democracy”
As Cory Booker reminded us: “I do not know what John Lewis would have… done [if he were here]. I do know he would have done something….” Many of us are trying to figure out what [and/or what else] we can do to make a difference.
Several of us who have been active in Elders for Sound Democracy want to:

Welcome elders who are exploring ways to support democracy
Share a number of ways in which we are trying to support democracy
Brainstorm together for new ideas and approaches to support democracy

register

After registering, you will receive an email from Zoom (no-reply@zoom.us) with a unique link to join the event. Please check your email inbox.

Democracy Forum Speaker Series Featuring Robert Hubbell
2026-02-18 10:00 - 11:30
Wednesday, February 18, 10:00 – 11:30 am PT / 1:00 – 2:30 pm ET
Robert Hubbell, the widely followed Substack author and leading voice for democratic values, will join us for a community conversation as part of our ESD-sponsored Democracy Forum Speaker Series.
Through his daily newsletter, Today’s Edition, Hubbell helps readers cut through the noise of the news cycle, offering thoughtful, daily reflections — always grounded in a sense of hope that serves to sustain activists working on the grassroots level in protecting, strengthening, and restoring our democracy.
Robert B. Hubble is a former attorney who turned to writing after a successful legal career. Known for his clear, insightful take on social and political issues, he has become a trusted and widely respected voice in civic engagement.

register

After registering, you will receive an email from Zoom (no-reply@zoom.us) with a unique link to join the event. Please check your email inbox.
