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Philosophy >
General AR Philosophy
ANTHONY J. NOCELLA, II
ajnocell@maxwell.syr.edu
www.myspace.com/anthonynocella
Activist Biography
Anthony J. Nocella, II, first became involved in political activism growing
up in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania. While living in Philadelphia he attended the
Delaware Valley Friends School(DVFS). This was a private
Quaker school for
students with learning differences. Teachings of peace were inherent in the
programs of this school and the teaching style impacted him greatly. Also, in
Philadelphia he attended with his family
First United Methodist Church of Germantown, a church based on respect and
equality for all no matter of gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, age,
or belief.
At the age of thirteen, Nocella moved with his
family to Houston, Texas. It was here he soon became politically conscious. At
the age of fifteen, he began to volunteer at a wildlife rehabilitation center,
which directed him later the next year to work for the Sierra Club
for a summer.
After graduating
Briarwood High School(a school for
mentally and learning challenged students), where he was highly involved in a
number of after school activities and where he even had time to stared
anti-racism organizing in the form of inviting guest speakers at school,
establish People for Animals Rights, and volunteer for the Houston Democratic
Party; Nocella went to college to pursue a degree in
forestry. He later
found out that forestry was not what he was looking for so he came back to Houston, to pursue a degree at University of St. Thomas. It is
here that he became a professional political organizer. It took him no time at all
to become active for social causes such as:
Catholic Worker;
O22(National Day Against
Police
Brutality); and and volunteering at
Brookwood Community; which allowed him to start up an
Amnesty International chapter at UST (which is still active); became the Executive
Director of
Houston Animals Rights Team(1996-2002), a
non-profit established in 1985. He was a statewide
representative for
Rainforest Action Networkon the U’wa campaign, an indigenousness people in Colombia,
who were threatened by Occidental Petroleum to drill. Since his work with the U’wa in 1999, he has traveled to South and Central America to work
for peace with a number of revolutionary and indigenousness groups for peace. He also
assisted in developing a number of Earth First! chapters in Texas, with winning
more than eight campaigns, which included the protection of Brazos Bend park
from Texas Department of Transportation (TX DOT) and Memorial Park in Houston,
Texas against the Professional Golf Association (PGA).
After graduating from
University of St. Thomas
with a degree in political science, he worked for Texas
Peace Action as the
Statewide Coordinator, volunteered with
Animal Liberation of Texas, and was a Representative Assistance for a
Texas State Representative. Since then he moved to Fresno, California to attend
Fresno Pacific Universityto achieve his Masters in
Peacemaking and Conflict Studies. In Fresno, he volunteered for
Fresno Center for Nonviolence, Mennonite
Central Committee, Victim Offender Reconciliation Program (VORP), Students Against Sweatshops, Student Action
Front, co-founded Act Up Radio on Pacifica (which is still on the air), and
hosted the Resist and Exist Teach-ins. After he received his Masters, he moved
to Los Angeles to work for Worldfest.
Today, Nocella uses his past experiences to
assist him when peacemaking with revolutionary and extremist groups. As a
peacemaker (who also aids in providing fair and respectful profiles and
platforms for revolutionary and extremists to enter into peaceful discourse) he provides forums, lectures, conferences, and writes on peacemaking
with revolutionary and extremist groups. Today, he works with many NGOs,
academic centers, and grass-roots groups, including
American Friends Service
Committee, Friend Peace Teams,
Christian Peacemaker Teams,
Center on Animal Liberation Affairs(CALA)
a scholarly center that focuses on the policy and philosophy of animal
liberation, which he is a founding member,
Beyond Compliance
Coordinating Committee, a disabilities rights
organization on Syracuse University campus, Conflict Management Center, and he is directing the
Institute for Revolutionary Peacemaking and Education(IRPE).
Anthony J. Nocella, II
410 Maxwell Hall
Syracuse, NY 13244
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