Theme: Activism/Justice/Human Rights

Friday, October 18th

We are living through the most dangerous challenge to free government in the U.S. anyone of us alive has encountered. Like a house with crumbling foundations, American democracy is suffering from decades of deferred maintenance. The challenge of repairing and updating our institutions would be difficult enough, but we obviously do not live in “normal times.” The pace of change is faster, threats bigger, risks global, and the time to forestall the worst is very short. David Orr, one of the nation’s most lucid and influential thought leaders, draws from his forthcoming book, Democracy Unchained: Politics as if All People Matter, to consider what we must do to return to the better angels of our collective nature and turn the ship around. What happens next is up to us.  

October 18th | 9:40 am to 10:00 am | Veterans' Memorial Auditorium (VMA)

VIEW EVENT PAGE

Keynote


David Orr
Professor
Oberlin College

Introduction by Nina Simons, Bioneers co-founder and Chief Relationship Strategist

Wind, water, and time are agents of erosion evident in the desert. They have shaped the spectacular physical landscape of our nation from the Great Smokies to the Grand Canyon. But Terry Tempest Williams is also seeing another kind of erosion in America: erosion of democracy; erosion of science, decency, compassion, and trust.  “How do we find the strength to not look away from all that is breaking our hearts?” she asks. “What if our undoing leads us to our becoming? We are eroding and evolving, at once.” Terry Tempest Williams, one of this country’s most beloved authors and defenders of public lands, and social and environmental justice, comes to us from her desert home in Utah.  She writes, ” Beauty is its own resistance. Water can crack stone.”

October 18th | 10:00 am to 10:30 am | Veterans' Memorial Auditorium (VMA)

VIEW EVENT PAGE

Introduced by


Nina Simons
Co-Founder
Bioneers

Keynote


Introduction by Hector Sanchez-Flores, Executive Director, National Compadres Network

Our society is experiencing profound levels of stress and anxiety, a public health crisis that’s triggering unresolved traumas in many people, resulting in widespread uneasiness, poor public health, social dysfunction, and alienation, as well as high levels of violence, suicide, and substance abuse. Through traditional stories and personal reflections, Jerry Tello, raised in South Central Los Angeles, co-founder of the Healing Generations Institute, a celebrated leader in the field of the transformational healing of traumatized men and boys of color, will share his approach to generating the “medicine” necessary to shield ourselves from this toxic energy, and offer us pathways to discover, uncover and recover our sacredness and return to health and wellbeing.

October 18th | 11:00 am to 11:30 am | Veterans' Memorial Auditorium (VMA)

VIEW EVENT PAGE

Introduced by


Hector Sanchez-Flores
Executive Director
National Compadres Network

Keynote


Jerry Tello

Sacred Circles Center

Introduction by Nina Simons, Bioneers co-founder and Chief Relationship Strategist

Eve Ensler, the brilliant playwright (author of among other award-winning plays, the world changing The Vagina Monologues) and tireless activist for women’s rights globally, founder of V-Day and One Billion Rising, was like so many other women, sexually abused, in her case by her father. In her new bestselling book, The Apology, Eve has attempted to transform, with unflinching truthfulness and compassion, the horrific betrayal she suffered into an expansive vision for the future. She will share her story and explore how other survivors of abuse might be able to mobilize their imagination and inner strength to move from humiliation to revelation to find healing and inner freedom. She has written her own apology which she will offer on this occasion.

October 18th | 11:30 am to Noon | Veterans' Memorial Auditorium (VMA)

VIEW EVENT PAGE

Introduced by


Nina Simons
Co-Founder
Bioneers

Keynote


Eve Ensler
Founder
V-Day

The brilliant young writer, journalist and activist Julian Noisecat offers his insights into how, around the world, Indigenous peoples are rising in a global renaissance that holds untapped promise for a world in peril.

October 18th | Noon to 12:10 pm | Veterans' Memorial Auditorium (VMA)

VIEW EVENT PAGE

Keynote


Julian Brave Noisecat
Director of Green Strategy
Data for Progress

Permaculture is a whole-systems design approach that uses principles and methods derived from ecosystems, nature-connected communities, and other time-tested systems to create ethical human settlements and institutions. Co-founded by Right Livelihood Award laureate Bill Mollison in Australia, people around the world now practice permaculture. Join us for a conversation with Mollison’s grandson, Stuart Muir Wilson, about how permaculture can advance ecological justice, renewable energy and ecological literacy to help mitigate climate change, catalyze systems change, and foster resilient communities. With: Stuart Muir Wilson, Program Coordinator for the Ecological Justice Hub at Jesuit Social Services in Australia. Hosted by: David Shaw, Right Livelihood College at UC Santa Cruz; Melissa Fant, Santa Cruz Permaculture.

October 18th | 2:45 pm to 4:15 pm | World Cafe

VIEW EVENT PAGE

Panelists


Stuart Muir Wilson
Environmental Architect
David Shaw
Founder
Santa Cruz Permaculture
Melissa Ott Fant
Founder
Green Gal

In this workshop, Jennifer Browdy shows how to harness the power of purposeful memoir to be a force for positive change in ourselves, our communities, and the world. She’s an award-winning memoirist, literature professor and a leading expert in writing about social and environmental justice, arts activism and women’s leadership. Through readings, writing exercises, guided sharing and facilitated conversations, we’ll work towards an answer to a most potent question for our time: How can each of us be a strong link in the unbroken chain between past and future, using our gifts and dedicating our precious lifetimes to making the world a better place?

October 18th | 2:45 pm to 4:15 pm | Interactive & Experiential Tent

VIEW EVENT PAGE

Panelists


Jennifer Browdy
Professor
Bard College

Fake news, junk news, viral headlines, scandals and newsroom layoffs. What’s happening in—and to—the news can make your head hurt. But there is a way to build a better, more just and democratic model for journalism than the corporate media of the past. We’ll hear from the courageous people doing it. Hosted by Mother Jones CEO Monika Bauerlein. With: Lila LaHood, Publisher, San Francisco Public Press; Nikhil Swaminathan, Executive Editor of Grist; Marcia Parker, publisher of CalMatters.

October 18th | 2:45 pm to 4:15 pm | Showcase Theater

VIEW EVENT PAGE

Panelists


Nikhil Swaminathan
Executive Editor
Grist
Lila LaHood
Publisher
San Francisco Public Press
Marcia Parker
Publisher
CalMatters

Environmental literacy and social justice are inextricably linked, and recent changes in California’s curricula fully encourage pedagogical exploration of this linkage. Three new academic content frameworks (in Science, History-Social Science, and Health) promote challenge-based learning, in which student inquiry leads to student action in local communities. Students are also discovering nature-inspired design, i.e. Biomimicry, as part of this process. In this session, we will meet a school district representative, a teacher, and a student, who will share their perspectives about this intersection of environmental literacy and social justice. We will also experience a hands-on immersion into the Biomimicry design process with a focus on how we could apply these methods in our own schools and communities. With: Beth Rattner, Biomimicry Institute; Juanita Chan, Rialto Unified School District; Kavita Gupta, Freemont Union High School District. Moderated by Emily Schell, Executive Director, California Global Education Project; Caleb Jordan-McDaniels, Redwood High School.

October 18th | 2:45 pm to 4:15 pm | Larkspur Room

VIEW EVENT PAGE

Panelists


Juanita Chan
Instructional Strategist
Rialto, California, Unified School District
Beth Rattner
Director
Biomimicry Institute
Kavita Gupta

National Geographic Educator Fellow
Emily Schell
Executive Director
California Global Education Project
Caleb Jordan-McDaniels
Winner of the 2019 Biomimicry Youth Design Challenge

For too long women in general and women of color even more pointedly have been told to suppress their grief and rage in the name of love and forgiveness. No more. How do we reclaim our emotions in the labor of loving others? What might authentic reckoning, apology, and transformation look like, personally and politically, and where would they ultimately lead us? With three of the most extraordinary writers, activists and thought leaders of our era: Terry Tempest Williams, Eve Ensler, and Valarie Kaur.

October 18th | 2:45 pm to 4:15 pm | Veterans' Memorial Auditorium (VMA)

VIEW EVENT PAGE

Panelists


Eve Ensler
Founder
V-Day
Valarie Kaur
Founder
Revolutionary Love Project

Our body is a walking library, filled with knowledge, memories and insights, but when intense experiences go “undigested,“ our wellness can be imperiled and our focus impaired. Come discover powerful processes that help connect us to our bodies and self-knowing and that provide fertile soil for mutual support, collaborative relationships and sacred visioning. With: Ruby Gibson, Th.D., Executive Director, Freedom Lodge, international trainer, developer of Somatic Archaeology™; Ana Sophia Demetrakopoulos, facilitator/trainer, Gaiacraxia.

October 18th | 2:45 pm to 4:15 pm | Sausalito Room

VIEW EVENT PAGE

Panelists


Ruby Gibson
Executive Director
Freedom Lodge

Current debates about the standing of LGBTQIA+ persons have raised new awareness around gender and sexuality. People whose sexual attractions and gender identities cannot be contained within hetero-normative (and binary/cisgender) culture have always existed, but oppression, discrimination, and violence against them have long been the norm and continue. In the U.S. transgender people have been especially singled out for targeted abuse. We must re-envision a radically inclusive society that gives full permission to individual sexualities and identities. This session will look at the systemic oppression of gender and sexual minorities in the context of intersectionality and explore how to achieve the full inclusion of all genders to help bring humanity to its full potential. With: Erica Anderson, Ph.D., President of USPATH, the newly created affiliate of WPATH, the World Professional Association for Transgender Health; Fresh “Lev” White, CEO of Affirmative Acts Consulting; Salgu Wissmath, a nonbinary photographer whose work explores the intersections of mental health, queer identity, ethnicity, and faith.

October 18th | 2:45 pm to 4:15 pm | Women's Tent

VIEW EVENT PAGE

Panelists


Erica Anderson
President-Elect
USPATH - World Professional Association for Transgender Health
Fresh “Lev” White
CEO
Affirmative Acts Consulting

Come discover the history, practices and principles of the Restorative Justice (RJ) Movement. We will explore how this powerfully effective approach that can help connect people, resolve conflicts and heal wounded social relationships is being implemented in schools and communities, as well as how RJ practices and principles are vulnerable to being co-opted when used without the highest integrity. With: Teiahsha Bankhead, MSW, Ph.D., Executive Director of Restorative Justice for Oakland Youth (RJOY); Randy Compton, President and co-founder of Restorative Solutions, Inc.

October 18th | 2:45 pm to 4:15 pm | Santa Rosa Room

VIEW EVENT PAGE

Panelists


Teiahsha Bankhead
Executive Director
Restorative Justice for Oakland Youth
Randy Compton
President
Restorative Solutions

This year marks the 40th Anniversary of the Right Livelihood Award (RLA), aka the “Alternative Nobel Prize,” and the 10th Anniversary of the Right Livelihood College (RLC), a partnership between the RLA and universities worldwide. Come celebrate with RLA laureates and faculty and students from RLC Santa Cruz, and give your input to our plan for the next 10 years of action-research for the common good. With: Stuart Muir Wilson, permaculture designer and grandson of RLA laureate Bill Mollison; and special guests TBA. Hosted by: Chris Benner, Institute for Social Transformation at UC Santa Cruz; David Shaw, Right Livelihood College at UC Santa Cruz.

October 18th | 4:30 pm to 6:00 pm | World Cafe

VIEW EVENT PAGE

Panelists


Chris Benner
Chair
Everett Program
Stuart Muir Wilson
Environmental Architect
David Shaw
Founder
Santa Cruz Permaculture

Modern Western genetics and Traditional Indigenous Knowledge share common ground in their understanding that the traits and tendencies we inherit from our ancestors can affect our health in both positive and negative ways. However, our genes are not our destiny. We can engage in activities that mediate the expression of both troublesome and beneficial genetic variants. In this session we will explore how traditional Indigenous lifestyle practices can improve our genetic plasticity and move us away from victimhood and poor health to wellness. Presenters will share somatic and mindfulness-based techniques based in Indigenous ways of knowing that can help us cure our historical amnesia, deepen our self-awareness, boost our self-reliance, and restore our power to consciously manifest our unique destiny. With: Dr. Michael Yellow Bird (Mandan/Hidatsa/Arikara); Dr. Ruby Gibson (Oglala Sioux).

October 18th | 4:30 pm to 6:00 pm | Indigenous Forum

VIEW EVENT PAGE

Panelists


Ruby Gibson
Executive Director
Freedom Lodge
Michael Yellow Bird
Dean of the Faculty of Social Work
University of Manitob

Saturday, October 19th

Introduction by Lisa Hoyos, Director of Climate Parents at the Sierra Club

For years, “environmentalists” have been typecast as white, tree-hugging vegetarians who care more for whales than southside Chicago or rural Mississippi. But the fact is that not only are poor and vulnerable populations, especially communities of color, environmentally aware, they are the most at risk from the impacts of climate change. Heather McTeer Toney will address how we must embrace climate action as the social justice issue of our time, and tear down old stereotypes so that we can build sustainable and resilient alliances to fight effectively together and affirm our common humanity. Heather is currently National Field Director of Mom’s Clean Air Force. Previously she served as the first African American, first female, and youngest-ever mayor of Greenville, Mississippi, and as a prominent leader in the Obama-era EPA.

October 19th | 9:20 am to 9:45 am | Veterans' Memorial Auditorium (VMA)

VIEW EVENT PAGE

Introduced by


Lisa Hoyos
Co-Founder/Director
Climate Parents at the Sierra Club

Keynote


Heather McTeer Toney
National Field Director
Moms Clean Air Force

Introduction by Nina Simons, Bioneers co-founder and Chief Relationship Strategist

“Is this the darkness of the tomb – or the darkness of the womb?” asks Valarie Kaur. Although we’ve mounted a powerful resistance to tyranny, injustice and violence during the Trump era, with 2020 in sight, we need more than resistance. We need to birth a new America. The extraordinarily passionate and effective civil rights attorney, faith leader and activist Valarie Kaur shares why she’s convinced that what our times demand is Revolutionary Love. It’s an orientation to life and our movements that harnesses all of the body’s emotions—grief, rage, and joy—and calls us to our highest bravery. We need to reclaim love as a form of sweet labor—fierce, demanding, and life-giving —and draw from the wisdom of the midwife: when in labor, breathe and push!

October 19th | 10:15 am to 11:10 am | Veterans' Memorial Auditorium (VMA)

VIEW EVENT PAGE

Introduced by


Nina Simons
Co-Founder
Bioneers

Keynote


Valarie Kaur
Founder
Revolutionary Love Project

A first generation Pakistani immigrant, Mishka Banuri moved to Utah when she was 12 years old and fell in love with that state’s wondrous mountains, aspen trees and red rocks, but she saw many of those sacred lands despoiled by the greed of extractive industries. This awakened her to the global systems of resource exploitation ravaging ecosystems and poor communities around the world and has made her an extraordinarily passionate and effective youth climate justice activist in Utah.

October 19th | 11:40 am to 11:55 am | Veterans' Memorial Auditorium (VMA)

VIEW EVENT PAGE

Keynote


Mishka Banuri
Co-Founder
Utah Youth Environmental Solutions

Bioneers attracts an amazingly diverse mix of cutting-edge activists working on a broad range of issues around the country and the planet. Come meet fellow agents of change to compare notes and share ideas and visions of the future. Facilitated by Yeshe Salz, Bay Area Climate Adaptation Network (BayCAN).

October 19th | 1:30 pm to 2:30 pm | Exhibit Hall

VIEW EVENT PAGE

Panelists


Yeshe Salz
Project Manager
Bay Area Climate Adaptation Network

The Role of the Artist is to make the Revolution Irresistible“. Tony Cade Bambara Several groundbreaking artists who have devoted their lives to creating work that amplifies social change movements engage in a lively discussion about what role the contemporary artist can play in our collective struggles to create a more just, equitable and beautiful world. With: Joel Dean Stockdill; Yustina Salnikova; Monique Sonoquie; Remy.

October 19th | 2:45 pm to 4:15 pm | Santa Rosa Room

VIEW EVENT PAGE

Introduced by


Polina Smith
Founder
Crescent Moon Theater Productions

Panelists


Remy
Indigenous Activist
Monique Sol Sonoquie
Founder
The Indigenous Youth Foundation

The climate justice movement is changing the conversation with many creative new strategies, including Fridays for the Future, the Green New Deal, and constant pressure for our institutions and municipalities to divest from fossil fuels. In July 2019, faculty across the UC system voted in favor of divesting from 200 publicly traded fossil fuel companies. While waiting for the UC Regents’ decision, activists of all ages continue to mobilize for divestment and climate justice. With: Bill McKibben, Right Livelihood Award laureate and co-founder of 350.org; Clair Brown, UC Berkeley Professor of Economics; Laurel Levin, student organizer with #FossilFreeUC; Kristy Drutman, host of Brown Girl Green. Hosted by: Chris Benner, Institute for Social Transformation at UC Santa Cruz; David Shaw, Right Livelihood College at UC Santa Cruz.

October 19th | 2:45 pm to 4:15 pm | World Cafe

VIEW EVENT PAGE

Panelists


Bill McKibben
Founder
350.org
Clair Brown
Professor of Economics
UC Berkeley
Laurel Levin

Fossil Free UCSC
Kristy Drutman
U.S. Digital Campaigner
350.org
Chris Benner
Chair
Everett Program
David Shaw
Founder
Santa Cruz Permaculture

As the massive impacts of climate-change bear down on us, we need to develop and rapidly deploy a wide range of strategies to make our coastal, rural and urban communities as physically, economically, ecologically and psychologically resilient as possible. Leading practitioners explore a diverse array of approaches to building resilience. With: Brett KenCairn, Senior Climate and Sustainability Coordinator, City of Boulder, CO; Eriel Deranger (Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation), Executive Director, Indigenous Climate Action; Felicia Marcus, JD, former Chair of the California State Water Resources Control Board. Moderated by Mark Prain, Executive Director, Edmund Hillary Institute of New Zealand.

October 19th | 2:45 pm to 4:15 pm | Manzanita Room

VIEW EVENT PAGE

Panelists


Eriel Deranger
Indigenous Climate Action
Executive Director and Co-Founder
Brett KenCairn
Senior Climate and Sustainability Coordinator
City of Boulder
Mark Prain
Director
Hillary Institute of International Leadership
Felicia Marcus
Former Chair
California State Water Resources Control Board

For women to be effective in “stepping into their power” and create a better world, they need the support of other women—they need to build alliances and communities across differences. It is only when women can connect across false divides globally that their struggles to protect and defend ecosystems, slow climate change and increase gender and social justice can succeed. Join some exemplary women activists who have had great success building diverse movements and bridging differences. With: Clare Dubois, founder and CEO of TreeSisters; Osprey Orielle Lake, founder and Executive Director of the Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN); Jean Shinoda Bolen, M.D., renowned psychiatrist, Jungian analyst, activist and internationally best-selling author; Margaret Zhou, Partnerships Manager for International Rivers. Hosted by Cecile Lipworth, founder of Ripple Catalyst Studio and host of the weekly feminist radio show, Brave Space.

October 19th | 2:45 pm to 4:15 pm | Larkspur Room

VIEW EVENT PAGE

Panelists


Cecile Lipworth
Founder
Ripple Catalyst Studio
Clare Dubois
Founder
TreeSisters.org
Osprey Orielle Lake
Executive Director
Women's Earth and Climate Action Network International
Margaret Zhou
Partnerships Manager
International Rivers

When your dream city is threatened, whom will your super(s)hero work with? How do they organize people? For our activism to be effective, we must be grounded in love for what we are creating, not only in hatred of what currently exists. Join us in this workshop inspired by Amana Harris’ book Self as Super Hero – Handbook on Creating the Life-Size Self-Portrait to dream, and work together. We’ll share real-world stories and connect over movements for change in our own communities. Led by Neeka Salmasi and Youth from Attitudinal Healing Connection, an Oakland based organization celebrating its 30th year, whose mission is to empower individuals to be self-aware and inspired through art, creativity and education.

October 19th | 2:45 pm to 4:15 pm | Youth Unity Center

VIEW EVENT PAGE

Panelists


Neeka Salmasi

West Oakland Legacy Project

Women are the first responders to the Earth’s pain. As women movement leaders expose and work to dismantle the logic of exploitation that’s destroying the planet, they’re stepping into a brave space to bridge the divides of identity politics. In the process, they are working to give us a deeper understanding of how issues affecting women intersect with the pain of Mother Earth and how we might heal our communities, create regenerative and just solutions, and ultimately save the planet. Hosted by Cecile Lipworth, former Director of the global V-Day campaign. With: Taij Kumarie Moteelal, founder of Standing in Our Power, former Executive Director of Resource Generation; Tianna Arredondo of the Youth Climate Justice Spokesperson Bureau; Vanessa Daniel, founder and Executive Director of Groundswell Fund.

October 19th | 4:30 pm to 6:00 pm | Showcase Theater

VIEW EVENT PAGE

Panelists


Cecile Lipworth
Founder
Ripple Catalyst Studio
Taij Kumarie Moteelall
Founder
Standing in Our Power
Tianna Arredondo
Co-Founder
Frontline’s to Power
Vanessa Daniel
Executive Director
Groundswell Fund

2019 commemorates the 50-year anniversary of the 19-month Native American student occupation of Alcatraz, which captured the world’s attention and led to real policy changes to improve the lives of Native American peoples through increased self-determination. Since then, generations of activists have followed in those footsteps and vigorously fought racist, sexist, and classist U.S. government policies. In this historic panel we’ll hear from Indigenous activists from three generations who were on the frontlines, respectively, at Alcatraz, Standing Rock, and other struggles, as they compare notes and discuss their visions of the next 50 years of Indigenous activism.  With: Corrina Gould (Ohlone); Julian NoiseCat (Secwepmc); LaNada War Jack (Bannock); Clayton Thomas-Muller (Mathias Colomb Cree/aka Pukatawagan).

October 19th | 4:30 pm to 6:00 pm | Indigenous Forum

VIEW EVENT PAGE

Panelists


Corrina Gould
Spokesperson
Confederated Villages of Lisjan/Ohlone
Julian Brave Noisecat
Director of Green Strategy
Data for Progress
LaNada War Jack
Author
Native Resistance: An Intergenerational Fight for Survival and Life
Clayton Thomas-Muller
Stop it at the Source Campaigner
350.org

Nothing less than a fundamental transformation of our civilization and our worldviews will truly address the climate cataclysm: the reinvention of everything. This spontaneous free-range jam will spin the dial to surface the diverse forces that can unite humanity to change the story and world. Hosted by Greg Watson, Schumacher Center for a New Economy. With: Bill McKibben, 350.org; john a. powell, Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society; Kim Stanley Robinson, one of the world’s leading visionary science fiction authors; Osprey Orielle Lake, founder and Executive Director of the Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network.

October 19th | 4:30 pm to 6:00 pm | Veterans' Memorial Auditorium (VMA)

VIEW EVENT PAGE

Panelists


Greg Watson
Director of Policy and Systems Design
Schumacher Center for a New Economics
john a. powell
Director
Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society
Bill McKibben
Founder
350.org
Osprey Orielle Lake
Executive Director
Women's Earth and Climate Action Network International

How can we transform our economic system into one that doesn’t result in massive inequality and catastrophic environmental degradation? Leading figures in developing more humane, sustainable and resilient ownership structures, including cooperatives, value-driven trusts, and hybrid models, will discuss new and old ideas, share their experiences about what’s working and what isn’t, and explore how to accelerate the changes our economies and ecosystems so desperately need. Hosted by Theresa Marquez, former Chief Marketing Executive, Organic Valley Cooperative. With: Hilary Abell, Project Equity; Camille Canon, Purpose; Keith Taylor, UC Davis Cooperative Extension; Frank Mason, Arizmendi San Rafael Cooperative.

October 19th | 4:30 pm to 6:00 pm | Sausalito Room

VIEW EVENT PAGE

Panelists


Camille Canon
Co-Founder
Purpose US
Keith Taylor
Community Economic Development
UC Davis
Hilary Abell
Co-Founder
Project Equity
Frank Mason
Founder
Arizmendi Bakery Cooperative

Although the enormous growth of interest in and research on psychedelic substances’ potential for psychological healing and consciousness expansion is exciting, there are shadow sides of the psychedelic community that require attention. Women’s contributions to the field have too often been downplayed, and the abuse of women in some psychedelic underground circles has been a serious problem. Also, people of color, LGBTQ and other minority communities have been under-represented in psychedelic conclaves. A stellar panel of figures at the cutting-edge of inclusivity advocacy in the psychedelic community will share their perspectives on how to remedy these problems. Hosted by Bia Labate, Ph.D., Executive Director of the Chacruna Institute, on the faculty of The California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS), and Public Education and Culture Specialist at the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS). With: Emily Sinclair, leader of the Ayahuasca Community Guide for the Awareness of Sexual Abuse initiative; Sarah Scheld, a coordinator of MAPS’ MDMA Therapy Training Program; Monnica T. Williams, Ph.D., Associate Professor of psychology at the University of Connecticut; Sara Reed, MS, MFT, a study therapist in the Psilocybin-assisted Psychotherapy for Major Depression initiative at Yale University.

October 19th | 4:30 pm to 6:00 pm | Larkspur Room

VIEW EVENT PAGE

Panelists


Bia Labate
Executive Director
Chacruna Institute for Psychedelic Plant Medicines
Emily Sinclair
Anthropologist
Chacruna Institute for Psychedelic Medicines
Sarah Scheld
Training and Supervision Associate
Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies
Monnica Williams
Chair of the Board
Chacruna Institute for Psychedelic Plant Medicines
Sara Reed
Marriage and Family Therapist
Behavioral Wellness Clinic

Sunday, October 20th

Introduction by Eriel Deranger, Executive Director, Indigenous Climate Action

Unprecedented fires, deliberately set to expand industrial agriculture and other extractive development, are burning across the Amazon, a dangerous escalation of the global climate emergency. Scientists warn that the Amazon is reaching “the tipping point” of ecological collapse, but Indigenous movements across the region are resisting and calling for international solidarity to help them defend their rights and territories. For thousands of years, Indigenous peoples have protected their sacred ancestral territories. Leila Salazar Lopez, Executive Director of Amazon Watch, urges us to stand with them to protect and restore the bio-cultural intregrity of the Amazon, because our collective future depends on it.

October 20th | 9:25 am to 9:50 am | Veterans' Memorial Auditorium (VMA)

VIEW EVENT PAGE

Introduced by


Eriel Deranger
Indigenous Climate Action
Executive Director and Co-Founder

Keynote


Leila Salazar-López
Executive Director
Amazon Watch

Introduction by David Cobb, Cooperation Humboldt

Given the existential threats of climate change, economic inequality and ever escalating political instability, we need concrete, integrated solutions to our shared problems. An inspiring model of what such an integrated approach could look like is Jackson, Mississippi’s Cooperation Jackson, an emerging network of worker cooperatives and solidarity economy institutions working to institute a Just Transition Plan to develop a regenerative economy and participatory democracy in that city. brandon king, Founding Member of Cooperation Jackson, shares his experiences helping conceive and build these extraordinarily promising strategies and social structures that reveal that we can put our shoulders to the wheel and build a truly just and sustainable future.  

October 20th | 9:50 am to 10:15 am | Veterans' Memorial Auditorium (VMA)

VIEW EVENT PAGE

Introduced by


David Cobb
Cooperation Humboldt

Keynote


brandon king
Founding Member
Cooperation Jackson

With Isha Clarke. To build a successful global climate movement, we must prioritize the voices of those most impacted by environmental injustice. We must recognize that our current climate crisis is rooted in racism, white supremacy, and greed. We must also resist efforts to tokenize the term “intersectionality” rather than actually implementing it in our movements and daily lives. What would a movement and a society functioning on a genuine understanding of intersectionality look like?

October 20th | 11:20 am to 11:30 am | Veterans' Memorial Auditorium (VMA)

VIEW EVENT PAGE

Keynote


Isha Clarke
Climate Justice Organizer
Youth Vs. Apocalypse

The Amazon rainforest and its peoples are facing the worst attacks in decades under Brazil’s new far-right government, which is promoting massive deforestation for mining and agribusiness. Indigenous movements in Brazil are resisting, calling for international solidarity to defend their rights and territories. Join us in a lunchtime presentation and call to action to protect rainforests, rights and the climate. With: Leila Salazar-López (Chicana) Executive Director of Amazon Watch; Atossa Soltani, Global Strategist with the Sacred Headwaters Initiative; Maria Xiomára Dorsey (Colombia), Brasil Solidarity Network and Idle No More SF; Brus Rubio (Muruy/Huitoto, Bora) Indigenous painter from the Peruvian Amazon.

October 20th | 1:30 pm to 2:30 pm | Indigenous Forum

VIEW EVENT PAGE

Panelists


Leila Salazar-López
Executive Director
Amazon Watch
Atossa Soltani
Director of Global Strategy
Amazon Sacred Headwaters Initiative
Maria Xiomára Dorsey
Co-Founder
Brasil Solidarity Network

Donald Trump ordered the children of migrants and refugees to be forcefully removed from their parents and placed in concentration camps, resulting in numerous deaths. These atrocities represent a small fraction of an ongoing border crisis fueled by a hyper-capitalist economy historically rooted in genocide and slavery. This panel presents heartbreaking stories about and hopeful solutions to the border crisis from an Indigenous perspective. We will hear first-hand accounts of what it feels like to have a border cut through your ancestral territory, explore ways to reduce the need for migration through traditional economies, and discuss how re-indigenization offers a pathway of hope for migrants after they settle in the U.S.  Hosted by: Cara Romero (Chemehuevi). With: Josue Rivas (Aztec); Nany Zepeda (Maya); Stanley Rodriguez (Kumeyay); Ofelia Rivas (O’odham).

October 20th | 2:45 pm to 4:15 pm | Indigenous Forum

VIEW EVENT PAGE

Panelists


Cara Romero
Program Director
Bioneers Indigenous Knowledge Program
Josué Rivas
Founder
Standing Strong Project
Stanley Rodriguez
Tribal Councilman
Santa Ysabel Tribal Government
Ofelia Rivas
Founder
O’odham VOICE Against the WALL

What would bridging the many divisions and polarizations that separate us look and feel like? Could smart, heartfelt bridging strategies help us begin to heal the racial, gender, environmental, class and health traumas that roil our society? Join us for a conversation about what shapes and divides us, and what can help propel us towards a world of belonging for all—a roundtable conversation with Bioneers Board members with: john a. powell, Anita Sanchez and Eriel Deranger; hosted by Sonali Sangeeta Balajee.

October 20th | 2:45 pm to 4:15 pm | Showcase Theater

VIEW EVENT PAGE

Panelists


Anita Sanchez
Indigenous and Latina Author
john a. powell
Director
Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society
Eriel Deranger
Indigenous Climate Action
Executive Director and Co-Founder
Sonali Sangeeta Balajee
Founder
The Bodhi Project

A successful transition to a sustainable and just future will require masses of conscious citizens who feel genuinely connected to the Earth and to each other and are ready to act as authentic change-makers. Four of our nation’s most creative system-changers share innovative and effective approaches to education, for all age groups, that lead to cultural transformation. Join them for a lively discussion about creativity, power, and possibility. With: Vanessa LeBourdais, DreamRider Productions, creator of the Planet Protector Academy; Alixa Garcia and Naima Penniman (aka Climbing PoeTree) award-winning multimedia artists, organizers, and educators; Brandi Mack, holistic health educator, Permaculture designer, National Director of The Butterfly Movement.

October 20th | 2:45 pm to 4:15 pm | Larkspur Room

VIEW EVENT PAGE

Panelists


Brandi Mack
National Director
The Butterfly Movement
Vanessa LeBourdais
Creator
Planet Protector Academy

In this dynamic workshop youth will use a World Cafe collective inquiry process to do a deep dive into emergent practices and questions within climate and social justice movements. Participants will engage in intimate conversations with their peers to cross-pollinate and unearth their collective wisdom. No experience in these movements is necessary to participate. Led by Santa Cruz Permaculture.

October 20th | 2:45 pm to 4:15 pm | Youth Unity Center

VIEW EVENT PAGE

The global transition to clean energy has to occur—the only questions are whether we can get there in time to avoid the most catastrophic scenarios and how equitable the new economy will be. It’s essential that those at risk of being left behind can be brought along so they too can prosper in a new clean and green economy. Some key players in this field lay out a practical vision for how the right job training and workforce development programs can achieve that goal. Hosted by: Vien Truong, one of the country’s leading experts on building an equitable green economy. With: Sarah White, Deputy Director of Equity, Climate and Jobs at the California Workforce Development Board; Larry Williams Jr., Labor and Coal Coordinator for the Sierra Club Labor Program; Demond Drummer, Executive Director of New Consensus.

October 20th | 4:30 pm to 6:00 pm | Sausalito Room

VIEW EVENT PAGE

Panelists


Sarah White
Deputy Director of Equity, Jobs & Climate
California Workforce Development Board
Vien Truong

Truong & Associates
Larry Williams Jr.
Labor & Coal Coordinator
Sierra Club Labor Program
Demond Drummer
Co-Founder and Executive Director
New Consensus

Women all over the U.S. are taking action, shaping policy agendas, raising their voices in solidarity, and amplifying one resonant message: Grassroots women’s leadership can help reshape and restore balance in our communities. The Women’s Earth Alliance Environmental Leadership Accelerator Design Team will guide us on an experiential leadership journey, sharing inspiring practices from a wide range of diverse perspectives to help us hone and refine our own visions for engaged activism. Facilitators: Corrina Gould, Pandora Thomas, Niria Alicia, Kendall Dunnigan, Amira Diamond, Melinda Kramer, Sarita Pockell, Arielle Moinester.

October 20th | 4:30 pm to 6:00 pm | Interactive & Experiential Tent

VIEW EVENT PAGE

Panelists


Corrina Gould
Spokesperson
Confederated Villages of Lisjan/Ohlone
Pandora Thomas
Renowned Teacher
Niria Alicia
Xicana Storyteller
Kendall Dunnigan
Director
Occidental Arts & Ecology Center’s Permaculture Program
Amira Diamond
Co-Director
Women's Earth Alliance’s
Melinda Kramer
Founder and Executive Director
Women’s Earth Alliance
Sarita Pockell
Head of Curriculum & Director of Indonesia Programs
Women’s Earth Alliance
Arielle Moinester
Program Director
Women’s Earth Alliance

Co-sponsored by Our Secure Future, a program of One Earth Future FoundationWomen are the key to achieving sustainable peace and prosperity globally. To empower them to generate positive transformative change, we need to re-examine dominant assumptions, processes and power structures. Women continue to be marginalized at a time when new inclusive, collaborative, compassionate and humane alternatives are sorely needed. The Women, Peace and Security Agenda, a global gender equality movement driven by women on the frontlines of violence around the world, could change the game. How can we join the effort to create a more peaceful, equitable world order? With: Sahana Dharmapuri, Director of Our Secure Future; Jolynn Shoemaker, JD, a leading expert on gender equity, women’s leadership, peace and security.

October 20th | 4:30 pm to 6:00 pm | Manzanita Room

VIEW EVENT PAGE

Panelists


Sahana Dharmapuri
Our Secure Future
Director
Jolynn Shoemaker
Professor
Cal State Sacramento and UC Davis

Transitioning to Resilience; Much has been said about the need for Resilience. But there’s little clear understanding about the down-to-Earth means for making our transition(s) – from recognizing what’s changing (why, where, when & at what pace); to re-designing our mindsets (individually & collectively); to re-inventing our reality(s) (environmentally, socially and, then, economically). In the wake of the devastating fires of 2017, business, social and government leaders in Sonoma County grappled with just such an issue/opportunity – and came out aligned. They’re now stepping into implementing, as a collaborative network, their transition. Join our panelists as they share with you both their aspirations for an inclusive, equitable, thriving and resilient Sonoma as well as the story of how they’re getting there – exploring with you the emerging “how to” for transitioning your own world(s). Hosted by R. Scott Spann. With: Lisa Carreno, Oscar Chavez, Reno Keoni Franklin, Trathen Heckman, Lisa Micheli.

October 20th | 4:30 pm to 6:00 pm | Santa Rosa Room

VIEW EVENT PAGE

Panelists


Scott Spann
Founder & Strategist
Innate Strategies
Lisa Carreno
President/CEO
United Way of the Wine Country
Oscar Chavez
Assistant Director
Sonoma County Human Services Department
Reno Keoni Franklin
Chairman Emeritus
Kashia Band of Pomo
Trathen Heckman
Founder/Director
Daily Acts
Lisa Micheli
CEO and President
Pepperwood Foundation

It has never been more urgent to rise up for the planet and her people and for all of us to show up to expose the violence and injustice in our country and around the world, but to be effective, we need the right approaches and tools. Some leading activists with long experience in frontline struggles will share their expertise, exploring such topics as how to determine which tactic is right at a given moment, how best to prepare for an action, and how to use one’s campaigns to sway opinion. With: Jodie Evans, co-founder/Co-Director, CODEPINK; Nancy Mancias, Divest from War campaigner, CODEPINK; Scott Parkin, Organizing Director, Rainforest Action Network.

October 20th | 4:30 pm to 6:00 pm | Women's Tent

VIEW EVENT PAGE

Panelists


Jodie Evans
Co-Founder/Co-Director
CODEPINK
Nancy Mancias
Campaign Organizer
CODEPINK
Scott Parkin
Organizing Director
Rainforest Action Network

Indigenous women experience 10 times higher rates of violence, murder and abuse than women of other ethnicities—a direct result of an economic system that privileges extraction over human rights. But Indigenous women are also fighting back: organizing, and raising their voices in solidarity to restore balance. In this session, powerful Native women leaders discuss how to address the Missing Murdered Indigenous Women crisis and share inspiring practices that can help us to shape our own activism. With: Casey Camp-Horinek (Ponca); Morning Star Gali (Ajuwami Band of Pit River); Ozawa Bineshi Albert (Yuchi and Annishinaabe); Simone Senogles of the Indigenous Environmental Network.

October 20th | 4:30 pm to 6:00 pm | Showcase Theater

VIEW EVENT PAGE

Panelists


Casey Camp-Horinek
Councilwoman
Ponca Tribe of Oklahoma
Morning Star Gali
Project Director
Restoring Justice for Indigenous Peoples
Ozawa Bineshi Albert
Movement Building Coordinator
Indigenous Environmental Network
Simone Senogles
Food Sovereignty Program Coordinator
Indigenous Environmental Network