Who is Occupy Wall Street?
Whether you agree with the views expressed or tactics used by Occupy Wall Street or occupiers of any other street or square, most of us wonder who exactly Occupy Wall Street is. Some of us have met Occupy Wall Street people while walking on LaSalle or Wall Streets. Curious as we are, we thought we'd provide this list of the people identified by the news media as those who lead the New York group:
Beka Economopoulos
Beka Economopoulos is considered “the glue” of Occupy Wall Street. Economopoulos works for Fission Strategy as a senior strategist. She has 15 years experience as a grassroots field and online organizer. She works with local, national, and international NGOs, community groups and activist mobilizations. Prior to Fission Strategy, she created the Online Organizing department for Greenpeace USA. She was also the web producer at United for Peace and Justice. Economopoulos is an Advisory Board member and trainer at the New Organizing Institute. She is also a co-founder of Not An Alternative which is a volunteer-run non-profit organization aiming to integrate art, activism, technology and theory. Economopoulos serves on the Steering Committee of Where We Are Now and has been interviewed on CNN, BBC, Fox, NBC, ABC, NPR, NY Times and Washington Post. Economopoulos graduated from Northwestern University in 1997.
Michael Premo
Michael Premo is a 29-year-old multimedia artist and is considered “the expander” of the protests. Premo is a photographer for Housing Is a Human Right, which is a multi-media documentary portrait of the struggle for Home in New York City. He is a multidisciplinary artist, theater producer, and arts consultant. Premo has worked with the Hip Hop Theater Festival, EarSay, Inc., StoryCorps, and The Civilians. He was also the founding producer and curator of The Globesity Festival: Hunger Strike Theater. Premo studied theater at Northeastern University and later at the University of Cape Town in South Africa with a concentration in the role of arts in social and political organizing.
George Martinez
George Martinez is considered “the ambassador” of Occupy Wall Street. He is an adjunct professor of political science at Pace University. Along with that, he is a cultural ambassador for the U.S. Department of State. Martinez’s goal is to expand the movement beyond Zuccotti Park and into other parts of New York City, such as the Bronx. Martinez is an accomplished hip-hop artist and is a founding board member of The Hip-Hop Association. He is currently is the founder of the non-profit organization, Global Block Foundation, which is dedicated to connecting resources, communities and individuals around the world. Martinez holds a degree in political science from the City University of New York-Brooklyn College and a PhD in political science from the City University of New York Graduate Center.
Max Berger
Max Berger is classified as “the trainer” for the Occupy Wall Street protests. Berger is 26 and was an organizer for Van Jones’ American Dream Movement. Berger said he joined Occupy Wall Street because he realized “the institutional efforts he was part of were not prepared to generate the level of opposition he felt was needed.” Berger is focused on developing new leaders for the protest.
Yotam Marom
Yotam Marom is known as “the strategist” for the movement. Marom is a
25-year-old writer, teacher and musician from Hoboken, N.J. Marom believes that protesters need not only protest outside banks but to also stop them from “doing things.” Marom graduated from McGill University in 2008 and later from The New School in 2010. He has also spent time teaching in an Arab school in Barta’a, Israel. He is the General Secretary of the New York branch of the Organization for a Free Society. Along with that he teaches students through “Without Walls.” Marom also has experience speaking and writing about issues including communalism, education, Israel/Palestine, gender, sexuality, student activism, and strategy for a new society.
Sandy Nurse
Sandy Nurse is considered “the logistician” of Occupy Wall Street. She is 27 and is using her experience growing up on military bases and working in international aid to coordinate logistics for the protests.
George Machado
George Machado is known as “the newbie.” Machado is a recent graduate from the American University in Washington, D.C. He graduated with a degree in Philosophy and International Relations. He is currently an intern at Greenhead Music Corp.
Nicole Carty
Nicole Carty is a 23-year-old leader of the Occupy Wall Street protests and is considered “the facilitator” of the movement. Carty graduated from Brown University with a degree in sociology. Carty has facilitated meetings amongst the protestors including one in Washington Square Park attracting approximately 3,000 protestors along with the first meeting of a controversial spokes-council. Carty currently is a production assistant at The Sundance Channel. Carty has an identical twin sister, Jill, who is an aspiring member of the ‘1%.’ Nicole Carty spends endless hours working to accumulate resources including $500,000 in donations.
Jonathan Smucker
Jonathan Smucker is a 33-year-old who is considered “the communicator” for Occupy Wall Street. Smucker is from Bird-in-Hand, PA, radicalized by reading the Bible. He believes the protests should expand to churches, schools, universities, and workplaces. Smucker is working hand-in-hand with the press team for the movement and is writing for the site Merge-Left.org.
Nelini Stamp
Nelini Stamp is a 23-year-old native New Yorker whose place in the movement is to expand general assemblies and to give people tools to organize themselves. Stamp has been part of the Occupy Wall Street since day one. Stamp is part of the organizing and outreach team and she is working to bridge the distance of the movement from the first day to the current day. Stamp has worked for Working Families Party since 2008, an organization that is standing with the Occupy Wall Street protests. Stamp was among the 2,000 veteran and emerging leaders that gathered in Washington, D.C. with the hope of this movement becoming a national coalition.