Our Mission

​The International Center for Labor, Social and Spiritual Activism (ICLSSA) is part of a global spiritual movement to bring community, love, peace, and oneness on the planet earth. The ICLSSA works in cooperation with other spiritually conscious beings, organizing and facilitating social justice forums, conferences, workshops and classes that seek to raise the consciousness of the collective population. The ICLSSA is a sacred commitment to help assist spiritual beings to think, celebrate, appreciate and practice the Science of Spirituality by embracing their uniqueness, their passion and their purpose on the planet.

Rev. Ann Lister

Co-Founder

Rev. Ann Kathryn Lister is a professionally trained clinical chaplain who completed her residency at Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center in Houston, Texas.  She is currently a part-time chaplain at Crossroads Hospice. Rev. Ann and her husband, Rev. Ronnie Lister are founders of The International Center for Labor, Social and Spiritual Activism (ICLSSA), a 501c3 nonprofit organization located in Houston, Texas.  The International Center for Labor, Social and Spiritual Activism (ICLSSA) is part of a global spiritual movement to bring community, love, peace, and oneness on the planet earth. The ICLSSA works in cooperation with other spiritually conscious beings, organizing and facilitating social justice forums, conferences, workshops and classes that seek to raise the consciousness of the collective population. The ICLSSA is a sacred commitment to help assist spiritual beings to think, celebrate, appreciate and practice the Science of Spirituality by embracing their uniqueness, their passion and their purpose on the planet.
​Rev. Ann also serves on the Candler Black Alumni Caucus. Before founding the ICLSSA, Rev. Ann was Deputy Regional Director for Enroll America, a nonprofit, non-partisan organization founded in 2010 to bring awareness to affordable healthcare options under the  Affordable Care Act Bill (ACA). Before joining Enroll America, Rev. Ann was a Senior Case Manager at the Jane Cizik Garden Place, a sober living apartment complex owned by The Women’s Home of Houston. 
In 2010, Rev. Ann received her Master of Divinity from Emory University’s Candler School of Theology in Atlanta, Georgia. Her area of concentration was Race and Religion. While attending Candler, Rev. Ann served as Vice President of the Black Student Caucus, and participated in a campus wide project titled, “Transforming a Community” which involved monthly racial dialogues with peers. In 2007, at the age of 53 Rev. Ann graduated Cum Laude from Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English. Rev. Ann was the “Voice of Spelman,” from 2005-2006, serving as a sports announcer, and officiant at various Spelman events.          
Before pursuing her formal education, Rev. Ann was employed by Continental Airlines in Houston, Texas where she served in many roles, including Baggage Resolution Agent, Secretary to the Director of the Training Department, New Hire Orientation Facilitator, Ticket Agent, Employee Travel Clerk, and Reservation Agent. Rev. Ann accepted an early-retirement offer from Continental Airlines in 1997.  
Rev. Ann’s other accomplishments include vocational training at Columbia School of Broadcasting and Licensed Chemical Dependency Counseling.  In the early 80’s and 90’s, Minister Ann was employed as a part-time radio announcer at KCOH, KYOK (AM) and KHYS (FM), Radio Stations in Houston, Texas.  Additionally, Rev. Ann was employed as a Counselor Intern at the Patrician Movement Outpatient Drug Treatment Facility and Client Advocate at BEAT AIDS (Black Effort Against the Threat of AIDS), in San Antonio, Texas. 
Rev. Ann’s volunteer work includes: Spiritual Director for KAIROS Outside, an International Prison Ministry that sponsors weekend retreats for women whose loved ones are incarcerated; Mentoring women for Living Forward Alliance, a non-profit organization serving the women at the WHO-A, (Women Helping Each Other in Atascocita) a jail facility where women are court ordered for drug and alcohol treatment; the Ignatian Spirituality Project, a weekend retreat for women and men in recovery; and Fort Bend County Women’s Center for survivors of domestic violence. 
While Rev. Ann did not  acknowledge her call into the ministry until 2007, she has always known that she was called to serve God’s people.

Rev. Ron Lister

Co-Founder

Reverend Ronnie C. Lister holds a Master of Arts in Theology from Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, CA in 1999, and officially in 2004 and an Honorary Doctorate from The Guadalupe Theological Seminary in San Antonio, TX. In 1999.
​Accomplishments 2015-2018

• January 2015 (Austin, Texas) - Texas Muslim Capitol Day – Speaker
• January 2015 (Austin, Texas) - State Immigrant Rights Protest Rally – Panel Discussion
• Organized periodic Interfaith Spiritual Dialogues at the Islamic Education Center, during months of March-September in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 
• 2015 – Interfaith Leader’s Panel Discussion at the Reformed Judaism Synagogue 
• Collaboration with Fey Justica as an organizer for the Fight for Fifteen and Comprehensive Immigration Justice Reform.
• LGBTQ Human Rights 
• Keynote Speaker: The International Latin American Social Justice Conference, Monterrey, Mexico.  11/2017
• Keynote Speaker: The National Palestinian Liberation Conference, San Francisco, CA.  12/2017 
• Collaborated with diverse religious communities to pass the anti-theft ordinance in the City of Houston which protects City workers from wage theft and holds companies and corporations legally responsible for wage theft.  

Awards and Recognition

• 2012 - Received the Gandhi Peace Award from the Gandhi Center for Peace
• 2014 - The CAIR (Council on American and Islamic Relations) Ester L. King Bridge Building Award for creating relationships beyond race, class and religious barriers.
• 2015 - Received the Fey Justica Workers Center Community Ally Award for being an advocate and a voice for economic justice for undocumented and documented immigrants

Martha Ojeda

Senior National Field Organizer (IJW)

Martha Ojeda is the Senior National Field Organizer, in the Interfaith Workers Justice (IWJ), which is a national network of 62 worker centers and interfaith organizations.  Martha has been leading the capacity building programs and the campaigns since 2015. She provides technical assistance and leadership trainings to the affiliates, conducts workshops, develops popular education materials, and builds alliances with government agencies, faith, labor, and community allies. Under her leadership health and safety, gender inequality and sexual violence have been major topics of various programs.
Martha Ojeda worked for 20 years in the maquiladora industry (sweatshops), in the industrialization program of Mexico that became NAFTA. In April of 1994, Martha led the Sony workers’ strike to improve working conditions. The workers were beaten and brutally repressed by police forces. The Sony workers’ case was the first case brought against the government of Mexico under the Side Agreements for Labor Cooperation of NAFTA. Martha became the Executive Director of the Coalition for Justice in the Maquiladoras (CJM) for almost sixteen years. 
As the Executive Director of the International Coalition for Justice in the Maquiladoras (CJM), Martha led many cross-borders organizing campaigns. Martha also was a pioneer in organizing tri-national train-the-trainers workshops for sweatshop workers with the collaboration of UCLA, Canadian Auto Workers, and the CILAS research center in Mexico. 
Under her leadership, CJM presented the first international complaint on health and safety under NAFTA side agreements due to the severe chemicals’ exposure and children with birth defects. Also, CJM submitted several international complaints about labor rights violations under the NAFTA side agreements and at the ILO.
Martha wrote the health and safety popular education booklet, a powerful tool for organizing in the sweatshops. Also, the book NAFTA from Below, which highlight the social impact of free trade from workers and indigenous people perspective.
In 2012, Martha joined the staff of Fe y Justicia Workers Center (FJWC) in Houston, TX, where she became the Executive Director after winning the first anti-wage theft ordinance for the City of Houston. 
Martha has a law degree from The University of Mexico. She has received numerous awards, among them, the Tony Mazzocchi Award from the American Public Health Association Occupational Health Division (2017), the Emilio Krieger Award, from the Democratic Lawyers Association, Mexico City (2007), the Paradox Award, Tide Foundation (2001), Petra Foundation (2000), and the Quality of Life Champion Public Service Award, San Antonio, TX (1997).