Kathy Kelly, founder of Voices in the Wilderness, will speak about her experiences in Iraq at 7:30 p.m. today at the Holmes Student Center’s Heritage Room.

Her appearance is sponsored by the DeKalb Interfaith Network for Peace and Justice and NIU’s Northern Coalition for Peace and Justice.

Kelly started Voices in the Wilderness in 1996. According to the group’s Web site, its purpose is to campaign to end economic and military warfare against the Iraqi people. The organization advocates non-violence as a means for social change. Since 1996, Voices in the Wilderness has sent its members on 70 peace missions to Iraq.

Kelly has been teaching in high schools and community colleges throughout Chicagoland since 1974. She has refused payment of all federal income taxes for the past 23 years to protest war taxes and the funding of military action. She has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize three times — in 2000, 2001 and 2003.

Kelly came to NIU last year and spoke about her experiences in Iraq, said Cele Meyer, a member of the DeKalb Interfaith Network. She was met with a fairly large audience, and officials had to open two rooms at the student center to accommodate the crowd that came to see her.

“Anyone that goes to see her speak is so moved by her performance,” Meyer said. “She really brings the message home.”

Meyer also said that when Kelly speaks, it should give the crowd an up-to-date account of what’s happening in Iraq. According to a press release, Kelly will speak about her time before, during and after the war in Iraq.

A Chicago native, Kelly has made 20 trips to Iraq since January 1996. On these trips, she and other members of Voices in the Wilderness delivered medical supplies to Iraqi civilians and toys to children in hospitals. Kelly was a member of the Iraq Peace Team, as well as the Gulf Peace Team during the Gulf War. She also has helped organize and has participated in non-violent protests in Haiti and Bosnia.