- Pritzker Fellows
- Current Fellows
- Simone Campbell
Simone Campbell
Religious Leader, Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipient (2022) & former Leader of Nuns on the Bus
Winter-Spring 2024 Pritzker Fellow
Seminar Series: “Notes From a Nun on the Bus: How Curiosity, Joy, Passion & Boldness Can Sustain Us for the Long Haul”
Sister Simone Campbell (Roman Catholic Sister of Social Service) is a religious leader, attorney, author and recipient of a 2022 Presidential Medal of Freedom (the United States’ highest civilian honor). She has extensive experience in public policy rooted in the lived experiences of people at the economic margins of society. Now she is an Emerson Elder with the Emerson Collective and co-leads “Understanding US” focused on political healing. For 17 years she was executive director of NETWORK, Lobby for Catholic Social Justice and leader of Nuns on the Bus. Her healthcare policy work was seminal in the passage of the Affordable Care Act. She has received numerous awards including the “Defender of Democracy Award” from the Parliamentarians for Global Action. Prior to Washington, this native Californian did state advocacy and for 18 years was the founder of the Oakland Community Law Center. In 1995 she was elected the leader of her community the Sisters of Social Service and served in that capacity until 2000. She wrote two award-winning books, A Nun on the Bus (2014) and Hunger for Hope (2020).
Seminars
“Notes From a Nun on the Bus: How Curiosity, Joy, Passion & Boldness Can Sustain Us for the Long Haul”
How can faith leadership matched with social action fill the gaps in our civic and political culture by bridging divides, promulgating true dialogue and lifting up those in the nation’s shadows? Sister Simone Campbell - a religious leader, attorney, poet and public policy expert - is the former executive director of NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice. Her work - which culminated in the Presidential Medal of Freedom award in 2022 - has spanned decades, from her famous “nuns’ letter'' supporting the Affordable Care Act, which President Obama recognized as a key to the bill’s passage, to the 2012 “Nuns on the Bus” to fight the House budget, to her years of “Nuns on the Bus” trips across America designed to take on inequality across myriad policy areas. Join Sister Simone each week as she invites you to challenge traditional conceptions about religious activism and better understand where faith and advocacy intersect.
Seminars are off-the-record & open to current UChicago students only.
Together we will examine the central principles of CST: Upholding the Dignity of the Human Person; Social Nature of the Human Person; the Rise Above Individualism; Solidarity with the Human Family; Embracing the Right and responsibility to Participate; Uniting with Workers in Dignity; Standing with Those Who are Left Out; Sharing Resources with All and Nurturing the Earth.
This is an interactive process where I briefly introduce the principles and then have the participants go to one that draws their attention. We then discuss in small groups and share the results with the larger group. I will talk about how these principles have shaped my life, but the more important part is what it means in the broader society.
We will use the interactive “human bar graph” to discuss the impact of policies that shift money to the top, such as cutting taxes for the wealthy, holding minimum wage stagnant and preferencing tax deductions for the wealthy. We will use the process from our “Tax Justice Truth Tour” of 2018 when it was “Nuns on the Bus on the Road to Mara Lago.” Too often we are only aware of the reality of the economic strata around us. We do not know how different lives are depending on income. Because of this, judgments are made without knowledge. We will explore the impact of income disparity in this challenging time and policies that perpetuate the gap.
How do we bridge divides and learn from people who think differently? What attitudes does it take to be open to other points of view? How does one spark dialogue about who don’t you know? Whom do you leave out? Why is it difficult to talk with others? We will focus on the challenge of opening ourselves to different points of view. We will look at the fears of judgment and division that keep us apart. I will use some of my experiences from lobbying as well as in the practice of law and welcome our guest who is working at this intersection and ask him to share his insights.
Special Guest: Dan Vallone, Director, More in Common USA, New York
What are the principles of those living in rural communities? Why don’t rural people protest? What matters to rural communities? We will explore some of the challenges that rural communities face in housing, healthcare, economic opportunity, etc. Many of the issues that are described as “urban” issues also show up in rural communities. Everything from housing to healthcare and education to the environment are issues in our various communities. However, the strategies and tactics for addressing these issues need to be different. How can we address the needs of all our communities?
Special Guest: Heidi Heitkamp, Director, University of Chicago Institute of Politics & former United States Senator (ND)
Why such a big gap? Where do people talk past one another? Why did going to the South make me nervous? Since my trip to the South in the Summer of ’23, I have been puzzled about the big north/south divide in our nation and how it seems that we fear and judge each other. We will gather with a guest from the South to explore fears, stereotypes and reality as we work to weave our nation together in a divided time.
Special Guest: Scott Hutcheson, Executive Director, E Pluribus Unum
A Practice Walk through the Six elements of advocacy:
1. Social policy research
2. Legislative drafting
3. Field organizing
4. Communications
5. Relationships/advocacy
6. Strategy
We will look at the passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010 as a case study for these elements that create successful advocacy. The passage of the ACA was the culmination of 100 years of work! Advocates need to be patient and persistent. We will discuss the “inside” and “outside” Congress strategy.
Special Guest: Reva Price, former Director of Outreach & Senior Advisor for former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi
Why are so many people coming to the U.S.? Realities of home countries? How do they hear about the U.S.? The impact of war and climate change, as well as economic dislocation, cause people to lose hope and try to move to a better situation for their families. For centuries North America has been a draw for immigrants. We will look at the international reality of immigration policy, the problems with U.S. policy that need to be addressed and the impact on Chicago. This is a multi-layered global reality, and we need immigrants to keep our communities vital and alive.
Special Guests: Marshall Fitz, Managing Director of Immigration, Emerson Collective; Sister Bernadine Karge, Immigration Attorney & Advocate for Human Rights; andAna Mancouzet, Director of Regional Migration & Program Lead for Latin America, Emerson Collective
Nourishing curiosity, joy, passion and boldness are elements of hope in the 20th century. After a lifetime of practice, I want to share what “burnout” is and how to avoid it. Where do we find our energy to stay engaged, and how do we create community in the process? These are necessary skills to be sustained in challenging times. The practices of "deep listening,” communal sharing and joy in the midst of chaos are essential, easy-to-use tools that create a vibrant community.