Who We Are
Making the World a Better Place For All of Us
Our Story
The Syracuse Center for Peace and Social Justice came about in 2007 when Syracuse Peace Council, in search of a new home, spearheaded the effort to create a Center that could be home to multiple social justice organizations in Syracuse. The Center now exists as a separate entity, housing multiple organizations, all of whom strive to bring about a more just world. A board of directors meets monthly to ensure that The Center is operating smoothly and that our resident organizations’ needs are being met. In the coming years, we hope to expand our visibility in the community, and encourage additional groups to use our accessible community spaces for meetings, trainings, and conferences.
Your Donations Make a HUGE Impact
Our Mission & Approach
At The Center, we believe that working together, we have the power to bring about positive change in the world. That is why we work hard to provide an atmosphere in which our mission can thrive.
The Syracuse Center for Peace and Social Justice promotes collaboration among groups working for progressive social change by providing capacity-building services, including space for offices, meetings, conferences, training and education.
In order to achieve our mission, we are committed to keeping expenses low for our resident organizations. We fund-raise to meet the gap between what is collected in rent, and what it costs to maintain a building and operate a non-profit organization. Our part time building manager is a skilled employee who troubleshoots problems in the building, and is responsive to the needs of the activists who work every day at The Center.
Our board of directors is entirely volunteer, and consists of individuals who commit their time, energy, skills and financial resources to fulfilling The Center’s mission.
Community support is vital to the work of The Center, and the board of directors is persistent in following up on grant possibilities. We are committed to the creation of a space that is accessible, and sustainable. Whenever possible, we use energy efficient and environmentally sustainable materials in building upgrades.
We encourage progressive community groups to use our space for meetings, trainings, and conferences.
A Letter from the President
Bolazar Dear Friends and Supporters of SCPSJ, aka The Center,
Welcome to the Syracuse Center for Peace and Social Justice web site. Please check back frequently to see what’s new, to learn how you might support the Center and individual resident groups housed within, and to become involved if you are not already connected. Some important board changes took place the end of 2021, and we are happy to provide an update here.
The Center had an incredibly busy and productive two years under the incredible guidance and leadership of Caroline Sheffield as President. It seemed that before one project was completed, Caroline had a vision for the next one and found energy and resources to move it forward. Not only were there changes/improvements to the building, but advances were made in strengthening the Board structure as well. Caroline has taken a few steps back and we hope she will return to the board after a well-deserved rest.
We are most appreciative of Kanat Bolazar and Ann Tiffany for their many years of service as Founding Board Members, helping the organization get off the ground and flourish since it was created in 2007.
As our community overcomes the challenges of the pandemic, and through generous support and dedication of Center donors, volunteers, and our outstanding Building Manager, Fred Miller, we have bounced back with increased building use.
We are thrilled to report that the installation of a three story elevator is completed! We are most appreciative of funds provided by an anonymous donor, not only for covering full construction costs, but also for providing the Center with annual upkeep and maintenance funds. Our hearts are full of gratitude for this generosity. With a 2020 grant from the CNY Community Foundation, the renovation of all restrooms in the Center was accomplished. We are now fully accessible for those with health or mobility issues. The long-term dream that existed since the search for a SCPSJ home began (to occupy a building fully accessible) is now realized.
Through generous funds from the Syracuse Industrial Development Agency, the Center addressed new needs presented by COVID: upgrading of furnace filtration and the installation of UV air filtration systems on every floor. Check out the top floor space (rentable for community use); the calendar (check availability) and building use form (with guidelines) are available on the website.
While we celebrate our joy and good fortune, we acknowledge difficulties, sadness, injustice in our own community and around the world. Uncertainty regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, natural disasters and violence disproportionately affect Black and Brown communities and the marginalized. We are grateful for the work being done at the Center by the resident groups working to elevate a level of justice to their work and to ours. The Board of Directors seeks ways to further support our Resident Organizations as well as the peace and justice community at large.
We are actively recruiting new board members and invite you to check out the on-line application. While all offices in the building are currently occupied, if you are interested in renting space, let us know how we can reach you if something should open up.
In solidarity, SCPSJ President,
Shirley Novak
Shirley Novak
With Your Donations, We Are Changing the World
Board of Directors
SHIRLEY NOVAK, President
Shirley has participated in social justice El Salvador solidarity work since 1984, through Syracuse Covenant Sanctuary, an NGO that advocated for and protected undocumented Salvadoran refugees in the US. From 1993-2014 she has coordinated the Syracuse, NY-La estancia Sister Community in rural El Salvador, leading annual delegations. Shirley is a charter member of the Doctors for Global Health Board, an all-volunteer, non-governmental organization focusing on health related and social justice work in the United States and in El Salvador, Chiapas and Oaxaca (Mexico), Guatemala and Uganda. She is former teacher of immigrant adults learning English and an Early Childhood and Family Educator in a bilingual preschool program, Shirley currently works with developmentally delayed Latino preschoolers as a special teacher in Syracuse, NY. A long-time member of Syracuse Peace Council, Shirley served several terms on the SPC Steering Committee. Email: shirleynovak@yahoo.com
SIDNEY GILMORE, TREASURER
Sid Gilmore, Treasurer for SCPSJ, Mason and Secretary for Cayuga lodge 221, Judo Nidan adjunct instructor at Cayuga Community College, interested in strengthening diversity and improving fairness and equity for everyone and encouraging community activism for our children
CARL MELLOR
Carl has been involved with a variety of community groups and non-profit organizations. He’s currently active with the Syracuse Center for Peace and Social Justice, the Westcott Area Cultural Coalition and the Moving People Transportation Coalition. The latter group advocates for better public transit. He’s a long-time volunteer with the Syracuse Peace Council. In the past, he served on the boards of the Westcott Community Center, Cooperative Federal Credit Union, and the Coalition for Health and Welfare. He’s worked for the Onondaga County SNAP Unit, The ARC of Onondaga, and the Syracuse New Times; the New Times shut down in 2019. His inerests include community development, visual arts, and the role of the non-profit groups in meeting people’s needs.
Kanat Bolazar
Kanat has a PhD in Computer and Information Science at Syracuse University. He has become active with the Syracuse Peace Council after the racist-militarist backlash that followed 9/11 attacks 22 years ago. He has been active with the Syracuse Center for Peace and Social Justice since before its incorporation. He lives at the Bread & Roses Collective House, and he loves and teaches salsa dancing. Email: kanat2@yahoo.com
Micah Pasinski
Micah Pasinski has been involved with many domestic and international social activism and volunteer mission work over the years. He has worked in Puerto Rico with project Agua Limpia, a program to bring clean drinking water to communities affected by Hurricane Maria and the St Lucy’s/All Saints Brigadista program which brings crucial neonatal and after birth care to mothers in rural communities in Nicaragua. He also been involved with the Syracuse Rescue Mission on a number of occasions as well. His interests include photography and global, natural and cultural awareness.
Nancy Gwin
Bio coming soon. Email: ngwin@twcny.rr.com
Emily NaPier Singletary
Emily NaPier Singletary is the Co-Executive Director of Unchained which she founded in 2018 with her husband Derek Singletary who is currently serving a 20-year sentence in New York State prison. Unchained organizes and advocates to dismantle the carceral state by centering the leadership of people directly impacted by it. The law they co-wrote, the Less is More Act, took effect in March 2022, overhauling the way people experience parole across the state. It has resulted in a 90% drop in the number of people jailed on any given day for non-criminal technical parole violations and more than 24,000 people earning early discharge from parole. Prior to launching Unchained, Emily spent 12 years with the Center for Community Alternatives, first as a Research Associate and eventually as Director of Justice Strategies, the agency’s research, training, public advocacy, and policy division. There she played a lead role in multiple local and statewide campaigns, including to remove the criminal history question from the admissions application for the State University of New York (SUNY) and to stop automatically prosecuting 16- and 17-year-olds as adults in New York. Emily has taught at Syracuse University, Ithaca College, Onondaga Community College, and Cornell University’s Prison Education Program. She holds an MA in Sociology from Syracuse University.
Donna Muhs McCarten
Donna has been involved in social justice work for many years. She has worked with indigenous groups in South Dakota and is currently a participant in the Witness to Injustice with the Neighbors of the Onondaga. She has also participated in delegations to El Salvador as part of the Sister Community there . She has been a longtime member of the Syracuse Peace Council serving on different committees throughout the years and she continues to be active in the YMCA and other community organization’s boards of directors. As a retired educator with a MA in Social Sciences she has enjoyed tutoring and finds time currently to volunteer at the progressive Art Rage Gallery.
Her longtime interest and work with the refugee community in Syracuse allows her also to be an active member of the Syracuse Immigrant and Refugee Defense Network. She loves hiking, biking, spending time with her large family, traveling around the globe taking photos, and is grateful for the opportunity to help others.
Building Manager
Fred Miller
Fred is the building manager at the Syracuse Center for Peace and Social Justice. He is a career commercial property manager, having been primarily engaged as shopping mall General Manager and office complex Building Manager in the Capital/Saratoga region, where he was active as a member of area Chambers of Commerce, YMCA and other community organization board of directors and advisory committees. Fred returned to hometown Syracuse several years ago, joining SCPSJ in 2019.
Remembering Rae
Rae Kramer was our friend, vigilant and active for peace and social justice, and was a board member and a co-president at the Center for Peace and Social Justice to the end. We remember her fondly and miss her dearly. Here is her short blurb as a board member and co-president, and a link to Syracuse Peace Council’s photo gallery page in remembrance of Rae.
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The Center
315.701.1580
syrctr@gmail.com
2013 E. Genesee St.
Syracuse, NY 13210
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