“Creating a More Welcoming and Caring Community at BES”

Following her platform in November 2013 on young adult engagement in Ethical Culture, Liz Collier returns to closely examine two characteristics young adults look for in humanist groups such as BES. How well we express our Ethical Culture identity to visitors, and how welcoming we are to those visitors’ differences will largely determine how successful we are at gaining more young adult members. This interactive platform will give each person a chance to practice how they describe Ethical Culture and BES to their friends. It will also examine how everyone at BES can create a more welcoming and caring community towards each other and the rest of the world.

Elizabeth Collier was raised in Ethical Culture at the Ethical Society of Northern Westchester. She was a founding member of the Future of Ethical Societies, a group for young adults to stay connected to Ethical Culture. She attended Barnard College, where she studied music and flute performance. Elizabeth is currently a Fellow of the American Ethical Union, researching what will attract young adults and future generations to Ethical Culture. As part of her research this year, she is working directly with BES to experiment with young adult outreach. Elizabeth resides in New Jersey with her husband and baby.