Hannah Arendt Center Presents

Joy as an Act of Resistance

We're creating a conversation around JOY as an act of resistance—how we can find joy in the times we’re living through, what it means to seek it collectively and individually, and how to locate it when we feel stuck in hard places. Hosted by Radio Kingston's Erica Brown with special guests S. Leigh Thompson and Eva Tenuto.

Erica Brown is a Kingston native and the Community Engagement Coordinator at Radio Kingston, where she thrives on managing multiple projects and building connections across the community. Passionate about access, inclusion, and diversity, Erica works closely with nonprofits to support services and programs that empower individuals and strengthen the city as a whole. She also serves on the boards of the TMI Project, Good Work Institute, and the Ulster County Resource Recovery Agency, where she fosters collaboration between local organizations. Erica holds two degrees from SUNY New Paltz—a Bachelor’s in Business (2010) and in Psychology (2016)—and is grateful every day to do work that reflects her belief that it takes a village to create lasting community change.

S. Leigh Thompson is a white and Native queer trans genderqueer person with disability who has worked at the intersections of art and social and political justice for over 25 years. Leigh has worked as a trainer, campaign strategist, community organizer and lobbyist for organizations such as the ACLU, GLSEN and Race Forward: The Center for Racial Justice Innovation. They hold a BA in Theatre from the University of Nebraska at Omaha and an individualized MA from Gallatin at NYU, focusing on utilizing creative participation for political and social change with course work in change theory, community studies, public policy, nonprofit management and campaign strategies. Leigh is currently a consultant, facilitator and strategist supporting deeper understanding of equity, inclusion and justice and building tools to dismantle systemic power, privilege and oppression. His consulting clients include small local to large global nonprofits, educational institutions, movement coalitions and businesses from around the world. 

Eva Tenuto co-founded TMI Project in 2010, spearheading a movement using true storytelling as a liberation practice for social justice. With an unwavering commitment to releasing shame and stigma through true storytelling, Eva has propelled TMI Project from her living room to the United Nations, and many places in between. Since then, she has guided thousands of people to write and share their stories. In addition to being TMI Project’s executive director, Eva is a multi-disciplinary artist. 

Learn more at hac.bard.edu/joy-2025. Registration for the conference is free to the Bard community and HAC members, so join the Center! Come for a panel or stay the whole time!

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For more information, call 845-758-6822.

Time: 12:30 pm – 1:30 pm EDT/GMT-4

Location: Olin Humanities, Room 202

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