Communicating Justice: Advocating for Meaningful Change

A turbulent election year and a global public health crisis have left many of us wondering what we can do to drive meaningful change in our communities. How can we make our voices heard? Join us on September 15th as we hear from Z Gorley, Communications Director at ArchCity Defenders, about advocacy that is people- and community-centered. They’ll discuss how grassroots movements like the Close the Workhouse campaign help create a society where the promise of justice and racial equity is realized.
ArchCity Defenders (ACD) is a holistic legal advocacy organization that combats the criminalization of poverty and state violence, especially in communities of color. ACD’s foundation of civil and criminal legal representation, social services, impact litigation, policy and media advocacy, and community collaboration achieves and inspires justice and equitable outcomes for people throughout the St. Louis region and beyond.
Z is the Communications Director at ArchCity Defenders, a holistic legal advocacy organization. They oversee content creation and publication on ArchCity’s social media channels, collaborate with filmmakers, produce a podcast, engage in policy research, and pitch and place news stories. Z works to ensure ACD’s media advocacy exposes injustice, counters the misrepresentation and distortion of poor people and people of color, and impacts community conversation on issues in St. Louis and beyond. Z has a background in community organizing, writing, and digital storytelling. They graduated from SLU in 2010 with American Studies and Social Work degrees, and in 2014 with a Masters in Social Work.