Will Coley

Santa Monica, CA

I'm a latte-drinking, bike-riding, New York Times-reading, taco-loving, social justice do-gooder originally from North Carolina. I have been an advocate and organizer with immigrants and refugees in Charlotte, New York/Newark, and Los Angeles, as well as in Zimbabwe and Great Britain, for organizations such as Catholic Charities, American Friends Service Committee, Jesuit Refugee Service, Homies Unidos and the National Immigration Law Center. I have an undergraduate degree in history and international relations from Wake Forest University, a master's in public administration from Columbia University and a postgraduate certificate in forced migration studies from the Refugee Studies Centre at the University of Oxford. Through Aquifer Media, I currently assist nonprofit organizations, foundations and community groups utilize digital social media in their strategies for community-building, advocacy and leadership development.

http://aquifermedia.com

Will signed the petition | 4 months ago

ICE: Keep Ravi Ragbir in the US with his family and community!
Will signed the petition | 9 months ago

Put S-Comm on ICE! Call for a Moratorium on the Mass Deportation Program
Will signed the petition | 9 months ago

Don't Let L.A. County Sheriff Lee Baca Twist the Constitution on Immigrants' Civil Rights
Will signed the petition | almost 2 years ago

Legalize Arizona
Will commented on the article | over 2 years ago

Should Comedy Be Part of the Social Innovator's Story-Telling Repertoire?

I totally agree with you about using humor to affect social change: it's what people share with each other. That's why I made with friends about our dysfunctional immigration system: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-30BZtpvaTY
Will commented on the article | almost 3 years ago

The Social Change Media Delivery Problem

I agree that time investment is part of the issue but it seems to me it's also abot creating engaging content. While I think Witness and the Hub are great (& I've uploaded content there), I sometimes wonder if a "half-empty" human rights lense is always the most effective way to reach people and move them to action. It seems like we need to a do a lot of work among progressives to create new metaphors that speak our positive values. For example, a friend of mine created a photo documentary project about Liberian SURVIVORS of their civil war and spotlighted examples of people who found strategies to get through "the bad bad thing". It seems like a potential audience would be more interested in engaging with this type of content than negative, no-end-in-sight perspectives. I'm not saying we should look at the world through rose colored glasses but figure out ways that compel people to watch. I've explored using humor to address the outrageousness of current immigration system in the US. While you can't do this for everything, it does help to reframe an issue so that people want to share it with others and respond. (sorry for being so long-winded).
Will commented on the article | about 3 years ago

Environmental Damage Increases Migration

Great post, Dave! BTW The Forced Migration Review's recent issue is also about climate change and migration: http://www.fmreview.org/climatechange.htm
Will commented on the article | over 3 years ago

Political Winds Favor Comprehensive Immigration Reform

Can we lay to rest the phrase "Comprehenisive Immigration Reform"? It seems like the last few years of failure have discredited the idea it imparts: legalization with heavy-handed enforcement and border security. I like "overhaul" or "update" better. Both reflect the fact that our immigration laws are woefully out of date.
Will signed the petition | over 3 years ago

Support Global Online Freedom Act
Will signed the petition | over 3 years ago

vote for immigrant rights