Panelists discuss their work in the Nonprofit Commons in Second Life and the benefits of virtual worlds for social change. This mixed-reality event occurred simultaneously in Second Life and featured interactivity between the two worlds.
Bio
Jessica (Kali Idziak) Dally
Jessica Dally came to CVM after working IT for Whole Foods Market for the last 7 years. Her personality and customer service skills are the frontline of support for the users of the CVM Centralized System, and she also helps the organization stay ahead of voice mail technology needs.
Jessica is a Washington native with a wide variety of talents including cheese maker and auto mechanic. She currently resides in Seattle.
Dick (Coughran Mayo) Dillon
Dick Dillon is Senior Vice President of Planning & Development, for Preferred Family Health Care, Inc. He is also a consultant, educator, grant writer based in St. Louis, MO.
Rik (Rik Riel) Panganiban
Rik Panganiban has a BA in Communications and Sociology from UCLA and a Masters in Politics from NYU. He has a long history of using technology to facilitate civic action - from Usenet, BBSs and Gopher in the 1990s to virtual worlds and machinima today.
Most recently, Panganiban served as the coordinator of an innovative program at the Social Science Research Council that connected media activists and media academics with funding and project support.
Rik coordinated NGO participation at the UN World Summit on the Information Society in Tunisia in 2005 and managed a human rights internship program for the European Commission in Geneva in 2003.
Sandy (Ozma Malibu) Sutton Andrews
Sandy Sutton Andrews holds a volunteer position for Floaters. She represent Floaters Technology Outreach in a virtual group consisting of 400+ members investigating the possibilities of technology and virtual worlds to increase the effectiveness of nonprofit agencies.
At the Arizona State University Applied Learning Technologies Institute, she designs and carries out educational technology research with a variety of applied educational technology projects on topics ranging from gaming and virtual worlds to e-learning and classroom technology integration.
Rebecca (Jani Myriam) Wise
Rebecca Wise founded the Transgender Resource Center in 2006 to provide peer support to Second Life's transgendered population.
In the ensuing two years, the organization has grown to include over 800 members managed by a committed staff of unpaid volunteers. To support their mission, they host in-world events including open house outreach socials, guest speaker presentations and lectures, and moderated peer support group sessions.
They also provide referrals to local behavioral health resources and offer in-world resources intended to facilitate and encourage serious exploration of gender identity.
Their work has been mentioned in several articles published in the mainstream press and was featured in an article appearing in the August 25, 2007 issue of New Scientist magazine. They have also worked with an academic researcher seeking to understand the therapeutic potential of virtual realities for those suffering from Gender Identity Disorder.
Founder of the Transgender Resource Center Rebecca Wise discusses how Second Life can help the gay and transgender community healthily express and explore their sexuality in a safe environment and deal with Gender Identity Disorder.
Jessica Dally (Kali Idziak) of Community Voice Mail, a nonprofit aimed at providing free, 24-hour voicemail services for those in need without access to a phone, explains how she uses Second Life to network and partner with other nonprofits all over the country.
Rik Panganiban of Global Kids, a nonprofit that empowers disadvantaged kids in New York City with technology training, explains how the virtual world and Second Life can help disadvantaged children take part in "real learning" about technology, leadership, and activism in world politics.