Sunday Assembly Sacramento Wonders More

Aaron Tang is a law professor at the University of California, Davis and former law clerk to Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Tang writes frequently about the Supreme Court in popular media including the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Slate, The Atlantic, USA Today, and elsewhere. He is the author of Supreme Hubris: How Overconfidence is Destroying the Court—and How We Can Fix It, published in August 2023 by Yale University Press.

Come and join us on January 14 to hear Aaron speak about What’s Wrong with the Supreme Court and How to Fix It.

Since releasing ‘An Atheist Album’ and performing at the 2012 Reason Rally, Shelley Segal’s music has taken her across the world and on 11 consecutive tours of the United States.  Shelley has been a performer and speaker at many large scale national and international atheist/ secular/humanist events.

Pi Day is March 14th, so let's celebrate early on March 10th! 

Nick Gray will share details about the one-of-a-kind secular summer Camp Omni, and information on the 2024 camp options. Nick is also a science educator and will bring some fun DIY rocket activities for all ages!

Kenny Ballentine (they/them) has worked as a documentary filmmaker since 2008. Their feature length “Nature Kids” was featured in National Park visitor centers across the country and their 2016 short film “Estamos Aqui” premiered at The (Obama) Whitehouse. Kenny’s films have screened on every continent and in 27 countries. They also directed the recently released Healing Us (featuring Oscar winner Susan Sarandon as narrator) and is currently directing a new film on mental health called “Suicide LOL”. Kenny is also an award-winning screenwriter and poet. They currently reside in Northern California where Kenny is raising four children with their loving partner Amber.

Zima Creason serves as the Executive Director of the California EDGE Coalition and an elected member of the San Juan Unified Board of Education. At EDGE, she works to address workforce shortages, create pathways to good jobs, and advance economic mobility in communities historically left out of California's prosperity. She is committed to community empowerment and coalition building, and has worked in the policy field since 2001. Much of her work has focused on mental health and workforce development.

Zima is dedicated to supporting people to avoid crisis outcomes, social justice, and for all Americans to have access and opportunity to achieve the American Dream regardless of their zip code, culture, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, health/mental health status, gender identification, or who they love.

Chris Conard is a Natural Resource Specialist at the Bufferlands in Sacramento County. He regularly leads field trips for Sacramento Audubon Society, serves as a county reviewer for eBird, and is a past president of the Central Valley Bird Club.

Paula Lee has been an active leader in the League of Women Voters at the local and national level for over 20 years focusing on better ways to elect our representatives.

Her work has led Leagues in cities and states across the country to study electoral systems and recommend adoption of better systems for voters such as Ranked Choice Voting and Proportional Representation.

Paula Lee is President of the Sacrament County League, Vice President of Californians for Electoral Reform and serves on the advisory committee for Proportional Representation CA.

She is a grandma and helps with childcare for her 6 and 3 year old granddaughters.

Alexis Record is a writer, an editor, a community leader, a former Tik Tok influencer, and a mom to two teenagers and three cats. She also occasionally fosters kittens. She is the President of AMCSI, a non-profit organization offering support to those with Arthrogryposis Multiplex Congenita, and she is the Executive Director of Sunday Assembly San Diego. She has authored two books — Different Like Me, a children’s book to help kids understand Arthrogryposis, and Bedtime with Bitsy, a critical look at C.S. Lewis and The Chronicles of Narnia — and has contributed to many more. She will be speaking to us this month about a sudden health condition that has affected her life and how she is working through it within her multiple roles.

Our speaker will be David Diskin, the co-founding President of our chapter. David worked tirelessly for six years to make SAS a thriving community, and he is now the President of California Freethought Day.

Dr. David Noelle is Associate Professor of Cognitive Science at the University of California Merced. He is a theoretical neuroscientist, with a research focus on the role of the prefrontal cortex, and associated brain areas, in learning, memory, and cognitive control. He will be speaking this month on How the Brain Makes New Ideas Out of Old Parts.

Kira Dunn, one of our Sunday Assembly community who is now living in San Diego, had the privilege of speaking to Sunday Assembly about Christopher Dunn’s case in 2017. Chris, an innocent man, had been convicted of murder at the age of 18 based solely upon the testimony of two children, ages 12 and 14. Chris‘ innocence was proven in 2020, but it took 4 years for the state of Missouri to release him. Chris walked free on July 30 of this year. As he returns to a changed world after 34 years of wrongful incarceration, he and Kira just celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary, and are navigating their new life together.