Thursday, March 26th
Visit our upstairs tea lounge in the Marsh for a relaxing cup of tea and conversation! Accessibility notes: low lighting, ambient noise from the main stage, seating on the ground, and a flight of stairs for access (elevator available upon request).
March 26th | 1:00 pm to 2:45 pm | Upstairs in The Marsh
What will help you make the most of your time at Bioneers? Are you hoping to clarify and/or get support with your projects and dreams? Are you looking for collaborators / co-conspirators / companions in the journey? Join this lunchtime networking experience to engage with fellow travelers on shared roads. It will be lightly facilitated with ample time for organic connections. Bring your lunch to the Dharma College and make surprising connections with other conference attendees. Note: Food will not be provided, but, maybe like the school cafeteria, your buddies will share some of their treats with you. Facilitated by Shilpa Jain, Zi Terrence-Smith, and Marisa Villarreal.
March 26th | 1:30 pm to 2:45 pm | Lotus Cafe, Dharma College
Panelists
Shilpa Jain
Researcher, Writer and Workshop Leader
Shilpa Jain, a researcher, writer and workshop leader on topics including globalization, creativity, ecology, democratic living and innovative learning, has facilitated dozens of transformative leadership gatherings around the world and worked with hundreds of young leaders from 50+ countries. Her past positions include: Executive Director of YES! (for 11 years); Education and Outreach Coordinator of Other Worlds; and learning activist with Shikshantar: The Peoples’ Institute for Rethinking Education and Development in Udaipur, India.
Zi Terrence-Smith
Bio coming soon.
Marisa Villarreal
Director | GRID Alternatives
Marisa Villarreal, Director at GRID Alternatives (a national renewable energy nonprofit), has 15 years’ experience in developing intersectional climate and social justice programs in a wide range of contexts, as well as in seeking to create restorative spaces for transformation, healing, dreaming, and play.
In this “on-our-feet” workshop, we will use play to tap into our unconscious, loosen energetic blockages, and add new skills to our toolkit of collaboration and partnership. Come discover powerful but joyous ways to unleash our creativity, boost our wellbeing, enhance our social skills, and revitalize our souls.With: Elsa Menendez, who has decades of experience in conflict management, inclusive leadership practices, social and arts activism, and international theater at the intersections of art, ecology and embodied learning.
March 26th | 3:00 pm to 4:15 pm | Skillful Means Center, Dharma College
Panelists
Elsa Menendez
Deputy Director | City of Albuquerque’s Department of Arts and Culture
Elsa Menendez is the Deputy Director of the City of Albuquerque’s Department of Arts and Culture and a core trainer with Sonderworx/DAC for the Albuquerque Community Safety Department, where she trains behavioral health first responders in conflict management, communication, and inclusive leadership practices. With 40+ years in international theatre, Elsa has worked as a writer, director, producer and performer, including as Artistic Director of Tricklock Company and Producer of the Revolutions International Theatre Festival. A certified life coach, she co-founded Women Leading Change and serves on the board of Biomimicry for Social Innovation. Elsa previously worked for U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich and the National Hispanic Cultural Center. She is currently studying Polyvagal Theory and is a core member of the Eco-Performance Institute, exploring the intersections of art, ecology, and embodied learning.
How do we sustain ourselves in the midst of upheaval and uncertainty? By cultivating an inner strength rooted in our belonging to one another, Earth, and all of life! In this interactive session, we’ll explore soul care practices that allow us to face the intense challenges of these difficult times from a place of wholeness, so that we can become more effective agents of sacred transformation. Facilitated by author, activist, and counselor Liza J. Rankow, Ph.D., MHS.
March 26th | 3:00 pm to 4:15 pm | Lotus Cafe, Dharma College
Panelists
Liza Rankow
Interfaith Minister, Educator, Activist and Author
Liza J. Rankow, Ph.D., an interfaith minister, educator, activist, and author whose lifework centers the deep healing that is essential to personal and social transformation, has been a spiritual counselor and teacher for more than three decades, working with individual clients, facilitating healing retreats, and offering classes and workshops in a variety of community and academic settings. Her new book is Soul Medicine for a Fractured World: Healing, Justice, and the Path of Wholeness.
In this experiential session, we will explore through collective coloring the theme of “interbeing”—the renowned Buddhist figureThich Nhat Hanh’s teaching on our deep interconnectedness as a living antidote to separation and despair. We’ll begin with a grounding embodiment practice before coloring pages from Chetna Mehta’s coloring book, Cultivating Compassion in Times of Fascism, to help us boost our capacity for compassion, for one another, the land, our more-than-human kin, andfor ourselves. This space will seek to offer us a nervous system sanctuary amid the intense stimulation of the larger conference—an opportunity to slow down, color, and remember that color, presence, and collective care can be forms of resistance and repair. With: Chetna Mehta, multidisciplinary artist, founder of Mosaiceye Collective.
March 26th | 4:45 pm to 6:00 pm | Skillful Means Center, Dharma College
Panelists
Chetna Mehta
Founder | Mosaiceye Collective
Chetna Mehta, a granddaughter of Indian and South African diasporas, is a multidisciplinary artist, facilitator, and “creativity doula” who seeks to weave somatic healing, decolonial/ecological frameworks, and expressive arts into a liberatory practice. The founder of Mosaiceye Collective, which provides resources, programs and spaces where women and non-binary changemakers can play, transform, and engage in expansive collaboration, Chetna is the author and illustrator of the Cultivating Compassion in Times of Fascism Coloring Book.
The work of ecological and social healing requires that we reconnect with our deepest selves, our lineages, our communities, and the places where we live, but many of us straddle traditions drawn from places and contexts that feel far away from our current realities. In this interactive session, two of the authors of the second edition of Ecological and Social Healing: Multicultural Women’s Voices will share practices and processes we can use to weave our ancestral knowledge into the places we currently inhabit. Come prepared to: work with your own ancestral stories; engage in dialogue and experiential practices; be creative; and show up with respect and compassion for the larger community. Facilitated by: Jeanine M. Canty, PhD, professor of Transformative Studies, CIIS; Sara H. Salazar, Ph.D., Associate Professor, CIIS.
March 26th | 4:45 pm to 6:00 pm | Lotus Cafe, Dharma College
Panelists
Jeanine Canty
Professor of Transformative Studies | California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS)
Jeanine M. Canty, Ph.D., 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 editor of and a contributor to the collections: Ecological and Social Healing: Multicultural Women’s Voices and Globalism and Localization: Emergent Approaches to Ecological and Social Crises.
Sara Salazar
Associate Professor | California Institute of Integral Studies
Sara H. Salazar, Ph.D., Associate Professor at the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco, a Xicana scholar and educator whose transdisciplinary work is centered on decolonial theory and praxis, feminist philosophy, and critical pedagogies, conducts research on: Chicana spirituality, art, and activism; radical mothering practices; Indigenous food systems; and Restorative Justice.
Jeanne Merrill, Executive Director of The Berkeley Food Institute, will facilitate a conversation among a wide range of food professionals, farmers and those interested in transforming the food system who will have the opportunity to share their experiences and make new contacts.
March 26th | 4:45 pm to 6:00 pm | Ashby Room, Residence Inn
Panelists
Jeanne Merrill
Executive Director | Berkeley Food Institute
Jeanne Merrill, M.Sc., Executive Director of the Berkeley Food Institute (an interdisciplinary research, education and policy institute working to advance just and sustainable food systems), has 25+ years’ experience in food systems advocacy, policy analysis and development, and nonprofit leadership. A co-founder and former Policy Director with the California Climate and Agriculture Network (CalCAN), she led policy initiatives that established the state’s Climate Smart Agriculture Programs, resulting in nearly $1 billion invested in financial incentives and technical assistance. Jeanne has also held several state and federal appointments, most recently to the U.S. EPA’s Farm, Ranch, and Rural Communities Advisory Committee (2023).
Bioneers Afterglow is a happy hour open to all conference attendees at the end of each day of presentations, providing a casual atmosphere with snacks, drinks, music and revelry. Party in the Cabaret, hang out in the Main Stage, or visit our fabulous Tea Lounge upstairs!
Important Note: This event is well-attended in a not-enormous space and has a festive atmosphere with a fairly elevated ambient noise level, so it is best for those accustomed to somewhat crowded bars or music venues. We will be providing alternatives throughout the conference for those seeking quieter and/or more structured networking opportunities.
March 26th | 6:15 pm to 8:30 pm | The Marsh Arts Center
Visit our upstairs tea lounge in the Marsh for a relaxing cup of tea and conversation! Accessibility notes: low lighting, ambient noise from the main stage, seating on the ground, and a flight of stairs for access (elevator available upon request).
March 26th | 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm | Upstairs in The Marsh
7:00 pm: Thursday Throwdown
Hosted by Shilpa Jain
Who is participating in Bioneers this year? What magic might materialize when we come together? Meet and mix with your fellow attendees in a spirit of welcome, curiosity, and connection. Set intentions, let go of expectations, share stories, and find supportive partners in this playful environment. All conference attendees are welcome! This event is especially for those who prefer spaces free of too much ambient noise, so that they can engage in conversation without having to shout to be heard. This will be lightly facilitated with ample time for organic engagement. Note: Food will not be provided, but the café at Freight and Salvage will be open.
March 26th | 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm | Freight & Salvage
Panelists
Shilpa Jain
Researcher, Writer and Workshop Leader
Shilpa Jain, a researcher, writer and workshop leader on topics including globalization, creativity, ecology, democratic living and innovative learning, has facilitated dozens of transformative leadership gatherings around the world and worked with hundreds of young leaders from 50+ countries. Her past positions include: Executive Director of YES! (for 11 years); Education and Outreach Coordinator of Other Worlds; and learning activist with Shikshantar: The Peoples’ Institute for Rethinking Education and Development in Udaipur, India.
Friday, March 27th
After a morning of intense presentations, there is nothing like reconnecting to our bodies before lunch by dancing to the rhythms of great percussionists, and there are none better than Educator, Ritualist, Cultural Drummer, Ambassador, Spiritual Earth Activist Steward, Community Advocate-Trainer, and founder of Spirit Drumz and Raise Yuh Voice Jamaica, Afia Walking Tree; and Deb Lane, formerly of the Santa Cruz World Beat Band, Pele Juju; and their cohorts.
March 27th | 12:40 pm to 1:10 pm | Zellerbach Theater Lobby & Patio
Panelists
Afia Walking Tree
Percussionist, Educator and Facilitator
Afia Walking Tree, M.Ed., a Jamaican-born feminist percussionist, educator, and facilitator working at the “crossroads of rhythm, land, and liberation,” is an adjunct professor at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS), an Artist-in-Residence with the African American Policy Forum, and One Billion Rising/V-Day’s Jamaica Coordinator. Afia has returned to Jamaica to steward a 25-acre regenerative land-based sanctuary and learning hub (Solidarity Yaad), where she curates nature-immersed healing journeys and eco-experiences rooted in ancestral wisdom, agroforestry, food security, and community care, prioritizing BIPOC women, and gender-expansive, queer, and trans-masculine people.
Deb Lane
Drummer and Water Conservation Administrator
Deb Lane has been playing the drums for most of her life. Formerly a member of the Santa Cruz World Beat Band, Pele Juju, she performs with artists throughout the Bay Area and beyond. In addition to her musical endeavors, Deb is a leader in water-use efficiency and works as a Water Conservation Administrator.
Sit across from a stranger and draw each other…badly. In this playful Bad Art Club workshop, we invite participants to pair up with a stranger to create intentionally bad portraits in order to help us slow down, make eye contact, and let go of perfection in favor of connection. Come draw badly and leave with a portrait and a new friend. Low-pressure, drop-in friendly, and accessible for all abilities.
March 27th | 1:30 pm to 2:30 pm | The Marsh Cabaret
What will help you make the most of your time at Bioneers? Are you hoping to clarify and/or get support with your projects and dreams? Are you looking for collaborators / co-conspirators / companions in the journey? Join this lunchtime networking experience to engage with fellow travelers on shared roads. It will be lightly facilitated with ample time for organic connections. Bring your lunch to the Dharma College and make surprising connections with other conference attendees. Note: Food will not be provided, but, maybe like the school cafeteria, your buddies will share some of their treats with you. Facilitated by Shilpa Jain, Zi Terrence-Smith, and Marisa Villarreal.
March 27th | 1:30 pm to 2:45 pm | Lotus Cafe, Dharma College
Panelists
Shilpa Jain
Researcher, Writer and Workshop Leader
Shilpa Jain, a researcher, writer and workshop leader on topics including globalization, creativity, ecology, democratic living and innovative learning, has facilitated dozens of transformative leadership gatherings around the world and worked with hundreds of young leaders from 50+ countries. Her past positions include: Executive Director of YES! (for 11 years); Education and Outreach Coordinator of Other Worlds; and learning activist with Shikshantar: The Peoples’ Institute for Rethinking Education and Development in Udaipur, India.
Zi Terrence-Smith
Bio coming soon.
Marisa Villarreal
Director | GRID Alternatives
Marisa Villarreal, Director at GRID Alternatives (a national renewable energy nonprofit), has 15 years’ experience in developing intersectional climate and social justice programs in a wide range of contexts, as well as in seeking to create restorative spaces for transformation, healing, dreaming, and play.
This session filled with creative games and play, somatic practices, and a touch of polyvagal theory (which can help us positively influence the physiological/psychological states that underlie our daily behavior) is designed to help us refresh and reboot our nervous systems so we can be even more effective and joyous in our quests for social justice and climate action. With: Elsa Menendez, Deputy Director of the City of Albuquerque’s Department of Arts and Culture, with decades of expertise in conflict management, inclusive leadership practices, social and arts activism, and embodied learning.
March 27th | 3:00 pm to 4:15 pm | Skillful Means Center, Dharma College
Panelists
Elsa Menendez
Deputy Director | City of Albuquerque’s Department of Arts and Culture
Elsa Menendez is the Deputy Director of the City of Albuquerque’s Department of Arts and Culture and a core trainer with Sonderworx/DAC for the Albuquerque Community Safety Department, where she trains behavioral health first responders in conflict management, communication, and inclusive leadership practices. With 40+ years in international theatre, Elsa has worked as a writer, director, producer and performer, including as Artistic Director of Tricklock Company and Producer of the Revolutions International Theatre Festival. A certified life coach, she co-founded Women Leading Change and serves on the board of Biomimicry for Social Innovation. Elsa previously worked for U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich and the National Hispanic Cultural Center. She is currently studying Polyvagal Theory and is a core member of the Eco-Performance Institute, exploring the intersections of art, ecology, and embodied learning.
Facilitated by Nandita Batheja and Austin Willacy, this session invites all artists and creatives, and people who want to bring more arts and creativity into their environmental/climate work! Come and share your projects and passions and lay the foundation for future partnerships. This will be lightly facilitated with ample time for organic connections as well. Austin Willacy is a staff member at Youth in Arts (based in San Rafael, CA) and Nandita Batheja is the co-executive director of the SOULL (School of Unusual Life Learning). Together, they facilitate the annual YES! Arts and Social Change Jam, a co-creative gathering of activists at the meeting point of inner, interpersonal, and systematic transformation.
March 27th | 3:00 pm to 4:15 pm | Ashby Room, Residence Inn
Panelists
Nandita Batheja
Co-Executive Director | SOULL (School of Unusual Life Learning)
Nandita Batheja, a facilitator, somatics practitioner, and multi-disciplinary artist, is Co-Director of the School of Unusual Life Learning and a facilitator of InterPlay, an improvisational creative arts practice designed to unlock the wisdom of the body.
Austin Willacy
Community Organizer and Singer/Songwriter | Youth in Arts
Austin Willacy, a community organizer, award-winning singer/songwriter and a longtime member of the renowned a cappella group, The House Jacks (https://www.housejacks.com/), seeks to use music to foster peacebuilding and social justice and bridge divides. He has toured globally, released numerous albums, and facilitated workshops internationally, including in Turkey, India, and Israel/Palestine. (austinwillacy.com)
Movement is the most immediate portal to nervous system regulation, opening us to states of calm, connection and self-compassion, and the spine, the core “wild moving center” in our body, is also a pathway of our intuitive wisdom. In many ancient traditions it’s a pathway for Spirit. In this session, we will learn how to “bathe” our spine in breath and sound to restore its free-flowing movement, center our nervous systems, and invite greater ease, comfort, range, rhythm, and possibility in our expression, emotion and action. With: Amber Gray, longtime, widely-traveled human rights psychotherapist, innovative movement artist, master trainer and educator, Continuum teacher, and public health professional.
March 27th | 4:45 pm to 6:00 pm | Skillful Means Center, Dharma College
Panelists
Amber Gray
Activist, Academic, Artist, Therapist, Dancer and Teacher
Amber Elizabeth Gray, Ph.D., is a widely traveled, highly experienced human rights psychotherapist, innovative movement artist, board certified dance/movement therapist, master trainer and educator, Continuum teacher, and public health professional with a decades-long track record working on social justice. An innovator in the use of somatic psychology and movement–based therapies with survivors of trauma, torture, war, and human rights abuses in a number of nations, she also draws from eco-psychology, contemplative psychotherapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, EMDR, somatic experiencing, and narrative exposure therapy in her clinical work and is the originator of the Poto Mitan Trauma & Resiliency Framework.
Are we living in truly unprecedented times, or are we simply witnessing recurring historical patterns? A century ago, the world looked much the same as today: emergence from a devastating pandemic; rising authoritarianism; extreme wealth inequality; rapid technological changes; mass migration; and social upheaval. What followed was the Great Depression and World War II. How do we avoid repeating such a dark history and chart a different course? In this session, Kevin John Fong, author ofThe Five Elements: An East Asian Approach to Achieve Organizational Health, Professional Growth, and Personal Well-Being, will use the lens of the Five Elements framework, an ancient wisdom tradition, to explore lasting solutions that can emerge when we cultivate trust, honor everyone’s contributions, and create genuine belonging, so that we can forge a transformative path forward.
March 27th | 4:45 pm to 6:00 pm | Lotus Cafe, Dharma College
Panelists
Kevin John Fong
Founder | Kahakulei Institute
Kevin John Fong, founder of the Kahakulei Institute (whose mission is to “weave people and possibilities to cultivate communities of belonging”), is the author of The Five Elements: An East Asian Approach to Achieve Organizational Health, Professional Growth, and Personal Well-Being. He has lectured about and taught the “Five Elements” approach to problem-solving to hundreds of organizations and thousands of people from Silicon Valley to rural Mississippi, from primary schools in New Mexico to the White House.
Facilitated by Sharon Gamson Danks, MLA-MCP, founder of Green Schoolyards America, in this session, educators of all stripes will have the chance to meet others in this noble profession.
March 27th | 4:45 pm to 6:00 pm | Ashby Room, Residence Inn
Panelists
Sharon Gamson Danks
Founder and CEO | Green Schoolyards America
Sharon Gamson Danks, MLA-MCP, an environmental city planner, social entrepreneur, and author, founded Green Schoolyards America in 2013 and is its CEO. She has been a leading figure in the “green schoolyard” field for 25+ years, helping build a movement to transform school grounds at scale into vibrant, nature-rich public spaces that engage the community and nurture children as they learn and play. Sharon is the author of Asphalt to Ecosystems and also co-founded the International School Grounds Alliance.
Bioneers Afterglow is a happy hour open to all conference attendees at the end of each day of presentations, providing a casual atmosphere with snacks, drinks, music and revelry. Party in the Cabaret, hang out in the Main Stage, or visit our fabulous Tea Lounge upstairs!
Important Note: This event is well-attended in a not-enormous space and has a festive atmosphere with a fairly elevated ambient noise level, so it is best for those accustomed to somewhat crowded bars or music venues. We will be providing alternatives throughout the conference for those seeking quieter and/or more structured networking opportunities.
March 27th | 6:15 pm to 8:30 pm | The Marsh Arts Center
In this special Bioneers event, enjoy the award-winning wines of Husch Vineyards and learn how its exemplary regenerative farming practices optimize the terroir of wines grown in the Anderson Valley, a premier, cool-climate wine region in Mendocino County.
Husch Vineyards, a small 3rd generation family-owned and operated winery, produces a variety of delightful “fruit forward,” food friendly wines. Their dedication to producing quality wines is matched by their commitment to the environment, as they prioritize soil health and water conservation practices that benefit endangered fish runs in the Narro River. Our host will be Zac Robinson, named the 2019 Mendocino wine-grower of the year for his outstanding stewardship of the land, community service, and for producing the highest quality wine grapes.
March 27th | 8:00 pm to 9:30 pm | San Pablo Room, Residence Inn
Note: A separate $50 fee is required for this event.
Panelists
Zac Robinson
Owner | Husch Vineyards
Zac Robinson continues a multi-generation commitment to farming and winemaking at his family's Husch Vineyards in Anderson Valley, now celebrating 50 years of regenerative farming. After selling their “disc” (a type of plow) in 1976, Zac and his family have been doing the "impossible," farming wine grapes without disturbing the soil.
Saturday, March 28th
Afia Walking Tree, who has come all the way from her home in Jamaica to be back in her old Bay Area stomping grounds of many decades and perform for us on Bioneers’ main-stage, will also lead a large ensemble of local drummers in what should be an awe-inspiring, full-bodied, transcendental musical journey and a powerful community uplift and healing ritual.
March 28th | 1:15 pm to 2:15 pm | On Allston Way just outside of the Marsh Theater
What will help you make the most of your time at Bioneers? Are you hoping to clarify and/or get support with your projects and dreams? Are you looking for collaborators / co-conspirators / companions in the journey? Join this lunchtime networking experience to engage with fellow travelers on shared roads. It will be lightly facilitated with ample time for organic connections. Bring your lunch to the Dharma College and make surprising connections with other conference attendees. Note: Food will not be provided, but, maybe like the school cafeteria, your buddies will share some of their treats with you. Facilitated by Shilpa Jain, Zi Terrence-Smith, and Marisa Villarreal.
March 28th | 1:30 pm to 2:45 pm | Lotus Cafe, Dharma College
Panelists
Shilpa Jain
Researcher, Writer and Workshop Leader
Shilpa Jain, a researcher, writer and workshop leader on topics including globalization, creativity, ecology, democratic living and innovative learning, has facilitated dozens of transformative leadership gatherings around the world and worked with hundreds of young leaders from 50+ countries. Her past positions include: Executive Director of YES! (for 11 years); Education and Outreach Coordinator of Other Worlds; and learning activist with Shikshantar: The Peoples’ Institute for Rethinking Education and Development in Udaipur, India.
Zi Terrence-Smith
Bio coming soon.
Marisa Villarreal
Director | GRID Alternatives
Marisa Villarreal, Director at GRID Alternatives (a national renewable energy nonprofit), has 15 years’ experience in developing intersectional climate and social justice programs in a wide range of contexts, as well as in seeking to create restorative spaces for transformation, healing, dreaming, and play.
When UN leaders failed to pass a meaningful global plastics treaty, young organizers from across Hawaiʻi and Louisiana’s Cancer Alley came together to confront plastic pollution from both ends of the pipeline, i.e.—where it’s produced, and where it washes ashore. In this skill-building interactive, participants in the Bioneers Native Youth Ambassador Program from communities severely harmed by the plastic cycle will share their proven strategies to modify personal behavior, advocate for sustainable plastic policies, build zero-waste systems, and advance efforts to phase out single-use plastics. This youth-led interactive is for anyone living on the frontlines of endemic pollution or climate catastrophe—and for anyone who wants to learn from and support them. With: Lael Kylin Judson from Rural Roots Louisiana and Kona Smith and Chazlyn Mukini from Recycle Hawai’i.
March 28th | 3:00 pm to 4:15 pm | Lotus Cafe, Dharma College
Panelists
Lael Kylin Judson
| Rural Roots Louisiana
Lael “Kylin” Judson, a junior 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.
Kona Smith
Social Media Manager and Videographer | Recycle Hawai'i
Kona Smith, a young activist from Kaʻū, the southernmost and largest district of the island of Hawaiʻi (one of the six original districts of ancient Hawaii on the island, known as moku), is part of a youth group, Recycled Hawai'i, focused on achieving “zero waste” in their community and protecting and preserving its culture and historical memory. Kona is the social media manager and videographer of the group.
Chazlyn Mukini
| Recycle Hawaii
Bio coming soon.
Shadow Play is an immersive experience that invites audience members into self-reflection, co-creation, and communal storytelling—merging music, psychology, and performance in a way that feels both intentional and playful. This Bioneers Shadow Play workshop + performance explores the theme CONTACT—how we crave it, resist it, and experience it in our lives. Through live music and storytelling, Mia Pixley, Claire Calderon, and Nikbo will engage audience members in a collective exploration of these questions via their audience-drawn Song Tarot deck.
March 28th | 3:00 pm to 4:15 pm | The Marsh Main Stage
In this experiential workshop we’ll draw from The Art of Radical Listening: Revealing Collective Wisdom for Change, co-authored by our two facilitators: rainforest protector/environmental activist, founder of Health in Harmony, Kinari Webb, M.D.; and musician, educator, and organizer, Rev. Patricia Plude; to discover how we can use the groundbreaking method of “Radical Listening” to deepen our connections with each other and reveal our collective wisdom, equipping us with tools and insights that can make us far more effective as we work to guarantee a more thriving and just future for all. Come and learn to listen for life.
March 28th | 3:00 pm to 4:15 pm | Skillful Means Center, Dharma College
Panelists
Patricia Plude
Co-Pastor | First Mennonite Church of San Francisco
Rev. Dr. Patricia Plude, a musician, community organizer, and lifelong educator, (including twelve years as a professor at Santa Clara University), is co-pastor of First Mennonite Church of San Francisco, where for twenty-five years she and her colleagues have sought to model transformative, justice-oriented, feminine leadership. She is the co-author (with Dr. Kinari Webb) of The Art of Radical Listening: Revealing Collective Wisdom for Change.
Kinari Webb
Founder | Health in Harmony
Kinari Webb, MD., is a leading figure in rainforest conservation and public health who, recognizing the link between human and environmental health, founded the organization, Health in Harmony (HIH), to address rainforest devastation in West Kalimantan, Indonesia. Inspired by studying orangutans in 1993, she returned after graduating from Yale School of Medicine and began work in Sukadana, West Kalimantan, Indonesia in 2007 with a focus on listening to rainforest communities’ own proposed solutions. HIH now works in 9.4 million hectares of rainforest in Indonesia, Madagascar, and Brazil. Honored with Ashoka and Rainier Arhnold Fellowships and profiled in numerous media outlets, Webb's work has garnered international recognition. She is the author of: “Guardians of the Trees: A journey of hope through healing the planet” and co-author (with Rev. Patricia Plude) of: “The Art of Radical listening: Revealing collective wisdom for change.”
Our bones remember. Many ancient wisdom practices honor the bones’ ability to seed and hold memory, to be pathways of vibrational communication and healing. In this session, we will discover “singing our bones,” a highly effective mindful, restorative “vibratory medicine” practice that supports softening the connective tissue that scaffolds us, triggering a renewed sense of aliveness as we invoke the spiraling dancers our bones truly are. With: Amber Gray, deeply experienced human rights psychotherapist, innovative movement artist, master trainer and educator, Continuum teacher, and public health professional.
March 28th | 4:45 pm to 6:00 pm | Skillful Means Center, Dharma College
Panelists
Amber Gray
Activist, Academic, Artist, Therapist, Dancer and Teacher
Amber Elizabeth Gray, Ph.D., is a widely traveled, highly experienced human rights psychotherapist, innovative movement artist, board certified dance/movement therapist, master trainer and educator, Continuum teacher, and public health professional with a decades-long track record working on social justice. An innovator in the use of somatic psychology and movement–based therapies with survivors of trauma, torture, war, and human rights abuses in a number of nations, she also draws from eco-psychology, contemplative psychotherapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, EMDR, somatic experiencing, and narrative exposure therapy in her clinical work and is the originator of the Poto Mitan Trauma & Resiliency Framework.
This workshop will offer a space for white-identifying participants of all ages to explore how to move past the amnesia and denial of “whiteness” by connecting with the best traditions of our ancestors and seeking to create a balanced, life-sustaining culture beyond the unearned privileges we have inherited. Somatic awareness techniques, storytelling dyads, ritual “composting,” and supportive group-sharing to encourage accountability will all be incorporated into this nuanced and compassionate community space. With: Hilary Giovale, community organizer, author of Becoming a Good Relative: Calling White Settlers toward Truth, Healing, and Repair; Darcy Ottey, co-founder/former Co-Director of Youth Passageways; Shay Sloan Clarke, longtime activist, and currently Executive Director of the Global Center for Indigenous Leadership & Lifeways and Nourishing Futures; Lauren Gucik, facilitator, event producer, and food justice organizer.
March 28th | 4:45 pm to 6:00 pm | Lotus Cafe, Dharma College
Panelists
Hilary Giovale
Author, Community Organizer, Speaker and Facilitator
Hilary Giovale, a community organizer, speaker, facilitator and self-described ninth-generation American settler, seeks to follow Indigenous and Black leadership in support of human rights, environmental justice and equitable futures. As an active “reparationist,” she seeks to divest from “whiteness” and to bridge divides with truth, healing, apology, and forgiveness. She is the author of the award-winning book 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 and social justice activist dedicated to weaving connections between people, land, and ancestral wisdom and designing experiences that nourish joy, deepen reflection, and cultivate liberation.
Darcy Ottey
Facilitator and Network Builder
Darcy Ottey is a “cultural practitioner,” facilitator, network builder, and co-founder and former Co-Director of Youth Passageways, an intergenerational and cross-cultural network supporting the regeneration of healthy passages into mature adulthood for today’s youth. Darcy’s work focuses on: supporting white people and others with privilege in dismantling systems of oppression internally and externally; building resilient networks of relationships across lines of difference; and building community capacity for meaningful acts of redistribution, reparations, and “rematriation” with people in the global majority.
Shay Sloan Clarke
Executive Director | Global Center for Indigenous Leadership & Lifeways
Shay Sloan Clarke, a practitioner of rites of passage, sharing circles, and embodied anti-racist practice, as well as a guide, trainer, convenor, facilitator, consultant, and educator, was previously founding Director of the Indigenous & Community Lands & Seas program for The WILD Foundation and the World Wilderness Congress and Executive Co-Director of The Ojai Foundation. She currently serves as Executive Director for the Global Center for Indigenous Leadership & Lifeways and is co-editor of: Protecting Wild Nature on Native Lands, and co-author of: Cross-Cultural Protocols in Rites of Passage: Guiding Principles, Themes and Inquiry.
This session will be facilitated by Brett KenCairn, founding Director of the Center for Regenerative Solutions and Senior Policy Advisor for Climate and Resilience in the City of Boulder’s Climate Initiatives Team. We will gather those working in a wide range of ways to design and implement Nature-based Solutions towards solving critical problems.
March 28th | 4:45 pm to 6:00 pm | Ashby Room, Residence Inn
Panelists
Brett KenCairn
Founding Director | Center for Regenerative Solutions
Brett KenCairn, founding Director of the Center for Regenerative Solutions and Senior Division Manager for Nature-based Climate Solutions for the City of Boulder’s Climate Initiatives Department, has throughout his career supported community-based initiatives across the western U.S., particularly in rural, Native American, and other marginalized communities. He also co-founded several organizations, including: the Rogue River Institute for Ecology and Economy; Indigenous Community Enterprises; Veterans Green Jobs; and Community Energy Systems.
Bioneers Afterglow is a happy hour open to all conference attendees at the end of each day of presentations, providing a casual atmosphere with snacks, drinks, music and revelry. Party in the Cabaret, hang out in the Main Stage, or visit our fabulous Tea Lounge upstairs!
Important Note: This event is well-attended in a not-enormous space and has a festive atmosphere with a fairly elevated ambient noise level, so it is best for those accustomed to somewhat crowded bars or music venues. We will be providing alternatives throughout the conference for those seeking quieter and/or more structured networking opportunities.
March 28th | 6:15 pm to 8:30 pm | The Marsh Arts Center
8:00 pm: Bioneers 2026 After Party
Hosted by Visit Berkeley
Join us for the ultimate Bioneers 2026 After Party to celebrate, connect, and keep the eco-friendly vibes going!
Welcome to the **Bioneers 2026 After Party**! Get ready to unwind and celebrate after an inspiring three days of learning and networking at the Bioneers conference.
Join us on Sat, Mar 28, 2026 at 8:00 PM at Gather, where we’ll have music, drinks, and good vibes all night long. This is your chance to connect with like-minded individuals, share ideas, and dance the night away. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to keep the conversation going and make new friends.
✨✨ Pre-registration is highly encouraged as this event will sell out! ✨✨
All pre-registered attendees will receive one (1) free drink ticket. Register here!
Interested in dinner beforehand? Make a reservation at Gather; dinner will be served up until 9:30 PM.
Other Locations open late night:
March 28th | 8:00 pm to 11:00 pm | Gather
