About Us
Mission Statement
History of CAJA
Board of Directors
Mission Statement
Community Action for Justice in the Americas (CAJA) challenges and
seeks to fundamentally alter the unfair distribution of wealth, power,
and resources. Through education, advocacy, and grassroots organizing,
we strive for social, economic, and environmental justice in solidarity
with marginalized people throughout the Americas.
History of CAJA
In 2000, a group of 17 people united to form CAJA in Missoula, Montana.
CAJA operated as a highly-active, all-volunteer organization for nearly
four years. In late 2003, CAJA established 501(c)3 status and after
a successful donor drive, was able to hire a part-time coordinator.
CAJA is a grassroots membership organization based in Missoula, Montana.
CAJA has held weekly meetings every Wednesday evening (September to
May) for the last six and a half years! We work closely with other community
& faith organizations such as the Montana Human Rights Network,
the Jeanette Rankin Peace Center, and the University Congregational
Church, and are a part of the national network called “Sweatfree
Communities.” We have trained numerous new leaders and activists
since our inception in 2000. In addition, we have nearly 200 members
and an active listserv of over 1,100 people.
CAJA’s achievements include organizing over 200 presentations
to 11,000 people throughout Montana and the Northwest United States,
organizing several marches and rallies around global justice, and pressuring
congressional representatives by generating over 5,000 letters, e-mails,
phone calls and office visits. As part of a national campaign to stop
the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), CAJA spearheaded
a broad-based coalition in Montana, which brought together farmers,
ranchers, labor and social justice activists. The campaign culminated
with statewide actions at a key Senator’s district offices, gaining
valuable media coverage and helping to secure his vote. CAJA is known
for its high-quality educational events and CAJA members are regularly
invited to speak in University classes at the University of Montana.
Board of Directors
Jay Bostrom teaches high school in Missoula, Montana.
He recently completed a Master's degree in Modern and Classical Languages
and Literature with a major in Spanish from the University of Montana.
He would like to return to earn a Ph.D. in Education after a few years
of teaching. He wants to be involved in research projects to radically
reconstruct American public education, as he believes education to be
the bedrock of social and economic change. He currently holds the position
of Coordinator for CAJA. He is also the Montana State Coordinator for
Witness for Peace. Jay has traveled to Cuba in 2003 and Venezuela in
2006 with Witness for Peace and witnessed firsthand the effects of American
foreign and economic policies; policies he's working to change.
j.bostrom at bresnan.net
Brad Hash is a graduate student in Environmental Studies
at the University of Montana. Before moving to Montana, Brad worked
for Action for Social and Ecological Justice (now ACERCA) in Burlington,
Vermont. There, Brad worked primarily on the GE tree program,
working to protect our natural ecosystems from genetic alteration.
He also worked on the programs to educate the community about the impacts
of CAFTA and the FTAA. montanahash at msn.com
Scott Nicholson is a founding member of CAJA.
Scott has been involved with Latin America solidarity efforts since
1987. He traveled to El Salvador and Guatemala several times during
the early 1990s to witness the impact of U.S. intervention in those
countries. He has traveled to Colombia for each of the past five
summers to provide accompaniment for human rights activists that have
been threatened with death by the right-wing paramilitaries. Scott
works as an organizer for the Montana Human Rights Network. elmonogringo
at hotmail.com
Jodi Ockunzzi is the President of
CAJA and is a first grade teacher at Stevensville Elementary School.
Jodi is a literacy specialist and has been dedicated to improving literacy
and the living conditions of disadvantaged youth in Montana and Oregon.
She has volunteered for several years on literacy projects in both states,
including a summer in Southern Oregon where she created a "Reach
Out and Read" program at a Hispanic safety-net health clinic.
In recognition of her dedication to literacy efforts, Jodi was recently
awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to serve in Spain teaching English while
researching new reading strategies. Jodi's long-term goal is to
earn an Ed.D. in Education in order to work with future educators and
research Alternative Education. jockunzzi at yahoo.com
Erin Thompson is the Treasurer of
CAJA. She graduated from the University of Montana in 2001 with a B.A.
in Spanish. After attending a CAJA presentation about Colombia in 2000,
Erin was inspired to get involved. In April of 2002, she traveled to
Washington, D.C. to join a massive protest against the U.S. military
intervention and fumigation in Colombia. In June of that year, Erin
traveled to Colombia to witness first-hand the intervention taking place,
and returned in June of 2005. Erin currently resides in Missoula and
is the Regional Campaigns Coordinator at Women's Voices for the Earth,
an environmental health and justice organization. In her free time,
Erin can be found backcountry skiing, cycling around Montana, or backpacking
in her favorite wilderness areas. erinrthompson at gmail.com
