Tracy Breneman-Pennas

EDUCATION

EXPERIENCE

SOCIAL ACTION

LANGUAGES 

RESOURCES
 



Give us a child's faith,
that we may be cured
of our cynicism
- Sara Moores Campbell





All people smile in
the same language
- Anonymous






A ship is safe in a harbor,
but that is not what a
ship is for.
- Ralph Helverson


You only have what 
you give
- Isabel Allende







Your daily life is your
temple and your religion
- Kahlil Gibran






Be the change you
want to see in the world
- Mohandus Gandhi





If you feel helpless,
help someone
 - Aung San Suu Kyi







If there is no struggle,
there is no progress.
- Frederick Douglass






I 'd rather take a beating from a mob than from my conscience
- Josephine Gabrielle
 
 




 
 
Paulo Freire's
conscientização
(critical consciousness) refers to learning to
perceive social, political,
and economic contradictions, and to then take action against the agents of one's oppression.
- translator's note, Pedagogy of
the Oppressed








It takes courage to
have patience...
- Pema Chödrön teaching from
The Way of the Bodhisatva by Shantidiva









I will show thee my faith
by my works.
- James 2:18
 
 
 
 



In our era the road to holiness necessarily passes through the world of action
- Dag Hammarskjold
 

 

 EDUCATION

Ph.D. (ABD) Conflict Analysis and Resolution
Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution, George Mason University

~Interest area: helping to foster the evolution of communication and conflict resolution skills in youth; engaging and empowering young people to be reflective and active participants in positive communities; providing support and affirmation for lgbtq youth as they seek safe and nurturing relationships

 ~Dissertation topic: the potential for substantive transformation in the conflict over agrarian reform in Brasil; looking especially at the struggle for landless and rural workers’ rights, issues of class conflict, social justice and empowerment, and the potential for dialogue or other tools of conflict transformation 

 ~Listed in the Directory of Scholars in Brasilian Studies organized through the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies at Harvard University

Graduate Coursework in Sociology and Conflict Studies (1995)
University of Colorado, Boulder
Conflict Research Consortium

 ~Breneman, Tracy Ann.  "Brazil's Authoritarian Experience, 1964 - 1985: A Study of a Conflict," Working Paper 95-1, University of Colorado: Conflict Research Consortium, September 1995. ©

M.A. Political Science  (1993)
Universidade de Brasilia, Brasil 

~Thesis: "Democracia e a Consolidação da Democracia no Brasil - Frente a Dinâmica da Desigualdade Social "

B.A. Political Science
Minor in Russian language  (1990)
Northern Illinois University
 

EMPLOYMENT

Director of Religious Education (2008 - 2009)
   Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Briarcliff, Croton & Ossining, NY
   Croton, NY - U.S.

Specialist Consultant, project on gender representation in social dialogue institutions (2006)
   International Labor Organization,  United Nations
   Geneva - Switzerland
     ~Breneman-Pennas, Tracy and Marleen Rueda Catry. “Women’s Participation in Social Dialogue Institutions at the National Level.”
         Paper No. 16, International Labour Organization: Geneva, Switzerland, February 2008. ©
       ~Gender Representation and Mainstreaming resources collected for this project

Specialist Consultant, labor dispute resolution systems project (2005)
   International Labor Organization,  United Nations
   Geneva - Switzerland
     ~Labor and ADR resources collected for this project

Teaching and Administrative Faculty (1996 - 2004) 
   New Century College,  George Mason University
   Fairfax, VA - U.S.
        ~List of Courses Taught

Specialist Consultant, violence reduction project  (1996 - 1997)
   Inter-American Development Bank
   Washington, DC - U.S.

Specialist Consultant, promoting democracy project  (1996)
   Organization of American States
   Washington, DC - U.S.

Research Assistant (1995 - 1996)
   Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution, George Mason University
   Fairfax, VA - U.S.

Research Assistant (1991 - 1992)
   Centro Brasileiro de Análise e Planejamento (CEBRAP)
   São Paulo & Brasília - Brasil


RECENT COMMUNITY SERVICE & SOCIAL ACTION

Appointed to the Town of Cortlandt Diversity Task Force (2008 - present)
     Cortlandt, NY

Member of the School District Respect Committee (2008 - present)
     Hendrick Hudson School District
     Montrose, NY

Course Leader, Parents as Spiritual Guides, Unitarian Universalist Adult Religious Education Curriculum (Summer 2009)

Chair of the Social Action Committee (2007 - 2008)
      Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Briarcliff, Croton and Ossining, NY
      Croton, NY

Administrator of Amberland NY Community Contact List (2008 - present)

~ Established in March 2008 after the abduction and rape of a woman in our community.  The purpose of the list is to inject information into our community from the Town of Cortlandt, the police or from neighbors who are organizing neighborhood safety or community building activities. 

Volunteer, 2008 PrideWorks for LGBT Youth Conference (2008)
        Brochure & Conference Registration
     Westchester County, NY

Co-Sponsors:  Center Lane,  PFLAG Westchester (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays), Westchester County Government Office of LGBT Affairs,  and  GLSEN Hudson Valley (Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network)

Workshop Facilitator, SPIRIT (Student Problem Identification and Resolution of Issues Together) (2/2008)
     U.S. Department of Justice, Community Relations Service
     Hendrick Hudson High School - Montrose, NY
      ~Two-day workshop with high school students on race relations

Organizer and Facilitator, Community Dialogue on Safe Neighborhoods and Strong Community (11/2007)
     Neighborhood of the Amberlands Shopping Center, Croton, NY
     Click here to read the dialogue summary

LANGUAGE SKILLS

ENGLISH                      mother tongue

PORTUGUESE              speaking: advanced         reading: advanced           writing: functional

SPANISH                      speaking: functional        reading: functional          writing: --

FRENCH                       speaking: functional        reading: functional          writing: --

RUSSIAN                      undergraduate minor


RESOURCES & LINKS I GATHER

  • Recipe links (especially for cooking with locally grown organic grains)

ADDITIONAL INTERESTS
   

E-mail:  brenemanpennas@gmail.com



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