November 2025
Hello Mindbridge community,
November is shaping up to be an exciting and full season for the Mindbridge Team! As our Community Conversation series continues to grow within the Healing Racial Trauma Initiative, we’re hosting two special events this month! Whether you’re interested in exploring algorithms, echo chambers, and individualism with the Mindbridge Institute, or you want to strengthen your activism with practical, science-based tools, there’s something for everyone this month.
As we look ahead to Mindbridge’s 10-year anniversary, we’re thrilled to announce the launch of our very first Annual Fund Campaign. Thanks to the generosity of a new donor, every dollar contributed will be matched, helping us reach our $10K goal. Between now and December 31st, your support will go twice as far in fueling real, lasting change.
Thank you for being part of the journey alongside us.
Onward!
The Mindbridge Team
I Am A Human Rights Defender
Sandy Skelaney
Human rights defenders seek the promotion and protection of civil and political rights
as well as the promotion, protection and realization of economic, social + cultural rights.
- OHCHR
Sandy Skelaney is a nationally recognized public sector innovator, distinguished educator, and TEDx speaker with over two decades of experience leading cutting-edge initiatives at the intersection of technology, public policy, and victim advocacy. A trailblazer in the anti-human trafficking movement, Sandy built and scaled Florida’s first mental health and multidisciplinary response to child sex trafficking that has informed national best practices and legislation. Her early recognition of technology’s dual role—as both a tool of exploitation and a vehicle for empowerment—sparked her transition into the emerging tech policy and innovation landscape.
As Chief Operating Officer and Head of Partnerships at the @TheParasolCooperative, Sandy bridges the worlds of nonprofit leadership and frontier technology to develop mission-driven and survivor-centered tech solutions that support people navigating crisis and abuse. She brings deep expertise in trauma-informed systems to advance Parasol’s work, building ethical, scalable technologies that are safe by design and promote human agency and dignity. Sandy is also an Adjunct Professor and Doctoral Candidate in Public Affairs at @FIU researching tech policy and public sector applications.
“The fight for human rights and dignity doesn’t end - it evolves and becomes more complex. Each new challenge fuels me, inspires me, and strengthens my commitment to building a safer future for humanity. We need more people in the forefront, embracing emerging technology and building #Tech2Protect.”
I Am A Human Rights Defender
Carrie Feit
Human rights defenders seek the promotion and protection of civil and political rights
as well as the promotion, protection and realization of economic, social + cultural rights.
- OHCHR
After 15 years in her own litigation practice in which she zealously represented her clients in their disability claims against insurance companies, Carrie Feit is in "the job of her lifetime" as a Senior Attorney at the Community Justice Project.
A founding board member of Women’s March Florida in 2016, Carrie’s activism led to her commitment to movement and people-powered systems and policy change. In 2023, she found her way to the Community Justice Project (CJP), a movement lawyering shop that supports grassroots organizing for racial justice and human rights across the state of Florida. At CJP, Carrie helped build a county-funded Eviction Diversion Program in partnership with Miami Workers Center and Legal Services of Greater Miami (LSGMI) to prevent the displacement of our neighbors through education of the eviction process and representation in court. For the last year and a half, Carrie and her LSGMI co-counsel have been litigating the attempted closure of a mobile home park in which they have prevented displacement of approximately 90 households.
Carrie is committed to LGBTQ youth and the protection of trans kids and currently serves as the V.P. of Legislation and Policy on Florida's Kaleidoscope PTA. Outside of lawyering, Carrie is a professional portrait and resistance photographer, as well as a proud mama of a 10th grader and college sophomore and two loving lab shepherds.
Carrie was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, and has lived in Miami for the nearly 25 years she has been practicing law. She is committed to the loving and resilient South Florida communities with which she stands.
“This is an outstanding contribution to the gun debate. Writing with grace, elegance, and the unique authority of a psychologist, Hyde brings hope and light to America’s enduring problem of gun violence”
“Changing hearts and minds requires humbleness, empathy, and understanding. It requires that we maintain our optimism about other people and their ability to evolve and change.”
Happenings & Events
Upcoming Days of Observance:
11/1: Native American Heritage Month
Native American Heritage Month reminds us to honor the resilience, cultures, and contributions of our nation’s indigenous tribes and communities. Indigenous History is American history, and it goes back long before 1776. Together, we must continue to amplify their voices, acknowledge their struggles, and advocate for justice and equality.
11/6: Day for Preventing Exploitation of Environment in War & Armed Conflict
The 6th of November recognizes the ways in which our natural environment is impacted by conflict. Alarmingly, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has found that over the last 60 years, at least 40% of all internal conflicts have been linked to the exploitation of natural resources. As the UN acknowledges, there can be no durable peace if the natural resources that sustain livelihoods and ecosystems are destroyed.
11/10: World Science Day for Peace & Development
As the nation’s leading non-profit using brain and behavioral science to empower human rights defenders, we understand the ways in which science can aid peacebuilding. Every 10th of November, the UN celebrates World Science Day for Peace and Development to highlight the need to engage the wider public in debates on emerging scientific issues. In August 2023, the UN General Assembly declared 2024–2033 as the International Decade of Sciences for Sustainable Development!
11/11: Veterans Day
Veteran’s Day reminds us that true patriotism includes accountability for injustice and standing up for the human rights of all. This year, let’s continue to celebrate those who have only served their country by championing human rights and dignity for all people.
For example, Veterans for American Ideals (VFAI) is a coalition of thousands of veterans and allies who continue their service to America by upholding, defending, and advocating for human rights at home and abroad.
11/13: World Kindness Day
Celebrated every November 13th, World Kindness Day acknowledges that kindness is a powerful force when protecting and advocating for human rights. Did you know that engaging in acts of kindness (a form of prosocial behavior) toward others and ourselves have been shown to increase personal well-being, self-confidence, and our sense of meaning in life, according to a social psychology research article from 2019? Every small act of compassion can help uplift those in need and promote a more just world.
11/20: Universal Children’s Day
Since 1954, Universal Children's Day has been celebrated on November 20th as a way to promote international solidarity as well as awareness for UNICEF’s mission to improve the lives of children worldwide. To support this mission, the UN General Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child in 1959, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989.
11/25: International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women
On November 25th, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women reminds us that healing starts with understanding. The psychological effects of gender-based violence are profound but together, we can support recovery and change societal norms. We must continue advocating for a world free from violence regardless of gender identity or biological sex.
11/27: Thanksgiving / National Day of Mourning
The fourth Thursday of November is often celebrated as a time of gratitude, community, and shared meals. For some, Thanksgiving Day is also a reminder of the profound impacts colonization has had on Indigenous tribes - from genocide, loss of land, and cultural erasure. The United American Indians of New England (UAINE) remarks: “It is a day of remembrance and spiritual connection, as well as a protest against the racism and oppression that Indigenous people continue to experience worldwide”.
11/29 International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People
Every November 29th, the UN marks the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, recognizing the anniversary of the 1947 partition of Palestine. Last year, the UN honored this day with the exhibit "Gaza, Palestine: A Crisis of Our Humanity” at its General Assembly Building.
This past September, a UN commission of inquiry found reasonable grounds to conclude that four of the five acts of genocide defined under international law have been committed against the Palestinian people by the State of Israel. Since October 2023, Gaza’s Health Ministry estimates over 67,000 people have been killed and nearly 170,000 wounded by Israeli attacks - figures deemed credible by the UN.
This day should not only stand as a symbol of solidarity, but also as a call to action: for an immediate ceasefire, accountability for war crimes under international law, and for urgent humanitarian aid access to the people of Gaza.
