Young Adults Join Vision Council
In late 2019 and early 2020, five former Re/Generators joined Call To Action’s governing body, called the Vision Council. Dominic Surya, delfín bautista, Angela Butel, John Noble, and Lauren Barbato joined the Vision Council after participating in the Re/Generation program, which fosters mentorship and leadership development for progressive Catholic young adults. For some, Re/Generation was their first introduction to Call To Action, while others have been active in CTA’s membership, leadership, and young adult programming for years.
Dominic and Angela serve as Vision Council representatives at-large, John and Lauren act as young adult representatives (especially for Re/Generation 2018 and 2019, respectively), and delfín serves as an Anti-Racism Team representative.
Top (L-R): Angela Butel, delfín bautista, Lauren Barbato; bottom (L-R): Dominic Surya, John Noble
Call To Action is thrilled that these young adults are stepping into the Vision Council and co-creating intergenerational leadership within our movement. Long-time Vision Council member Amy Sheber Howard and some of the new young adult representatives share their thoughts about intergenerational and youth leadership on the VC and within CTA more broadly:
Amy Sheber Howard:
It has been a thrill to be collaborating concretely with the Re/Gen alums who have joined the Vision Council in the last few months. So exciting to work with this talented group of quick thinkers with a variety of incredible talents and willingness to serve. From deep analysis steeped in anti-racist perspectives, to budgetary expertise, to easy willingness to step in and work on minutes, composing documents, and serving on and leading committees, the generous gifts of each of the new members of the Vision Council had deepened its capacity to work on organizational governance and initiate creative programming.
These experiences confirm for me that the blending of personal movement history of the generations that have been in this work for thirty-forty-fifty years with the knowledge and skill base and passion of those in their twenties and thirties is a special blend that makes Call To Action increasingly relevant, sustainable and effective. I am honored by the relationships developed and expansive learning I have gained since starting in CTA leadership over two decades ago in my mid-twenties and I am excited by the new relationships and new ways of learning in the current moment of opportunity of collaboration with the Re/Gen alums who have said yes to Vision Council service.
I pray for the grace of all of us elder generations vision council members to embrace the gifts of new ideas, energy, insights and ways of working, even when this challenges comfortable and familiar ways of working. It is such an asset for CTA to have this new life in leadership.
delfín bautista:
I am excited to rejoin the Vision Council on many different levels. I was part of the transition of board to Vision Council several years ago, and it’s been exciting to see how those efforts have continued to evolve and grow. I think as we live into church justice and transformation, we need many voices and the circle needs to continue to widen. As Call To Action continues to delve into the messy ministry of embodying anti-racism and anti-oppression principles, it is important that the many parts of Call To Action reflect this commitment not just on paper but also in practice by ensuring representation of diverse voices. The work of inclusion is not just about inviting folks to a party, it’s ensuring that all invited are invited to dance and eat cake and truly be part of the celebration — and that invitations are constantly outgoing to invite new voices, bodies, and experiences.
My hope with those of us who have joined the board is to break the binary of younger vs. elder — we are all church and we are all leaders in the now who have roles to play and gifts to enrich the movement. Intergenerational efforts are part of the framework of intersectionality; our ages may be different and scattered on the Vision Council but each of us has a richness of experiences that spices up the life of Call To Action. As a 38 year old, my experiences are just as valid as those of a person in their 70s — we have the opportunity to serve as mentors to each other and pass the baton of church transformation back and forth. When I joined the board years ago, many shared that they were passing the baton to me and the other young adults. My response then and my response now is that I am passing the baton back and that we need to share it; the work of justice requires all of us to be active in the now. Our roles may change but we each have a part to actively live out.
Angela Butel:
When I think about the importance of intergenerational organizing, I often find myself considering families. There's power in the ways families support one another, sharing the wisdom and experience of different eras and sharing burdens to help each other get through. There's also a richness to the symbolism of families within our tradition, from the Holy Family to contemporary ways prophetic voices have shown us the malleability of "family" to include different configurations, branching generations, and chosen family. I look forward to continuing in this dwelling-together within our efforts to reshape the church and the world.
John Noble:
I'm so excited to join the Vision Council as a 20/30 representative. Now more than ever, intergenerational collaboration is crucial for Call To Action and the Catholic left more broadly. We can only build a mass movement for the change we desperately need if we first build relational power across lines of difference. I believe that, just as young members bring new ways forward for the CTA Vision Council, we also have so much to learn from our movement elders who have put in the work to get us where we are today. Right now, Call To Action is asking hard questions about the dynamics of oppressive powers in our church, in our world, and in our movement. This includes a special attention to the structures and strictures of white supremacy, work that is a moral imperative in this moment of global resistance to racism. I look forward to working with this team as we build power together!
Dominic Surya:
In the four months since recruiting these four diverse younger people to the Vision Council, I've already seen them bring more energy and new direction to CTA's governance and programs — in basic areas like committee configuration, and in critical areas like anti-racism. It's one of my proudest efforts in my albeit short time at CTA, because it puts into practice our talk about being led by and accountable to those we seek to grow our movement, organization, and church to center. I'm grateful to CTA's elders for prioritizing the "Re/Generation" program that made it possible.
