ORGANIZER, ST. JOE COUNTY

Rev. Andre Stoner was a Mennonite pastor in St. Joe County for 17 years and worked for Mennonite Church USA for seven years, heading denominational peace and justice work and leading ecumenical relations.

Rev. Andre grew up in a working-class Mennonite family in neighboring Elkhart County. He previously worked as an organizer for the Near Northwest Neighborhood in South Bend, with a focus on addressing lead poisoning in the neighborhood.

Rev. Stoner has grown our St. Joe County chapter to 25 congregations. He recently led the statewide “Call for Care” campaign which succeeded in securing $100 million in new funding for a statewide mental health crisis response system. Rev. Stoner has over 6 years of organizing experience in St. Joe County and has been trained with the Midwest Organizing Cohort as a lead organizer.

ORGANIZER, PORTER COUNTY

Garrett Blad has over 8 years of organizing experience with local and national organizations. Since graduating from Notre Dame in 2015 with a degree in Environmental Science and Sustainable Policy, Garrett has been a leading voice for young people in the fight for climate justice.

In his previous role as Civic Engagement Director with Faith in Indiana, Garrett played a key role in expanding Faith in Indiana’s organizing work to run the largest volunteer-led voter engagement program in the state. He has helped over 200 leaders across the state, mostly young people and people of color, to take leadership roles in their communities from precinct captain to city councilor.

Garrett is currently organizing a group of congregations in Porter County to launch a new chapter and organize for change. He is also supporting a team of faculty and students at Valparaiso University to have a voice in public life.

INTERN, SOUTH BEND

Dion Payne-Miller grew up in South Bend, Indiana. Dion knew early on education was the key to improving his life. He was always told by his family you can do anything you put your mind to and Dion understood education was his ticket to for a better life.

As a student at Holy Cross College Dion became Student Body president. In his campaign he ensured students that he would make sure their voices were heard to the administration about student life at Holy Cross College.

After serving as student body president, Dion wanted to make an impact on his community and give back so he became a high school basketball coach where he mentored students on and off the court. Next, he became a college student assistant of the Girls basketball team at Holy Cross College and the Head Coach of the South Bend Table Tennis Center.

He serves on the board at Kern Road Mennonite church and is president of the Black student association. The common denominator of all these experiences has been developing relationships.