Elders for Sound Democracy - Youth Civic Engagement Action Team
2025-06-24 11:00 - 12:00, 2025-07-22 11:00 - 12:00, 2025-08-26 11:00 - 12:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Zoom video conferencing
Youth Civic Engagement Action Team
For three years, Elders from EAN and ESD have supported the programs of The Civics Center by writing letters and postcards (over 55,000 to PA and AZ parents in 2024), researching, and helping to connect high schools across the country with the free resources offered by The Civics Center.
If you would like to learn more or consider getting involved, join us on Tuesdays, June 24, July 22, and/or August 26 at 11:00 am PT / 2:00 pm ET.
For more information, email Therese at: 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.

Elders for Sound Democracy - A Conversation for Democracy
2025-06-25 10:00 - 11:00, 2025-07-23 10:00 - 11:00, 2025-08-27 10:00 - 11:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
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….” This Spring, 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.

Welcome to Elders Climate Action Monthly Session
2025-07-11 15:00 - 16:00, 2025-08-08 15:00 - 16:00, 2025-09-12 15:00 - 16:00, 2025-10-10 15:00 - 16:00 (America/New_York)
Welcome to Elders Climate Action! We are a community of elders who care about preserving our planet for our grandchildren, future generations and all life. As a new member we would like to invite you to a special Welcome Session where you can hear more about who we are, what ECA has been doing, our plans for the future, and how you can get more involved.
2nd Friday, Monthly
3 pm Eastern, 12 Noon Pacific
REGISTER NOW
Please register to receive a link to join the call. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. We encourage you to join by computer so you can see the presenter’s slides. If you are unable to attend this Welcome Session, don’t worry, plan to join next month! We offer a Welcome to Elders Climate Action Session on the 2nd Friday of each month. Watch for our next call bulletin or announcement in the upcoming newsletter or check our website for the event listing.
We look forward to meeting you!

Elders for Sound Democracy Community Meeting
2025-07-16 10:00 - 11:30 (America/Los_Angeles)
Wednesday, July 16, 10:00 – 11:30 am PT / 1:00 – 2:30 pm ET
Our internal research following the November election suggested a sentiment among voters that underweighted core democratic values, and we concluded that disinformation and political corruption were key factors in the results, which were largely unfavorable to democracy. In our last two community meetings, we’ve focused on disinformation, including the work of our Disinformation Action team.
At our July meeting, the Countering Political Corruption team will highlight major problems related to political corruption in our democracy and suggest some potential solutions. For issues needing a rapid response, our Defend Democracy Now team will outline its strategy. We’ll discuss actions each of us can take to help restore integrity and work toward a government that’s more of, by, and for the people, as our founders envisioned.
Please join us to hear about our research and plans, contribute your ideas, and discover ways you can get involved in this critical moment. Together, we can make a difference.

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.

Exploring Elderhood
2025-07-22 10:00 - 11:30 (America/Los_Angeles)
Session One: Tuesday, July 22
Session Two: Tuesday, July 29
Session Three: Tuesday, August 5
10:00 – 11:30 am PT / 1:00 – 2:30 pm ET
Join us in this journey into what it means to be an Elder in a time of immense change. If you are new to Elders Action Network or want to rediscover your purpose, inner joy, sense of our interconnectedness or where to get into action, this is the journey for you.
We will explore together the redefinition of who is an elder, what it is the earth is calling us to be and why our heart, mind and soul are needed to create a new future for all life on this planet.
You will be introduced to the essence of elderhood, experience processes that will allow what is deep within you to come to the forefront, feel a sense of community and ways to get into action.
This is a three-week journey with each session running 90 minutes. There will be pre-work before each week.
Space is limited, so please register early.
Suggested donation: $55
This is a suggested amount and participants are free to offer more or less depending on their individual financial situation. We do not want financial considerations to be a deterrent to participation, and it is not necessary to make a donation in order to register.
register

Connect & Refresh with the Civic Values & Culture Team
2025-07-22 12:00 - 13:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
Tuesday, July 22
12:00 – 1:00 pm PT / 3:00 – 4:00 pm ET

Join our Civic Values & Culture Team as we pause from our activism and release our serious concerns during this challenging year. Once again, we will come together to enjoy our virtual and restorative community. We will reaffirm the values that guide our collaboration.

Integrity & Authenticity
Deep Listening with Openness, Curiosity, and Presence
Appreciation of Differences

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

Elders for Sound Democracy Community Meeting
2025-08-20 10:00 - 11:30 (America/Los_Angeles)
Wednesday, August 20, 10:00 – 11:30 am PT / 1:00 – 2:30 pm ET
Join us on August 20 as we welcome back David Pepper—lawyer, author, political activist, adjunct professor of election and voting rights law, and former state party chair. A graduate of Yale University (BA) and Yale Law School (JD), David returns to share insights from the newly released Second Edition of Saving Democracy: A User’s Manual—a practical guide for resisting autocracy and advancing democracy, especially at the local and state levels.
David is also the author of the influential non-fiction book, Laboratories of Autocracy: A Wake-Up Call from Behind the Lines (2021). He has written four political thrillers: A Simple Choice (2022) The Voter File (2020) The Wingman (2018) The People’s House (2016) In addition to his books, David is an active voice on democracy issues, posting daily on Pepperspectives Substack and regularly appearing on Substack Live in interviews with fellow experts on resisting autocracy. This event will be a timely and important conversation. Join us to discover concrete, practical ways each one of us can help defend and strengthen democracy—starting right in our own communities.
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.

Connect & Refresh with the Civic Values & Culture Team
2025-08-26 12:00 - 13:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
Tuesday, August 26
12:00 – 1:00 pm PT / 3:00 – 4:00 pm ET

Join our Civic Values & Culture Team as we pause from our activism and release our serious concerns during this challenging year. Once again, we will come together to enjoy our virtual and restorative community. We will reaffirm the values that guide our collaboration.

Integrity & Authenticity
Deep Listening with Openness, Curiosity, and Presence
Appreciation of Differences

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

Future Design Group
2025-09-10 16:00 - 17:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
Wednesday, September 10
Second Wednesday of each month
4:00 – 5:00 pm PT / 7:00 – 8:00 pm ET
At this meeting, the team will share updates on workshops and projects as well as marketing opportunities and ways you can get involved in spreading the word about Future Design in your area.
Register below to receive the Zoom link. For more information, email Teri Whitehair at teriw@eldersaction.org.
register

Elders for Sound Democracy’s Defend Democracy Team
2025-09-15 10:30 - 12:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
Monday, September 15
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 Co-sponsored by Elders Climate Action
2025-09-17 10:00 - 11:30 (America/Los_Angeles)
Wednesday, September 17, 10:00 – 11:30 am PT / 1:00 – 2:30 pm ET
Co-sponsored by Elders Climate Action
Join us on September 17 for another session of our Democracy Forum Speaker Series, Democracy on the Line: November 2025, featuring leaders of two of our partner organizations—The Center for Common Ground and The Environmental Voter Project (EVP). They will highlight the actions we can take to support their efforts to increase voter turnout among infrequent voters who care about the environment and those who may need information about voting, to make a meaningful difference for this fall’s election and in future. ESD partnered with both of them during the 2024 national elections, and ECA has a history of collaborating with EVP.
Featured Speakers

Andrea Miller, The Center for Common Ground – Reclaim Our Vote

A Black- and women-led, nonpartisan voting rights organization, The Center for Common Ground empowers Black, Indigenous, and other voters of color to overcome barriers to voting. The Reclaim Our Vote campaign dramatically increases voter participation and ensures communities can make their voices heard.

Shannon Seigal, Environmental Voter Project (EVP)

EVP focuses on turning environmental concerns into electoral power. By identifying environmentally conscious but infrequent voters and encouraging them to vote, EVP has a nine-year history of strengthening pro-environment voter turnout to advance environmental policy and justice.
Learn about the impact of these vital efforts—and discover how you can volunteer to help protect democracy this November.
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.

Resilience and Acceptance in the Face of Collapse
2025-09-23 16:00 - 17:30 (America/Los_Angeles)
A free, nine-session online course starting on Tuesday, September 23 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 25 participants)

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 - A Conversation for Democracy
2025-09-25 10:00 - 11:00, 2025-11-05 10:00 - 11:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
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.

Connect & Refresh with the Civic Values & Culture Team
2025-09-25 12:30 - 13:30 (America/Los_Angeles)
Thursday, September 25
12:30 – 1:30 pm PT / 3:30 – 4:30 pm ET

Join our Civic Values & Culture Team as we pause from our activism and release our serious concerns during this challenging year. Once again, we will come together to enjoy our virtual and restorative community. We will reaffirm the values that guide our collaboration.

Integrity & Authenticity
Deep Listening with Openness, Curiosity, and Presence
Appreciation of Differences

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

Elders for Sound Democracy’s Defend Democracy Team
2025-10-06 10:30 - 12:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
Monday, October 6
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.

Exploring Elderhood
2025-10-07 10:00 - 11:30 (America/Los_Angeles)
Session One: Tuesday, October 7
Session Two: Tuesday, October 14
Session Three: Tuesday, October 21
10:00 – 11:30 am PT / 1:00 – 2:30 pm ET
Join us in this journey into what it means to be an Elder in a time of immense change. If you are new to Elders Action Network or want to rediscover your purpose, inner joy, sense of our interconnectedness or where to get into action, this is the journey for you.
We will explore together the redefinition of who is an elder, what it is the earth is calling us to be and why our heart, mind and soul are needed to create a new future for all life on this planet.
You will be introduced to the essence of elderhood, experience processes that will allow what is deep within you to come to the forefront, feel a sense of community and ways to get into action.
This is a three-week journey with each session running 90 minutes. There will be pre-work before each week.
Space is limited, so please register early.
Suggested donation: $55
This is a suggested amount and participants are free to offer more or less depending on their individual financial situation. We do not want financial considerations to be a deterrent to participation, and it is not necessary to make a donation in order to register.
register

Elders for Sound Democracy’s Defend Democracy Team
2025-10-20 10:30 - 12:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
Monday, October 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
2025-10-29 10:00 - 11:30 (America/Los_Angeles)
Wednesday, October 29, 10:00 – 11:30 am PT / 1:00 – 2:30 pm ET
Join us on October 29 for another session of our Democracy Speaker series: A Manual for Keeping Democracy Alive, featuring Joyce Vance, just one week after the release of her first book, Giving Up Is Unforgivable: A Manual for Keeping a Democracy.
For several years, Vance has captivated readers through her hugely popularCivil Discourse Substack, where she unpacks pressing political issues through a clear legal and historical lens—what she calls “part civics and part law school.” She ends every post with an encouraging reminder: “We’re in this together.”
Her new book continues that mission, offering both inspiration and practical guidance. It’s a call to action for citizen engagement—showing readers how to overcome political burnout, take meaningful action, and make their voices heard to help protect democracy.
Vance brings a wealth of experience to this discussion. She served 25 years as a career federal prosecutor, including as U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Alabama during the Obama administration. Today, she is a distinguished Professor of the Practice of Law at the University of Alabama School of Law, a legal analyst for NBC and MSNBC, and cohost of two podcasts — #SistersinLaw and Café’s Insider.
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’s Defend Democracy Team
2025-11-03 10:30 - 12:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
Monday, November 3
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.

Connect & Refresh with the Civic Values & Culture Team
2025-11-04 12:30 - 13:30 (America/Los_Angeles)
Tuesday, November 4
12:30 – 1:30 pm PT / 3:30 – 4:30 pm ET

We invite like-minded elders to join us on November 4 to support each other as we think about how our values guide our individual actions and choices.

A sense of community – and paths to action – can come from exploring and sharing what our lived experience has taught us. Do you have a pivotal life story to share that has highlighted an important value for you?

Come to our next meeting, listen to the personal experiences of others, and tell your own story if you like. Let’s have a conversation that resonates with all of us.
Register below to receive the Zoom link. For more information, email Therese Flaherty at theresef@eldersaction.org.
register

ONE: One Earth, One Humanity, One Future Book Discussion
2025-11-06 10:00 - 11:30 (America/Los_Angeles)
Thursday, November 6
10:00 – 11:30 am PT / 1:00 – 2:30 pm ET
Long time EAN member Libby Traubman and co-author Winslow Myers will share the inspiration and wisdom from their newly published book, ONE: One Earth, One Humanity, One Future. About the book:
“Eighty years beyond the first use of a nuclear weapon on civilians and fifty-five years beyond the first Earth Day, the community of nations has not yet fully addressed the dual existential threats of nuclear war and the climate crisis. We cling to the illusion that the most secure are those with the most destructive weapons, even though possessing the fastest missiles or the most warheads does nothing to ensure a livable planet. If large swaths of the earth become too hot for survival, what difference will it make who wins the arms race? We all want to avoid sudden extinction by nuclear war or gradual ecological degradation.”
Based on this planet-wide alignment of interest—a “no” to war and a “yes” to the regeneration of the Earth conceived as a single overarching goal—ONE offers a hopeful way forward.
Join us for this lively discussion.
Suggested donation: $10

register

Resist Through Writing
2025-11-12 10:00 - 11:30 (America/Los_Angeles)
Wednesday, November 12
10:00 – 11:30 am PT / 1:00 – 2:30 pm ET
Letters to the Editors are not new, but they are still an effective way to use your voice and have an influence.
Resist Through Writing is a means for anyone to inform, engage and persuade a targeted audience in a meaningful way. We will discuss why, who and how and we’ll give you tools to help get you started.
Suggested donation: $10

register
