We are excited to announce Gretchen Wang and Daniel Willis as our Summer 2025 interns. Gretchen and Daniel join us from the Social Justice strand of Brandeis University's World of Work (WOW) internship program.

They will be gathering data for a round of updates to UFE's Popular Economics Education workshops, and writing blogs to share UFE's impactful program work. Please join us in welcoming them!

Honoring Anne Price and Tess Ewing as they pass the torch of leadership 

Agradecido por un tiempo especial en UFE

Honrando a Anne Price y Tess Ewing al pasar la antorcha del liderazgo

On March 25, 2025, UFE joined workers, advocates, and allies from across North Carolina gathered at the General Assembly in Raleigh for a Day of Action to demand policies that reflect the dignity of working people. Their message? North Carolina cannot afford to delay basic economic dignity any longer. 

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Featuring Iralda Hernández, Yamileth Gonzalez, and Maria Gonzalez

This year, UFE’s Grassroots Organizing School of Alabama (GOSA) welcomed its 3rd annual cohort, a diverse group of 26 organizers, advocates, and community leaders. Among them was returning alumnus and now facilitator Iralda Hernández — joined this time by two of her daughters, Yamileth and Maria.

For this family, GOSA wasn’t just a retreat, it was a practice in moving at the speed of trust. That kind of movement doesn’t begin with strategy; it begins with relationship. By showing up fully for themselves and each other, they modeled what it looks like to build power from the ground up.

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Mike Lapham, UFE's Deputy Director and Responsible Wealth (RW) Program Director, collaborated with RW members and Voices for Progress to oppose the latest effort to concentrate more resources in fewer hands.

UFE’s Grassroots Organizing School of Alabama (GOSA) welcomed our 3rd annual cohort and held our first training of 2025! GOSA develops strong organizers in Alabama, equipping them with knowledge, facilitation skills, healing for liberation practices, and language justice tools.

Spring 2025 GOSA participants, facilitators, and interpreters. Jeannette Huezo,
front row, fourth from left; Ana Delia Espino, second row, left.

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After a Training of Trainers, participants reflect on personal transformation and community building in their economic and racial justice work.

After a Training of Trainers, participants' reflections highlight core themes in economic justice movement building.

Reflections on UFE’s Fall Training of Trainers

In this piece, Yashini Krishnakumar, UFE’s 2024-2025 Tisch Scholar, reflects on her experiences of sharing stories and developing critical consciousness at UFE’s Fall Training of Trainers. It was held November 14–17, 2024 at the Avila Center for Community Leadership.

Fall 2024 Training of Trainer participants, facilitators, interpreters, and participants’ children. Yashini Krishnakumar, front row, second from left.

Two alumni of UFE’s Grassroots Organizing School of Alabama (GOSA) were recently selected to participate in the Southern Poverty Law Center’s (SPLC) Advocacy Institute in Alabama. 

Iralda Hernández, part of the GOSA 2023 cohort, and Aurora Sanchez, from GOSA 2024, worked together to develop and present a campaign in support of making voter registration automatic in Alabama.

See and feel a UFE Training of Trainers — in just one minute.

(the only fight that is lost is the one that is abandoned)

Post-election reflections

by Jeannette Huezo, UFE Executive Director and Senior Popular Educator

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It has been one month since the re-election of a billionaire who has promised to sharply curtail civil liberties, dismantle core parts of the institutional infrastructure for governing, round up and deport millions of immigrants, and shift more billions of dollars to his cronies.

Reflections on My Participation at the 32nd IAFFE Annual Conference in Rome, Italy

I was invited to participate at the 2024 conference of the International Association for Feminist Economics (IAFFE), presenting a workshop in collaboration with other organizations that value and practice the popular education methodology.

On September 22, 2024, Jeannette Huezo, UFE Executive Director & Senior Popular Educator, led members of the National TPS Alliance through an intensive, virtual training as part of an ongoing series that utilizes UFE’s Popular Economics Education methodology. She facilitated conversation intended to deconstruct the immensely dehumanizing narrative surrounding documented and undocumented immigrant labor – demonstrating how our economy cannot function without such workers. 

Jeannette Huezo, UFE’s Executive Director and Senior Popular Educator, upper left, meeting with leaders of the National TPS Alliance 

On October 1st, nearly 50,000 dock workers with the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA), from ports in Texas to Maine, went on strike, demanding better wages and an end to automation, which they claim directly violates their contract. A strike of this magnitude has not occurred since 1977. Workers across the country are rising up and reclaiming what rightfully belongs to them!

Striking longshoremen picket outside the Packer Avenue Marine Terminal Port, in Philadelphia, Pa., on Oct. 1. Photo credit: Ryan Collerd/The Associated Press

On October 5th, the strike was officially postponed to January 15th after the union reached a deal to negotiate a new contract.

We are excited to welcome Yashini Krishnakumar as our Tisch Scholar for the 2024-2025 school year. The Tisch Scholars program at Tufts University is a leadership development program that combines academic coursework, fieldwork in local communities, skill-building, and critical reflection.

¡Bienvenido, Yashini! 

On September 14th, almost a hundred Durham residents filled Asbury United Methodist Church for the Duke Respect Durham campaign kickoff event. This campaign – led by a broad coalition of labor groups, community organizations, political organizations, non-profits, faith groups, students and regular working-class people – has one main objective: to make Duke pay their fair share in taxes to the city of Durham! UFE was there in support.

Almost 100 members of the Durham community joined to kick off the campaign. Photo credit: Duke Respect Durham Coalition