Tag Archives: teaching

October 25, 2023 · 7:55 am

TechWomen Team Palestine Pitch Win

TechWomen Team Palestine, Seed Grant and Pitch Presentation win, 20 October 2023
TechWomen Team Palestine, Seed Grant and Pitch win, 16 October 2023

As a TechWomen Professional Mentor and country Impact Coach for many years, I have been honored and impressed with TechWomen’s Team Palestine 2023. Each year, every one of the 100+ women in 22 country teams invited by the U.S. Department of State – Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs from the Middle East, Africa, and Central Asia works hard to create a project that will improve their home when they return from working and learning in America. Team Palestine has worked especially hard under the horrific circumstances of their homeland being at war, starting two weeks into their six week program. Their compassion, dedication, and intelligent leadership has inspired the entire TechWomen community. Working with my sister mentors, we coached the team in developing a project to support STEM education among primary school students in Palestine. On 16 October in San Francisco, they gave their three minute pitch, and on 20 October, Team Palestine was one of five teams that won an award and seed funding! I am so proud that Team Palestine will help children at home learn science, technology, engineering, and math as part of recovering from the trauma of war.


Linked here are the Project Aspiration presentation slides from Pitch Day, and TechWomen Team Palestine’s Executive Summary. Please follow us on Facebook!

TechWomen Team Palestine pitch win, 16 Oct 2023
TechWomen Team Palestine pitch win, 16 Oct 2023

Page Updated 3 February 2024

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September 16, 2023 · 12:02 pm

Singing in Jail

Song books, Sep 2023
Song books, Sep 2023

Part of my Doctor of Ministry dissertation project at the Berkeley School of Theology is to find better ways to engage jail inmates in our studies together. I have been leading theology and Bible study classes in Santa Clara County jail since 2015, working with the Correctional Institutions Chaplaincy (CIC). The version of the class I developed with Canon William Barnwell in 2018 is called Transforming Literature of the Bible (TLB). My DMin project is the first major revision of TLB since 2018.

For the weekly opening worship in our class, My Co-Mentor (and husband) John Plocher and I have been using the worship bulletins from our home parish, St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church. However, that music has proven challenging. Many inmates love and long for music and as a CIC Chaplain, I am privileged to bring in my smart phone and a speaker. But, while the lyrics and music are in St. Andrew’s worship bulletin, few inmates read music and finding recorded music that matches has been a challenge.

Last Wednesday, John had an idea so we tried something new. I wrote the repetitive lyrics for a traditional hymn on the white board and played the music so the inmates could sing along. They loved it and asked to sing all five verses through a second time before class ended! Most of the students are Christian but the seminar also includes a man who identifies as a Messianic Jew. About two thirds of the inmates in this class are Latino and speak Spanish (most also speak English). All are welcome.

Here is the start of the lyrics we sang, from Hymnary:

As I went down to the river to pray,
studyin’ about that good old way,
and who shall wear the starry crown,
good Lord, show me the way.

Oh, sisters, let’s go down, 
let’s go down, come on down.
Oh, sisters, let’s go down,
down to the river to pray. [Refrain]

In class, we listened to the lovely recording by Alison Krauss, from the “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” album. Our daughter Jessica Dickinson Goodman not only has a lovely big voice but also a Minor in Vocal Music from Carnegie Mellon University. On Thursday, she and I talked about the challenge of bringing singable music into jail. Last night, Jessica brought over a selection of her song books so now I have more resources.

I am week-by-week revising the assigned TLB chapters, include new material and illustrations, and providing a Spanish translation. I plan to use Hymnary and the books Jessica provided to also create a supplementary TLB section of lyrics that are aligned with the themes of each chapter. So far, the inmates have been very engaged with the new materials. I just had two more students who had completed a prior TLB seminar ask if they can rejoin. So far, so good!

Images Copyright (c) 2023 Katy Dickinson. If you want to receive Katysblog posts by email, please sign up using the Sign Me Up! button (upper right on Katysblog home).

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September 12, 2023 · 2:52 pm

Welcoming TechWomen Team Palestine

Shagufta Ahmed, Nancy Hendrickson, Katy Dickinson - TechWomen Team Palestine Impact Coaches, 11 Sep 2023
Shagufta Ahmed, Nancy Hendrickson, Katy Dickinson – TechWomen Team Palestine Impact Coaches

Yesterday, my sister TechWomen Impact Coaches for 2023 Team Palestine and I had a lovely conversation starting to plan for the arrival of our new mentees. Looking forward to learning from Shagufta Ahmed and Nancy Hendrickson! The 104 TechWomen mentees from 21 countries arrive in San Francisco soon and we are very excited to meet them.

I am thinking of my dear friends and colleagues among the Palestine TechWomen Fellows of cohorts-past, and asking them to support the incoming team. I am also thinking of my journeys in Palestine and hoping that I will learn as much during the next six weeks. My first trip to Palestine was in 1979 after I was graduated from U.C. Berkeley, my second was in 2006 to create a Sun Microsystems mentoring program between technical groups in St. Petersburg (Russia) and Hertzliya (Israel), and the third was an (unofficial) delegation of five TechWomen mentors to Gaza City in 2016, as guests of Mercy Corps and Gaza Sky Geeks. I very much look forward to traveling there again.

I was honored to be the 2010-2011 Process Architect for the U.S. State Department – Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ TechWomen mentoring program and am very proud to continue my service as a citizen diplomat. In 2022, U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken expanded TechWomen (based in the San Francisco Bay Area 2010-2022) to include a cohort in Chicago. My daughter, Jessica Dickinson Goodman, is a mentor for 2023’s Team Nigeria, based in Chicago. Jessica was one of the mentors who went with me to Palestine in 2016 and she has been an Impact Coach for Team Palestine in prior TechWomen years.

About TechWomen: “TechWomen empowers, connects and supports the next generation of women leaders in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) from Africa, Central and South Asia, and the Middle East by providing them the access and opportunity needed to advance their careers, pursue their dreams, and inspire women and girls in their communities. Through mentorship and exchange, TechWomen strengthens participants’ professional capacity, increases mutual understanding between key networks of professionals, and expands girls’ interest in STEM careers by exposing them to female role models.” There are 1,153 TechWomen Emerging Leaders and Fellows in 22 Countries. More than 150 companies have hosted TechWomen Emerging Leaders.

2006 John Dead Sea Israel
Katy standing in the Dead Sea 2006
Gaza City Vase 2016
TechWomen arrive in Gaza, Feb 2016
TechWomen arrive in Gaza, Feb 2016
Gaza Sky Geeks with TechWomen, Feb 2016
Gaza Sky Geeks with TechWomen 2016
Katy Dickinson and TechWomen presenting in Gaza City, Feb 2016
Katy Dickinson and TechWomen presenting, Gaza City 2016
Eileen Brewer at Gaza City harbor, Feb 2016
Selfies with Eileen Brewer at Gaza City harbor, Feb 2016

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September 7, 2023 · 11:52 am

Interreligious Panel – Chaplains for Prisoners

I was honored to present and moderate “The Same and Different: Supporting Muslim and Jewish Inmates,” an interreligious panel, on, 3 September 2023, hosted by St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church (Saratoga, California – San Francisco Bay Area). This was an in-person event that was also live-streamed and recorded. Here is the link for the recording, https://vimeo.com/event/3655244 (2 hours), plus the one page handout about the panel. This event was generously supported by a grant from the Walter & Elise Haas Fund, through the GTU Madrasa-Midrasha Program. Here is the GTU announcement.

I was touched and thankful for the positive feedback about this event, notably this comment by the Correctional Institutions Chaplaincy‘s Chaplain Ra Amen, “The absolute best interreligious training on the topic. The synergism between the panelists and moderator was seamless. The questions and answers allow for a broad range of insights and experiences to be covered. Whether a novice or as one with years of experience, there was much to be gained from the discussion that will serve me well in future interreligious situation in jail or the general society. It was a model that could be use national in jail and prison ministry. I commend everyone involved in putting on this training.” Another comment from volunteer Chaplain Barbara Harriman was heartwarming, “The seminar today was amazing! Your panel was filled with compassionate scholars, including you! It was very impressive and informative. Thank you so much. I’m so glad you made the video accessible. I will share it with others.” I am grateful for the support.

Grateful thanks to the inspiring and excellent panel speakers:

Thank you as well to the friends, family, and colleagues who helped me put on this event. Especially Karen LeBlanc, Jessica Dickinson Goodman, and John Plocher.

Images Copyright (c) 2023 Katy Dickinson. Thanks to photographers, Karen LeBlanc, Joel Martinez, John Plocher, and Barbara Merrill. If you want to receive Katysblog posts by email, please sign up using the Sign Me Up! button (upper right on Katysblog home).

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July 30, 2023 · 1:55 pm

Panel: The Same and Different, Supporting Muslim and Jewish Inmates

Interreligious chaplaincy books, July 2023
Interreligious chaplaincy books, July 2023

Please join us for “The Same and Different: Supporting Muslim and Jewish Inmates,” an Interreligious Panel, 1:30 to 3:30 pm on Sunday, 3 September 2023, hosted by St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church (13601 Saratoga Avenue, Saratoga, California – San Francisco Bay Area). This is an in-person event that will also be live-streamed. Here is the live streaming link, https://vimeo.com/event/3655244. Here us the one page handout about the panel.

Thanks to the panel speakers:

This is a two hour training event (with a panel of experts) for jail chaplains – and those interested in learning about jail chaplaincy – on best practices in supporting inmates, especially those who are Muslim or Jewish.

There are about three thousand inmates in Santa Clara County jail. Eight staff CIC Chaplains and hundreds of volunteers interact routinely with prisoners of all faiths, including discussions about non-medical special diets (Kosher, Halal, or Vegetarian), leading educational and spiritual programs, offering individual pastoral care visits, and distributing religious items (such as scriptures and religious prayer or study materials, hijab, or kippah or kufi head coverings, prayer rugs, and rosaries). For the last several years, many jail prisoners have had access to county-provided electronic tablets offering educational programs, entertainment, and religious and spiritual scriptures and other documents from a wide range of religious and spiritual contexts. Discussions with inmates who are interested in exploring or converting to Islam or Judaism seem to have increased since the tablets became available.

“The Same and Different: Supporting Muslim and Jewish Inmates” attendees can gain a greater understanding of Islam and Judaism and learn best practices for supporting inmates from those religions. There will be small group discussions after the panel. Some attendees will also be able to take home an excellent book to support their ministry with Muslim or Jewish inmates:

  • Dayle A. Friedman, ed., Jewish Pastoral Care: A Practical Handbook from Traditional & Contemporary Sources (Nashville, TN: Jewish Lights Publishing, 2015).
  • Muhammad A. Ali, Omer Bajwa, Sondos Kholaki, and Jaye Starr, eds., Mantle of Mercy: Islamic Chaplaincy in North America (West Conshohocken, PA: Templeton Press, 2022).

Book quantities are very limited: first come, first served. Rabbi Amy Eilberg, Sheikh Rami Nsour, and Katy Dickinson are all speakers for the Islamic Networks Group (ING), a peace-building organization providing face-to-face education and engagement opportunities that foster understanding of Muslims and other misunderstood groups to promote harmony among all people.

This event is generously supported by a grant from the Walter & Elise Haas Fund, through the GTU Madrasa-Midrasha Program. Here is the GTU announcement.

Interreligious Panel name buttons, 25 Aug 2023
Interreligious Panel name buttons, 25 Aug 2023

Image Copyright (c) 2023 Katy Dickinson. If you want to receive Katysblog posts by email, please sign up using the Sign Me Up! button (upper right on Katysblog home).

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May 9, 2023 · 10:44 am

Women of Faith in Jail

GTU Women and Religion Conference, 28 April 2023
Katy Dickinson, Zeinab Vessel, Dr. Mahjabeen Dhala, Lisa Calvez at the GTU Women and Religion Conference, 28 April 2023

I was honored to present on “Women of Faith in Jail” at the GTU Graduate Student Conference: Women and Religion conference held on 28 April 2023 at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California. Here are the slides I presented. More about my submission is on my 3 April 2023 blog post. About seventy people attended this inspiring all-day event hosted by Women’s Studies in Religion.

GTU Women and Religion Conference, 28 April 2023
GTU Women and Religion Conference, 28 April 2023
Dr. Valerie Miles-Tribble, GTU Women and Religion Conference, 28 April 2023
Dr. Valerie Miles-Tribble, GTU Women and Religion Conference, 28 April 2023
Katy Dickinson, Dr. Valerie Miles-Tribble, GTU Women and Religion Conference, 28 April 2023
Katy Dickinson, GTU Women and Religion Conference, 28 April 2023
Dr. Mahjabeen Dhala, GTU Women and Religion Conference, 28 April 2023
Dr. Mahjabeen Dhala, GTU Women and Religion Conference, 28 April 2023

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April 3, 2023 · 8:19 pm

GTU Conference: Women and Religion

I am honored that my submission on “Women of Faith in Jail” was accepted by the GTU Graduate Student Conference: Women and Religion! The conference will be held at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California, on 28 April 2023. To attend the one day conference, Register Here. This is the abstract for my talk:

Katy Dickinson
Women of Faith in Jail
This presents a jail chaplain’s view on how women prisoners’s experience, especially their faith experience, is different from that of men in the American justice system. In many ways, the lives of American women and men prisoners are similarly marginalized; however, the systemic social and economic disadvantages of women in our society are reflected in the lives of female inmates. For example, women are usually the primary caretakers for children from whom incarceration separates them, women often enter the carceral system having had more traumatic experiences, and all-too-often women undergo more trauma in jail and prison. As a result, working with women inmates as a chaplain or officer can be more complex and emotionally intense compared to working with male prisoners. While some avoid working with women, others find special satisfaction in supporting female prisoners. A groundbreaking report has just been published about women prisoners and their unique challenges and patterns.

Here is a link to the whole submission, if you want more text (and references). The event will be recorded but not available online in real time.

Images Copyright (c) 2023 Katy Dickinson. If you want to receive Katysblog posts by email, please sign up using the Sign Me Up! button (upper right on Katysblog home).

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