In honor of Women’s History Month: Women Who Walk the Walk! First Monday Salon – Monday, March 6, 2017, 6:00-8:00 pm at The BeanRunner Café 201 S. Division Street, Peekskill, NY Panelists:  Vanessa Agudelo,  Paola Dalle Carbonare,  Kim Fraczek,  Monica Hunken,  Mey Marple,  Lisa Moir,  Lael Morgan,  Peg Taylor,  Nancy Vann, Tina Volz-Bongar,  and Courtney M. Williams In honor of Women’s History Month, we are delighted to host a panel of strong, creative, activist, women who have been hard at work, on behalf of all of us, to stop the SPECTRA Algonquin Pipeline Expansion that is at our doorstep. Via clever, striking banners, signs, and graphics; via photojournalism, via websites, and social media; via marches, and protests, and via acts of defiance, these women (and their male counterparts, too!) have been raising public awareness and building an activist community here in the Hudson Valley.  Join us for an inspiring panel discussion of how creative artists and individuals can make a difference through their art, their tenacity, and their passion for a cause.  Join us for this fascinating panel. Have a great sandwich or salad, beer, wine, coffee, or a delicious desert! The BeanRunner will keep you satisfied while you enjoy and learn! First Monday Salons are hosted by Carla Rae Johnson and are free and open to the public. For event information call:  914-737-1701 Panelists’ Bios Vanessa Agudelo is a local Hudson Valley organizer and warrior of social, economic & environmental justice, with a passion for empowering communities to engage in local government and create potent change from the bottom up.   Paola Dalle Carbonare is a fashion textile agent, born and raised in Italy; she moved to the United States in the early 90’s for business and… love!  She lives in Westchester since 2002, is a passionate of healthy living and nature and the proud mother of two teenagers, who’s threatened future have inspired her commitment to ResistSpectra since September of 2015. And the fight goes on!   Kim Fraczek, Co-Director of Sane Energy Project, organizes communities around stopping fracked gas infrastructure and policy for a just transition to renewable energy for NYS. Kim believes in skill-building using art, media, strategy and organizing to build power in the individual to challenge injustice.   Monica Hunken is a theater-maker, teacher and organizer.  She is a direct action trainer with Beautiful Trouble and Resist Spectra and travels around the world working with refugee communities and creating street theater interventions. Mey Marple is a photographer documenting the planet and humanity hold onto their wild side. Her work documenting the impact of the Spectra pipeline can be found in her eBook “20 Million New Yorkers at Risk” at www.mey-marple.net.    Lisa Moir is a local business owner, mother, and community activist living in Croton on Hudson.  Her business, The Blue Pig ice cream, is one of only 10 Certified Green Businesses in all of Westchester.  A long time environmentalist, Lisa and other local residents formed the Croton Climate Initiative in 2015 following the People’s Climate March in NYC.  CCI focuses on educating, informing, and involving our local communities on issues involving sustainability/climate change through the use of community meetings/lectures/movies/panel discussions. We are presently engaged in an active Reusable Bag Initiative in Croton.    Lael Morgan has been a working artist for over 20 years. She has been active with ResistSpectra for a year and a half creating large hand painted banners for use on overpasses and street corners, Senator Schumer’s home and office and during direct actions at pipeline worksites.  Peg Taylor is an artist who has been painting and drawing since she could hold a paintbrush or a pencil.  She grew up in Mt. Kisco, and now lives and works in Croton on Hudson, NY. She creates small works in oils, acrylics, and mixed media. Her inspiration comes from many sources, and has recently come to include images of marches and protests she has attended. Nancy S. Vann, President of Safe Energy Rights Group, Inc. (SEnRG) coordinates the work of that organization and is an active member of the groups Stop the Algonquin Pipeline Expansion (SAPE), ResistSpectra, United against Fossil Fuels, Indian Point Safe Energy Coalition (IPSEC) and others. Tina Volz-Bongar is a creative services professional producer, a theater and live events artist, and devout environmental protector (and activist atheist against climate-damaging fossil fuel infrastructure). Resist Spectra!    Courtney M. Williams, PhD began her work to protect communities in Northern Westchester from Spectra’s AIM pipeline over three years ago, working closely with local governments to educate them on the public health issues surrounding gas infrastructure. She is co-founder of SEnRG, a non-profit formed to mount a legal fight against the pipeline project. She also works closely with SAPE and Resist Spectra to organize the local grassroots pipeline opposition. She also sits on the Conservation Advisory Council for the City of Peekskill where she lives with her husband and two young children only 400 feet from Spectra’s AIM Pipeline.