SPEAKERS

MIA BIRDSONG

Keynote Speaker

Pathfinder, Culture Change Visionary, and Futurist

As founding Executive Director of Next River: An Institute For Practicing the Future, Mia is shifting conversations, culture, and resources to nourish the people, practices, and ideas that move us toward a liberated future. Mia’s voice is singular, but her approach is collective. She is a world builder who lives and breathes the transformative power of community. In her book How We Show Up: Reclaiming Family, Friendship, and Community (Hachette, 2020), Mia maps swaths of community life and points us toward the promise of our collective vitality.

SESSION SPEAKERS

JESSICA HOUSEMAN-WHITEHAWK

Jessica Houseman-Whitehawk, Wah-Kan-Je-Winga (Good Thunder Woman) is a member of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska and of Santee Sioux descent. She is a mother of three children and one baby grandson. Her...

LUZ ZAMBRANO

Luz Zambrano is an immigrant from Colombia, mother of two children and resident of its beloved East Boston. She spent most of her professional life in the US developing the leadership and organizing capacity of...

PATINA PARK

Patina Park is Mnicoujou Lakota. Her biological family comes from the Cheyenne River and Standing Rock Sioux Tribes; her adoptive family is Osage. For over 20 years, Ms. Park has worked in the Native...

ADITI SUBRAMANIAM

Aditi Subramaniam, LMHC, R-DMT,

IECMH-E®, is a licensed mental health clinician and registered dance movement psychotherapist with more than twenty years of experience in the field of mental health...

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BRENDA JONES HARDEN

BRENDA JONES HARDEN is the Ruth Ottman Class of ’45 Professor of Child and Family Welfare at the Columbia University School of Social Work. Before joining CSSW, Brenda Jones Harden was the Alison Richman...

BILAL WALKER

Bilal Walker is a dedicated environmental justice advocate and the Chief Executive Officer of Al-Munir LLC, a dynamic organization committed to transforming urban landscapes and empowering communities...

K. MELCHOR HALL

K. Melchor Quick Hall (she/her/hers) is a popular education and community-based researcher, currently working as a postdoctoral fellow for Wellesley College’s Anti-Carceral Co-Laboratory and the...

TARA RODRÍGUEZ BESOSA

tara rodríguez besosa is a queer non-binary born and raised in Borikén, dedicated to art, activism, food culture and design. tara and her fellow colleagues at El Departamento de la Comida have built and operate...

RIVIANNA ZELLER

Throughout my life, an area of aspiration has been to show care to those around me in an undeniable and unwavering way. For a long time that has manifested into a love of food, but after 7 years in the restaurant industry...

MAGALIS TRONCOSO

Magalis Troncoso Lama, is originally from the Dominican Republic, graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Social Communication Science from the University of Santo Domingo and the University of Massachusetts with...

TIFFANY VASSELL

Tiffany Vassell is the Co-manager of Community Engagement and Communications at the Neighborhood Birth Center. She is also a registered nurse who has worked as a labor and delivery nurse for....

CECILIA S. POLANCO

Activist, artist, and budding curanderx, Cecilia helps lead healing justice initiatives through our food systems, wellness initiatives for youth and community folks, wealth building initiatives, and establishing cultures and...

BEN ECHEVARRIA

Ben previously served as Executive Director of The Welcome Project, an organization dedicated to building the collective power of immigrants to shape community decisions. A pastor and a longtime leader in the Latino...

CRYSTAL DAVIS

Crystal Davis (she/her) has spent nearly a decade in the nonprofit sector and over 15 years dedicated to supporting children and families. As a Community-Based Postpartum Doula and member of the Beloved Early...

CHARLES C. DANIELS JR.

Charles C. Daniels Jr., Ph.D., M.Div., LICSW, is the CEO of Fathers’ UpLift Inc., the first U.S. mental health and substance abuse clinic for fathers and families, focusing on helping fathers overcome challenges such as toxic...

HAJI SHEARER

Haji Shearer is the Associate Commissioner of Family and Community Supports at the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care. He manages the Coordinated Family and Community Engagement...

MALKIA SINGLETON OFORI-AGYEKUM

Malkia Singleton Ofori-Agyekum is the Mid-Atlantic Regional Director at ParentChild+. Since 2016, she has successfully overseen the program’s launch in Philadelphia, provided support to other sites across Pennsylvania...

VANCE LEWIS

Vance serves as an Associate Partner at Promise Venture Studio, where he has the privilege of co-leading the Early Childhood Leaders of Color Collaborative, coaching equity-driven social entrepreneurs in...

MIA JONES

As the Early Childhood Coordinator and Project Manager at the Children’s Trust of Alachua County, Mia joins forces with other passionate early childhood community system leaders to better coordinate services and...

TRAVIS ANDREWS

Travis is the founder of Native Farming Solutions. NFS is a grassroots organization that was formed to grow traditional foods/medicine for the local ceremonial community. Since its inceptions, NFS has...

ERIC LESLIE

Eric Leslie is the founder and lead organizer of Union Capital (unioncapital.org). Originally from Cambridge, MA, Eric began his career as a community organizer in Baltimore and New York City with the Industrial Areas...

ALEXA PARIS SAINT-FORT

Alexa Paris Saint-Fort is a mom of 2 who's journey through parenting has helped her develop a true passion for supporting families to get what they need. Alexa Paris' experiences range from attending Vital...

LIZA POWERS

Liza T. Powers, Ph.D., is a Data Scientist at the Bullard Center for Environmental and Climate Justice. She holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Urban Planning and Environmental Policy from Texas Southern University, along with a...

SHENELL FORD

Shenell Ford, International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) and Childbirth Educator Apprentice is founder of community- based lactation practice, Heart2Heartbeat Lactation & Wellness in...

SUNNI PATTERSON

New Orleans Native and Visionary, Sunni Patterson, is an internationally acclaimed Poet, Performer, Workshop Facilitator, Certified Spiritual Life Coach/Consultant, and an Initiated Priestess and Interfaith Minister...

YARDEN FRAIMAN

Yarden S. Fraiman MD, MPH (he/him/his)is a neonatologist at Beth Israel Deaconess MedicalCenter a Harvard-affiliated teaching hospital, where he is the Associate Director for Health Equity in the Department of...

STEPHANIE CRAWFORD

Stephanie is a Boston Public School Kindergarten teacher with a masters from Lesley University in Moderate Disabilities and who is currently in the Early Childhood doctoral program at UMASS Boston. She...

ANISHA PATIL

Anisha Patil is the Research Manager of the Healthy Neighborhoods Study and the Manager of Community Engaged Research at the Conservation Law Foundation. She has background in urban planning with a focus...

HASSAN LUBEGA

Hassan Lubega (he/she/they) is an evaluation consultant with Data+Soul whose interests lie at the intersection of participatory research and culturally responsive and equitable evaluation. Hassan's particular research lens...

MARIA MCKNIGHT

Maria McKnight grew up in Greater Boston. She attended Hampton and studied early childhood at Bunker Hill and Quincy College. She has a passion to share life experience, especially with families in crisis or...

ELIJAH BOLIVER

Elijah Boliver, MPH, is the Data and Implementation Analyst for TEAM UP Scaling and Sustainability Center and a member of the Diversity, Equity, Belonging, and Accessibility workgroup. Elijah received his...

ELYSIA LARSON

Elysia Larson, ScD, MPH, is a researcher in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) and an Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School. Her research focuses on...

KAREEM KING

Kareem is a community organizer, scholar and health advocate from Cleveland, OH. He leverages his background in the history of science, public health, and antiracist praxis to create innovative solutions that address the...

SONYA LE NGUYEN

Sonya Le Nguyen, MPH, is a Project Coordinator for TEAM UP Scaling and Sustainability Center and a member of the Diversity, Equity, Belonging, and Accessibility (DEBA) workgroup. She received her...

JANET ARELIS QUEZADA

Janet Arelis Quezada has a 25 year history of serving communities in various non profit roles in New York, California and in organizations with national reach. In her most recent role, she was a thought partner...

AZAN REID

My name is Azan Reid, a lifetime resident of Mattapan and son of two amazing immigrants. CEO of Panlyfe Project 333 and a resident researcher of HNS for 9 years. My life lonf journey has been empowering people...

BRENNAN RHODES-BRATTON

Dr. Brennan Rhodes-Bratton is a sociological epidemiologist whose work is grounded in theoretically-driven research and interventions focusing on health equity. She aims to unravel the complex relationships that impact the...

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