SOA Watch Council Information | SOA Watch: Close the School of the Americas

Regions and Regional Representatives

At the 2004 annual SOA Watch Strategy Meeting, local SOA Watch groups around the country were divided into twelve regions. In the following months, local groups met and chose people to represent their region's voice on the "SOA Watch Council," the new national decision-making body for SOA Watch.

Below you'll find listed the eight regions, the states that make up those regions, and the regional representative for each region. We are currently working to place Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands in a region, based on input from SOA Watch organizers in those locations.

Northwest Region
Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming

Kate Speltz: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , 206-632-1523

West Region
American Samoas, California, Guam, Hawaii, Northern Marinas, Nevada, Utah

Theresa Cameranesi: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , 415-876-1455

Theresa Cameranesi is the Council member representing the Western Region. Theresa joined the Council in 2007 and is active in the SOAW Legislative Working Group. She lives in San Fransisco, California. In San Fransisco she also works with the Bay Area Latin America Solidarity Coalition and with St. John of God's Sanctuary Committee. As a nurse, she has worked in a rural Paraguayan health post for 28 years, and as a Nurse Practitioner at several migrant farmworker clinics on the West Coast. She speaks English, Spanish, and Guarani.

Giuliani Alvarenga: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , 213-453-2360

Giuliani is a recent UC Berkeley graduate who double-majored in English Literature and Gender & Women's Studies. During his time in the Bay area he worked at the Berkeley Free Clinic as a community educator who advocated to reduce HIV and substance miusage with MSM of color in the East Bay. Giuliani recently joined the SOA Watch Council, and aspires to become a professor with the hope of mentoring students of color pursue their academic goals.

Border Region
Arizona, Arkansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas

Kenneth Hayes: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Ken H. joined the Council as Southern Region Rep when the council was initially formed. He lives in Austin, TX. He worked in the information technology industry for over 30 years as a programmer, analyst, system designer, manager and consultant on many projects in diverse organizations. In 2009 he participated in nonviolent direct action at Ft Benning and served 6 months at FCI Ft Worth in 2010.

Great Plains Region
Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota

South Region
Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee

Mid-Atlantic Region
Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington DC, West Virginia

Central Region
Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin

Ken Crowley: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , 202-423-3402

Ken lives in Chicago and has been the Council Rep in the Great Lakes Region since late 2010. Prior to joining Witness for Peace in 2004, Ken worked in the area of human rights in Houston, TX, as a volunteer Parent Educator and provided community social support in an inner-city Houston neighborhood. Ken has been involved and active in the movement to close the SOA since the early nineties. In 2003 he completed a six-month sentence at the Beaumont Federal Prison Camp for protesting against the SOA at Fort Benning, Georgia. In 2006, Ken served another six-month sentence at Beaumont on charges of aiding and abetting those who crossed the line (the SOA-37) at Fort Benning in November 2005. Ken is currently the Witness for Peace National Delegations Officer.

Northeast Region
Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont

Canada

Rachel Reist: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , 647-270-4394

Rachel Reist joined the Council in 2014, after being involved in the movement since 2007. She has helped coordinate the participation of Canadian university students in the November Vigil, and in 2013 worked in the SOAW DC office as an organizer. Her commitment to the movement was deepened through travel to Nicaragua and El Salvador and being able to connect to the places where the SOA/WHINSEC had such an impact. As a recent graduate from an MA in Peace and Conflict Studies, Rachel is eager to continue working for social justice in her future employment and endeavours, including joining the SOA Watch Council.

Council Ex-Officio Members

Pedro Jesus Romero-Menendez: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Ray Del Papa: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Representing SOAW S. Florida and SouthComm Watch, Ray is 59 years old and lives in North Miami Florida, working as a scale model builder for his 8-5 job. As an activist, he is involved in the SOAW Council, SOA Watch South Florida/ Southcom Watch, Pax Christi Saint Maurice, NLG South Florida. He has been involved with peace and justice events in South Florida since 2002.

Jerry King:

Jerry lives in Detroit, Michigan, where he is an American Auto Worker and proud member of UAW Chrysler Local 140. He and his wife, Torrey, both enjoy being social and economic justice activists. He is currently a member of UAW Friends of SOA Watch and Co-Chairman of the UAW Local 140 Civil and Human Rights Commitee. Along with these responsibilities, Jerry serves as an executive board member of UAW Region 1 Development Advisory Council, South Eastern Michigan Jobs with Justice - Jobs Commitee Member, and a coalition member of the Detroit Eviction Defense.