Justin Wedes

Justin Wedes
Born (1986-03-20) 20 March 1986
Huntington Woods, Michigan, United States
Alma mater University of Michigan and Pace University
Occupation Founder of the Liberati Group and Activist
Website justinwedes.com

Justin Wedes (born March 20, 1986) is an entrepreneur, community organizer and social justice activist. He is a member of the Occupy Wall Street movement,[1] founding member of the Detroit Water Brigade[2] and CEO of The Liberati Group, a strategic communications firm.

Early life and education

Justin Wedes was born in Huntington Woods, Michigan a suburb of Detroit. He attended Berkley High School, graduating class valedictorian in 2004.[3] He is an alumnus of the Focus: HOPE Generation of Promise program, a community of young leaders who celebrate diversity and are dedicated to the elimination of discrimination in metropolitan Detroit.[4]

Wedes graduated from the University of Michigan in 2008 with a Bachelor of Science in Physics and Linguistics with High Honors. From 2007 - 2008, Justin was an organizer with the Rural Migrant Outreach Program. Wedes continued his education from 2008 - 2010 at Pace University earning his Master of Education in Adolescent Science Education.

Career and activism work

From 2008 - 2010, Justin Wedes was an educator with the New York City Department of Education, teaching truant and low-income youth in subjects ranging from science to media literacy. His work with high-risk youth was recognized with a Teachers Network Leadership Institute MetLife Fellowship.[5]

Wedes helped co-found the US Uncut movement in 2009 and acted as Social Media Director, connecting networks of activists and social change-makers through the Internet and on the streets.

In July 2011 Wedes co-founded the New York City General Assembly (NYCGA), the group that organized Occupy Wall Street.[6] Wedes was an organizer and unofficial spokesperson for the movement, appearing on The Colbert Report with Stephen Colbert in October, 2011.[7] In 2012, Wedes received the Activism Award at the Shorty Awards[8] for his use of social media, specifically Twitter, as a powerful tool for creating change. In 2012 Wedes also received the Labor Communicator of the Year Award from the Metro NY Labor Communications Council.

Wedes was an Organizer and Volunteer Coordinator of the Occupy Sandy movement from 2012 - 2013.[9]

After the closing of the Paul Robeson High School for Business and Technology in 2011, Wedes co-founded the Paul Robeson Freedom School in Brooklyn, NY in 2012 with an emphasis on social justice and building community resilience. For this work, his partner and him received the 2013 United National Humanitarian Peacekeeping Award at the United Nations International Day of Peace.

From June 2014 - May 2015 Wedes served as head organizer of the Detroit Water Brigade, helping lead the humanitarian and advocacy response to Detroit’s municipal water shutoff program. This non-profit advocacy group provided rapid relief to thousands of families without running water and, in coalition with other local groups, participated in blockades that temporarily shut down the program. In response, the city of Detroit implemented a temporary moratorium on water shutoffs and a host of reforms making water more affordable for low-income residents.

Wedes founded the Liberati Group in May 2015, a strategic media consulting firm to help small business and advocacy groups share their message and grow their audience through social media, marketing and web design.

Wedes serves as a Board Member at Bethel Community Transformation Center (formerly known as Temple Beth-El (Lighthouse Cathedral), a non-profit that works to renovate a former Detroit Jewish synagogue and serve as an inter-faith community center for community empowerment and reconciliation.

In February 2016, Wedes testified to the United Nations in New York City urging them to investigate the Flint water crisis.[10]

Controversy

In September 2014, a group of Occupy Wall Street organizers filed suit against Wedes in NY State Supreme Court in Manhattan, accusing him of censoring them from the use of an OWS Twitter account they claimed ownership of. The lawsuit was ultimately terminated in January, 2015.[11]

Published works

References

  1. ↑ Katz, Andrew. "Q&A: Occupy Wall Street's media man", The Brooklyn Ink, 25 October 2011. Retrieved on 25 October 2016.
  2. ↑ Fagin, David. "Detroit rocked city: the land that time, and everyone else, forgot", Huffington Post, 30 January 2015. Retrieved on 25 October 2016.
  3. ↑ "Justin Wedes 2004 Berkley HS Valedictory Speech". YouTube.
  4. ↑ "Foucs: HOPE".
  5. ↑ "MetLife Fellows: Biographies". Teachers Network Leadership Institute.
  6. ↑ ["http://www.stern.nyu.edu/experience-stern/news-events/con_033079" ""Stern’s Government and Business Association MBA Club Hosts a Dialogue on Occupy Wall Street""] Check |url= value (help). "New York University".
  7. ↑ "Colbert Super PAC - Stephen Colbert Occupies Occupy Wall Street Pt. 1". The Colbert Report.
  8. ↑ "#OccupyWallStreet Shorty Awards Acceptance Speech". YouTube.
  9. ↑ Kavner, Lucas. "Occupy Sandy emerges as relief organization for 21st century, mastering social networks", Huffington Post, 5 November 2012. Retrieved on 25 October 2016.
  10. ↑ Warikoo, Niraj. "Activists ask United Nations to intervene in Flint", Detroit Free Press, 7 February 2016. Retrieved on 25 October 2016.
  11. ↑ Moynihan, Colin. "Occupy Wall Street activists file suit over control of Twitter account", The New York Times, 17 September 2014. Retrieved on 11 October 2016.
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