Thursday, March 27th

Welcome to The Chrysalis Project, an immersive workshop designed to ignite personal transformation and foster leadership through dynamic, collaborative artmaking. We’ll dive into wire-sculpting and reflective writing in which we weave our unique stories into a collaborative art piece. This workshop isn’t just about learning a craft, it’s about embracing our roles as leaders and change-makers in our communities. As we twist and shape wire, we’ll also weave connections with other young visionaries, collaboratively crafting art and a collective vision. Come discover how the act of making can shift us from passive onlookers to active creators of our futures. No artistic experience necessary. With Chrysalis creator Carrie Ziegler.

     NOTE: This workshop will initiate the art project, which will continue with drop-in sessions on Friday & Saturday for youth to continue working on the collaborative project throughout the conference weekend. 

March 27th | 3:00 pm to 4:15 pm | Kinzie Room, Brower Center

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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

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Panelists


Cymone Fuller
Senior Director, Restorative Justice
Equal Justice USA
Kristen Rome
Executive Director
Louisiana Center for Children's Rights
Ghani Songster
Transformative Healing & Restorative Justice Manager
Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth (CFSY)

Bioneers is inherently a community of mentors—people eager to learn, share, explore and create together. The “Community of Mentors” space at Bioneers is an intergenerational container that offers youth the opportunity to be in small group mentoring sessions with Bioneers presenters. The presenters will share their life experience in an interactive dialogue with youth who are seeking guidance on their path to activism. 

Young people today are faced with having to come of age during one of the most challenging periods in our history. In this session, Benja Mertz, Board Chair of the Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity and founder/Director of Joyful Noise! Gospel Singers, will explore with us how to stay sane and centered during such uncertain and often frightening times. All youth are welcome to bring questions, hopes, grief, and all parts of themselves to the conversation. Hosted by Sam Burris-Debosky and justine epstein of Weaving Earth.

March 27th | 4:45 pm to 6:00 pm | Kinzie Room, Brower Center

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Panelists


Benja Mertz
Performer, Educator, Folklorist, and Song-Leader

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

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Panelists


Kazu Haga
Author, Trainer, Practitioner

Visionary and expressive culture is a queer lineage that thrives across the expanse of time, even as we enter an era of emboldened prejudice against the LGBTQ2SIA+ community. Despite this, we know that we have the opportunity to contribute to the histories and legacies of our movements: whether it is defiance against erasure, resistance to pacifying our power, and celebration of our self-expression and existence. Come join this intergenerational mixer to connect with like-minded LGBTQ+ community, with optional prompts to guide reflection and protection for those most vulnerable among us. As a mixer meant to meet the moment, we offer this event as a place to empower one another, to grieve, to connect, to dream, and to move in formation to free our wings in order to reach the sky. This is a space dedicated for LGBTQ2SIA+ folx, but allies are welcome. Hosted by Orion Camero, former Brower Youth Awards winner, Spiritual Ecology Fellow and Intercultural Leadership Institute Fellow.

March 27th | 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm | Tamalpais Room, Brower Center

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Panelists


Orion Camero
Action Lead Program Manager
Narrative Initiative

Friday, March 28th

Join Chrysalis creator Carrie Ziegler and fellow Bioneers youth for a session of collaborative wire-sculpture artmaking. This relaxed, hands-on session is a perfect way to unwind, connect with peers, and engage in a creative, collective experience. Dive in at any stage and help bring our community project to completion by the conference’s end. No prior workshop attendance or experience required.

March 28th | 3:00 pm to 4:15 pm | Terrace outside Tamalpais Room, Brower Center

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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

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Panelists


Brandi Mack
Holistic Health Educator
Alondra Aragon
Member
Hummingbird Farm Collective
Minkah Taharkah
Coordinator
California Farmer Justice Collaborative

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

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Panelists


Hilary Giovale
Author and Activist
Lauren Gucik
Facilitator, Educator and Activist

Bioneers is inherently a community of mentors—people eager to learn, share, explore and create together. The “Community of Mentors” space at Bioneers is an intergenerational container that offers youth the opportunity to be in small group mentoring sessions with Bioneers presenters. The presenters will share their life experience in an interactive dialogue with youth who are seeking guidance on their path to activism. 

We are delighted to welcome Asa Miller, coral reef restoration specialist, poet, and filmmaker, to the Community of Mentors space as an 18-year-old peer mentor to his fellow youth gathered at Bioneers. Asa’s unique combination of work and experience in both the sciences and the arts speaks to the interdisciplinary approach that so many young people today feel we must take to tackle the wide-ranging problems confronting us. We welcome all interested youth to come join the conversation with their thoughts, questions and curiosities. Hosted by Sam Burris-Debosky and justine epstein of Weaving Earth.

March 28th | 4:45 pm to 6:00 pm | Upstairs in The Marsh

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Panelists


Asa Miller – Youth Keynote
Marine Science Researcher

Relief printing is a form of printmaking that cuts, carves, or etches a surface until all that remains is the design that will be printed. This is most commonly done with linoleum, wood, rubber, and metal. Relief printmaking has been used throughout history as a fine art, a craft, and way to disseminate information. Across cultures, relief printmaking has been a staple for peoples protesting injustice. Through relief printmaking, artists and activists are able to connect to broader communities and organize collectively.

March 28th | 4:45 pm to 6:00 pm | Tamalpais Room, Brower Center

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Panelists


Devin Lee
Visual Artist

Hosted by the Young Leaders Program at Bioneers, this evening provides a space for Bioneers Youth to recharge, connect, build community beyond the conference sessions, shake off the weight of the world, and fuel the fire for change. Expect decompression activities through movement, a variety of interactive stations, and plenty of time to simply chill out and be together. There will be light snacks, but dinner won’t be provided. Youth are welcome to bring simple-to-carry food with them, if they wish, or can eat beforehand, and we ask chaperones to grab dinner or step out during the session, so it can be a youth-only space.

March 28th | 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm | Tamalpais Room, Brower Center

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Saturday, March 29th

Bioneers is inherently a community of mentors—people eager to learn, share, explore and create together. The “Community of Mentors” space at Bioneers is an intergenerational container that offers youth the opportunity to be in small group mentoring sessions with Bioneers presenters. The presenters will share their life experience in an interactive dialogue with youth who are seeking guidance on their path to activism. 

We are honored to have three accomplished activists and dynamic presenters who weave Restorative Justice, Biomimicry, and ecological wisdom into the work of advancing youth justice—Cymone Fuller, Kristen Rome and Ghani Songster—join the Community of Mentors space this year. We welcome all interested youth to come join the conversation with their thoughts and questions. Hosted by Sam Burris-Debosky and justine epstein of Weaving Earth.

March 29th | 3:00 pm to 4:15 pm | Upstairs in The Marsh

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Panelists


Cymone Fuller
Senior Director, Restorative Justice
Equal Justice USA
Kristen Rome
Executive Director
Louisiana Center for Children's Rights
Ghani Songster
Transformative Healing & Restorative Justice Manager
Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth (CFSY)

Come work with vegan chef, urban ecologist, music educator, and widely traveled, Grammy-nominated “eco-hip-hop” artist, DJ Cavem to learn how to produce music, generate beats, compose songs, sample, and write lyrics, all to raise awareness about environmental sustainability, community-building, climate change, food justice, health, and wellness.

March 29th | 3:00 pm to 4:15 pm | Tamalpais Room, Brower Center

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Panelists


DJ Cavem
Music Educator, “Eco-Hip-Hop” Pioneer and Vegan Chef

Join Chrysalis creator Carrie Ziegler and fellow Bioneers youth for a session of collaborative wire-sculpture artmaking. This relaxed, hands-on session is a perfect way to unwind, connect with peers, and engage in a creative, collective experience. Dive in at any stage and help bring our community project to completion by the conference’s end. No prior workshop attendance or experience required.

March 29th | 3:00 pm to 4:15 pm | Terrace outside Tamalpais Room, Brower Center

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Panelists


True to a rainbow, queerness carries a spectrum of perspectives, with many gradients of experience. Alongside the inherited magic and joy of our liberated identities, we are often also moving with our wounds, questions, thoughts, and processes that can be challenging to navigate alone. This space is dedicated to making sanctuary for discussions, witnessing, and peer support as we work through and with who we are — especially in the current moment we find ourselves in. Come as you are (all emotions and experiences welcome) to speak, be heard and to hear, so we can make medicine for each other in the shared journey of being queer. This space is dedicated to the LGBTQIA+2S experience and those respectfully honoring that intention. Facilitated by Orion Camero, former Brower Youth Awards winner, Spiritual Ecology fellow and Intercultural Leadership Institute Fellow.

March 29th | 4:45 pm to 6:00 pm | Upstairs in The Marsh

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Panelists


Orion Camero
Action Lead Program Manager
Narrative Initiative

Join us for the grand finale of the weekend—an Open Mic session that celebrates the vibrant voices and talents of our youth. This event creates a sacred and empowering space for truth and healing, where young folks are invited to share their thoughts and talents. This Open Mic welcomes all expressions. Guiding us through the evening is the Hip Hop and R&B artist and activist, Jada Imani, who will add her unique flair to make it an unforgettable experience.

March 29th | 4:45 pm to 6:00 pm | Tamalpais Room, Brower Center

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Panelists


Jada Imani Carter
Hip-Hop artist and Community Organizer