Speakers

PETA SVP Dan Mathews will explain how the organization has gone from outside agitator to fashion insider. Mathews, whose provocative protests led to top designers dropping fur, now works with them in Milan, Paris and New York to help their companies meet the increasing demand for vegan materials replacing leather, exotic skins and wool. Read more on this fashion blog: https://cfda.com/news/how-peta-became-a-sustainability-resource

How can a serious cause compete for attention in a society hungrier for entertainment than education? With provocative campaigns that use sex, celebrities, and humor, just as an ad agency does. Dan Mathews is the irreverent force behind many of PETA's edgy crusades and star-studded stunts. His brainstorms, such as the iconic "Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur" campaign, routinely make global news. Among his many accomplishments are the following: He persuaded Calvin Klein to stop using fur after leading a raid on the designer's office and pressured General Motors to stop using animals in crash tests by storming the company's auto shows. His multimedia campaigns helped push Ringling Bros. circus to close in 2017, after 146 years in business, and SeaWorld to stop breeding orcas in captivity in 2016. He served lunch to prisoners at America's first vegetarian jail in Phoenix and organized the first Vegan Gumbo Festival in New Orleans. He's been named one of America's most influential gays by Out magazine, and in 2016, he was presented with an "Activist of the Year" award by Vivienne Westwood in London. He started at PETA in 1985 as the young organization's receptionist, but the pop-culture junkie soon rose through the ranks, devising whimsical campaigns to increase public awareness of animal issues—such as infiltrating a fur designer's fashion show in Milan dressed as a priest. He recruited stars—including Paul McCartney, Pamela Anderson, P!nk, and Alec Baldwin—to put PETA on people's pop-culture radar. "Mathews' greatest insight is his seemingly intuitive … understanding that causes are as much about trendiness as they are about conscience," wrote New York magazine. His memoir, Committed, was published in the U.S. by Atria in 2007 and has since been published in Australia and across Europe. "Mathews believes in the spoonful-of-sugar approach to enlightenment, letting personal, gossipy, often hilarious anecdotes illuminate hot-button issues," wrote The Washington Post. His columns have appeared in USA Today, The Guardian, and Huffington Post, and he's lectured at Harvard, Princeton, Oxford, and his alma mater, American University in Washington, D.C. 

 

 

Here about Nancy's fascinating book about the long-gone amusement parks and other kitschy attractions we had in the days before Busch Gardens appeared.

Kenneth Cooper Alexander was elected Mayor of the City of Norfolk on May 3, 2016.  A native of Norfolk and president of Metropolitan Funeral Service, he began his public service career more than two decades ago.

Before his election as mayor, Mr. Alexander served in the Senate of Virginia where he was a member of the committees on Commerce and Labor, Finance, Transportation and Privileges and Elections.

He also served on the Hampton Roads Transportation Accountability Commission, the High Speed Rail Compact Commission for Virginia and North Carolina, the Special Joint Subcommittee to Consult on the Plan to Close State Training Centers and the Joint Commission on the Future Competitiveness of Virginia Higher Education.

Before his election to the Senate, he represented the 89th District in the House of Delegates from 2002 until 2012, serving on the committees of Commerce and Labor, Education, Privileges and Elections and Rules.

Prior to his election to the General Assembly, Mr. Alexander was a member of the Norfolk Economic Development Authority, City Planning Commission (vice chair), Human Services Commission and of a City Council-appointed blue ribbon commission that studied the direct election of the office of mayor.  He is a member of the Greater Norfolk Corporation, the Norfolk Chapter of the FBI Citizens Academy Alumni Association and an alumnus of the Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership.  Mr. Alexander began his community service as president of Berkley’s Beacon Light Civic League and Beacon Light Community Development Corporation. Mayor Alexander is proud that his first full-time job was with the City of Norfolk as a Cemetery Manager I with the Department of Parks and Recreation from 1989 to 1990.

A 1985 graduate of Lake Taylor High School, Mr. Alexander holds a Bachelor’s degree in political science from Old Dominion University and a Master’s degree in diplomacy from Norwich University, the oldest private military college in the country. Presently, he is working on his doctorate in Leadership and Change with Antioch University.

Mr. Alexander and his wife, Donna Burnley Alexander, have two school-aged sons, Kenneth II and David.

The UP Center is very excited to announce and  promote a new counseling service to our area.  It is a time limited therapeutic counseling program offered to Vets, family members, and dishonorably discharged Vets who currently have no place to seek treatment. This is the 13th clinic that has been opened in the USA over the past 5 years with a goal of 20 clinics by 2020. 

Tina is a Virginia Beach resident along with her husband and three daughters. A professional with more than 20 years of experience in strategic leadership, business development, marketing and sales leadership, Tina is also dedicated to her community, volunteering her time with Volunteer Hampton Roads, The Red Cross, The Hampton Roads Partnership, Junior Achievement, Boys and Girls Club, and the College of William & Mary Alumni Chapter of South Hampton Roads.
 
Tina Gill is known for her collaborative style and relationship building, bringing creative ideas and innovative strategies to fruition through strategic planning and leadership, business and team development. Prior to The Up Center, Tina worked for Wellpoint/Amerigroup as their Vice President of External Relations Operations, and Executive Director of Amerigroup's Foundation. At Wellpoint, she led the social responsibility efforts, managed the core operations for a department of 120 people, and had oversight of a multi-million budget. She also steered the National Advisory Board on Improving Healthcare Services for Seniors and People with Disabilities. Tina brings to the agency a deep understanding of issues around Medicaid and serving the more vulnerable members of our community.