By John Lindsay-Poland
With both sadness at departure and joy in the path we’ve walked together, we bid farewell this month to Liza Smith, who has served for the last five-and-a-half years as coordinator of the Fellowship of Reconciliation Colombia team and previously as Colombia campaign grassroots organizer. FOR Executive Director Mark Johnson praised Liza’s “leadership to the Colombia staff and program, loving kindness and exemplary friendship, her wonderful gifts to us all, and her exceptional work.” Liza will continue to serve as a volunteer and part-time consultant for FOR’s Colombia Peace Presence.
We also welcome Candice Camargo as the new coordinator of the FOR Colombia Peace Presence. Originally from Southern California, Candice graduated from Claremont McKenna College with a degree in philosophy, politics, and economics. She’s spent the last six years as an activist and organizer, including working from 2009 to 2012 for Witness for Peace with communities in Colombia affected by corporate practices and U.S. policy. With WFP she worked on cross-cultural grassroots coalition building, advocacy meetings, physical accompaniment, educational programs for U.S. citizen delegations, organizing speaking tours, and using multimedia to share stories. Most recently she worked with CODEPINK.
Candice CamargoCandice currently lives in Bogotá and is excited to build onFOR’s solidarity work with Colombian communities, organizations, and movements forming part of the collective process to nonviolently undermine systems of oppression. She recently traveled to the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó for the first time and is excited to support and strengthen the physical and political accompaniment FORbegan with the community over ten years ago. Candice plans to work with the team to continue the project’s commitment to conscientious objectors and explore opportunities to accompany communities threatened by multinational corporations and the extractive industry.
Passionate about social and environmental justice, human rights, and corporate accountability, Candice is thrilled to be part of the FOR family.