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Scarritt Bennett Radical Change Banquet: Journey Inward . Journey Outward Toward Hope Peace and Justice
The Scarritt Bennett Center proudly announces the Radical Change Banquet, an annual celebration honoring community leaders and organizations who cocreate a more just world.
The event recognizes those who embody the Center’s tenets of women’s empowerment, racial justice, spiritual formation, and transformative education through the prestigious Tower of Justice Awards.
This year’s theme of Journey Inward, Journey Outward: Towards Hope, Peace & Justice invites reflection and action, encouraging all to journey both inward and outward in pursuit of hope, peace, and justice.
The Radical Change Banquet will be held in the Laskey Great Hall on the campus of Scarritt Bennett Center. The doors of the Great Hall will open at 6 pm and the program will begin at 7 pm.
Ashley Judd Meet & Greet!
We are offering a special opportunity to have a Meet & Greet with Ashley Judd before the Radical Hospitality Banquet, from 6 – 6:30 pm in Bennett Hall, October 16. If you purchase a VIP ticket for $250 and enjoy a moment with Ashley Judd before going to the Banquet. Light refreshments, live music will accompany
VIP Meet & Greet with Ashley Judd & Banquet Ticket $250.
Banquet Ticket $150 . Tables $1,000
Reserve your spot here!
For more information and sponsorship opportunities, please contact Jenean Davis, Director of Sales & Development, jdavis@scarrittbennett.org.
Ashley Judd to Keynote Radical Change Banquet on October 16
Scarritt Bennett Center is excited to announce that Ashley Judd has agreed to be the Keynote speaker for our Radical Change Banquet on Thursday, October 16.
Judd is an American Feminist Social Justice Humanitarian, author, and actor. Her first film, Ruby in Paradise, in 1993, was awarded the Sundance Film Festival’s Grand Jury Prize. Her decades-long film and Broadway career stems from her roots in eastern Kentucky and Middle Tennessee. She is the Global Goodwill Ambassador to the United Nations Agency for Sexual and Reproductive Health & Rights, & is a Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School of Government’s Women and Public Policy Program for the second time.
“My Mamaw was Methodist. Church with her is one of my most precious childhood memories, and she formed my ethics. Jesus’ stories daily inform and sustain my own sense of self and global care,” said Ashley Judd. “Whether I am in a brothel or in nature, contemplation and action (when I am at my best), shape how I show up in healing, growth, mercy, justice, and most of all, hope.”
The 2025 Tower of Justice Awards will be presented during Scarritt Bennett Center’s Radical Change Banquet on October 16, 2025. The awards honor outstanding community leaders and organizations that cocreate justice by embodying the tenants of Scarritt Bennett: Women’s Empowerment . Racial Justice . Spiritual Formation . Transformative Education
This year’s theme of Journey Inward, Journey Outward: Towards Hope, Peace & Justice invites reflection and action, encouraging all to journey both inward and outward in pursuit of hope, peace, and justice.
Tower of Justice Honorees
Creative Girls Rock – Transformative Education
Rev. Ingrid McIntyre – Women’s Empowerment
Rev. Edwin C. Sanders, II – Spiritual Formation
Tennessee Immigration and Refugee Rights Coalition – Racial Justice
These honorees exemplify the spirit of radical change and inspire our community to continue the work of justice and transformation.
Rev. Ingrid McIntrye
Ingrid has done boots on the ground justice work for the last twenty-five years. Beginning her career working for Habitat for Humanity through AmeriCorps, Ingrid’s career has been rooted in dignified care for all.
Earning her Bachelor of Science in Communication Studies at the University of Evansville, she learned the transformational and uplifting power of words. She has since honed that skill as a public speaker, preacher, grassroots organizer, and heartfelt advocate. Following her graduation from the University of Evansville, Ingrid attended the Wesley Theological Seminary.
The daughter of a United Methodist pastor, Ingrid grew up in the church. Through her lifelong commitment to the church, she has seen firsthand the transformative power of Beloved Community and has made it her mission to intentionally and proactively expand God’s love to all.
As a native Nashvillian, Ingrid is deeply rooted in the Nashville community. Following the May 2010 flood, Ingrid left her position at GBHEM to advocate for the marginalized Nashvillians affected most by the disaster.
In June 2011, Ingrid co-founded Open Table Nashville as an interfaith homeless outreach nonprofit, which disrupts cycles of poverty, journeys with the marginalized, and advocates through education. Ingrid served as Executive Director for just under a decade, organizing and supporting hundreds of friends living on the streets in tackling cycles of poverty and transitioning into permanent housing solutions.
Throughout her decade of radical justice work with Open Table Nashville, Ingrid developed deep relationships with persons experiencing homelessness across the city, advocating with them for their rights, obtaining supportive services and resources for sustained care, and officiating weddings and their funerals. Practicing ministry in relationships which celebrate and affirm those most impacted as innately whole, beloved human beings, and which center them as the experts of the ministry, called her further into addressing the gaping holes in the continuum of care.
In her next step in a lifelong commitment to advocating for permanent housing for those deprived of it by gentrification and greed rather than genuine community restoration, Ingrid visioned and led years of community and congregational collaborations and partnerships to bring to life The Village at Glencliff. The Village provides a dignified, loving, and hospitable medical respite and bridge housing for the most vulnerable friends experiencing homelessness in Nashville. The hope is to meet each individual’s most basic needs so that they are empowered to focus on healing and permanent supportive housing.
Ingrid presently serves as a Pastor in the The Tennessee Western Kentucky United Methodist Conference. She is on staff at both Belmont United Methodist Church and the Lead Pastor at Glencliff United Methodist Church, leading communities in living the Gospel in “Risky Discipleship,” or a faith of courage and action.
TIRRIC
The Tennessee Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC) is a statewide, immigrant and refugee-led collaboration whose mission is to build power, amplify our voices, and organize communities to advocate for our rights in order to build a stronger, more inclusive Tennessee where people of all nationalities, immigration statuses, and racial identities can belong and thrive. Since its founding in 2001, TIRRC has grown from a grassroots network of community leaders into one of the most diverse and effective coalitions of its kind, a model for emerging immigrant rights organizations in the Southeast and throughout the United States.
The Reverend Edwin C. Sanders, II,
The Reverend Edwin C. Sanders, II is the Senior Servant and Founder of Metropolitan Interdenominational Church (established 1981) in Nashville, Tennessee. This congregation attracts a broad cross-section of people with the mission of being “inclusive of all and alienating to none.” Metropolitan has outreach ministries in the areas of substance abuse, advocacy for children, sexual violence, and harm reduction, and since 1984 has provided services to persons infected with, and affected by, HIV/AIDS with the First Response Center being founded in 1992.
Rev. Sanders received the Bachelor of Arts degree in Anthropology from Wesleyan University in 1969. His professional life began as Co-Director of Wesleyan’s African American Institute. He later served on the Wesleyan University Board of Trustees; in 2014, received the Wesleyan University Distinguished Alumnus Award; and, in 2019, was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree. He pursued graduate studies at Yale University and Vanderbilt University Divinity Schools.
In Nashville, Tennessee, Rev. Sanders has served as Pastoral Counselor for the Meharry Medical College Alcohol and Drug Abuse Program, Director of the Southern Prison Ministry, and Dean of the Chapel at Fisk University.
Rev. Sanders is an emeritus member of the Board of Directors of the Black AIDS Institute, a member of the Interdenominational Ministers’ Fellowship and the Ryan White Community AIDS Partnership, a life member of the NAACP, and served as a Commissioner for the Tennessee Human Rights Commission. Appointed to the CDC Advisory Committee on HIV and STD Prevention during the Clinton Administration, he served five years on the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS during the Bush Administration. He also served as co-chair of the National Syphilis Elimination Working Group and was involved with the Obama Administration White House Office on AIDS in implementing the National AIDS Strategy. Rev. Sanders presented at the International AIDS Conferences in Switzerland, South Africa, Canada, Austria, the Netherlands and the United States, and at the AIDS Vaccine 2011 Conference in Thailand.
Rev. Sanders serves on the Boards of Directors of The National Minority AIDS Council, The Drug Policy Alliance, and Project Return addressing recidivism and mass incarceration. He is the National Coordinator of Religious Leaders for a More Just and Compassionate Drug Policy. He was the first Chair of the HIV Vaccine Trials Network (HVTN) Legacy Project Advisory Group which is designed to increase the participation of African Americans and Latinos in HIV vaccine studies and is presently an Ambassador for the HVTN. Currently he serves on the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) Scientific Advisory Board, Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary Board of Directors, and is Project Director for COVID-19 Prevention Network (CoVPN) Faith Community Engagement.
Creative Girls Rock
Creative Girls Rock®. Rooted in a profound love for creative arts, youth development, and community engagement, our 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization has blossomed into a catalyst for empowerment and transformation since its establishment in 2017. Our mission is to educate and empower young girls and women to utilize their creative talents to enhance their lives and the world around them.
At the heart of Creative Girls Rock® lies our core program, The CGR Master Class. Tailored specifically for young girls and women aged 6 and up, this platform is crafted to provide a nurturing environment where creativity thrives, self-expression flourishes, and vital life skills are cultivated. From immersive arts and crafts sessions to empowerment workshops, our initiatives transcend geographical boundaries, embracing participants from Nashville to every corner of the globe. Together, we cultivate self-awareness, resilience, and a profound sense of belonging, igniting the flames of creativity and empowerment in all who join our community.
We invite you to embark on this journey with us as we continue to unleash the power of creativity, fostering lasting change in the lives of individuals and communities worldwide. Welcome to a world where dreams take flight and creativity has no limits.
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