Founder and President | Global Center for Indigenous Leadership and Lifeways

Ilarion (Kuuyux) Merculieff, raised in a traditional Unangan (Aleut) way, recognized as a carrier of ancient knowledge into modern times, has co-founded, chaired or directed a number of leading Alaska Indigenous and environmental groups, including the Alaska Indigenous Council on Marine Mammals; the Alaska chapter of the Nature Conservancy; the International Bering Sea Forum; the Alaska Forum on the Environment, and the Alaska Oceans Network. He has presented at numerous scientific conferences and chaired the Indigenous knowledge sessions at the Global Summit of Indigenous Peoples on Climate Change. He is the author of: Wisdom Keeper: One Man’s Journey to Honor the Untold Story of the Unangan People, and co-authored Stop Talking: Indigenous Ways of Teaching and Learning, and Perspectives on Indigenous Issues: Essays on Science, Spirituality, Partnerships, and the Power of Words. He co-founded a council of Elders called 'the Wisdom Weavers of the world', and he currently leads GCILL - the Global Center for Indigenous Leadership and Lifeways.

Mycologist and Author

Paul Stamets, speaker, author, award-winning mycologist, medical researcher, groundbreaking mycological entrepreneur, and a visionary thought leader in the study of fungi and their uses in promoting human health, ecological restoration, and detoxification of the environment, is the author of six books, including: Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Can Help Save The World, Growing Gourmet and Medicinal Mushrooms, and Psilocybin Mushrooms of the World. Paul has discovered and named numerous new species of psilocybin mushrooms and is the founder and owner of Fungi Perfecti, LLC, makers of the Host Defense Mushrooms (www.hostdefense.com) supplement line. And Paul’s work has now entered mainstream popular culture. The new Star Trek: Discovery series features a Lt. Paul Stamets, Science Officer and Astromycologist(!).

Mycologist and Author

Paul Stamets, speaker, author, award-winning mycologist, medical researcher, groundbreaking mycological entrepreneur, and a visionary thought leader in the study of fungi and their uses in promoting human health, ecological restoration, and detoxification of the environment, is the author of six books, including: Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Can Help Save The World, Growing Gourmet and Medicinal Mushrooms, and Psilocybin Mushrooms of the World. Paul has discovered and named numerous new species of psilocybin mushrooms and is the founder and owner of Fungi Perfecti, LLC, makers of the Host Defense Mushrooms (www.hostdefense.com) supplement line. And Paul’s work has now entered mainstream popular culture. The new Star Trek: Discovery series features a Lt. Paul Stamets, Science Officer and Astromycologist(!).

Director | The Spirit Aligned Leadership Program

Katsi Cook (Mohawk/Haudenosaunee), from Akwesasne along the St. Lawrence River, a groundbreaking, revered figure in the revitalization of Indigenous midwifery and of advocacy for Indigenous women's health, is Director of The Spirit Aligned Leadership Program, which works with Indigenous elder women to heal, strengthen, and restore Indigenous communities. A founding member of the National Aboriginal Council of Midwives and the Konon:kwe ("all women") Council, Katsi has decades of experience as a researcher and a lecturer on Indigenous environmental reproductive health, and she and her husband of 40 years, Jose Barreiro, have 6 children and 11 grandchildren.

Professor | California Institute of Integral Studies

Francoise Bourzat, a San Francisco Bay Area-based somatic counselor, teaches at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) in San Francisco, runs online courses, lectures in various institutions, collaborates with physicians on a variety of treatment projects, and trains psychedelic guides internationally. She has guided ceremonies with sacred mushrooms in collaboration with Indigenous healers in Huautla de Jimenez, Mexico, for the last 30 years and is the author of: Consciousness Medicine: Indigenous Wisdom, Entheogens, and Expanded States of Consciousness for Healing and Growth.

Senior Producer | Bioneers

J.P. Harpignies, Bioneers Senior Producer, affiliated with Bioneers since 1990, is a Brooklyn, NYC-based consultant, conference producer, copy-editor and writer. A former Program Director at the New York Open Center and a senior review team member for the Buckminster Fuller Challenge from 2010 to 2017, he has authored or edited several books, including Political Ecosystems, Delusions of Normality, Visionary Plant Consciousness, and, most recently, Animal Encounters.

Founder | TreeSisters.org

Clare Dubois is the founder of TreeSisters.org, a women's reforestation and culture-change organization dedicated to humanity’s emergence as a “restorer species.” For 23 years she has been facilitating body-based, experiential sessions designed to help participants shift consciousness and experience their interconnectedness with nature, the root of balanced leadership and action.

Author | Relational Mindfulness

Deborah Eden Tull, a Zen meditation and mindfulness teacher, author, activist and educator who spent 7 years training at a silent Zen monastery, has been teaching dharma for 20 years and sustainability practices for nearly 30. Her teaching style is grounded in “engaged awareness,” which emphasizes the connection between personal awakening and global engagement. Author of: Relational Mindfulness: A Handbook for Deepening Our Connection with Our Self, Each Other, and Our Planet and The Natural Kitchen: Your Guide for the Sustainable Food Revolution, Eden offers retreats, online courses and consultations internationally. She also teaches The Work That Reconnects, a program created by Buddhist scholar Joanna Macy, and is affiliated with UCLA's Mindful Awareness Research Center.

Founder and CEO | Emotion Dynamics LLC

Karla McLaren, M.Ed., an award-winning author and social science researcher, is a leading figure in the study of healthy empathy and the revaluing and transmutation of “negative” emotions to help people open new pathways of self-awareness and effective communication. Founder and CEO of Emotion Dynamics LLC and developer of the Empathy Academy online learning site, she is the author of: Embracing Anxiety: How to Access the Genius of this Vital Emotion; The Dynamic Emotional Integration® Workbook; The Art of Empathy: A Complete Guide to Life’s Most Essential Skill; The Language of Emotions: What Your Feelings are Trying to Tell You; and many other books and audio learning programs.

Sheila Diggs, a Washington, DC-based organizational development professional, ICF Executive Coach, and licensed Dynamic Emotional Integration® trainer, is a consultant to businesses, non-profits, and international development and healthcare organizations nationally and internationally. Her work focuses on enhancing empathic communication, self-awareness, and mindfulness in diverse working environments; building awareness around systems of racial inequality in teams and organizations; and developing leadership capacities in women and African Americans.

Founder and Director | Daily Acts Organization

Trathen Heckman is the founder/Director of Daily Acts Organization, a non-profit dedicated to “transformative action that creates connected, equitable, climate resilient communities.” He also serves on the convening committee for Localizing California Waters and the advisory board of Norcal Resilience Network, and he has helped initiate and lead numerous coalitions and networks including Climate Action Petaluma. Trathen lives in the Petaluma River Watershed where he grows food, medicine and wonder while composting apathy and lack.

Environmental Health Programs Manager | Daily Acts

Nichole Warwick is Environmental Health Programs Manager for the nonprofit group, Daily Acts; co-founder and Executive Director of Families Advocating for Chemical and Toxics Safety (FACTS); and co-founder and Co-Director of Sonoma Safe Ag/Safe Schools. She also serves on the Leadership Institute Advisory Board, Conservation Action Fund for Education Board of Directors, and Sonoma Community Resilience Collaborative Steering Committee.

Leadership Institute Manager | Daily Acts

Kerry Fugett facilitates and co-creates the Leadership Institute for Just and Resilient Communities at the non-profit, Daily Acts. She previously served as Executive Director of Sonoma County Conservation Action, leading grassroots campaigns to eliminate synthetic pesticides, facilitating coalition building, canvassing to elect environmental leaders, and organizing mutual support during record-breaking fires in Northern CA. One of her main areas of focus is the weaving of antiracism into community-led climate justice movements.

Author | Relational Mindfulness

Deborah Eden Tull, a Zen meditation and mindfulness teacher, author, activist and educator who spent 7 years training at a silent Zen monastery, has been teaching dharma for 20 years and sustainability practices for nearly 30. Her teaching style is grounded in “engaged awareness,” which emphasizes the connection between personal awakening and global engagement. Author of: Relational Mindfulness: A Handbook for Deepening Our Connection with Our Self, Each Other, and Our Planet and The Natural Kitchen: Your Guide for the Sustainable Food Revolution, Eden offers retreats, online courses and consultations internationally. She also teaches The Work That Reconnects, a program created by Buddhist scholar Joanna Macy, and is affiliated with UCLA's Mindful Awareness Research Center.

Co-Founder | Bioneers

Nina Simons, co-founder of Bioneers and its Chief Relationship Strategist is also co-founder of Women Bridging Worlds and Connecting Women Leading Change. She co-edited the anthology book, Moonrise: The Power of Women Leading from the Heart, and most recently wrote Nature, Culture & The Sacred: A Woman Listens for Leadership. An award-winning social entrepreneur, Nina teaches and speaks internationally, and previously served as President of Seeds of Change and Director of Strategic Marketing for Odwalla.

Founder and Executive Director | Mycelium Youth Network

Lil Milagro Henriquez, founder (in 2017) and Executive Director of Mycelium Youth Network, an organization dedicated to empowering young people of color around climate change issues, is a veteran of social justice organizing with 18+ years' experience working on a range of issues, including: access to higher education for low-income people and communities of color; food sovereignty; environmental racism; and labor organizing; among others. She is a current recipient of a Women's Earth Alliance fellowship.

Co-Founder and President | Amazon Conservation Team

Mark Plotkin, Ph.D., a renowned ethnobotanist who has studied traditional Indigenous plant use with elder healers in Central and South America for 30+ years, is also an award-winning activist who has worked with many conservation organizations, including Harvard’s Botanical Museum, the World Wildlife Fund, Conservation International, and the Smithsonian. Co-founder (with his wife Liliana in 1996) and President of the Amazon Conservation Team (ACT), dedicated to protecting the biological and cultural diversity of the Amazon, Plotkin is the author of many papers and articles and several books, including the international bestseller, Tales of a Shaman's Apprentice; Medicine Quest: In Search of Nature’s Healing Secrets; and The Killers Within: The Deadly Rise of Drug-Resistant Bacteria.

Executive Officer | Ethicannos

Karyemaitre Aliffe, MD, a multilingual physician-scientist who has taught at Harvard and Stanford, has 35+ years’ experience in natural products research, including explorations in remote regions in the Amazon, Australia, and Africa. He has lectured widely in 50+ countries to health professionals, government and civil society institutions and business groups. Dr. Aliffe is presently Chair and Executive Officer at Ethicannos, Praxigen Biomedia, where he leads a natural health product development team, applying translational medicine and integrative neurophysiology to expand the utility of cannabis-based formulations in enhancing human health, fitness and longevity.

Co-Founder and President | Amazon Conservation Team

Mark Plotkin, Ph.D., a renowned ethnobotanist who has studied traditional Indigenous plant use with elder healers in Central and South America for 30+ years, is also an award-winning activist who has worked with many conservation organizations, including Harvard’s Botanical Museum, the World Wildlife Fund, Conservation International, and the Smithsonian. Co-founder (with his wife Liliana in 1996) and President of the Amazon Conservation Team (ACT), dedicated to protecting the biological and cultural diversity of the Amazon, Plotkin is the author of many papers and articles and several books, including the international bestseller, Tales of a Shaman's Apprentice; Medicine Quest: In Search of Nature’s Healing Secrets; and The Killers Within: The Deadly Rise of Drug-Resistant Bacteria.

President & Projects Director | Botanical Dimensions

Kathleen (Kat) Harrison, co-founder (in 1985), President and Projects Director of the nonprofit, Botanical Dimensions, is an ethnobotanist, ethnobotanical educator and artist renowned for her unique explorations of often hidden aspects of plant-human relationships and of the deep history of humans in nature. She teaches a wide variety of courses (some open to all; others university sponsored field studies) in Hawaii, Northern California and the Peruvian Amazon.

Senior Producer | Bioneers

J.P. Harpignies, Bioneers Senior Producer, affiliated with Bioneers since 1990, is a Brooklyn, NYC-based consultant, conference producer, copy-editor and writer. A former Program Director at the New York Open Center and a senior review team member for the Buckminster Fuller Challenge from 2010 to 2017, he has authored or edited several books, including Political Ecosystems, Delusions of Normality, Visionary Plant Consciousness, and, most recently, Animal Encounters.

Co-Founder | Bioneers

Nina Simons, co-founder of Bioneers and its Chief Relationship Strategist is also co-founder of Women Bridging Worlds and Connecting Women Leading Change. She co-edited the anthology book, Moonrise: The Power of Women Leading from the Heart, and most recently wrote Nature, Culture & The Sacred: A Woman Listens for Leadership. An award-winning social entrepreneur, Nina teaches and speaks internationally, and previously served as President of Seeds of Change and Director of Strategic Marketing for Odwalla.

Writer

Terry Tempest Williams, a genre-defying, award-winning writer, is the author of some sixteen books, including the environmental literature classic: Refuge—An Unnatural History of Family and Place; and: Red—Passion and Patience in the Desert; Finding Beauty in a Broken World; When Women Were Birds; The Hour of Land; and most recently: Erosion—Essays of Undoing. Her work has been published and translated worldwide. A member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and a Guggenheim Fellow, she is currently Writer-in-Residence at the Harvard Divinity School. Ms. Williams also has a long history of engagement in a range of environmental, social justice, peace, and women’s rights struggles.

Author

Rachel Bagby, an award-winning vocal and social healing artist with a Stanford law degree in social change, has mentored women leaders and thousands of audience members world-wide to unleash their voices as instruments of transformation. She is the bestselling author of Daughterhood and Divine Daughters: Liberating the Power and Passion of Women’s Voices.

Alixa Garcia, born in Colombia, is an award-winning poet, musician, visual-artist, filmmaker, educator, and activist. Her performance work with the duo Climbing PoeTree has been featured in hundreds of universities, conferences and festivals, including at the United Nations and T.E.D.’s Ideas Worth Spreading. Her visual work has been exhibited in major museums and public spaces, including in Times Square and at the Los Angeles Contemporary Museum of Art. Her latest work is currently being exhibited in the Kunsthal Kade Museum, Netherlands.