Shift Our Ways Collective is growing sustainable communities through environmental education, regenerative agriculture, and climate resilience. The founders of Shift Our Ways (SOW) Collective in Arleta, California, are Madison Jaschke @madimellow , Stephanie Gomez @stephgranola , Haley Feng, and Christina Jimenez. Together, they started SOW Collective in 2020, focusing on sustainability, food sovereignty, and community empowerment through regenerative agriculture and environmental education.

Talia Dotson is a visionary leader and the founder of Akoben & Co. , an organization driven by the belief that true wealth lies in health, knowledge, and the power of united communities. With a deep commitment to promoting education, equity, and sustainability, Talia works tirelessly to foster a culture that transcends traditional notions of sustainability. In her role as the Community Organizing Senior Manager for South Los Angeles and South East Los Angeles at @treepeople_org, she leads initiatives to empower residents through environmental education, advocacy, and community-driven solutions.

Dr. Sheridan Ross is leading a powerful movement at Compton Community Garden, where fresh, locally grown food meets community empowerment. 🌱 Through urban farming, Dr. Ross is transforming vacant lots into thriving green spaces that not only provide healthy, affordable food but also serve as hubs for education, sustainability, and resilience.

Deenaalee Chase-Hodgdon is a queer Deg Xit’an Dene and Sugpiaq person from the villages of Gitr’ingithchagg (Anvik) and Qinuyang (South Naknek), Alaska. Along with Ruth Miller @frompeaksnpinetrees, Deenaalee co-directs The Smokehouse Collective - an Indigenous food hub that focuses on invigorating traditional trade networks to provide food security to climate-impacted communities in Alaska. Smokehouse Collective @thesmokehousecollective is a home-grown initiative led by young Indigenous women who navigate the intersection of traditional lifeways and contemporary economic solutions.

Meet Megan Chen , founder and executive director of The Urban Garden Initiative (TUGI)! Megan is an environmental activist, author, and social entrepreneur, who is also a rising senior at Stanford University🌲. While growing up outside of a major food desert community in Wilmington, Delaware, she witnessed firsthand the impact of climate change on urban environments and the resulting inequalities in low-income and BIPOC communities. Megan founded The Urban Garden Initiative, an international 501(c)(3) nonprofit at age 15, aiming to empower youth to achieve urban sustainability through gardening education.

Farmer Rishi is a small-scale farmer, land-artist, writer, and educator based in Los Angeles. He made a big transition from being a computer scientist to the owner of Sarvodaya Farms due to the need to reconnecting with the land. He aims to help people grasp the principles of healing both our physical bodies and the Earth itself. He founded @SarvodayaFarms, a nonprofit that operates as a plant nursery, urban farm, and an event space for building community. It specializes in rare fruit trees, perennial vegetables, and medicinal herbs.

ab is born and raised in Oakland and currently working with the People’s Programs. They strive to advance food autonomy for Black communities and improve access to healthy produce and foods in Oakland 🌱 We sat down with ab at Oxford Tract, a working research and educational farm on the UC Berkeley campus. Following a concussion, ab found healing as their brain fog gradually disappeared through working on the land, realizing the transformative power of a holistic relationship with nature. Inspired by the Black Panther Party, ab views gardening as a rebellion against oppressive systems.

Meet Darin Diggs, founder of Imani Gardens, who has an inspiring personal journey that fuels his mission today. Once weighing 235 lbs, Darin faced numerous health challenges, including kidney stones, chronic headaches, an upset stomach, and overall fatigue. His skin was unhealthy, and his mind felt foggy, leaving him unmotivated. In 2018, after graduating high school, Darin moved to Alaska, where he began studying the African Human Genome and exploring what life is truly about. During this time, he realized that people around the world were underutilizing the land and relying heavily on foreign systems for survival. Inspired by these insights, Darin returned to California in 2019 to further his studies at the Permaculture Academy at USC. There, he learned how ancient cultures worked with the land to sustain themselves. Imani Gardens was born from this passion for holistic living. Today, Darin and his team have a food forest and are dedicated to providing high-quality food, health and beauty products, art, and other holistic offerings that honor the wisdom of the land and promote well-being for all.