I spent the last two days in the New York metro area meeting with volunteers and laying the groundwork for our field presence out there. As the new field organizer for the region, I can’t tell you how encouraging it was to see the energized enthusiasm of the ONE members of New York and New Jersey. My schedule was packed on the trip, as I met with several NYC based volunteers as well as ONE members in Westchester and Rockland counties. On Monday night, I attended a forum on sexual violence in The Democratic Republic of the Congo hosted by the Women’s Enews organization, which included Faida Mitifu, Ambassador from the DRC to the United States, as a panelist, and was moderated by ONE member Dominique Soguel.

ONE member Ruby Thomas near Columbia University Medical Center, Uptown, Manhattan

Next, it was out to Highland Park, NJ where I met with Simon Davis, an area high school student and ONE member that has been doing some really great things lately. He is working on putting together a National History Day project on ONE at his school as well as helping to organize the naming of the Highland Park community as a “City of ONE.”

ONE member Simon Davis, in Highland Park, NJ

It was great to connect some of the active volunteers in the New York metro area and I can’t wait to get on the ground permanently in the next few weeks.

-Chris Geer, ONE Field Organizer