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In this episode we learn about the history of the 2014 campaign to expand transit in Ypsilanti, directly from some of the key members of the campaign. Martha Valadez, Gillian Ream Gainsley, Tad Wysor, and Kathy Meagher discuss the state of transit then and now and the power that this work had in terms of connecting the community through movement organizing.

Podcast speakers:

Martha Valadez

Martha Valadez (she / they) has managed campaigns to connect urban and rural communities with better transportation infrastructure, END Deportation campaigns, and built coalitions to secure policy wins at the city and county level. Martha has organized with families living in SRO Hotels in San Francisco as well as unhoused Oakland, CA residents and managed a campaign for progressive Mechanical Trade Unions in the South Bay area of San Francisco.

Martha has worked with IBEW Local #583 as an Apprentice Electrician and currently works as a National Jobs with Justice Senior Organizer where they currently support campaigns in the construction sector and other efforts for expanded bargaining and workers governance. Martha is active with the News Guild Abortion Access and Health Care Autonomy Working Group and is a Steward for their Unit in the non profit sector.
 
Gillian Gainsley

Gillian Gainsley is Director of Strategic Planning at Detroit Public Television and a member of the Ypsilanti Community School board. She is dedicated to community services, formerly serving on the AAATA board and working at the Ypsilanti District Library. She lives in Ypsilanti with her family.

Kathy Meagher

Kathy Meagher lives in Grosse Pointe Park MI. She is a substitute teacher and a classical singer. Kathy is an advocate for public transportation, and has been involved with the Citizens Advisory Committee of the Regional Transit Authority of Southeastern Michigan, as well as with the More Buses, More Places, More Often campaign in Washtenaw County in 2014.
 

 

Tad Wysor

Tad Wysor is a long-time resident of Washtenaw County and a daily bus rider during his years of commuting to work at the EPA National Lab in Ann Arbor. He is Lead Organizer with Washtenaw Regional Organizing Coalition, WeROC, which is the local affiliate of the national Gamaliel Network of community organizing projects and brings new local leaders into active participation in decisions that affect them, through grassroots action campaigns on issues like improved transit. He is also on the Executive Board of the local Huron Valley Area Labor Federation/AFL-CIO.