Wednesday, March 26th
Tour Date & Time: Wednesday, March 26th 9:00am-4:30pm
We’re thrilled to again offer the East Bay Urban Foodscape Tour in partnership with Bay Area Green Tours—an unforgettable journey through some of the most inspiring food justice and sustainability initiatives in the Bay Area! Hop aboard for a full day of discovery, connection and access to groundbreaking urban farms & social enterprises. The tour price includes round-trip transportation from the Residence Inn Berkeley, expert guides for the day, knowledgeable speakers, and a delicious lunch.
Tour Highlights
- Planting Justice Mother Farm – Explore a thriving ecosystem where formerly incarcerated individuals gain the skills to cultivate food sovereignty, economic justice, and healing.
- Urban Adamah – Immerse yourself in a vibrant farm-based community weaving together Jewish tradition, mindfulness, and sustainable agriculture to create a more just and connected world.
- UC Gill Tract Community Farm – Witness a pioneering model of urban farming that is redefining food justice, research, and equitable food distribution.
- Sogorea Te’ Land Trust – Experience the incredible work of this Indigenous women-led land trust as they restore Indigenous land and stewardship practices.
Join us for this transformational pre-conference tour—a chance to see real solutions in action and connect with the changemakers building a more just and sustainable future.
Reserve your seat today.
Note: A separate $189 fee is required for this event.
March 26th | 9:00 am to 4:30 pm
A film by Sarah Sharkey Pearce and Simon Schneider
Resident Orca tells the unfolding story of a captive whale’s fight for survival and freedom. After decades of failed attempts to bring her home, an unlikely partnership between Indigenous matriarchs, a billionaire philanthropist, killer whale experts, and the aquarium’s new owner take on the impossible task of freeing Lolita, captured 53 years ago as a baby, only to spend the rest of her life performing in the smallest killer whale tank in North American. When Lolita falls ill under troubling circumstances, her advocates are faced with a painful question: Is it too late to save her?
Come join us for a screening of this powerful testimony about what it means to honor all of our relations. After the screening, we will have a Q&A period with Raynell Morris, enrolled Lummi tribal citizen and renowned activist who played a key role in bringing home the southern resident orca (Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut) from the Miami Seaquarium.
There is a $10 screening fee, which you can select when you register.
March 26th | 6:45 pm to 9:00 pm | Goldman Theater, Brower Center
Panelists
Raynell Morris
Events and Gatherings Producer | Children of the Setting Sun Productions
Squi-le-he-le (aka Raynell Morris), a Lhaq’temish matriarch and enrolled Lummi tribal member, is the Events and Gatherings Producer at Children of the Setting Sun Productions and a board member of the Friends of Toki. A former Vice-President of the Sacred Lands Conservancy and Associate Director of Intergovernmental Affairs under President Clinton, Raynell was the first Native American staffer appointed to the White House. She also served as Chief of Staff for the Chairman of the Lummi Nation, and, as Director of Lummi Nation’s Sovereignty and Treaty Protection Office, she was a key strategist in the successful campaign to block a proposal to build North America’s largest coal port terminal on Lhaq’temish (Lummi) sacred ground. Her work for Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut (Toki/Tokitae), the famed orca, and to save her home waters, the Salish Sea, is the subject of the film, Resident Orca, being shown at Bioneers this year.
Thursday, March 27th
This double session (holding space for both a community conversation and a healing circle until 6pm) will provide a brave, safe and respectful space for those who are deeply troubled/impacted by the ongoing crimes against humanity being inflicted on the Palestinian people. We will gather to: share our feelings; process our emotions; engage in deep listening, guided meditation and silent reflection; and practice somatic healing techniques. Our facilitators will be: Ashira Darwish, creator of Active Meditation, a modality focusing on trauma therapy and integration that draws upon her own personal journey of healing from full-body paralysis with a severed spinal cord in 2012; and David Shaw, a founder of Santa Cruz Permaculture, deeply experienced in hosting community conversations on conflict resolution. The session will conclude with a “spoken-word harvest” by Jahan Khalighi.
(Note: this is a double session from 3:00-6:00pm)
March 27th | 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm | Ashby Room, Residence Inn
Panelists
Ashira Darwish
Founder | Catharsis Holistic Healing
Ashira Darwish, who began her career as a journalist in Palestine and then worked for 15 years as TV and Radio journalist and researcher for the BBC, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, is the founder of Catharsis Holistic Healing, a trauma therapy project in Palestine, which uses the Ashira Active Meditation approach that she pioneered to help people suffering from continuous trauma. Her personal journey of healing from full body paralysis with a severed spinal cord in 2012 has given her a deep insight into the process of recovery, allowing her to offer a highly specialized and culturally sensitive approach to trauma healing.
David Shaw
Founder | Santa Cruz Permaculture and the UCSC Right Livelihood College
David Shaw, a whole systems designer, facilitator, educator, and musician, founded Santa Cruz Permaculture and the UCSC Right Livelihood College, a partnership with the “Alternative Nobel Prize.” He supports communities locally and globally to transform their shared future through strategic dialogue and collective action.
Jahan Khalighi
Program Manager | Chapter 510
Jahan Khalighi, a spoken word poet, youth educator and community arts organizer, leads creative writing workshops for personal and collective transformation in a wide range of settings, from juvenile detention centers to classrooms, from community centers to boardrooms. He currently manages programs at Chapter 510, a youth creative writing and publishing program in Oakland, CA. Jahan has performed widely, including at: TEDxSonoma, YBCA, Mission Cultural Center, Bioneers and Esalen; and some of his work has been published in Whoa Nelly Press.
Discover the profound ability of music and movement to inspire resilience, healing, and transformation in this soulful workshop led by Rising Appalachia. Drawing from their acclaimed Folk Choir master class, sisters Leah and Chloe Smith invite you into an immersive exploration of how art and sound can hold space for beauty, hardship and disaster alike. This workshop weaves together community singing, storytelling, and embodied practices to tap into the universal language of music as a means of connection and catharsis. Learn how to use your voice as a tool for personal and collective empowerment, exploring melodies, harmonies, and movement rooted in folk traditions and global rhythms. Together, we will explore how music can be a balm in times of struggle, and a celebration in moments of Joy.
March 27th | 3:00 pm to 4:15 pm | Lotus Cafe, Dharma College
Panelists
Rising Appalachia
Internationally Touring Folk Ensemble
Rising Appalachia, the brainchild of Atlanta-raised sisters Leah Song and Chloe Smith, rooted in the rich musical traditions of their family and region, is an internationally touring folk ensemble with a passionate global following. Eschewing industry norms, they have independently forged their own exemplary, deeply ethical, value-driven path for 16 years, producing seven albums and conducting tours around the world while simultaneously immersing themselves in community-building, cultural exchange programs, and music gathering and sharing everywhere they go. Their most recent album (their first of carefully curated cover songs) is: Folk & Anchor.
Almost immediately following the 2022 introduction of ChatGPT, torrents of articles and news reports unleashed a gamut of responses to a new thing called “generative AI.” The barrage of narratives was contradictory, often sensationalistic, and far from elucidating. In this session, four leading proponents for the careful analysis of radical new technologies will share their expertise and perspectives on this incredibly important and urgent topic. Author and podcaster of “Tech Won’t Save Us,” Paris Marx will discuss how Silicon Valley’s AI obsession is accelerating the push to build hyperscale data centers around the world, which have an insatiable appetite for immoral volumes of energy, water, and resources, and why recent developments from China’s DeepSeek won’t change that. Argentinian anthropologist Soledad Vogliano will explore why having nontransparent “black box” AI determining the management of our food systems and biodiversity is a bad idea. Author, journalist and lawyer Claire Cummings will talk about why AI, like biotechnology, will never be meaningfully regulated and why that matters. And author and co-founder of the Tech Critics Network, Koohan Paik-Mander (who will also host/moderate) will speak about how the plan to deploy AI in government and industry will require an immense national, democracy-killing surveillance/extraction infrastructure.
March 27th | 3:00 pm to 4:15 pm | Freight & Salvage
Panelists
Claire Hope Cummings
Lawyer, Journalist and Author
Claire Hope Cummings is a lawyer, journalist, and author of Uncertain Peril, an award-winning critique of biotechnology and a vision for the future of food and farming. Her work has been widely featured in print, films, public radio and television, and, as a lawyer, she has represented a number of traditional Indigenous groups in defense of their sacred places. Her current work focuses on the complex relationships among natural and cultural systems and spirituality.
Paris Marx
Host | Tech Won't Save Us podcast
Paris Marx, a tech critic and host of the “Tech Won’t Save Us” podcast, also writes the Disconnect newsletter and is the author of Road to Nowhere: What Silicon Valley Gets Wrong about the Future of Transportation. His work has been translated into more than a dozen languages, and he speaks internationally about the politics of technology.
Koohan Paik-Mander
Co-Founder | Tech Critics Network
Koohan Paik-Mander, a journalist, author and peace and environmental activist, is a co-founder of the Tech Critics Network and serves on the board of the Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space. Her articles appear in The Nation, The Progressive, Foreign Policy in Focus, and other publications. Her article “Whales Will Save the World’s Climate — Unless the Military Destroys Them First” was named by Project Censored as one of the top 25 censored stories of 2021-2022. She is also co-author of The Superferry Chronicles: Hawaii’s Uprising Against Militarism, Commercialism and the Desecration of the Earth.
Soledad Vogliano
Program Manager | ETC Group
Soledad Vogliano is an Argentina-based Program Manager at the ETC Group, a small international research and action collective committed to social and environmental justice, human rights and the defense of the web of life. For the last 4 years, she has been developing ETC’s program on Digitalization, coordinating capacity building and strategic outreach locally and internationally. Before ETC, Soledad worked for years with Ecuadorian Indigenous and peasant movements on the defense of territories, biodiversity and rights. Also passionate about agroecological education, she has developed several initiatives for local food production and community-led communications.
Youth justice is experiencing a pendulum swing back to “tough-on-crime” narratives, reinstating a system of rigid responses destructive to young people and communities. Louisiana stands out as a stark example, having become the first state to reinstate archaic laws that punish all 17-year-olds as adults. Biomimicry reminds us that in dark moments, we can thrive by repeating successful strategies, integrating the unexpected, reshuffling information, and letting go of what no longer works; and Restorative Justice has been shown to be an effective strategy for recognizing our interconnectedness and building our capacity for emergence. In this workshop, we will use a restorative justice lens to explore the ways ecological teachings can be applied to youth justice. With: Kristen A. Rome (Executive Director, Louisiana Center for Children’s Rights); Cymone Fuller (Senior Director, Restorative Justice, Equal Justice USA) and Ghani Songster, Transformative Healing & Restorative Justice Manager for the Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth (CFSY).
March 27th | 3:00 pm to 4:15 pm | Skillful Means Center, Dharma College
Panelists
Cymone Fuller
Senior Director, Restorative Justice | Equal Justice USA
Cymone Fuller, who began her career as a community organizer and spent many years focused on systemic reforms in the youth criminal justice legal system, currently serves as the Senior Director of Restorative Justice at Equal Justice USA, where she supports the spread of community-held restorative justice diversion initiatives across the country.
Kristen Rome
Executive Director | Louisiana Center for Children's Rights
Kristen Rome, JD, a Louisiana-based attorney, doula, and writer, currently serves as Executive Director of the Louisiana Center for Children’s Rights, a client-centered nonprofit law office that represents youth in the juvenile and criminal legal systems. A proud native of New Orleans and a graduate of Spelman College in Atlanta, Kristen received her Juris Doctor from Loyola University of New Orleans’ College of Law. (lakidsrights.org)
Ghani Songster
Transformative Healing & Restorative Justice Manager | Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth (CFSY)
Kempis ‘Ghani’ Songster who spent 30 years in prison starting at age 15, is the Transformative Healing & Restorative Justice Manager for the Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth (CFSY), which seeks to: “Catalyze the just and equitable treatment of children in the United States by demanding a ban on life without parole and other extreme sentences for children…and create opportunities for formerly incarcerated youth to thrive as adults and lead in their communities.” A founding member of Right to Redemption, the Redemption Project, and the Coalition to Abolish Death by Incarceration (CADBI), as well as a co-founder and director of Ubuntu Philadelphia, Ghani has emerged, since his release in 2017, as an outspoken voice in Philadelphia’s movement to create transformative, restorative responses to harm and violence, including as leader of Philadelphia’s first Restorative Justice Diversion program for youth, Healing Futures.
Haudenosaunee Chief, Oren Lyons (Joagquisho) and Taino Elder, José Barreiro (Hatuey), in a conversation moderated by Baratunde Thurston, will discuss the Indigenous roots of American democracy, the legacy of Haudenosaunee diplomacy, and the global resurgence of indigeneity and its first principles of self-governance. This won’t merely be a look back, but a look forward. In a moment of severe climate and democracy crises, those who hold wisdom about how to live together and with the natural world are being sought out more than ever. Rarely have voices as powerful as Lyons and Barreiro been in public conversation, and never under today’s circumstances. With urgency, perspective, and dashes of humor and hope, this session is sure to provoke and inspire.
Note: This session will be filmed and released post-conference.
March 27th | 3:00 pm to 4:15 pm | Berkeley Ballroom, Residence Inn
Panelists
Oren Lyons
Member Chief | Onondaga Council of Chiefs
Oren Lyons, a Faithkeeper of the Turtle Clan who serves as a Member Chief of the Onondaga Council of Chiefs and the Grand Council of the Iroquois Confederacy (i.e. the Haudenosaunee peoples), is an accomplished artist, social and environmental activist, and author; a Professor Emeritus at SUNY Buffalo; a leading voice at the UN Permanent Forum on Human Rights for Indigenous Peoples; and the recipient of many prestigious national and international prizes including The UN NGO World Peace Prize. Oren also serves on the boards of several major nonprofit organizations and social enterprises; is founder and Principal of One Bowl Productions, a purpose driven film and TV production company; and is an All-American Lacrosse Hall of Famer and Honorary Chairman of the Iroquois Nationals Lacrosse Team.
Baratunde Thurston
Writer, Producer, Proud Earthling
Baratunde Thurston, a writer, communicator and Emmy-nominated host and Executive Producer of the PBS TV series America Outdoors, and creator and host of the How To Citizen podcast, is also a founding partner and writer at Puck. His newest creation is Life With Machines, a YouTube podcast focusing on the human side of the A.I. revolution. Author of the bestselling comedic memoir, How To Be Black, Baratunde also serves on the boards of Civics Unplugged and the Brooklyn Public Library and lives in Southern California. (baratunde.com)
José Barreiro
Author and Activist
Jose Barreiro (Hatuey), an author and activist, is a Taino elder and a journalist who has covered Indian Country issues and themes for four decades. Among many other achievements, Barreiro directed several major multi-year exhibitions at the Smithsonian-National Museum of the American Indian between 2006 and 2017, including: "Taino: Native Heritage and Identity in the Caribbean," and “The Great Inka Road: Engineering an Empire." A resident of Akwesasne Mohawk Nation, Barreiro retired from the Smithsonian Institution, as a Scholar Emeritus, in 2017, but serves as an advisor to several Indigenous community projects in Guatemala, Cuba and Peru.
In this session, several leading activists and advocates for tropical forests and the Indigenous people who inhabit them (and are usually their best stewards and protectors), will share their perspectives on the current status of these threatened ecosystems that are among the most biodiverse and critically important in maintaining the biosphere’s climatic stability. They will also share their ongoing campaigns, successes, and strategies going forward, including in the lead-up to the fall 2025 COP 30 meetings in Belém, Brazil (the closest major city to the mouth of the Amazon). With: Leila Salazar-López, Executive Director of Amazon Watch; Jettie Word, Executive Director of the Borneo Project; Ginger Cassady, Executive Director of the Rainforest Action Network. Moderated/hosted by: Rhett Butler, founder of Mongabay, the exemplary conservation and environmental science news platform.
March 27th | 3:00 pm to 4:15 pm | Goldman Theater, Brower Center
Panelists
Leila Salazar-López
Executive Director | Amazon Watch
Leila Salazar-López has worked for 25+ years to defend the world’s rainforests, human rights and climate through grassroots organizing and international advocacy campaigns. She has been the Executive Director of Amazon Watch since 2015, leading that organization’s work to protect and defend the bio-cultural and climate integrity of the Amazon rainforest in solidarity with Indigenous and forest peoples.
Rhett Butler
Founder and CEO | Mongabay
Rhett Ayers Butler is the founder and CEO of Mongabay, a non-profit news organization that covers issues at the intersection of people and nature via a network of about 1,000 journalists in more than 80 countries. Beyond Mongabay, Rhett has advised a range of organizations and institutions, while his writing and photography have appeared in hundreds of publications. Rhett's work has been recognized with the Heinz Award and the Parker/Gentry Award, among other honors.
Jettie Word
Director | The Borneo Project
Jettie Word has dedicated her career to empowering rural communities globally, advocating for environmental justice and addressing threats to livelihoods and resources. Since 2014, she has led The Borneo Project, which works to advance Indigenous managed forest protection in Sarawak. Previously, she worked with the Oakland Institute, supporting community-driven land rights campaigns in Papua New Guinea and Senegal. She began her journey in social justice at a community education program in Yaoundé, Cameroon.
Ginger Cassady
Executive Director | Rainforest Action Network
Ginger Cassady, Executive Director of Rainforest Action Network (RAN) and board member of Amazon Frontlines, has, for more than 25 years, been a leader at the intersection of environmental and social justice, leading global campaigns to hold some of the world’s largest corporations and financial institutions accountable for their impact on communities, human rights and our planet. Her vision and drive have scaled innovative philanthropic initiatives — such as RAN’s Community Action Grants, providing core funding for Indigenous and frontline communities — to create transformational, systemic positive social change.
Let’s get serious. Life is a carnival and people sure is strange. Human folly is bottomless, and in this moment of existential climate dread, laughter is good medicine. When the Empire has no clothes, it’s open season on paradigm-busting and retiring tired old archetypes. Join this irreverent circle of satirists directing gallows humor toward a habitable, glutton-free world. Stand-up for your rights… Hosted by Andrew Slack, actor/comedian and co-founder of the Harry Potter Alliance. With author, humorist, and climate activist Andrew Boyd; Staci Roberts-Steele, Managing Director of Yellow Dot Studios; another panelist TBA.
March 27th | 4:45 pm to 6:00 pm | Goldman Theater, Brower Center
Panelists
Andrew Slack
Co-Founder | The Harry Potter Alliance
Andrew Slack is a narrative strategist and former sketch comedian whose campaigns have mobilized a number of celebrities, including Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, and Meryl Streep, to advance pro-democracy, climate, and Indigenous rights efforts globally. A co-founder of the Harry Potter Alliance (for which he was named an Ashoka Fellow), Andrew inspired 1 million+ fans to become first-time activists. His work has driven international action, influencing heads of state and legislative bodies to address some of the most pressing issues of our time. His videos, including Save Santa’s Home, based on a children’s book he co-authored about the climate crisis, have garnered 100 million+ views.
Andrew Boyd
Co-Founder and Chief Existential Officer | The Climate Clock
Andrew Boyd, an author, humorist, and climate activist, is co-founder and CEO (Chief Existential Officer) of the Climate Clock, a global campaign that melds art, science, technology, and grassroots organizing to get the world to #ActInTime. Boyd also co-created the grief-storytelling ritual the Climate Ribbon; founded the art-activist toolbox Beautiful Trouble; and led the 2000s-era satirical campaign “Billionaires for Bush.” His most recent book is I Want a Better Catastrophe: Navigating the Climate Crisis with Grief, Hope and Gallows Humor.
Staci Roberts-Steele
Managing Director | Yellow Dot Studios
Staci Roberts-Steele is the Managing Director of Yellow Dot Studios, a non-profit media studio founded by Academy Award-winning writer, director, and producer Adam McKay that seeks to raise awareness and mobilize action on the climate emergency by creating entertaining, memorable, and scientifically accurate digital media and videos that challenge the decades of disinformation pushed by big oil. Previously Co-Producer at Hyperobject Industries, Staci has also acted in many shows including Parks and Recreation, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, 90210, and in the film Vice as well as produced numerous political and comedy videos at Funny or Die.
How do we resist systemic violence while working towards a world where everyone belongs and we can uphold the dignity of every individual? The legacy of nonviolence provides us a way to not only fix issues (pass legislation, change systems), but also to repair relationships (heal trauma, strengthen community). In this interactive workshop, we will seek to learn from the teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the organizing strategy of the Civil Rights Movement. With: Kazu Haga, a trainer and practitioner with over 25 years’ experience in nonviolence and social change work, author of Healing Resistance: A Radically Different Response to Harm.
March 27th | 4:45 pm to 6:00 pm | Tamalpais Room, Brower Center
Panelists
Kazu Haga
Author, Trainer, Practitioner
Kazu Haga, a trainer and practitioner of nonviolence and restorative justice who works with incarcerated people, youth, and activists from around the country and has over 25 years’ experience in nonviolence and social change work, is a core member of Building Belonging, the Ahimsa Collective, and the Fierce Vulnerability Network. Kazu is also a Jam facilitator and the author of Healing Resistance: A Radically Different Response to Harm. He and his family are residents of the Canticle Farm community on Lisjan Ohlone land, Oakland, CA.
An immersive and poetic film centered on iconic shaman Davi Kopenawa and the Yanomami community of Watoriki in the Brazilian rainforest, based on the book co-authored by Davi Kopenawa and anthropologist Bruce Albert, invites us to participate in the sacred ritual of Reahu, and challenges all of us in the industrialized world whose economic structures exploit nature for financial gain to rebel against the damage wrought by predatory extractive industries on the Amazon rainforest. Directed by Eryk Rocha and Gabriela Carneiro da Cunha. (Running time: 110 minutes)
March 27th | 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm | Goldman Theater, Brower Center
Friday, March 28th
The BIPOCC Youth Caucus is a safe and brave open forum where youth of color have an opportunity to listen to one another and share the real issues that come with holding their identities in social and environmental movements as well as in the world at large. Facilitators will help youth deal with their struggles and aspirations and have an opportunity to move toward healing. Facilitated by Brandi Mack, Minkah Taharkah, and Alondra Aragon.
March 28th | 3:00 pm to 4:15 pm | Tamalpais Room, Brower Center
Panelists
Brandi Mack
Holistic Health Educator
Brandi Mack, a traditional ecological designer with a deep passion for personal growth and community building, is deeply committed to creating a healthier, more sustainable world for future generations. A holistic health educator, therapeutic massage therapist, permaculture designer, living systems thought leader, and mother of three daughters, she has a long track record of facilitating transformative experiences and blending nature-based solutions with mindful practices to foster connection, reflection, and growth.
Alondra Aragon
Member | Hummingbird Farm Collective
Alondra Aragon, a community organizer since she was 15, has dedicated more than a decade working with environmental and youth justice movements. As a member of the Hummingbird Farm collective, she seeks to: create a space for the community to reconnect with the land and traditional local ecological knowledge; move toward a just transition by growing healthy food, restoring local ecosystems, practicing herbal healing, and providing job training; and build alternative community governance structures.
Minkah Taharkah
Coordinator | California Farmer Justice Collaborative
Minkah Taharkah is a multidisciplinary artist, environmental justice advocate, land steward, and designer from Leimert Park in Los Angeles, CA. She is the Coordinator for the California Farmer Justice Collaborative, where she supports BIPOC growers across the state to get access to resources and build connections, as well as Director of Land + Programming with the Butterfly Movement and a co-facilitator with the B Healthy B Holistic Consultancy.
Join us in a guided, reflective, interactive space designed to help us unravel the threads of whiteness and colonialism that live within us, our families, our ancestral lineages, and our communities. Through honest reflection, embodied practice, and mutual support, we will seek to move beyond guilt and isolation toward accountability, connection, and healing. We will create a space where we can begin to release harmful conditioning, compost inherited patterns, and step into more authentic, liberatory ways of being. Together, we will explore what it means to show up in the world with humility, courage, and a commitment to transformation. In doing this work, we take steps toward rejoining humanity, repairing our relationships with people and the planet, and cultivating meaningful, trust-filled connections with BIPOC communities. Facilitated by Hilary Giovale and Lauren Gucik.
* This session is offered as a youth-centered space. Non-youth participants are invited to attend as supportive witnesses.
March 28th | 3:00 pm to 4:15 pm | Conference Room in Magnes Museum
Panelists
Hilary Giovale
Author and Activist
Hilary Giovale, a ninth-generation American settler, descended from Celtic, Germanic, Nordic, and Indigenous peoples of ancient Europe, is an active “reparationist” who seeks to “divest from whiteness” and seeks to follow Indigenous and Black leadership in support of human rights, environmental justice and equitable futures. She is the author of Becoming a Good Relative: Calling White Settlers toward Truth, Healing, and Repair.
Lauren Gucik
Facilitator, Educator and Activist
Lauren Gucik is a facilitator, event coordinator, educator and food sovereignty activist dedicated to weaving connections between people, land, and ancestral wisdom and designing experiences that nourish joy, deepen reflection, and cultivate liberation.
3:00 pm: Linking Global and Local: A Just Transitions Roundtable
Co-hosted by the Othering and Belonging Institute (OBI)
In this interactive breakout session, participants will explore the intersection of global and local, national and international Climate Justice movements, focusing on Just Transition principles and strategies demonstrated in Richmond, California and OBI’s African Just Transitions project. This roundtable discussion will draw from OBI’s Climate Justice Principles to foster dialogue on how these distinct efforts on different continents share common goals and challenges. Using a conversational, inclusive format, the session will highlight community-driven solutions, economic transformations, and the importance of accountability to those most impacted by the climate crisis. Hosted by Eli Moore, researcher and facilitator with the Othering and Belonging Institute. With Fadhel Kaboub, associate professor of economics at Denison University and President of the Global Institute for Sustainable Prosperity; Elsadig Elsheikh, Director of the Global Justice Program at the Othering & Belonging Institute; Luna Angulo, a political and environmental justice activist.
March 28th | 3:00 pm to 4:15 pm | Goldman Theater, Brower Center
Panelists
Eli Moore
Researcher and Facilitator | Othering and Belonging Institute
Eli Moore is a researcher and facilitator with the Othering and Belonging Institute where he leads transformative research processes with community-based organizations and networks. His recent work has focused on community-driven Just Transition planning, co-governance and community ownership, and a belonging economy as these frameworks apply to housing, local economies, and ecosystems.
Fadhel Kaboub
President | Global Institute for Sustainable Prosperity
Fadhel Kaboub, Ph.D., an expert on designing public policies to enhance economic sovereignty, build resilience, and promote equitable and sustainable prosperity in the Global South, is an associate professor of economics at Denison University and President of the Global Institute for Sustainable Prosperity. Dr. Kaboub has held a number of research affiliations with major institutions in Africa and the U.S. and is an active member of several global commissions and initiatives, including the Independent Expert Group on Just Transition and Development, and the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative. His most recent co-authored publication is Just Transition: A Climate, Energy, and Development Vision for Africa (May 2023).
Elsadig Elsheikh
Global Justice Program Director | Othering & Belonging Institute
Elsadig Elsheikh, Global Justice Program Director at the Othering & Belonging Institute at UC Berkeley, oversees that program’s projects portfolio and conducts research focused on: global North-global South inequity, the socio-political dynamics of climate justice, food systems, Islamophobia, nation-state citizenship issues, the structural mechanisms of othering, and global expressions of belonging.
Luna Angulo
Political and Environmental Justice Activist
Luna Angulo, a political and environmental justice activist who grew up alongside Chevron’s notoriously toxic refinery in her hometown of Richmond, CA, now works to build a future free from fossil fuels by building grassroots political power for communities most harmed by the fossil fuel industry through civic engagement and mass civil disobedience. Luna, former Co-Chair of the Path to Clean Air Community Steering Committee, received the Sierra Club’s Emerging Voices Award in 2022.
Bioneers brings together a very diverse, discerning, engaged and reflective community, and the curated conversations around crucial topics we have been hosting recently (“Conversation Cafes”) have proven highly popular and stimulating. Each session begins with a very brief presentation by one of the conference presenters as a “conversation starter” to frame the topic, followed by structured group discussion. At the end of each session, a “harvester” who has carefully witnessed and “absorbed” what has transpired, offers us a poetic synopsis/recapitulation of the highlights of our time together.
Growing in Southeast Louisiana near a corridor callously but accurately dubbed Cancer Alley means growing up with the ecological grief and anxiety that accompanies knowing your home and ecosystem are harming you and your community’s health. When your connection to home and family binds you to a place riddled with toxic pollution and politics, what is the antidote? Leave and find a safe community, or stay and take up the work of your ancestors to resist these toxic industries? For those living in and around Cancer Alley, these choices can be a daily battle, but the best elixir for ecological grief is action.
This youth-led community conversation is for anyone living on the frontlines of endemic pollution or climate catastrophe who has wrestled with the choice of staying and fighting or leaving to find a better place to call home—and for anyone who wants to learn from and support them. With: Lael Kylin Judson from Rural Roots Louisiana; and Skye Williams. Facilitated by David Shaw, Santa Cruz Permaculture and UCSC Right Livelihood Center; and Tenika Blue, an advocate for anti-violence initiatives, social justice reform, and community healing. “Harvester:” Jason Bayani, author, theater performer, Artistic Director, Kearny Street Workshop.
March 28th | 3:00 pm to 4:15 pm | Ashby Room, Residence Inn
Panelists
David Shaw
Founder | Santa Cruz Permaculture and the UCSC Right Livelihood College
David Shaw, a whole systems designer, facilitator, educator, and musician, founded Santa Cruz Permaculture and the UCSC Right Livelihood College, a partnership with the “Alternative Nobel Prize.” He supports communities locally and globally to transform their shared future through strategic dialogue and collective action.
Tenika Blue
Social Justice Advocate
Tenika Blue, a fourth-generation Bay Area native with 20+ years’ experience advocating for anti-violence initiatives, social justice reform, and community healing, organizes sacred circles as a central part of her work, employing a heart-centered approach to foster community resilience, empower individuals to connect with their roots, and embrace transformative healing.
Lael Kylin Judson
| Rural Roots Louisiana
Lael “Kylin” Judson, a sophomore honor student at The Dunham School in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and a resident of Ascension Parish, has lost loved ones to pollution-related illnesses and works with Rural Roots Louisiana on Environmental Justice issues centered around Cancer Alley, a region disproportionately impacted by industrial toxicity. Kylin aspires to becoming an Environmental Lawyer dedicated to addressing systemic inequities and protecting vulnerable communities.
Skye Williams
Activist | Rural Roots Louisiana
Skye Williams, a soon-to-be graduate of Donaldsonville High School in Louisiana is an activist with the Environmental Justice, Eco-Literacy, Earth-care advocacy and community-building organization, Rural Roots Louisiana. Skye plans a career in nursing as well as Environmental Justice activism.
Jason Bayani
Artistic Director | Kearny Street Workshop
Jason Bayani, MFA, a theater performer and author, is Artistic Director of the Kearny Street Workshop, the oldest multi-disciplinary Asian Pacific-American arts organization in the country. A Kundiman Fellow, his published works include: Locus (a 2019 Norcal Book Award finalist) and Amulet. He has written for World Literature Today, Muzzle Magazine, Lantern Review, and other publications and performs regularly around the country. His first solo theater show was 2016’s Locus of Control.
3:00 pm: Civic Participation and Running for Office: From Inspiration to Action
A Panel Discussion Hosted by Civic (Re)Solve
The stark reality of American democracy demands urgent attention: Over 70% of elected offices go uncontested each year, creating a critical void in representative leadership. Taking decisive action to recruit and engage new generations to transform our civic landscape through elected, appointed, and applied positions across all levels of government is increasingly imperative to upholding our democracy.
This powerful conversation will illuminate the public servant mindset—one centered on advancing community wellbeing—while showcasing diverse pathways to meaningful civic engagement. The panel will feature experienced organizers who work directly with Native American and Millennial communities, bringing their unique insights on breaking down barriers and building successful campaigns. Additional perspectives from Black, Hispanic, and Asian recruitment initiatives will further enrich the discussion. By directly addressing the systemic underrepresentation in our civic institutions, we hope this comprehensive conversation provides both the motivation and practical tools needed to diversify and strengthen American democracy. Whether your path leads to elected office or other forms of public service, join us to discover how you can be part of building a more representative and responsive government.
This session is meant to serve as a catalyst for change—to challenge leaders to envision their role in public service. Hosted by Reena Szczepanski. With: Caitlin Lewis, Work For America; Anathea Chino, Advance Native Political Leadership; Elizabeth Rosen, Future Caucus; and Chloe Maxmin, Dirtroad Organizing.
Note: This session will be followed by an afternoon interactive workshop where inspiration transforms into action: all participants will be invited to create personal roadmaps to public service and to connect with the panelists who can guide their journey from civic aspiration to active leadership.
March 28th | 3:00 pm to 4:45 pm | Golden Bear Room, Hotel Shattuck Plaza
Panelists
Caitlin Lewis
Executive Director | Work For America
Caitlin Lewis, Executive Director of Work for America, a nonprofit seeking to make public service a more desirable, accessible, and stable career path that uplifts families and communities, has a long track record working in the public, private and non-profit sectors, including: developing social impact strategies for global brands; being a philanthropic advisor to Van Jones; helping launch an affordable housing fund; serving in local, state and federal governments, including at NYC’s City Hall and in the White House Liaison Office of USDA; working on several political campaigns and managing external affairs for the organization that manages Times Square.
Anathea Chino
Co-Founder and Executive Director | Advance Native Political Leadership
Anathea Chino (Acoma Pueblo), co-founder and Executive Director of Advance Native Political Leadership, is a queer feminist leader and champion for Native voices with 20 years’ experience as a political strategist, fundraiser, and operative, works to advance Indigenous representation through investment in infrastructure development, strategy, research, and relationship building. She has co-founded a number of state and national organizations, including: Women’s Democracy Lab, Indigenous Women Rise, and Emerge New Mexico, and also serves on the boards of Americans for Indian Opportunity, California Native Vote Project, and Emergent Fund.
Chloe Maxmin
Dirtroad Organizing | Co-Founder
Chloe Maxmin, co-founder (with her best friend, Canyon Woodward) of Dirtroad Organizing and co-founder of and advisor to JustME for JustUS, a Maine-based organization focused on rural youth civic engagement and climate justice, also runs Begin Again Farm with her partner, Bill Pluecker, growing organic vegetables for her community. Chloe’s political engagement has included co-founding Divest Harvard when she was a student there, serving in the Maine House of Representatives in 2018, and in the Maine State Senate in 2020, when she was the youngest woman ever to serve in that body. Chloe is also co-author (with Canyon Woodward) of Dirt Road Revival.
Elizabeth Rosen
Communications Director | Future Caucus
Elizabeth Rosen, Communications Director for Future Caucus, the largest nonpartisan organization of young lawmakers in the U.S., previously supported global democracy movements with Freedom House, mobilized young voters with NextGen America, worked on public diplomacy at NATO, and held numerous odd jobs, including ski instructing in Park City, pizza delivery in Fort Myers Beach, and fact-checking for a New York Times writer in Paris.
Reena Szczepanski
House Majority Leader | New Mexico House of Representatives
Reena Szczepanski has spent her career working for justice, equality, and public health, starting in her teenage years doing work/study as a caregiver for babies affected by HIV/AIDS and eventually managing the New Mexico Department of Health’s Hepatitis Program. She later became Executive Director of Emerge New Mexico, a statewide organization dedicated to training women to run for office and led the Drug Policy Alliance New Mexico to many legislative victories, including the state’s medical cannabis law, substance abuse treatment, and criminal justice reform. Reena then served as the Chief of Staff to Speaker Brian Egolf, and in 2022 was herself elected to the New Mexico House of Representatives and was elected House Majority Leader by her colleagues. She is the first Asian American elected to legislative leadership in the history of New Mexico.
In a time when people too often run from grief and struggle in order to seek joy, this session will delve into how coming into a more active, balanced relationship with joy and grief is essential to nurturing our sense of wholeness. Join us for a cross-generational conversation between panelists and among attendees, as we collectively explore how these twin pillars can frame essential practices for not just surviving, but thriving in a time of deep uncertainty. Facilitated by Akaya Windwood, Liz Ogbu, Benja Mertz.
March 28th | 3:00 pm to 4:15 pm | Skillful Means Center, Dharma College
Panelists
Akaya Windwood
Lead Advisor | Third Act
Akaya Windwood, a widely renowned, highly experienced, award-winning activist, leadership trainer and facilitator who served as President of the Rockwood Leadership Institute for ten years, is the founder of the New Universal Wisdom and Leadership Institute, which centers human wisdom in the wisdom of brown womxn. She is also: on the faculty of the Just Economy Institute; Lead Advisor at Third Act; and director of the Thriving Roots Fund. Akaya is the author of: Leading with Joy: Practices for Uncertain Times (2022).
Liz Ogbu
Designer and Grief Worker | Studio O
Liz Ogbu, a designer and grief worker, is an expert on transforming unjust urban environments. Her multidisciplinary design practice, Studio O, operates at the intersection of racial and “spatial” justice. She collaborates with/in communities in need to leverage design to address collective harm and catalyze community healing. Her honors include IDEO.org Global Fellow, Aspen Ideas Scholar, and Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center Resident. Her TED Talks, which share a creative practice rooted in community wisdom and healing, have been viewed over a million times.
Benja Mertz
Performer, Educator, Folklorist, and Song-Leader
Benja Mertz, a performer, educator, public speaker, folklorist, and song-leader, is Board Chair of the Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity, an immigrant rights and anti-incarceration nonprofit organization. Also founder and Director of Joyful Noise! Gospel Singers in Sonoma County, Benja trained in song-leading through legendary programs such as Dr. Ysaye Barnwell's Vocal Community and Bobby McFerrin's CircleSong Schools and is part of a long tradition of writers and musicians at the forefront of social change in America.
It is increasingly becoming evident that we need to heal and regenerate both our planet and our society. What if nature and justice are truly interdependent? Come meet practitioners who are bringing nature’s intelligence into the heart of juvenile justice reform, anti-authoritarian activism, and climate justice activism. Hosted by Biomimicry for Social Innovation founder, Toby Herzlich; joined by: Kristen Rome, Executive Director of the Louisiana Center for Children’s Rights; Cymone Fuller, Senior Director of Restorative Justice at Equal Justice USA; Stosh Cotler, former ED of Bend the Arc for Justice; and Colette Pichon Battle, Founder of Taproot Earth.
March 28th | 3:00 pm to 4:15 pm | Crystal Ballroom, Hotel Shattuck Plaza
Panelists
Toby Herzlich
Founder | Biomimicry for Social Innovation
Toby Herzlich, founder/Director of Biomimicry for Social Innovation, a non-profit dedicated to applying nature’s genius to leadership and social change, is a trainer and facilitator focused on progressive leadership development and building diverse multidisciplinary networks for changemaking. A certified Biomimicry Specialist and educator, Toby’s 30+ years of experience have included: Senior Trainer with the Rockwood Leadership Institute; co-founder of the Cultivating Women’s Leadership training intensives; organizational consulting with such clients as the Sierra Club, Ford Foundation, AgroEcology Fund, National Hispanic Cultural Center, and the Navajo Nation; and the launching of several national collaborative networks, including the Jewish Social Justice Roundtable and the Young Climate Leaders Network. She is also a facilitator with the Volgenau Climate Initiative and Project Positive.
Kristen Rome
Executive Director | Louisiana Center for Children's Rights
Kristen Rome, JD, a Louisiana-based attorney, doula, and writer, currently serves as Executive Director of the Louisiana Center for Children’s Rights, a client-centered nonprofit law office that represents youth in the juvenile and criminal legal systems. A proud native of New Orleans and a graduate of Spelman College in Atlanta, Kristen received her Juris Doctor from Loyola University of New Orleans’ College of Law. (lakidsrights.org)
Cymone Fuller
Senior Director, Restorative Justice | Equal Justice USA
Cymone Fuller, who began her career as a community organizer and spent many years focused on systemic reforms in the youth criminal justice legal system, currently serves as the Senior Director of Restorative Justice at Equal Justice USA, where she supports the spread of community-held restorative justice diversion initiatives across the country.
Colette Pichon Battle
Vision & Initiatives Partner | Taproot Earth
Colette Pichon Battle, a generational native of Bayou Liberty, Louisiana, is an award-winning lawyer and prominent climate justice organizer. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, when Black and Indigenous communities were largely left out of federal recovery systems, Colette led the Gulf Coast Center for Law and Policy (GCCLP) to provide relief and legal assistance to Gulf South communities of color. After 17 years at GCCLP’s helm, as frontline communities from the Gulf South to the Global South face ever more devastating storms, droughts, wildfires, heat, and land loss, she co-founded Taproot Earth to create connections and power across issues, movements, and geographies.
Stosh Cotler
Organizer, Strategist, and Movement-Builder
Stosh Cotler, an organizer, strategist, and movement-builder with over three decades’ experience in social change work, has launched and scaled organizations at local, state, and national levels, mobilizing diverse communities—from faith leaders to sex workers, rural coalitions to urban formations—to counter racial and religious nationalism, advance multi-racial democracy, and build safe and inclusive communities. She is currently completing an MS in Biomimicry at Arizona State University and participating in the 2026–2028 Biomimicry Professional Program.
3:00 pm: Thriving Together: How Women-Led, Community-Based Solutions Are Transforming Our Planet
Hosted by the Women’s Earth Alliance (WEA)
The Women’s Earth Alliance, a global alliance working at the intersection of gender justice and environmental resilience, has as its guiding principle that “When women thrive, the Earth thrives.” This session will highlight women-led, community-based solutions to the interconnected challenges of climate change, environmental degradation, and social inequity. Through storytelling, discussion, and collaborative art-making, participants will celebrate grassroots leadership and explore actionable pathways to build a just and sustainable future in which both people and the planet thrive. With:Daniela Perez, Regional Director for North America and the Pacific at WEA; Sarita Pockell, WEA’s Senior Program Architect; and WEA leaders Crystal Cavalier-Keck Ph.D., Tashanda Giles-Jones; Morning Star Gali; Lil Milagro Henriquez.
March 28th | 3:00 pm to 4:15 pm | Magnes Museum
Panelists
Daniela Perez
Regional Director for North America and the Pacific | Women’s Earth Alliance (WEA)
Daniela Perez, originally from Tijuana, is the Regional Director for North America and the Pacific at Women’s Earth Alliance (WEA), overseeing programs in the U.S., U.S. Territories and Mexico that advance women’s leadership, climate justice, social equity, grassroots capacity-building, mentorship, network building, gender equity, and community resilience. With over a decade in the nonprofit sector and a proven track record in regenerative agriculture, food sovereignty, health equity, and gender and climate justice, Daniela excels at facilitating transformative dialogues, coalition-building, and leadership development for systemic change.
Sarita Pockell
Senior Program Architect | Women’s Earth Alliance (WEA)
Sarita Pockell is Senior Program Architect at Women’s Earth Alliance (WEA), where she co-designs transformative programs that equip women environmental leaders with capacity, tools and networks to drive change in their communities. With a background in education for sustainability, Sarita uses a holistic approach to create immersive, collaborative learning experiences that support regenerative solutions to social and environmental challenges. Before joining WEA, Sarita spent nearly seven years in curriculum leadership at Green School in Bali and has designed and implemented educational programs in Mexico, Peru, Argentina, Croatia, and Indonesia. A lifelong artist and storyteller, Sarita is also a musician, playwright, theater director, and devoted gardener and land-steward.
Crystal Cavalier-Keck
Co-Founder and CEO | 7 Directions of Service
Crystal Cavalier-Keck is co-founder and CEO of 7 Directions of Service (an Indigenous-led collective rooted in environmental justice and community organizing, operating on the ancestral homelands of the Occaneechi-Saponi in rural North Carolina) and of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women NC Coalition. An Adjunct Professor at Salem College, Crystal has extensive experience in the nonprofit and government sectors and has worked extensively with the Women’s Earth Alliance on a number of projects. She is also currently working toward a Master of Legal Studies in the Indigenous People’s Law Program at the University of Oklahoma School of Law.
Tashanda Giles-Jones
Co-Designer | Women’s Earth Alliance’s Black Girls/Green Futures Program
Tashanda Giles-Jones, an environmental educator cultivating a network of like-minded individuals, organizations and activists eager to support the learning and growth of urban youth in Los Angeles, develops human impact lessons adapted for her student population and provides engaging learning activities through garden-based education. She has volunteered and held positions with several nonprofit fundraising, leadership, and youth committees, and, most recently, Tashanda has been co-designing and implementing the Women’s Earth Alliance’s Black Girls/Green Futures Program in South Los Angeles.
Morning Star Gali
Director | Indigenous Justice
Morning Star Gali, a member of the Ajumawi band of the Pit River Tribe in Northeastern California, is the Director of Indigenous Justice and has served for 16 years as the California Tribal and Community Liaison for the International Indian Treaty Council, dedicated to advancing the sovereignty and self-determination of Indigenous Peoples. Her work focuses on the recognition and protection of Indigenous rights, treaties, traditional cultures, the fate of missing and murdered Indigenous women (MMIW), climate and gender justice, and the preservation of sacred places. Morning Starr is also currently a Design Team member for Women’s Earth Alliance North America Programs.
Lil Milagro Henriquez
Founder | Mycelium Youth Network
Lil Milagro Henriquez, M.A. (detribalized Nahuat Pipil), a 20-year, multiple award-winning social and environmental justice activism veteran, founded Mycelium Youth Network, a renowned organization dedicated to preparing and empowering frontline youth for climate change, in 2017. Among other achievements, she spoke as a panelist at the White House’s launch of the 5th National Climate Assessment report in 2023 and currently sits on the Advisory Board for the American Public Health Association's Center for Climate Health and Equity and the National Academy of Medicine's Climate Communities Network.
4:45 pm: Interactive Session – Catalyst for Change—Building Personal Roadmaps for Civic Participation
Hosted by Civic (Re)Solve
This session is meant to serve as a catalyst for change—to challenge and encourage leaders and engaged citizens to envision their personal role in public service. In this interactive workshop, we will seek to transform inspiration into action, as all of us will be invited to create personal roadmaps to public service. All of us will be welcomed to connect with the panelists, to gain valuable insight into their programs and to explore diverse ways to actively get involved in civic leadership. With: Anathea Chino, Advance Native Political Leadership; Chloe Maxmin, Dirtroad Organizing; Elizabeth Rosen, Future Caucus; and Caitlin Lewis, Work For America.
March 28th | 4:45 pm to 6:00 pm | Skillful Means Center, Dharma College
Panelists
Anathea Chino
Co-Founder and Executive Director | Advance Native Political Leadership
Anathea Chino (Acoma Pueblo), co-founder and Executive Director of Advance Native Political Leadership, is a queer feminist leader and champion for Native voices with 20 years’ experience as a political strategist, fundraiser, and operative, works to advance Indigenous representation through investment in infrastructure development, strategy, research, and relationship building. She has co-founded a number of state and national organizations, including: Women’s Democracy Lab, Indigenous Women Rise, and Emerge New Mexico, and also serves on the boards of Americans for Indian Opportunity, California Native Vote Project, and Emergent Fund.
Chloe Maxmin
Dirtroad Organizing | Co-Founder
Chloe Maxmin, co-founder (with her best friend, Canyon Woodward) of Dirtroad Organizing and co-founder of and advisor to JustME for JustUS, a Maine-based organization focused on rural youth civic engagement and climate justice, also runs Begin Again Farm with her partner, Bill Pluecker, growing organic vegetables for her community. Chloe’s political engagement has included co-founding Divest Harvard when she was a student there, serving in the Maine House of Representatives in 2018, and in the Maine State Senate in 2020, when she was the youngest woman ever to serve in that body. Chloe is also co-author (with Canyon Woodward) of Dirt Road Revival.
Caitlin Lewis
Executive Director | Work For America
Caitlin Lewis, Executive Director of Work for America, a nonprofit seeking to make public service a more desirable, accessible, and stable career path that uplifts families and communities, has a long track record working in the public, private and non-profit sectors, including: developing social impact strategies for global brands; being a philanthropic advisor to Van Jones; helping launch an affordable housing fund; serving in local, state and federal governments, including at NYC’s City Hall and in the White House Liaison Office of USDA; working on several political campaigns and managing external affairs for the organization that manages Times Square.
Elizabeth Rosen
Communications Director | Future Caucus
Elizabeth Rosen, Communications Director for Future Caucus, the largest nonpartisan organization of young lawmakers in the U.S., previously supported global democracy movements with Freedom House, mobilized young voters with NextGen America, worked on public diplomacy at NATO, and held numerous odd jobs, including ski instructing in Park City, pizza delivery in Fort Myers Beach, and fact-checking for a New York Times writer in Paris.
As the nation learns about land-back and rematriation, Native communities continue to provide space for Indigenous and all communities to thrive, be resilient, and share knowledge. Health centers, agencies, educational programs, and cultural centers have been at the center of Native communities, particularly for Intertribal populations in major cities. Dating back to the 50s, elders, aunties, and uncles recognized the needs of their communities and responded accordingly by establishing Friendship houses and Resource centers. The next generation is now making a stronger call to decolonize and re-indigenize place. Join us for this panel to learn how Indigenous communities dream, create, and establish place. Moderated by Nazshonnii Brown-Almaweri. With: Paloma Flores and Ernie Albers.
March 28th | 4:45 pm to 6:00 pm | Berkeley Ballroom, Residence Inn
Panelists
Nazshonnii Brown-Almaweri
Intercultural Conversations Program Manager, Indigeneity Program | Bioneers
Nazshonnii Brown-Almaweri (Diné), Program Manager for Bioneers’ Indigeneity Program, is an STEM educator from West Oakland who advocates for exposure and opportunities for historically excluded people, especially Black and Native youth. She has provided many middle and high school students with the space to learn about STEAM at the intersection of ancestral knowledge and their lived experiences and has worked to help Oakland youth thrive in disciplines such as engineering. Nazshonnii is also a farmer at the Gill Tract Community Farm was previously a STEM tutor, media educator, and youth program assistant for the American Indian Child Resource Center.
Ernie Albers
Cultural Outreach and Education Manager | Two Feathers NAFS
Ernie Albers, a Yurok tribal member as well as a Karuk and Hupa descendant, comes from a long line of traditional storytellers and has been deeply rooted in culture and ceremony from a very young age. A former chef and a co-founder of Lifted Arcata, a functional fitness group training gym in Arcata, he has certifications in CrossFit levels 1 and 2, Functional Movement Systems (FMS), and Frederick Stretch Therapy (FST) levels 1 and 2. After 10 years in the gym coaching group fitness classes, Ernie is now working with Native youth for Two Feathers NAFS as their Cultural Outreach and Education Manager.
Paloma Flores
Founder and CEO | Paloma Flores Consulting Agency (PFCA)
Paloma Flores, a member of the Pit River Tribe of Northern California and P'urhepecha de Michoacan, Mexico, who has 15 years’ experience working with intertribal communities in California, is the founder and CEO of Paloma Flores Consulting Agency (PFCA), which specializes in transformative speaking and storytelling, cross-cultural collaboration and partnership building, cultural education, supporting the shifting of consciousness through professional development in Indian communities, developing the next generation of youth leaders, and boosting American Indian voices and representation in the arts .
4:45 pm: Achieving Digital Inclusion for Social Equity and a Clean, Green Future
Hosted by Women in Cleantech and Sustainability (WCS)
Digital equity is vital to achieving sustainability by ensuring all individuals have access to the digital tools, resources, and skills needed to thrive in a connected world. Bridging the digital divide empowers marginalized communities, enabling participation in education, economic opportunities, and environmental initiatives. Access to technology supports smart solutions such as climate data analysis, sustainable energy systems, and eco-friendly urban planning. Promoting digital inclusion enhances social equity, reduces resource inequality, and accelerates innovation toward sustainable development goals. Digital equity ensures no one is left behind as we advance sustainable solutions for a more resilient, equitable planet. Come hear from leading experts who will share their strategies to make the dream of full digital inclusion a reality. Hosted by: Sara Eve Fuentes, founder/President, SmartWaste, board chair, WCS. With Claudia Garcia, Director of Programs at Tech Exchange; Rhianna C. Rogers, formerly the Biden-Harris Administration’s Counselor to the Assistant Secretary for Management and Chief DEIA Officer at the U.S. Department of the Treasury; Jessica Groopman, founder of The Regenerative Technology Project.
March 28th | 4:45 pm to 6:00 pm | Golden Bear Room, Hotel Shattuck Plaza
Panelists
Sara Eve Fuentes
Chairwoman | Women in Cleantech and Sustainability
Sara Eve Fuentes, Chairwoman of Women in Cleantech and Sustainability, is the founder and President of SmartWaste, a minority women-owned and operated start-up with a focus on Waste Technologies, Waste Systems and Vendor Management for Zero Waste programs with core values of “transparency, circularity, and people." With 10 years of experience in the waste and recycling industry, Sara has become a dynamic leader in abating commercial waste as well as a passionate advocate for women.
Claudia Garcia
Director of Programs | Tech Exchange
Claudia Garcia, a dedicated advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion in education and workforce development, is the Director of Programs at Tech Exchange, where she leads strategic initiatives to promote digital equity, career readiness, and STEM access for underrepresented communities across California. With over a decade of experience in student advising, program management, and partnership development, Claudia has designed and implemented impactful initiatives that have helped first-generation college students and marginalized communities succeed in higher education and beyond.
Rhianna Rogers
Co-Founder | Sustainable Progress and Equality Collective (SPEC)
Rhianna C. Rogers, Ph.D., is a global leader in digital equity, public policy, and interdisciplinary research with 20+ years’ experience in the federal, academic, and non-profit sectors. Formerly the Biden-Harris Administration's Counselor to the Assistant Secretary for Management and Chief DEIA Officer at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, she led initiatives in diversity, AI policy, and digital equity. Also a co-founder of the Sustainable Progress and Equality Collective (SPEC), former Director of RAND's Center to Advance Racial Equity Policy, and an Ernest Boyer Presidential Fellow at the Rockefeller Institute of Government, she has spearheaded multimillion-dollar research and community-engagement projects on equity in technology, health, infrastructure, and education.
Jessica Groopman
Founder | The Regenerative Technology Project
Jessica Groopman, founder of The Regenerative Technology Project, a platform that seeks to encourage and accelerate the tech industry’s shift towards supporting societal and ecological health, is a technology industry analyst and author who studies the intersection of emerging technologies and regeneration, and advises forward-thinking leaders globally on disruptive innovations. She has published over 50 reports on emerging tech applications and their implications and recently co-authored The Fast Future Blur. Her previous roles include: founding the research firm, Kaleido Insights; Principal Analyst at Tractica, Harbor Research, and Altimeter Group; and Senior Innovation Advisor at Intentional Futures.
4:45 pm: Sacred Activism: Reimagining Awakened Action
An Emergent Conversation
Although a great deal of human rights and ecological activism is rooted in secular rationalism and scientific materialism, there are also illustrious lineages of spiritually based social justice champions, including many prominent figures in the Civil Rights and various anti-war movements, and quite a few contemporary eco activists who draw from Indigenous teachings that view the entire web of life as ensouled. In this session, three leaders from very different backgrounds and generations working in very different fields but whose vision is anchored in a deep sense of the sacred will share their perspectives on how to bring one’s full heart and spirit to the quest for healing our relations with ourselves, each other, and the earth. With: Pat McCabe, a Diné mother, grandmother, activist, artist, writer, and ceremonial leader.; Sonali Sangeeta Balajee, Founder of Spiritual Social Medicinal Apothecary (SSoMA) and Our Bodhi Project, lifelong meditator, spiritual practitioner, artist, and activator; Kazu Haga, a trainer and practitioner with over 25 years’ experience in nonviolence and social change work, author of Healing Resistance: A Radically Different Response to Harm. Hosted by Nina Simons, author, co-founder and Chief Relationship Officer of Bioneers.
March 28th | 4:45 pm to 6:00 pm | Magnes Museum
Panelists
Sonali Sangeeta Balajee
Founder | Our Bodhi Project
Sonali Sangeeta Balajee, an artist, organizer, and mindfulness/yoga instructor, is the founder of: the Spiritual Social Medicinal Apothecary (SSoMA), a spiritual and political project; and Our Bodhi Project, which focuses on healthy movement-building through enlivening the connection between social and spiritual wellness. Sonali previously spent 13 years in U.S. local government, creating, leading, and managing social justice and racial equity initiatives and has had a long community organizing background focused on climate and racial justice, youth development, death-and-dying, and HIV/AIDS-related advocacy and service. She also currently serves on the boards of Bioneers and Worldtrust.
Kazu Haga
Author, Trainer, Practitioner
Kazu Haga, a trainer and practitioner of nonviolence and restorative justice who works with incarcerated people, youth, and activists from around the country and has over 25 years’ experience in nonviolence and social change work, is a core member of Building Belonging, the Ahimsa Collective, and the Fierce Vulnerability Network. Kazu is also a Jam facilitator and the author of Healing Resistance: A Radically Different Response to Harm. He and his family are residents of the Canticle Farm community on Lisjan Ohlone land, Oakland, CA.
Pat McCabe
Woman Stands Shining
Pat McCabe, (aka “Woman Stands Shining”), of Diné ancestry, was adopted into the Lakota spiritual way of life. She is currently beginning the stewardship of a piece of land at one of the four sacred mountains of her people, as part of the “Rematriation Movement.” McCabe, a proud grandmother, has long spoken and taught widely, nationally and internationally, sharing cultural and spiritual insights.
Nina Simons
Co-Founder and Chief Relationship Strategist | Bioneers
Nina Simons, co-founder of Bioneers and its Chief Relationship Strategist is also co-founder of Women Bridging Worlds and Connecting Women Leading Change. She co-edited the anthology book, Moonrise: The Power of Women Leading from the Heart, and most recently wrote Nature, Culture & The Sacred: A Woman Listens for Leadership. An award-winning social entrepreneur, Nina teaches and speaks internationally, and previously served as President of Seeds of Change and Director of Strategic Marketing for Odwalla.
As climate breakdown escalates, communities are increasingly realizing that climate action and resilience have as much to do with actual ecological boundaries as with political boundaries on a map. The ground truth is that communities are defined by their local watersheds, foodsheds and energy sheds – as well as culture sheds. These ecological maps will increasingly redefine political maps that can engender meaningful strategic collective action. How do bioregional perspectives translate into political action? How can we build political-ecological alliances for climate action that address urgent bioregional realities and needs? This visionary group of leading-edge climate action organizers will illuminate multiple pathways for addressing both practical climate actions and emerging forms of eco-governance that center equity and justice. With: leading Rights of Nature attorney Thomas Linzey; climate justice organizer and lawyer Colette Pichon Battle whose Taproot Earth nonprofit works in the Gulf South and Appalachia; global Indigenous climate leader Eriel Deranger; OneEarth founder Justin Winters whose science-based climate solutions framework focuses on Renewable Energy, Regenerative Agriculture, and Land and Biodiversity Conservation.
March 28th | 4:45 pm to 6:00 pm | Freight & Salvage
Panelists
Thomas Linzey
Senior Legal Counsel | Center for Democratic and Environmental Rights
Thomas Linzey, Senior Legal Counsel for the Center for Democratic and Environmental Rights, widely recognized as the founder of the contemporary community rights movement, drafted the very first “rights of nature” law in the world (in Pennsylvania in 2006), and consulted on the very first rights of nature constitutional provisions (in Ecuador). Linzey co-founded the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund, sits on the Board of Advisors of the New Earth Foundation and is the author of several books, including: Be The Change: How to Get What You Want in Your Community and On Community Civil Disobedience in the Name of Sustainability. Linzey’s work has been featured widely, including in leading publications including the NY Times, Mother Jones and the Nation magazine.
Eriel Tchekwie Deranger
Co-Founder and Executive Director | Indigenous Climate Action
Eriel Tchekwie Deranger (Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation), a leading global figure in Indigenous Rights and Climate Justice activism, is the co-founder and Executive Director of Indigenous Climate Action and is a member of the International Indigenous Peoples Forum on Climate Change. She also sits on a number of boards of notable non-profit organizations (including Bioneers) and activist groups. She has organized divest movements, lobbied government officials, led mass mobilizations against the fossil fuel industry, written extensively for a range of publications and been featured in documentary films (including Elemental).
Colette Pichon Battle
Vision & Initiatives Partner | Taproot Earth
Colette Pichon Battle, a generational native of Bayou Liberty, Louisiana, is an award-winning lawyer and prominent climate justice organizer. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, when Black and Indigenous communities were largely left out of federal recovery systems, Colette led the Gulf Coast Center for Law and Policy (GCCLP) to provide relief and legal assistance to Gulf South communities of color. After 17 years at GCCLP’s helm, as frontline communities from the Gulf South to the Global South face ever more devastating storms, droughts, wildfires, heat, and land loss, she co-founded Taproot Earth to create connections and power across issues, movements, and geographies.
Justin Winters
Co-Founder and Executive Director | One Earth
Justin Winters is the co-founder and Executive Director of One Earth, a nonprofit organization that works to prove that we can solve the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss through three pillars of collective action: renewable energy, nature conservation, and regenerative agriculture. One Earth generates educational content, inspiring storytelling, and innovative digital tools to equip people to drive change across Earth’s 185 Bioregions. Prior to One Earth, Justin served as Executive Director of the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation, where she built the organization’s grant-making program that awarded over $100 million in grants across 60 countries, and grew its digital media community to 80 million followers. Justin’s goal has always been to use a collaborative, inclusive, and entrepreneurial approach to build a broad public movement of engaged change-makers to help solve the climate crisis and build a just future for all.
Do you love the concept of Biomimicry but because you’re not a biologist or engineer, don’t think it holds any practical applications in your field? Well, if your work is more about leading people, shifting culture, or transforming organizations, there is definitely a place for you in the Biomimicry movement! Come join Biomimicry for Social Innovation’s founder, Toby Herzlich and Gina LaMotte, Managing Director of Biomimicry for Social Innovation, for an interactive session in which we’ll explore nature’s lessons on collaboration, trust-building, and leading resilient change.
March 28th | 4:45 pm to 6:00 pm | Ashby Room, Residence Inn
Panelists
Toby Herzlich
Founder | Biomimicry for Social Innovation
Toby Herzlich, founder/Director of Biomimicry for Social Innovation, a non-profit dedicated to applying nature’s genius to leadership and social change, is a trainer and facilitator focused on progressive leadership development and building diverse multidisciplinary networks for changemaking. A certified Biomimicry Specialist and educator, Toby’s 30+ years of experience have included: Senior Trainer with the Rockwood Leadership Institute; co-founder of the Cultivating Women’s Leadership training intensives; organizational consulting with such clients as the Sierra Club, Ford Foundation, AgroEcology Fund, National Hispanic Cultural Center, and the Navajo Nation; and the launching of several national collaborative networks, including the Jewish Social Justice Roundtable and the Young Climate Leaders Network. She is also a facilitator with the Volgenau Climate Initiative and Project Positive.
Gina LaMotte
Managing Director | Biomimicry for Social Innovation
Gina LaMotte, Managing Director of Biomimicry for Social Innovation, is a social entrepreneur dedicated to the vision of a thriving, just and regenerative future who has for 25+ years been inspired by biomimicry, systems-change, social innovation, design thinking, and climate justice in her work. In 2008, she founded EcoRise, a nonprofit supporting thousands of K-12 schools nationwide with programs centering youth leadership to advance climate action, sustainability and environmental justice. She also created Gen:Thrive, a national initiative that provides network mapping and data visualization tools to advance health, equity, and climate resilience in K-12 schools.
When we say “Forever Chemicals,” what do we really mean? Recent EPA findings on the PFAS class of chemicals and the resulting extensive media coverage of their implications has helped shine a light on what has been an egregious decades-long history of disregard for public and environmental safety from industry and regulators. The legacy of toxics in the biosphere, from the micro to the macro, is truly horrifying. A reckoning is coming in terms of public health and financial/legal liability. It’s not all bad news, however. The development of new approaches to materials science, green chemistry and circular economics is pointing towards a possible future where the trimmings of the modern world may be able to exist peacefully with ecological systems. Join Dr. Arlene Blum, a legendary leader in highlighting the extreme risks posed by these substances and a tremendous voice advocating for sane policies in response to their clear dangers and two other leading experts to discuss the current state of toxics and where we are headed from here. Hosted by: Arlene Blum. With: Martin Mulvihill, co-founder, Safer Made.
March 28th | 4:45 pm to 6:00 pm | Crystal Ballroom, Hotel Shattuck Plaza
Panelists
Arlene Blum
Executive Director | Green Science Policy Institute
Arlene Blum Ph.D., biophysical chemist, author, and mountaineer is Executive Director of the Green Science Policy Institute and a Research Associate at UC Berkeley. Her science and policy work with government and business has contributed to preventing the use of PFAS, flame retardants and other classes of harmful chemicals in products world-wide. Arlene also led the first American—and all-women’s—ascent of Annapurna I and the first women’s climb of Denali. She is the author of Annapurna: A Woman’s Place and Breaking Trail: A Climbing Life.
Martin Mulvihill
Co-Founder | Safer Made
Marty Mulvihill, Ph.D., a chemist and advisor at the Berkeley Center for Green Chemistry (where he served as the initial Executive Director), has developed technologies and created safer chemicals and materials for the personal care, construction, electronics, and textile industries. He is also co-founder of and a managing partner in Safer Made, a mission-driven venture capital fund investing in companies and technologies that: reduce human exposure to harmful chemicals, bring safer products and technologies to market, tell a unique story, have the potential to change their sectors, and protect human health and the natural world.
6:40 pm: Film Screening: No Other Land
Academy Award Winner®, Best Documentary Feature 2024
A collective of Palestinian and Israeli activist/filmmakers chronicled the Israeli military’s incremental expulsion of the West Bank community of Masafer Yatta — home to 20 ancient Palestinian villages, over a period of five years (2019–23) in this tightly focused, powerful documentary film, that also explores the complicated friendship and hopeful partnership that develops between the Palestinian and Israeli activist creators of this film in their efforts to resist a government-sanctioned mass eviction.
Directed by: Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, and presented with support from The Richard Brick, Geri Ashur, and Sara Bershtel Fund for Social Justice Documentaries. (96 minutes)
Please Note: Film Screenings are first-come, first-served. Please be sure to arrive early if you’d like to guarantee a seat.
March 28th | 6:40 pm to 8:30 pm | Goldman Theater, Brower Center
This 15-minute pilot episode of the upcoming documentary series From Soil to Soul delves into the heart of food justice and community-led food sovereignty initiatives in Los Angeles, highlighting case studies, including a community garden in Compton, a food forest in a former abandoned alleyway in Fullerton, and the planting of native edible and medicinal plants in lawns for local food resilience.
The From Soil to Soul series will present powerful stories of Black, Indigenous and People of Color farmers, regenerative practitioners, food activists, thought leaders and communities reclaiming their right to control their food systems and transforming their relationships with food, land, and each other.
The From Soil to Soul co-founders, Ankur Shah, Margaret To and Jahnavi Mange, along with producer Rachel Allen and cinematographer Eldon Arena, will be on hand to introduce the film. (Running time: 15 minutes)
March 28th | 8:35 pm to 9:00 pm | Goldman Theater, Brower Center
Introduced by
Ankur Shah
Co-Founder | From Soil to Soul Documentary Series
Ankur Shah, born in Mumbai where he witnessed food insecurity and pollution firsthand, is a geospatial data scientist using satellite data to assess climate hazards and environmental issues and is the Director of Operations at Mycelium, where he has designed sustainable food systems and taught workshops on food resilience. Currently studying biomimicry at Arizona State University, Ankur is also co-founder of the From Soil to Soul documentary series, the pilot episode of which, Food Justice in LA, is being shown at Bioneers this year.
Margaret To
Co-Founder | From Soil to Soul Documentary Series
Margaret To, a Los Angeles-based multimedia artist and filmmaker, is the founder of Studio SAKA, a creative studio dedicated to social impact and climate education, and co-leads the LA Chapter of Climate Designers, hosting community events and curating climate resources, jobs, and volunteer opportunities for the LA community. She is a co-founder of the From Soil to Soul documentary series, the pilot episode of which, Food Justice in LA, is being shown at Bioneers this year.
Jahnavi Mange
Co-Founder | From Soil to Soul Documentary Series
Jahnavi Mange, a San Jose-based climate and social justice activist with expertise in sustainability, regenerative strategies, permaculture, and community-building, has worked with a number of grassroots organizations, local governments and global corporations to drive equity and environmental impact. Jahnavi is a co-founder of the From Soil to Soul documentary series, the pilot episode of which, Food Justice in LA, is being shown at Bioneers this year.
Rachel Allen
Producer | From Soil to Soul Documentary Series
Rachel Allen, MFA, a recovering advertising executive passionate about triple-bottom-line filmmaking, has produced such award-winning projects as 'Wish Upon A Disco Ball' and ‘BIPOCalypse,' with notable screen credits including 'Amend: The Fight for America' and 'Promising Young Woman.' With a background in design, storytelling, and literary management, Rachel is dedicated to creating media that uplifts underrepresented communities, fosters environmental consciousness, and inspires positive social change. She is the producer of the From Soil to Soul documentary series, the pilot episode of which, Food Justice in LA, is being shown at Bioneers this year.
Eldon Arena
Cinematographer | From Soil to Soul Documentary Series
Eldon Arena, a Los Angeles-based Filipino cinematographer and editor, co-founded Studio SAKA, a creative studio dedicated to social impact and climate education, and has led film projects with organizations such as LA Compost and Off Their Plate. An expert in cinema cameras and an experienced drone and FPV pilot, he is passionate about crafting meaningful stories. Eldon is the cinematographer of the From Soil to Soul documentary series, the pilot episode of which, Food Justice in LA, is being shown at Bioneers this year.
This powerful film by award-winning documentary filmmakers Josh and Rebecca Tickell and their company, Big Picture Ranch, fuses journalistic exposé with deeply personal stories from those on the front lines of movements fighting for healthy and equitable food systems to unveil the dark webs of money, power, and politics behind our toxic, destructive, and dysfunctional agriculture. The film, which features many past speakers at Bioneers, reveals how unjust practices forged our current system in which farmers of all backgrounds are literally dying to feed us and profiles a hopeful and uplifting movement of white, Black, and Indigenous farmers who are using alternative “regenerative” models of agriculture that could balance the climate, save our health, and stabilize America’s economy…before it’s too late. (Running time: 105 minutes)
March 28th | 9:05 pm to 10:30 pm | Goldman Theater, Brower Center
Saturday, March 29th
Bioneers brings together a very diverse, discerning, engaged and reflective community, and the curated conversations around crucial topics we have been hosting recently (“Conversation Cafes”) have proven highly popular and stimulating. Each session begins with a very brief presentation by one of the conference presenters as a “conversation starter” to frame the topic, followed by structured group discussion. At the end of each session, a “harvester” who has carefully witnessed and “absorbed” what has transpired, offers us a poetic synopsis/recapitulation of the highlights of our time together.
The fervor of our ecological and social movements, while well-intentioned, can often shut people down, sometimes even turning them into opponents, but to achieve genuine transformation, we will need just about everyone. In this session, we will explore how to tap into our compassion, flexibility, curiosity, listening, engagement, and service to widen the possibilities for wellness for all sentient beings. The central question we will contemplate will be: How can we show up in ways that welcome everyone into change? Participants should be prepared to listen and interact in mindful, respectful conversations with open minds and hearts.
The conversation starter for this session will be Jeanine M. Canty, author and professor of Transformative Studies at the California Institute of Integral Studies. Facilitated by David Shaw, Santa Cruz Permaculture and UCSC Right Livelihood Center. “Harvester:” Jason Bayani, author, theater performer, Artistic Director, Kearny Street Workshop.
March 29th | 3:00 pm to 4:15 pm | Ashby Room, Residence Inn
Panelists
Jeanine Canty
Professor of Transformative Studies | California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS)
Jeanine M. Canty, Ph.D., a professor of Transformative Studies at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) whose teaching intersects issues of social and ecological justice, ecopsychology, and the process of worldview expansion and change, is author of Returning the Self to Nature: Undoing Our Collective Narcissism and Healing Our Planet and both editor and contributor to the books Ecological and Social Healing: Multicultural Women’s Voices and Globalism and Localization: Emergent Approaches to Ecological and Social Crises. Her newest book (April ’25) is an expanded, second edition of Ecological and Social Healing: Multicultural Women’s Voices. (ciis.edu)
David Shaw
Founder | Santa Cruz Permaculture and the UCSC Right Livelihood College
David Shaw, a whole systems designer, facilitator, educator, and musician, founded Santa Cruz Permaculture and the UCSC Right Livelihood College, a partnership with the “Alternative Nobel Prize.” He supports communities locally and globally to transform their shared future through strategic dialogue and collective action.
Jason Bayani
Artistic Director | Kearny Street Workshop
Jason Bayani, MFA, a theater performer and author, is Artistic Director of the Kearny Street Workshop, the oldest multi-disciplinary Asian Pacific-American arts organization in the country. A Kundiman Fellow, his published works include: Locus (a 2019 Norcal Book Award finalist) and Amulet. He has written for World Literature Today, Muzzle Magazine, Lantern Review, and other publications and performs regularly around the country. His first solo theater show was 2016’s Locus of Control.
3:00 pm: Indigenous Forum – The Power of Our Stories: Raising Consciousness Through Indigenous Media
Opening of the Indigenous Forum: Gregg Castro (T’rowt’raahl Salinan / Rumsien & Ramaytush Ohlone, Culture Director – Association of Ramaytush Ohlone (ARO)
“Talking Story” is fundamental to the Native experience. This panel features two Indigenous women at the helm of films about personal journeys that explore who we are, where we come from, and healing from intergenerational trauma. In addition to the stories behind the films, panelists will discuss how they came to become documentary artists, creative decisions they made to bring stories to life, and practical tips for others, particularly youth, about ways they can share their stories through multimedia. Moderated by Paloma Flores (Pit River/Purépecha) and featuring Jade Begay (Diné), Impact Producer of Sugarcane; and award-winning multimedia artist and filmmaker Siku Allooloo (Inuk/Taíno).
March 29th | 3:00 pm to 4:15 pm | Berkeley Ballroom, Residence Inn
Panelists
Gregg Castro
Culture Director | Association of Ramaytush Ohlone
Gregg Castro [t'rowt'raahl Salinan/rumsien-ramaytush Ohlone] has worked preserving his indigenous heritage for three decades as a writer-activist. He is Culture Director for the Association of Ramaytush Ohlone; the Society for California Archaeology’s ‘Native American Programs Committee’ Chair; and Adviser to the California Indian Conference, California Indian History Curriculum Coalition and American Indian Cultural District of San Francisco.
Jade Begay
Impact Producer | Sugarcane
Jade Begay (Tesuque Pueblo and Dine), who has worked with Indigenous-led organizations and tribes from the Amazon to the Arctic to advance Indigenous-led solutions and self-determination through advocacy campaigns, research, storytelling and narrative strategies, works at the intersections of Indigenous rights and climate and environmental justice to help shape national and international policy. Jade, who was appointed by President Biden to serve on the first ever White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council and was National Engagement Native American Director for the Harris Walz Campaign, is an Impact Producer for the Oscar-nominated film Sugarcane.
Siku Allooloo
Artist, Writer, and Filmmaker
Siku Allooloo (Inuk/Haitian/Taíno), an award-winning interdisciplinary artist, writer, and filmmaker from Yellowknife, NT, Canada (by way of Mittimatalik, Nunavut and Haiti), has had her film and artwork widely featured, including at the Whitney Museum of American Art, The National Arts Centre, the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Montréal, and DOXA. Her independent journalism, poetry, and creative writing have also been widely published, including in The Guardian, Canadian Art Magazine, and Truthout. A 2025 Artist in Residence at Western Front, Siku is currently leading the production of her first documentary feature, Indigena, as the writer, director and co-producer.
Paloma Flores
Founder and CEO | Paloma Flores Consulting Agency (PFCA)
Paloma Flores, a member of the Pit River Tribe of Northern California and P'urhepecha de Michoacan, Mexico, who has 15 years’ experience working with intertribal communities in California, is the founder and CEO of Paloma Flores Consulting Agency (PFCA), which specializes in transformative speaking and storytelling, cross-cultural collaboration and partnership building, cultural education, supporting the shifting of consciousness through professional development in Indian communities, developing the next generation of youth leaders, and boosting American Indian voices and representation in the arts .
Join Sonali Sangeeta Balajee, Kristin Rothballer, Willow Defebaugh, and Sarah Crowell in opening the aperture of what kinship means. By our nature, queer folk bridge boundaries, build belonging in the in-between spaces, and seek connection beyond all binaries. Join us to explore insights from the particular lived experiences of some highly accomplished queer and trans folk, as we explore how to truly expand our relationships with all of life.
March 29th | 3:00 pm to 4:15 pm | Golden Bear Room, Hotel Shattuck Plaza
Panelists
Sonali Sangeeta Balajee
Founder | Our Bodhi Project
Sonali Sangeeta Balajee, an artist, organizer, and mindfulness/yoga instructor, is the founder of: the Spiritual Social Medicinal Apothecary (SSoMA), a spiritual and political project; and Our Bodhi Project, which focuses on healthy movement-building through enlivening the connection between social and spiritual wellness. Sonali previously spent 13 years in U.S. local government, creating, leading, and managing social justice and racial equity initiatives and has had a long community organizing background focused on climate and racial justice, youth development, death-and-dying, and HIV/AIDS-related advocacy and service. She also currently serves on the boards of Bioneers and Worldtrust.
Sarah Crowell
Co-Director | The Belonging Resident Company
Sarah Crowell, a Black, biracial, lesbian/queer dancer/choreographer and artistic collaborator, sees her work in the world as the bringing of mindfulness and physical embodiment into movements for social justice and racial healing. A leader at Oakland’s Destiny Arts Center for 30 years who now does consulting work with the Othering and Belonging Institute, Dance Mission Theater and other organizations, Sarah is currently the Co-Director of the The Belonging Resident Company, a performance ensemble that centers BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ artists, facilitators, and musicians and aims to foster embodied experiences of belonging and dismantle systems of oppression.
Kristin Rothballer
Social Change Facilitator
Kristin Rothballer, a social change facilitator working at the intersection of personal, social and ecological healing and transformation, consults on strategy, programs, equity and organizational development for nonprofits, foundations, and social and land-based enterprises, while also serving as a Senior Fellow with the Center for Whole Communities Collective and a guide for Ecology of Awakening. She also co-founded and was Managing Director of Green for All; helped design FIREROCK, a musical to engage people around climate change; and has led the development and management of earth-based retreat centers, including Whispertree (formerly Bell Valley Retreat ) and Tunitas Creek Ranch. Kristin, a former Director of Programs at Bioneers, has also stewarded the Tyler Rigg Foundation for 20+ years, and serves on the Board of Keep Tahoe Blue.
Willow Defebaugh
Co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief | Atmos
Willow Defebaugh, Brooklyn-based co-founder and Editor-in-Chief of Atmos Magazine, an award-winning climate and culture media platform that tells stories about the environment through a lens of creativity, is also the author of The Overview, a deep ecology newsletter and book. A lifelong student of nature who graduated with a degree in creative writing from the University of Michigan, her work has been widely published, including in: Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Teen Vogue, V Magazine, Interview, i-D, BBC, The Guardian, them, and New York Magazine.
In this session, leaders from three leading-edge philanthropic networks engage in conversation and share their unique niches and approaches, including the ways each is trying in its own way to stretch conventional approaches in order to create wiser and more effective means of supporting movement leaders and change-makers in their work. Hosted by Will Peterffy, of One Small Planet. With: Daniel Lee, Director of Philanthropic Transformation at the Solidaire Network; Leena Barakat, Executive Director of Women Donors Network; and Isabelle Leighton, Executive Director of the Donors of Color Network.
March 29th | 3:00 pm to 4:15 pm | Crystal Ballroom, Hotel Shattuck Plaza
Panelists
Will Peterffy
Founder and CEO | One Small Planet
Will Peterffy, the founder and CEO of One Small Planet, has spent his life building a bridge between the natural and financial worlds. His passion for nature and his innate understanding of systems thinking have shaped his vision for the future, and in 2020 he committed his full attention to building One Small Planet, his most comprehensive effort to create an authentically holistic, mission-first organization that works to promote solutions that bring the economy back in service to Life and to the health of our only home, our One Small Planet.
Leena Barakat
President and CEO | Women Donors Network
Leena Barakat, a Los Angeles-based activist, strategist and Palestinian-American leader, is the President & CEO of Women Donors Network and its 501c4 affiliate, WDN Action. She began her career as a grassroots activist and cross-movement organizer and has since spanned the nonprofit, tech, and philanthropic sectors with the goal of creating a more just, joyful, and liberated future for all. Leena also serves on the board of Donors of Color Network.
Daniel Lee
Director of Philanthropic Transformation | Solidaire Network
Daniel Lee, M.Div., is the Director of Philanthropic Transformation at Solidaire, whose mission is to “nurture relationships between social movements and donor members to create regenerative systems rooted in love and justice” and to “transform philanthropic culture and practice toward long-term structural change.” His previous roles have included: Executive-in-Residence at the Council on Foundations; Executive Director at the Levi Strauss Foundation (where he also led its award-winning Pioneers in Justice initiative); and Senior Program Officer for Asia Pacific at Outright Action International. Daniel also serves on the boards of several leading foundations.
Isabelle Leighton
Executive Director | Donors of Color Network
Isabelle H. Leighton, Executive Director of the Donors of Color Network and Donors of Color Action, has decades’ experience in social justice fundraising, community organizing, business development, urban planning, and fighting antidemocratic forces. Her previous positions include Development Director at Political Research Associates and founding Director of the Equality Fund at Asian Americans for Equality.
In this session, one of the Bay Area’s most accomplished independent media makers, Lisa Rudman, Director of Audience Engagement at San Francisco Public Press, will engage with America’s leading progressive radio host, the bestselling author Thom Hartmann, who is also one of the most deeply knowledgeable analysts of our nation’s politics,to delve deeply into the roots of our current plunge into authoritarian governance. The topics covered with include the long-developing alliance between American oligarchs and the Supreme Court and the larger endgame to replace American democracy with plutocratic autocracy. What are the pathways to reclaim American democracy from the oligarchs, and what can popular movements do to change the game?
March 29th | 3:00 pm to 4:15 pm | Magnes Museum
Panelists
Thom Hartmann
Author and Talk Show Host
Thom Hartmann, a best-selling author of over 30 books in print and host of the #1 progressive talk show host in America for more than a decade, has co-written and been featured in 6 documentaries with Leonardo DiCaprio about climate change. A former psychotherapist, entrepreneur and refugee worker helping the worldwide Salem group start homes for abandoned and abused children all over the world, Thom and his wife Louise live in Portland, Oregon with a small menagerie of cats, dogs, ducks & geese.
Lisa Rudman
Journalist, and Director of Audience Engagement | San Francisco Public Press
Bio coming soon.
3:00 pm: Stormy Weather: Confronting our Long Emergency
Advancing Climate Action and a Just Transition
As the effects of our rapidly unraveling climate are now barreling down on us, this unparalleled crisis is being dramatically compounded by the assault on our democracy by authoritarians in the pockets of fossil fuel interests. At the same time, the competitive economics of renewable energy continue to gain significant momentum in the global marketplace. How do we navigate the urgent, imperative need to transition to renewable energy as rapidly as possible while bucking the corporate-led backlash to delay it? And how can we make that transition just and equitable in the face of “disaster capitalism,” entrenched racism, and the takeover of governments by the far right? With: Bill McKibben, world-renowned climate leader; Ben Jealous, Executive Director, Sierra Club; Eriel Deranger, global Indigenous climate organizer; attorney and major figure in the Climate Justice movement, Colette Pichon Battle, co-founder, Taproot Earth. Moderated by leading clean technology entrepreneur and activist, Danny Kennedy.
March 29th | 3:00 pm to 4:15 pm | Freight & Salvage
Panelists
Bill McKibben
Co-Founder | Third Act
Bill McKibben, a contributing writer to The New Yorker and a co-founder of Third Act, which organizes people over the age of 60 to work on climate and racial justice, founded the first global grassroots climate campaign, 350.org, and serves as the Schumann Distinguished Professor in Residence at Middlebury College in Vermont. In 2014 he was awarded the Right Livelihood Prize, sometimes called the ‘alternative Nobel,’ in the Swedish Parliament and also won the Gandhi Peace Award as well as receiving honorary degrees from 19 colleges and universities. He has written 12+ books about the environment, including his first, one of the most prescient and important books of the last 100 years, 1989’s The End of Nature. His latest book is: The Flag, the Cross, and the Station Wagon: A Graying American Looks Back at his Suburban Boyhood and Wonders What the Hell Happened.
Ben Jealous
Executive Director | Sierra Club
Ben Jealous, named the seventh Executive Director of the Sierra Club in 2022, has served in roles from organizer to investigative journalist to president of two of the nation’s most influential groups pursuing equity and justice and protecting democracy and the environment. From 2008 to 2013, he led the NAACP as the youngest-ever president and CEO of the nation’s oldest and largest civil rights organization and launched the NAACP’s Climate Justice Program. More recently Ben was President of People for the American Way (PFAW). Ben began his professional trajectory as a reporter and managing editor at the black-owned community newspaper, the Jackson Advocate, exposing “cancer clusters” in Mississippi’s rural communities caused by industrial pollution. He has also been a partner at one of the nation’s premier ESG venture capital firms, has won many awards, served on the boards of the Environmental Defense Fund, the Trust for Public Lands and the Wilderness Society, taught at Princeton (and currently at the University of Pennsylvania), and is a best-selling author, including most recently of: Never Forget Our People Were Always Free: A Parable of American Healing.
Eriel Tchekwie Deranger
Co-Founder and Executive Director | Indigenous Climate Action
Eriel Tchekwie Deranger (Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation), a leading global figure in Indigenous Rights and Climate Justice activism, is the co-founder and Executive Director of Indigenous Climate Action and is a member of the International Indigenous Peoples Forum on Climate Change. She also sits on a number of boards of notable non-profit organizations (including Bioneers) and activist groups. She has organized divest movements, lobbied government officials, led mass mobilizations against the fossil fuel industry, written extensively for a range of publications and been featured in documentary films (including Elemental).
Colette Pichon Battle
Vision & Initiatives Partner | Taproot Earth
Colette Pichon Battle, a generational native of Bayou Liberty, Louisiana, is an award-winning lawyer and prominent climate justice organizer. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, when Black and Indigenous communities were largely left out of federal recovery systems, Colette led the Gulf Coast Center for Law and Policy (GCCLP) to provide relief and legal assistance to Gulf South communities of color. After 17 years at GCCLP’s helm, as frontline communities from the Gulf South to the Global South face ever more devastating storms, droughts, wildfires, heat, and land loss, she co-founded Taproot Earth to create connections and power across issues, movements, and geographies.
Danny Kennedy
Clean Technology Entrepreneur and Activist
Danny Kennedy, a Senior Adviser to the Sunrise Project, Wollemi Capital and various startups, was the founding CEO of New Energy Nexus, a global platform organization for funds and incubators with chapters in a dozen countries from 2015-2024. He continues as a Venture Partner with the New Energy Nexus' Catalyst Fund, but his focus has moved from innovating new climate solutions to building and deploying the ones we've got!
The current administration’s aggressive targeting of immigrants and refugees represents a profound moral failure that will likely be viewed by history as an unconscionable exercise in needless cruelty and fundamentally flawed policy. While the long-term judgment of these actions awaits, their immediate consequences—manifested in widespread suffering, fear, and destabilization affecting millions of lives—demand our urgent attention. This session brings together policy experts, advocates, and individuals directly impacted by these policies to assess our current position and develop effective resistance strategies. Together, we will examine approaches to counter this assault on human rights and dignity, with the goal of mobilizing collective action to revitalize the compassion and inclusivity that represent the highest ideals of American society. Moderated by Nicole Phillips, staff attorney with the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti and a law professor at the Université de la Foundation. With: Mahjabin Khanzada of Project ANAR; Homayoon Ghanizada, Program Supervisor at Jewish Family & Community Services East Bay; Sara Kohgadai, immigration attorney and Project Coordinator with Project ANAR.
March 29th | 4:45 pm to 6:00 pm | Magnes Museum
Panelists
Mahjabin Khanzada – Youth Keynote
Program Coordinator and Legal Assistant | Project ANAR
Mahjabin Khanzada, a young Afghan woman, a former interpreter for the U.S. embassy, fled her homeland during the Taliban takeover in 2021 and has worked in the face of great challenges to rebuild her life in the Bay Area. She has become a passionate activist for Afghani women’s rights and an advocate for her community and has been working with the Immigration Justice organization Project Anar to help newly arrived Afghan refugees resettle successfully. Mahjabin has also worked for three years with Crescent Moon Theater Productions, sharing her story through the documentary theater project: "Hold On, When Everything Changes in a Flash."
Homayoon Ghanizada
Program Supervisor | Jewish Family & Community Services East Bay
Homayoon Ghanizada, the Program Supervisor at Jewish Family and Community Services East Bay, manages a team of case managers who provide both resettlement and intensive case-management services to refugees. He also troubleshoots challenges faced by families and collaborates with partner organizations and various state departments to address any barriers families face in their journey toward self-sufficiency.
Sara Kohgadai
Immigration Attorney and Project Coordinator | Project ANAR
Sara Kohgadai, a first-generation Afghan-American, is an immigration attorney and Project Coordinator with Project ANAR (the Afghan Network for Advocacy and Resources), an Afghan community immigration justice organization formed and led by Afghan-American women. Before joining Project Anar in 2023, she had already been actively involved in the immigration field for many years, first volunteering with nonprofit organizations in the Bay Area, then establishing a solo practice, then, in response to the arrival of Afghan parolees in 2021, partnering with the East Bay Sanctuary Covenant to prepare affirmative asylum petitions for newly arrived Afghans.
Nicole Phillips
Human Rights Legal Advisor and Adjunct Professor | UC College of the Law, San Francisco
Nicole Phillips is a human rights legal advisor and adjunct professor at UC College of the Law, San Francisco, where she co-teaches Human Rights and Rule of Law in Haiti. Certified as an expert witness on conditions in Haiti in dozens of U.S. immigration cases, she has appeared before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and several UN bodies on a variety of issues. From 2020 to 2024, Ms. Phillips was Legal Director of Haitian Bridge Alliance, a nonprofit that advocates for fair and humane immigration policies for Haitian and other Black migrants. Based in Port-au-Prince, Haiti from 2010 to 2018, Ms. Phillips worked as a staff attorney with the Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti (“IJDH”). She also regularly provides legal and human rights analysis to U.S. and international media.
Environmental Justice movements, despite the enormous inequities and challenges they faced, had been making major progress these past few decades in raising awareness, mobilizing at the grassroots, and getting some positive laws passed and regulations put in place at various levels of government, but the current reactionary political moment has put much of that forward motion in dire jeopardy. Also, the shift to cleaner energy has too much global market momentum to be reversed (even with fossil fuel lobbyists calling the shots at U.S. federal agencies), but how can we assure that it is a just and inclusive transition, not another driver of corporate wealth extraction? In this session, three major Environmental Justice advocates will explore these difficult issues and share their thoughts on how to keep making progress at the local, regional, and global levels in the context of the intense authoritarian, racist backlash now underway. With: Sierra Club Executive Director, Ben Jealous; Richmond City Councilwoman Doria Robinson; and Manuel Pastor, Director of the Equity Research Institute at USC, one of the nation’s greatest scholars of social movements. Moderated by: Christine Cordero, Co-Director, Asian Pacific Environmental Network (APEN).
March 29th | 4:45 pm to 6:00 pm | Freight & Salvage
Panelists
Ben Jealous
Executive Director | Sierra Club
Ben Jealous, named the seventh Executive Director of the Sierra Club in 2022, has served in roles from organizer to investigative journalist to president of two of the nation’s most influential groups pursuing equity and justice and protecting democracy and the environment. From 2008 to 2013, he led the NAACP as the youngest-ever president and CEO of the nation’s oldest and largest civil rights organization and launched the NAACP’s Climate Justice Program. More recently Ben was President of People for the American Way (PFAW). Ben began his professional trajectory as a reporter and managing editor at the black-owned community newspaper, the Jackson Advocate, exposing “cancer clusters” in Mississippi’s rural communities caused by industrial pollution. He has also been a partner at one of the nation’s premier ESG venture capital firms, has won many awards, served on the boards of the Environmental Defense Fund, the Trust for Public Lands and the Wilderness Society, taught at Princeton (and currently at the University of Pennsylvania), and is a best-selling author, including most recently of: Never Forget Our People Were Always Free: A Parable of American Healing.
Doria Robinson
Executive Director | Urban Tilth
Doria Robinson, a 3rd generation resident of Richmond, California, current member of the Richmond City Council (District 3), and one of the most effective, exemplary community organizers in the nation, has been, since 2007, the Executive Director of Urban Tilth, a widely renowned community-based organization dedicated to cultivating a more sustainable, healthy, and just food system. Also co-founder of the Richmond Food Policy Council, former co-chair of the US Food Sovereignty Alliance Western Region, and member of the Climate Justice Alliance, Food Sovereignty Working Group, Doria (a Certified Permaculture Designer, Bay Friendly Gardener, Nutrition Educator and Yoga Instructor) has a strong background in farming, from working on the 350-acre Apostolic Temple of Truth Ranch on weekends in her youth to working on organic farms in Massachusetts while in college, and later at the legendary Veritable Vegetable women-owned organic produce distribution company.
Manuel Pastor
Distinguished Professor of Sociology and American Studies & Ethnicity | University of Southern California
Manuel Pastor, Ph.D., a Distinguished Professor of Sociology and American Studies & Ethnicity at the University of Southern California, currently directs the Equity Research Institute at USC. The inaugural holder of the Turpanjian Chair in Civil Society and Social Change at USC, Pastor’s research has generally focused on issues of the economic, environmental and social conditions facing low-income urban communities – and the social movements seeking to change those realities. He has won countless awards for his scholarship and advocacy and is the author or co-author of many books, including: Just Growth; Solidarity Economics; and, most recently (with Chris Benner), Charging Forward: Lithium Valley, Electric Vehicles, and a Just Future.
Christine Cordero
Co-Director | Asian Pacific Environmental Network (APEN)
Christine Cordero, raised by a Filipino immigrant family in the working class town of Pittsburg, CA, is Co-Director of the Asian Pacific Environmental Network (APEN), organizing with immigrants and refugees for a healthy environment and thriving economy for all communities. For 20+ years, Christine has strategized, organized, and built coalitions across environmental health and justice, workers rights, and economic and racial justice issues. Previously, she was Executive Director at the Center for Story-based Strategy, training 2,000+ people and working with 200+ groups to reinvigorate narrative strategies for social justice. An alumnus of Rockwood Institute’s Leading from the Inside Out Fellowship, one of the nation’s leading executive leadership programs for experienced social change trailblazers, Christine is also an ordained priest of the Chozen-ji line of Rinzai Zen.
4:45 pm: Interactive Session – Moving Towards Belonging: A Dance/Theater Experience
Co-Sponsored with The Belonging Resident Company
Come explore the radical idea of “belonging without othering,” as espoused by the Othering and Belonging Institute’s Director, john a. powell, through simple movement and theater techniques, and guided conversation. This workshop offers participants a chance to explore personal and collective experiences of belonging, and to dream a world in which everyone belongs in the circle of human concern. Instructors: Sarah Crowell and Sangita Kumar, Co-Directors of The Belonging Resident Company, an ensemble of artists and facilitators dedicated to making the revolution of belonging irresistible.
March 29th | 4:45 pm to 6:00 pm | Skillful Means Center, Dharma College
Panelists
Sarah Crowell
Co-Director | The Belonging Resident Company
Sarah Crowell, a Black, biracial, lesbian/queer dancer/choreographer and artistic collaborator, sees her work in the world as the bringing of mindfulness and physical embodiment into movements for social justice and racial healing. A leader at Oakland’s Destiny Arts Center for 30 years who now does consulting work with the Othering and Belonging Institute, Dance Mission Theater and other organizations, Sarah is currently the Co-Director of the The Belonging Resident Company, a performance ensemble that centers BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ artists, facilitators, and musicians and aims to foster embodied experiences of belonging and dismantle systems of oppression.
Sangita Kumar
Co-Director | Belonging Resident Company
Sangita Kumar, an organizational development consultant and somatic coach, is the founder of Be The Change Consulting, a human-centered consulting firm that seeks to support organizations and movements to bring liberatory practices into their work. She is also the Co-Director of the The Belonging Resident Company, a performance ensemble that centers BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ artists, facilitators, and musicians and aims to foster embodied experiences of belonging and dismantle systems of oppression.
4:45 pm: Defending the Living World
Co-sponsored with the Safina Center’s Fellowship Programs
We will never be able to address climate change and ensure healthy, just human communities unless we protect and defend the entire web of life. The Safina Center, founded by renowned ecologist and author Carl Safina, has for more than 20 years drawn from science, art and literature to advance the case for Life on Earth. Among its most inspiring and effective endeavors are its senior and junior fellowship programs, which help support and highlight the work of a small cohort of brilliant early- and mid-career scientists, researchers, activists and artists whose work addresses conservation, the environment, and/or social justice in unique ways. This session will feature three recent, extraordinary Safina Fellows: Danielle Khan Da Silva, award-winning documentary photographer, director, conservation activist, founder/Executive Director of Photographers Without Borders, and co-founder of the Sumatran Wildlife Sanctuary; Jasmin Graham, a young shark scientist and environmental educator, President/CEO of Minorities in Shark Sciences, an organization dedicated to supporting gender minorities of color in shark sciences; Katlyn Taylor, passionate marine biologist and conservationist, naturalist, guide, and widely traveled Coast Guard licensed captain, co-creator of The Whalenerds Podcast.
March 29th | 4:45 pm to 6:00 pm | Goldman Theater, Brower Center
Panelists
Danielle Khan Da Silva
Founder and Executive Director | Photographers Without Borders
Danielle Khan Da Silva is an award-winning queer South-Asian/Portuguese photographer, director, writer, intersectional conservationist and National Geographic Explorer. She is also the Founder and Executive Director of Photographers Without Borders and co-founder of the Sumatran Wildlife Sanctuary, Reclaim Power mentorship program, and other initiatives. Danielle holds Hons. BSc. degrees in conservation biology, psychology and global studies, as well as an MSc. in Environment & Development from the London School of Economics. She is passionate about Indigenous science, rematriation, Indigenous land and water stewardship, and their applications to orca/humpback whale conservation.
Jasmin Graham
President and CEO | Minorities in Shark Sciences
Jasmin Graham, an award-winning young shark scientist and environmental educator who specializes in elasmobranch (shark and ray) ecology and evolution, serves on the board of the American Elasmobranch Society, is President and CEO of Minorities in Shark Sciences (an organization dedicated to supporting gender minorities of color in shark sciences) and is Project Coordinator for the MarSci-LACE project focused on promoting best practices to recruit, support and retain minority students in marine science. Jasmin is also the author of Sharks Don't Sink: Adventures of a Rogue Shark Scientist and directed/hosted the PBS Terra series, Sharks Unknown with Jasmin Graham.
Katlyn Taylor
Marine Biologist
Katlyn Taylor, a marine biologist who works as a naturalist, guide, and U.S. Coast Guard licensed captain, has a driving passion for marine mammals and facilitating meaningful experiences with them all over the world. She got her start working in ecotourism in Monterey CA before following the whales seasonally around the U.S. and beyond and has guided expeditions in the polar regions for several years giving lectures about marine mammals and guiding people in remote areas. While in Monterey she worked for several years with the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council’s vessel disturbance working group at NOAA, served on the Monterey Sustainable Hospitality Collective, and served on the board of the American Cetacean Society’s Monterey Bay Chapter. She is also the co-creator of The Whalenerd’s Podcast and co-author/co-editor of the 2024 book Wild Monterey Bay.
4:45 pm: Community Wealth Building: A Conversation with Beloved Economies, Full Spectrum Capital Partners, and The Guild
Hosted by the Beloved Economies Collaborative for Narrative Infrastructure
Community wealth extraction refers to the process by which resources are taken out of a community to benefit external parties, without adequately reinvesting in or benefiting the local population. As summed up in the book Beloved Economies (2022), its impacts can look like waves of small businesses closing in a community and never reopening, followed by dollar stores and chain stores that send their profits to distant corporate headquarters mushrooming; no decent grocery stores for miles; hospitals closing down; public schools having to switch to a four-day week due to declining property taxes; cash-strapped local authorities selling a local public park to raise revenue, etc. The good news is there is an alternative. The community wealth-building movement demonstrates how we can build and keep wealth in our communities in equitable ways to build vibrant, reparative, and regenerative local economies in balance with the natural world. In this session, leaders from cutting-edge efforts engaged in this work share their perspectives and experiences. With: Taj James of Full Spectrum Capital Partners; Jess Rimington of Beloved Economies; and Nikishka Iyengar of The Guild.
March 29th | 4:45 pm to 6:00 pm | Golden Bear Room, Hotel Shattuck Plaza
Panelists
Jess Rimington
Co-Leader | Collaborative for Narrative Infrastructure
Jess Rimington is a next-economy strategist, practitioner, and scholar focused on supporting businesses and organizations to step out of extractive capitalism. She is co-author of Beloved Economies: Transforming How We Work –winner of the Porchlight’s Business Book Award in Management & Workplace Culture. She was Co-Director of the Beloved Economies research initiative from 2015-2022, and currently co-leads the Collaborative for Narrative Infrastructure –a 15-organization coalition that seeks to increase progressive movements’ storytelling capacities to help bring about shifts in how we work and build an economy that works for all.
Nikishka Iyengar
Founder and CEO | The Guild
Nikishka Iyengar, a social entrepreneur, community organizer and media-maker with over a decade of experience building economic democracy, is the founder and CEO of The Guild, where she develops community-owned models of land, housing, and real estate to foster self-determination for Black, working-class, and other marginalized communities. She also leads Groundcover, a $30M fund dedicated to investing in shared equity land models. A current Loeb Fellow at Harvard, Nikishka co-hosts the Road to Repair podcast focused on moving beyond a "business-as-usual" economy toward solidarity and collective liberation.
Taj James
Co-Founder and Curator | Full Spectrum Labs
Taj James, co-founder and Curator at Full Spectrum Labs, a Principal with Full Spectrum Capital Partners, and co-founder and a Senior Advisor at Movement Strategy Center, is a father, poet, strategist, designer, and philanthropic and capital advisor. Taj seeks in his work to connect community stewards with capital stewards in order to bring financial value into alignment with sacred values in ways that build community wealth.
This film by Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie, a stunning tribute to the resilience of Native people and their way of life, won the U.S. Documentary Directing Award at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, then garnered over a dozen prestigious awards and has now been nominated for an Oscar! It digs deep into groundbreaking investigations into abuse and death at an Indian residential school and follows community members as they seek to break cycles of intergenerational trauma by bearing witness to painful, long-ignored truths and the love that endures within their families despite the revelation of genocide. After the screening, there will be a Q+A with Impact Producer Jade Begay.
Please Note: Film Screenings are first-come, first-served. Please be sure to arrive early if you’d like to guarantee a seat.
March 29th | 6:45 pm to 9:00 pm | Goldman Theater, Brower Center
Panelists
Jade Begay
Impact Producer | Sugarcane
Jade Begay (Tesuque Pueblo and Dine), who has worked with Indigenous-led organizations and tribes from the Amazon to the Arctic to advance Indigenous-led solutions and self-determination through advocacy campaigns, research, storytelling and narrative strategies, works at the intersections of Indigenous rights and climate and environmental justice to help shape national and international policy. Jade, who was appointed by President Biden to serve on the first ever White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council and was National Engagement Native American Director for the Harris Walz Campaign, is an Impact Producer for the Oscar-nominated film Sugarcane.
