Andrea L. Bell, LCSW, SEP, DA, is a practicing somatic psychotherapist, ecotherapist and California Naturalist. She is the founder of SomaticWise, a therapy and ecological practice with the mission of supporting life, healing and regeneration during these troubled times. She has been a licensed psychotherapist since 2003, and a somatic therapist since 2009. Andrea has served on the Assistant team of the Somatic Experiencing Trauma Institute since 2011, supporting Somatic Experiencing trainings in the United States and abroad. She also served as Adjunct Faculty at the California State University, Long Beach, in the Graduate Department of Social Work. Andrea manages her own YouTube channel, SomaticWise, offering education about self-regulation and biosphere/ecosystem regeneration. Andrea has also been a regular contributor to the GoodTherapy Blog. She recently completed her Doctor of Arts at Viridis Graduate Institute (www.viridis.edu); her paper explores the involvement of stress and trauma in humanity’s collective ecocidal practices.

Andrea has been passionate about the helping profession ever since high school, when she first learned it was possible to help others heal through relationship and unconditional positive regard. Andrea embraced Ecopsychology when she discovered that self-regulation and well-being improve with engagement in Nature, for individuals, families and communities. Her passion for native (indigenous) plants, and the wildlife they support, has led her to help restore local ecosystems devastated by land use change and habitat loss. She has a special knack for connecting and working with “out of the box” creative people, and helping them discover their particular purpose. More information about her practice is available on her website, somaticwise.net.

Joelle’s career has seen her teaching, leading, and developing in various roles and across multiple continents both in academia and in nonprofit. She is determined to use her diverse skills and experiences in program development, data analysis, curriculum development, and teaching, as well as her own love of learning, to build and offer tools and opportunities to Returning Citizens as they transition out of prison and back into the community.

Luciana Svidler has been advocating on behalf of children since 2004. She began her legal career at Protection & Advocacy, Inc., where she represented underserved families in special education cases. In 2006, she joined Children’s Law Center as a staff attorney representing children in Los Angeles County Dependency Court. During her 11 years in court, Luciana saw firsthand the systemic barriers children in foster care face in accessing reproductive health information and services. She joined the policy team in August of 2017.

As Director of Policy and Training, Luciana works on legislative reform to improve outcomes for youth under the jurisdiction of Dependency Court. She also engages in state and local advocacy by participating in workgroups, taskforces and committees that deal directly with issues affecting CLC’s clients. Luciana provides direct supervision of the Policy and Training program staff, and works with each program to set goals and priorities. Luciana holds a BA in Legal Studies from University of California at Berkeley and a JD from University of California College of the Law, San Francisco.

Karen Silton has a BA in Sociology from UCLA, a Master’s and a soon to be conferred doctorate (June 2024) in Depth Psychology (specialization in Community Psychology, Liberation Psychology, Indigenous Psychology, and Ecopsychology (CLIE) from Pacifica Graduate Institute in Carpinteria, CA. For the past thirty years, Karen has been a professional artist and arts educator developing expertise in diverse media including painting, ceramics, glass and mosaics. Several pieces of her artwork have joined a variety of collections and include collaborative art projects in Los Angeles, such as with the Getty and Westfield Corporation. Her work draws from a decolonizing perspective which is shaped and compelled by social justice, ethics and decolonizing teaching approaches with an emphasis on the experience of artmaking in community with unhoused women, many of whom are also survivors of domestic and other forms of violence. Her arts for wellbeing approach seeks o empower individual and collective engagement. In 2018, Karen founded Communities Create (www.communitiescreate.org),
a non-profit offering onsite and virtual artmaking for wellbeing programs to marginalized communities. Communities Create partners include The Downtown Women’s Center, People Assisting the Homeless, and Safe Place for Youth.

Nicole Vazquez is a queer Afro-Latinx cisgender woman of Mexican-American and Panamanian parents. She holds dual Masters degrees in Social Welfare and Public Policy from UCLA, where she was first introduced to Critical Race Theory (CRT). Since then, CRT has provided a framework for Nicole to understand our world, has made her a better social worker, and a more caring and compassionate human being. She is an expert in the practical application of CRT in academic and professional settings, with an emphasis on social work education and practice. She has over 20 years’ experience both in the public and nonprofit sectors that includes work with elected officials, in government agencies and in grassroots organizations; her direct practice experience includes crisis counseling, in-home counseling, and case management. Her past positions include the Director of Field Education and Chair Designee in California State University, Dominguez Hills’ Master of Social Work program. As the Principal at Vazquez Consulting, Nicole seeks to be in conversation and discovery with individuals and organizations on the road to transformation through dialogues, workshops, program assessment and strategic planning, conflict mediation, and consultation in organizational development and support. She approaches all of her work with love, humility, and as a learner.

Ana-Melissa Kawehionālani "Kawehi" Kea-Scott is a Native Hawaiian wāhine from Waiʻanae, Hawaiʻi whose aloha for her home and people have led her to a career in community health. She is passionate about providing person-centered care through a Hawaiian lens, and is committed to improving health outcomes for Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders. Kawehi has humbly served her community as a Patient Community Navigator with the Queen's Care Coalition, helping patients with complex medical, behavioral, and social needs, and recently, began a new chapter with Pear Suite as a project coordinator, where she continues to work with Hawaiʻi's most vulnerable populations. Kawehi holds a BA in Biology and Communicology from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, as well as a Graduate Certificate in Tropical Medicine from the John A. Burns School of Medicine. She is also a member of the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement, the Hawaiʻi Community Health Worker Association, and the National Association of Community Health Workers. When Kawehi is not outreaching in the community and helping patients or clients, she enjoys volunteering with Hawaiian organizations who preserve and protect wahi pana - sacred spaces- in Hawai’i.

Saana Polk, is the Assistant Director of Practicum Education and Pupil Personnel Services Coordinator in the School of Social Work at California State University, Long Beach where she received her Master of Social Work degree. Alongside her role as the Assistant Director, she co-chaired the School’s Diversity Committee for 5 years and has over 17 years of experience in practicum education. Her introduction to Critical Race Theory came as a faculty member at her previous university, California State University, Dominguez Hills where she taught for 6 years. Her areas of excitement and expertise include training and group facilitation. She currently teaches integrative practicum seminar and draws on her practice experience in school social work, crisis intervention with sexual assault survivors, and pregnant and parenting teens.

Sabrina Epstein (she/her/hers) is a Policy Analyst at Disability Rights California. She works on issues affecting people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, such as health care and housing. Her prior work includes COVID-19 research at the Johns Hopkins Disability Health Research Center and federal Medicaid policy research at the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC). Sabrina’s work is informed by her experience as a disabled person.

Vanessa Ramos, a resilient survivor of the Los Angeles drug war, offers her expertise as an advisor within the Investigations Unit at Disability Rights California, the state’s Protection and Advocacy Agency. With a diverse professional background spanning corporate, governmental, and non-profit realms, Vanessa draws upon her personal journey navigating ableist systems and her path to recovery. Her commitment lies in community-centered initiatives, tackling pressing issues such as land theft, the exclusion of disabled individuals, and instances of police brutality.

Trained in mindfulness techniques such as yoga and meditation, Vanessa received instruction from esteemed organizations like the Prison Yoga Project, Grief Yoga, and the Peace Literacy Institute. She actively shares these transformative tools statewide, empowering others to find inner peace and resilience amidst adversity.

Despite her influential roles in advocacy and activism, Vanessa’s deepest source of joy stems from her role as a mother. Residing in Hollywood, CA, she treasures the vibrant inclusive art scene and the serene green spaces that showcase the resilience and creativity of disabled individuals. Through her multifaceted contributions, Vanessa embodies the spirit of resilience and advocacy, inspiring others to pursue positive change and inclusive communities.