Sue Bennett and Simon Mont

 Sue’s insures the organization’s office space and internal operations contribute to the wellbeing of staff, and the effectiveness of Sustainable Economies Law Center’s programs .

Sue has spent 25 years working in the nonprofit sector in a variety of program and administrative roles and feels it’s her professional destiny to advance The Law Center’s mission. This feeling is fostered by her personal/political value alignment with The Law Center’s structure and this opportunity to develop and share the lessons learned by the Law Center’s practice of worker self direction and deep democracy . Sue’s community activism is rooted in understanding and minimizing the impact of class and classism and is based on the principles of feminism and anti-racism.

In a past life, Simon directed a high school marching band and taught middle schoolers how to play piano. After that, they landed at Berkeley Law where they stewarded the Restorative Justice Committee in their efforts to create a holistic law school culture and also bridge the gap between the ivory tower and the lived experiences of people impacted by mass incarceration. Their experience at the San Quentin Roundtable piqued their interest in the relationship between experience, identity, social structure, intentional gathering, and conflict transformation. Their restorative justice training provided them with a foundation in facilitating safe and equalizing spaces.

After brief stints at the Alameda County Public Defender’s and the Hayward Burns Institute, Simon decided to shift their focus from mass incarceration to the broader social and economic conditions that perpetuated and enabled it.

Simon is active in the Bay Area Jewish community and lives in a community house filled with exciting experiments in collaboration, art, and creativity. When they’re not nerding out on liberating structures, you can find them writing, performing spoken word, hugging trees, and acting as the managing editor of Tikkun magazine.

Simon researches, consults, and connects around the intersection between leadership, anti-oppression, management, compassion, and awe in order to support the development of holistic organizations.

Sunday Oct 8| 9:30-12:30| Bioregional Hub

Worker Self-Direction: Distributing Leadership for Just & Powerful Organizations