Some of us came to activism with years of professional work experience. Some of us came to it before we had much, if any, social and professional life experience. In this panel, we will be discussing what it was like to go from being inexperienced at life to experienced at a life through very particular and peculiar lens: semi-professional secular stuff. We’ll chat about what was good to us and for us to what could’ve gone better and everything in between in the hopes that we — and others — help to nurture the next wave of skepto-atheo-SJW-types.

8 p.m. – 9 p.m. CDT, Saturday April 14

To submit a question for the Q&A of this panel, please leave a comment below. Questions that are actually questions will receive priority.

Speakers

Heina Dadabhoy  spent their life cloistered and sheltered as a Muslim, so having their first real life experiences in the atheist movement was quite a trip for them. They blog at Heinous Dealings at The Orbit and speak at secular events about matters including gender, sexuality, atheism, Islam, race, and their various intersections.

Lux is a 24-year-old genderqueer disabled YouTuber with some intense executive dysfunction. They’ve blogged under the Skepchick banner, on Freethought Blogs, and now semi-annually posts on their blog at The Orbit, Metaphorical Penis.

Olivia James is an autistic, asexual goofball who loves octopuses, cats, and rock climbing. Born and raised in the great Midwest, she went to school at a small liberal arts college and in the process discovered that too much philosophy makes her depressed. She kicked the ass of an eating disorder, adopted some kittens, and found her true calling as a marketer in a local nonprofit (while writing, podcasting, and planning a wedding on the side). When not working too much, Olivia can be found on bullet journal websites, listening to far too many podcasts, or playing a great deal of Dungeons and Dragons. If you want MOAR OLIVIA check out autofspoons.com.

Talon Richards is a 21 year old man who was raised surrounded by religion but distinctly separate from it. He has been experiencing the Secular Movement second hand since his parents got involved starting in 2012. He has a lot of mixed feelings about both religion and secularism.

Debbie Goddard started volunteering in the secular movement as a 20-year-old college student in 2000 and spent several years working with campus groups, community groups, and national organizations before being hired by the Center for Inquiry in 2006. She is currently CFI’s director of campus and community programs and director of African Americans for Humanism.