adé Oni is a multimedia healing arts n’ craftist, solidarity economy organizer/educator, capoeiristx, gardener, bioregionalist, public commons enthusiast, closet poet, afrosurrealist, and low-key birder.
their un/conventional educationways in economics, public health, Black liberation geography, farming, death, music and trickery have guided them towards a commitment to life work that creates exuberant, radical, and sustaining Afro-Indigenous centered spaces that vitalize praxes for restoring dignified participation in shaping our near and far ecologies.
they are steadily sharpening their skills in the art of gathering, land and water stewardship, Afro-Indigenous healing arts, crafts, and language (weaving with eco-materials, herbalism, story-making/telling, + vocal arts), and solidarity business development.
Fabiola Santiago
I was born in Oaxaca, Mexico, raised in Los Angeles and moved to Oakland, California in 2013. Since moving to Oakland, I’ve mostly had access to Oaxacan food made by non-Oaxacans. The commodification of Oaxacan food and culture has created misinformation and misrepresentation. As a Oaxacan native, I want to build with other Oaxacans so we can share our own culture, our stories, and share our values of mutual aid and ecological well being.
Additionally, I worked in the restaurant industry for 10 years to help pay for college and my master’s degree because I was undocumented. I am a mother to a young child, and I enjoy dabbling in Muay Thai, boxing, powerlifting, and soap making.
Cyrus Julian
Woodstock On Every Block, Coachella On Every Corner. Cyrus is the Founder of Zonez, a public benefit street festival Saas startup focused on establishing a new business model for independent musicians, artists, fashion designers, DJs through scalable artwalks which revitalize cities worldwide similar to the birth of hip-hop in the Bronx or the Summer of Love in SF in the 60s. This could help establish tech/art/retail hubs bringing not only revitalization of the restaurant industry, revenues to bankrupt cities and jobs to lower income communities but the RIGHT type of jobs where people are happy to go to work with personal sustainable life satisfaction.
He has worked for startups funded by the same VC firms who funded the likes of Facebook, Twitter, eBay and Lyft. In 2020, ZONEZ was chosen out of hundreds of applicants to participate in the accelerator program of SoCap, the largest organization of social impact investors and double/triple bottom line enterprises focused on solving societal and environmental challenges through business.
He is also a Certified M&A Advisor/business broker in Silicon Valley focused on social impact ((ESG/UN SDG/GIIN), born and raised in San Francisco, with 22 years combined experience in international residential and commercial real estate sales/finance. He has practiced throughout Northern and Southern California, along with Hawaii and Tokyo as well. In his past life when he had hair, he has played in heavy metal, hip-hop, folk, post-punk bands throughout the Bay Area.
Tony Bednar
I'm a sound healing practitioner hoping to co-create a community wellness space and want to find an equitable, accessible and viable model to bring it into being. I'm also in the process of developing a company/org that will offer products and educational content related to traditional and sustainable ways of living. Through these pursuits I'm hoping to utilize my resources in ways that align with my values and passions while building community and self-sufficiency and divesting from traditional capital structures. I live in rural VT on unceded Abenaki land with my partner Elena and dog Willow.
Eli Utne
I'm an ecological educator & musician. My background is rooted in farm-scale regenerative agriculture, hands-on education, and music. I've been fortunate to explore my passions from an early age and to cultivate a sense of creative agency throughout my life. I believe in the intrinsic genius of all creatures and that we all have a nascent teacher within us, yearning to emerge and transform the lives around us. I am the son of a magazine publisher and the founder of an arts-based school who are both passionate advocates for justice and equity. I am the youngest of four boys. My brothers are my beacons. I live in the Huichin, Occupied Ohlone Territory (Bay Area). I work with schools, restaurants, homeowners, and individuals to deepen their relationship with and understanding of ecological systems. I am here to work in solidarity with all movements for liberation.
Tayari Medearis
My name is Tayari Medearis born in san francisco, california and raised, as well as worked in San Francisco and Oakland California. I love both sides of the bay equally. Tayari means ready (for the journey of life) in Swahili and what a journey it has been. I’ve spent my life working in the black community building and providing services that improve the social and economic conditions of African American Communities and its been a beautiful struggle. Currently I’m the project director for a community wealth building initiative sponsored by the Kairos Fellowship SF in the Bayview Hunters point district of San Francisco.
Megan Dickerson
Megan Dickerson is an artist, designer, community organizer and play advocate. In her current role as Director of Exhibitions at The New Children’s Museum, Megan brings artists and the community together to develop emergent, room-sized artworks for a family audience. In her public art practice, under the banner of play(space), Megan facilitates happenings ranging from the Bumpkin Art Encampment, an annual artist take-over in Boston Harbor, to “smellovision” film screenings. At the core of Megan’s approach to design is playwork: the co-creation of flexible, adaptable spaces where people can play in the ways in which they want and need to.
Laura Kandel
I am new to the idea of a Next Economy (coming from being rooted in the traditional, capitalistic economy for 17 years as a Director of Operations and Development of a large-scale event production company) and have learned a tremendous amount while forming a multi-stakeholder platform cooperative in my new role as a Co-Founder of Hudsy Cooperative. Hudsy is a cooperative video streaming platform that brings localized content creation and wide-spread distribution together while sharing equity between workers, creators, and the local community. Outside of work I enjoy cooking, supporting the contemporary craft world, silly TV shows, and reading.
Isabel Wen
I'm a second generation Taiwanese-American. My parents raised my siblings and I through our family's tofu factory - first in Taiwan, then in Maryland. They taught us the values of cultural heritage, perseverance, healthy food, and life-long learning.
I am fiercely passionate about building the next systems. Strategizing new initiatives and creating sustainable processes is where I thrive. My core values include integrity, accountability, and transparency.
Founder of Next San Diego, a grassroots community for regenerative entrepreneurs. Foodie and lover of the arts. Always looking to meet new people and collaborate.
Emily Rose
After earning her B.A in Global Studies with a minor in Business Management, Emily Rose is the Advancement Associate at Grassroots International. During her undergraduate studies and beyond she has worked in government administration, scholarly research, and community engagement and development. She is very passionate about building international networks of support for women and other marginalized communities around the world by incorporating models that focus on financial empowerment, gender equality, regenerative, and sustainable development.
Within the last few years, she has studied and volunteered internationally. She volunteered in rural Guatemala to learn and explore the role of microcredit for artisans, producers, and fair trade farmers. She also studied abroad in Costa Rica to learn Spanish, Creative Leadership, LGBTQ+ History in Latin America and in Thailand to study Social Entrepreneurship and Business.
Among her other passions, Emily is a multimedia artist who loves spending her time learning/reading and traveling/exploring.
Dhruv Mehta
Born and raised in India,
Valeriya Olegovna Epshteyn
Valeriya Olegovna Epshteyn (she/hers) is the co-eggxecutive director of The Next Egg, a project of the Sustainable Economies Law Center, LIFT Economy, and Michael Shuman. The Next Egg is a community of practice for people with retirement savings who seek to divest from Wall Street and reinvest in the thriving of all life. Valeriya studied Environmental Justice at the University of Michigan and entered social movement work through fossil fuel divestment organizing. She studies with Hong Gwi-Seok at the Iyengar Yoga Detroit Collective. Valeriya is from Ukraine, and she currently lives on Anishinaabe land, aka Highland Park, MI.