Encore Celebrating 50 Years of Advocacy: NON, NAOP & Int’l Childfree Day
September 26, 2023
Hosted by Christine Erickson
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Guest Information
Episode Description
Today we celebrate International Childfree Day. In reflecting on what this day means for so many in our collective community, we also want to acknowledge the history and advocacy, behind the origins of this day, and the transition to becoming what it is today. The National Organization for Non-Parents (NON), later named the National Alliance for Optional Parenthood (NAOP), was founded in 1972 by Ellen Peck and Shirley Radl. NON first designated August 1st as Non-Parents' Day, in 1973. In 2013, Laura Carroll, childfree author and writer, lead the way in bringing back the acknowledgment and celebration of this day and date, as an annual “International Childfree Day." Laura guided these efforts for a decade, and this year, passed the torch to Childfree Media, which is co-founded by LeNora Faye and Cody Hetzel. Joining us today are Joan Eisenstodt and Marie Bernardy, who were active participants in NON/NAOP and played key roles in education and visibility on behalf of the organization. Their personal stories of reproductive experiences and choices, and the responses to their public advocacy work demonstrate their deep commitment, to having a choice to become a parent or not. Their work helped create the foundation for many of the ways we continue to seek change for our community today. We will also be joined by LeNora Faye and Cody Hetzel, the co-founders of Childfree Media, and the co-moderators of the Childfree Convention, which was held for the 3rd year, this past weekend. You will not want to miss what these dynamic childfree guests have to share and exchange, from experiences and perspectives over the past 50 years, to their insight on what is most needed now, for our collective community to be recognized in equal and equitable ways, and beyond.
New Legacy Radio
Tuesday at 10 AM Pacific Time on VoiceAmerica Variety Channel
New Legacy Radio (NLR) is a social justice platform that amplifies the experiences, perspectives, and contributions of people without children. The show also navigates the multigenerational and intergenerational impact of social and systemic discrimination based on personal reproductive and relationship experiences. In conversation with diverse guests, who have lived experience, and allies, we discuss how these constructs relate to basic human rights, the natural world, global priorities, transnational relationships, and beyond. NLR is brought to you by New Legacy Institute (NLI), the first global policy institute to advocate for the rights of people who do not have children and policy without pronatalism. New Legacy Radio airs live on the VoiceAmerica Variety Channel every Tuesday at 10 AM Pacific Time. Listen live and on-demand: https://www.voiceamerica.com/show/4062
Christine Erickson
Christine J. Erickson (she/her) is the founder of New Legacy Institute (NLI), the only institute focused on the global imposition and real-world impact of pronatalist constructs and policy, and the demographic of people who do not have children. The Institute advocates for equal individual protections across reproductive and relationship experiences, as an urgent, foundational change to social policy. Christine is an experienced leadership advisor, social entrepreneur and policy advocate with vast and diverse global experience. She has an MBA in International Management from Thunderbird School of Global Management.
