Fall Benefit 2026 - Chicago Area Peace Action

Thursday, November 12, 2026

6:00 – 9:00 P.M.

4626 N Knox Ave., Chicago IL 60630

CAPA’s 2026 Annual Dinner will focus on the theme of Collective Resilience & Protection by Awakening Solidarity within our communities.

We have invited two dynamic panelists to keynote our evening – Minnesota State Senator Zaynab Mohamed and Demian Kogan, Senior Director of Organizing for the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR). They have both been intimately involved in organizing community responses to ICE assaults and will discuss what they have learned – and how we can bolster our resistance and strengthen solidarity across diverse communities.

We will also welcome eight Chicago area groups whose work includes rapid response training, mutual aid/ food distribution pantries, community violence intervention, community building and human rights for all marginalized populations. Theses groups will have representatives to share their experiences and lessons learned on paths forward. Reserve your spot now!

With deep gratitude to the 2026 Benefit Host Committee for their generous support: Rich and Andy Amend, David and Cari Borris, Peter Draper, James Gibbs, Geraldine Gorman, Sallie and Alan (z”l) Gratch, Jim Hart, James Huffman, Jack and Maureen Kelly, John and Laurie Lawlor, James and Joan McCormick, David Phelps and Abigail Gabbard, Martha Pierce, Sydney and David Reed, Phil Rozansky, John Smyth, Larry Suffredin and Gloria Callaci, Eleanor Sylvan, and Phyllis Tholin (list in formation)

Meet the Panelists, Moderator, and Emcee:

MINNEAPOLIS PANELIST Zaynab Mohamed is a Minnesota State Senator representing South Minneapolis and an immigrant who came to Minnesota from Somalia as a child. She became the youngest woman ever elected to the Minnesota Senate and one of the first three Black women ever elected to the body. In December 2025, as Operation Metro Surge descended on Minnesota, she turned to the power of community organizing, using her platforms to mobilize neighbors, with schools, community organizations, and hundreds of families joining the effort. She believes in responding to crises not by retreating, but by organizing, building community, and turning that collective power into action.

CHICAGO PANELIST Demian Kogan is Senior Director of Organizing for the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) and has over 20 years of community organizing experience. Demian and three generations of his family have been displaced due to political oppression. He has organized to eliminate immigration detention, ban police collaboration with ICE, expand eligibility to direct cash assistance, and more. Demian and his team coordinated grassroots resistance and protection during Operation Midway Blitz in Chicago and across Illinois. ICIRR anchored a network of close to 40 rapid response teams, and helped pass new protections for Illinois residents against detention and deportation.

MODERATOR Roger Fierro is a Chicago-based journalist, screenwriter, and consultant who sits at the intersection of data and storytelling. A former City Bureau investigative reporting fellow, he has covered the working lives of Chicago’s migrants, from the abuse and unpaid labor they face in the job market to the city’s migrant go-go dancers, for outlets including Borderless Magazine and the Chicago Reader. He has also spent years as a data analyst and strategist in public health and the nonprofit sector, including at the AIDS Foundation of Chicago and the Logan Square Chamber of Commerce. He holds a degree in International Studies from University of Chicago and describes himself as an “analytic translator” who turns dense information into something people can act on.

EMCEE AND SPOKEN WORD ARTIST Orion Meadows is a 3-time National Spoken Word Award winner, author of three publications, and member of the editorial board of Statesville Speaks. He worked for three years as Adler University’s Media Manager for The Illinois Coalition For Higher Education in Prisons, and facilitates poetry workshops for the Prison and Neighborhood Arts/Education Project. He is a Nonviolence Trainer at Institute for Nonviolence Chicago teaching Dr. King’s philosophy of nonviolence, is a board member of CAPA, and has written articles for the Southside Weekly.

Meet the Organizations:

PROTECT ROGERS PARK

Protect Rogers Park is a local group of neighbors committed to supporting and protecting our community, especially our most vulnerable neighbors. Our work includes ICE watch training, non-violent direct action training, patrols, rapid response teams, mutual aid and community building events. We are committed to building the movement and often partner with and support the work of other groups committed to justice and community. https://www.facebook.com/protectrp/

WALLS TURNED SIDEWAYS

Walls Turned Sideways (WTS), a grassroots nonprofit located in East Garfield Park, is an art gallery, studio, and community space dedicated to artists and communities impacted by incarceration. At the intersection of abolition and arts, WTS engages with a variety of communities, but our programming primarily focuses on collaborating and working with people who have experienced the carceral system, including those whose loved ones have been incarcerated. The mission of WTS is to build bridges that connect people in prison, their families, artists, and other community members using art, exhibitions, and political education with a focus on collective liberation, healing, and abolition. https://wallsturnedsideways.org/

MARJORIE KOVLER CENTER

The Marjorie Kovler Center helps empower individuals to transform their lives while healing from the complex consequences of torture. Kovler Center provides medical, mental health, and social services; trains and educates locally and globally; and advocates for the end of torture worldwide. Services include: Survivors of Torture Program, Healing Journeys, and Refugee Behavior Wellness Program. https://healtorture.org/healing-centers/marjorie-kovler-center-a-program-of-heartland-alliance-international/

Chicago American Indian Community Collaborative

C.A.I.C.C.

At the Chicago American Indian Community Collaborative (CAICC), we bring community partners together to build relationships, share resources, and work toward the needs and priorities of Chicago’s Native community. For us, community care means showing up for one another, making sure Native voices are heard, and protecting the cultures, identities, and histories that make our community who we are. It means building relationships that help us face challenges together, support one another through difficult times, and resist the erasure of Native people and perspectives. We know this work cannot be done by one organization alone. By connecting organizations and creating opportunities to work together, we help strengthen the relationships that support our community and build a future where Native people are seen, heard, respected, and valued. https://chicagoaicc.com/

I.N.V.C.

The Institute for Nonviolence Chicago (INVC) works to reduce violence and build safer, stronger communities through community violence intervention, trauma-informed support, and restorative approaches to healing. INVC partners with those most impacted by violence, strengthening relationships and investing in people to create lasting change. Through outreach, conflict mediation, violence interruption, reentry support, and connections to essential resources, INVC addresses the root causes of violence while creating pathways toward safety, healing, and opportunity. This work recognizes that meaningful protection requires collective responsibility, sustained investment, and care for those most affected by systemic inequities. Through compassion, collaboration, and shared responsibility, INVC helps build resilient communities where individuals can heal, thrive, and contribute to a more peaceful future.

O.C.A.D.

Organized Communities Against Deportations (OCAD) has been working with ICIRR to sustain the Family Support Network (FSN) hotline for over a decade, and helped build out a statewide rapid response network that has continued to grow and adapt since ICE became a consistent oppressor on our streets under the current federal administration. We have grown our role with the FSN from 3 operators to 21, most of whom are also directly impacted and long term members of OCAD. Through the FSN hotline, we support families with resources, guidance and gathering the necessary information needed to refer to the MIDA network of seven local legal aid firms to take on the case pro bono. Since the current federal administration started we have referred over 1,363 individuals to pro bono legal aid support. https://www.organizedcommunities.org/

ONE NORTHSIDE

ONE Northside is a mixed-income, multi-ethnic, intergenerational organization that unites our diverse communities in Rogers Park, Edgewater, Uptown, Ravenswood, North Center, Lake View, and Lincoln Park. We build collective power to eliminate injustice through bold and innovative community organizing. We accomplish this through developing grassroots leaders and acting together to effect change. We believe that those affected by the issues in the community are best equipped to come together and develop solutions, create action strategies, then lead those strategies. Our grassroots leaders work on issues including housing justice, budgets and democracy, police accountability and community safety, and environmental justice.

NEIGHBORGOOD

The NeighborGood is a Northside Chicago community group focused on building connections through mutual aid, shared meals, and neighborhood activism. We aim to partner with existing nonprofits to highlight their work and to raise awareness and donations to support their missions. This year we have partnered with organizations like The Friendship Center, Common Pantry, ICIRR, Care for Real, Refugee Support Chicago, and Operation Swing State. https://theneighborgood.org/#about

Send grassroots activists to the Benefit!

This year, we are asking donors to add just a little bit to their ticket purchase so that we can invite grassroots activists who might not otherwise have the financial resources to attend. Please see the bottom ticket option, “Send grassroots activist(s) to the Fall Benefit” – and choose a level of support.

Reserve your spot now!

Please direct any questions about the Fall Benefit to capa@chipeaceaction.org

CONTACT US

If you would like more information about CAPA, or would like to volunteer or intern for CAPA, please contact us by email or phone.

Reach Us

EMAIL: capa@chipeaceaction.org

PHONE: (224) 645-1203

ADDRESS: 535 Custer Ave-A1 Evanston, IL 60202