Bethsaida Ruiz is a Boricua (Puerto Rican name for the island people), gender non-conforming Buddhist warrior and cultural abolitionist who brings an abundance of experience to her social justice work, as a certified embodied life strategist, consultant, facilitator, trainer, and movement builder. 

As a gifted activist, transformative and restorative justice change agent, who has worked in nonprofit and governmental agencies for over 25 years, she is driven and adept at cultivating high-performance teams and developing collaborative relationships with a wide range of diverse communities, stakeholders, and government agency partners. 

Currently Bethsaida is a leader and organizer in La Tertulia Boricua, a social cultural arts organization in Oakland, where she is working on an anthology of Boricuas in the diaspora, due out in the fall of 2023. Bethsaida is a member of the Bay Area Alliance for a Sustainable Puerto Rico (BAASPR), which is a SF Bay Area Boricua diasporic organization working in education, community building and organizing, supporting mutual aid and environmental justice organizations in Puerto Rico and in Oakland, after hurricanes Maria and now Fiona. Bethsaida is also a core leader and organizer for Thrive East Bay in Oakland. Thrive East Bay is a new kind of community relevant for the 21st century bringing people together at the intersection of personal and social transformation, informed by modern science and ancient wisdom, infused with a deep sense of purpose and interconnectedness, inspired by the arts, and focused on social change.

Bethsaida works as an independent consultant, coach, and trainer with Spirit in Action, Resilience Network, Thrive East Bay, With/in Collaborative, UCSF Benioff Houselessness and Housing Initiative, Circles International and several private coaching clients.  She also working with several Equity and Diversity working groups, e.g., the City of Oakland’s Equity Working Group of the General Work Plan, PG&E’s Community Vulnerability Project, and the BIPoC Leadership Transition Project.  

Bethsaida is Bi-Lingual & Bi-Cultural (Spanish, speak, read, and write). Bethsaida received her professional coaching certification from Leadership that Works and an Embodied Social Justice Certification from The Embody Labs. In Reverence, Grace and Humility, Deep Bows of Gratitude.  

Ayano Jeffers-Fabro is a young professional woman of color who identifies as Black/Afro-Indigenous, Filipinx and Japanese, and comes from a long line of earth warriors. Her work is focused on organizing with Black and brown folks through community-driven development initiatives; food and land sovereignty and revitalization projects; social and racial equity and justice; and cooperative collaborations. Ayano strives to support the liberation of Black & brown communities by co-building pathways for access and reconnection to local and healthy food, land, and medicine, in order to achieve intergenerational healing

and resilience. She views her role in the village as weaving communities together by way of facilitating reconnection to food and land as we all create a sustainable future – Not just for the next seven years, but the next seven generations.

Ayano is currently working as a Transition Team Co-Lead for the Resilience Network, a Project Consultant for the Brower-Dellums Institute for Sustainable Policy Studies and Action, a Project Manager for the East Oakland Neighborhood Initiative, and a Education and Curriculum Developer for the Cooperative Food Empowerment Directive (CoFED).

PROFESSIONAL TRAITS: Excellent leader and group facilitator; Centers community-led development and equity; Passionate about community empowerment, sustainability and resilience; Incorporates somatic and mindfulness practices in her work; And prioritizes the perpetuation of unapologetic Black and brown joy.

Ayano holds a Bachelor of Science degree in International Environmental & Food Justice (with a Minor in Community Food Systems) from the University of California, Berkeley. She splits time between Oakland, CA and Waialua, HI.

Kerry is an engineer, a small business strategy advisor, a climate change activist and a permaculture designer.  She has worked in the semiconductor, solar panel and electric vehicle industries bringing new technology to market. Kerry is a founding member of the California hub of the international organization Ecosystems Restoration Camps and board member of the Resilience Network.

Neha is a strategist focused on reviving the commons, decolonizing impact lenses and repairing our relationship with land. She does this through strategy, partnerships, and product creation.  Past clients include the Planetary Health Alliance, OpenTEAM, Prosocial, Siemens, and Google.