Community Partners

Jay Julius W'tot Lhem (Lummi)

Se’Si’Le (saw-see-lah)

​​Jeremiah “Jay” Julius (W’tot lhem) is President and founder of the Indigenous-led nonprofit, Se'Si'Le, dedicated to preserving tribal ancestral knowledge and securing its place in the effort to restore to health our natural environment. He is a life-long fisher and enrolled member of the Lummi Nation of Washington State. Jay is one of the Founders of the intertribal nonprofit, the Pacific Northwest Tribal Salmon Alliance and is on the Board of Directors of Stand.earth in Bellingham, WA. Jay served as chairman of the Lummi Nation for two consecutive terms until the winter of 2019. During his four years in the Lummi government he led campaigns across the Salish Sea bioregion to fight for the health and well-being of Creation, including the historic victory at Cherry Point. Jay believes in honoring his Nation’s treaty rights and inherent rights and is a strong advocate for true government-to-government relations. Jay also shares his passion for traditional knowledge, self-improvement, and leadership through his life coaching practice.

Kurt Russo, PhD

Se’Si’Le (saw-see-lah)

Kurt Russo is the executive director of Se’Si’Le, an Indigenous-led nonprofit dedicated to the perpetuation and practical application of Indigenous ancestral knowledge. Kurt has worked with Indigenous communities since 1978 in the areas of sacred site protection, Indigenous treaty rights, environmental cross-cultural conflict resolution, and the intertextualization of ways of knowing nature. He was co-Founder and Executive Director of the Florence R. Kluckhohn Center for the Study of Values and the Native American Land Conservancy, helped establish the International Indigenous Exchange Program (Northwest Indian College), the Sacred Lands Conservancy, and the Foundation for Indigenous Medicine. He has a BS in Forestry from the University of Montana, an MS in Forestry from the University of Washington, and a Ph.D. in History from the University of California (Riverside). He is a veteran and served in Viet Nam where he worked with Montagnard Indigenous communities. 

Santana Rabang

Se’Si’Le (saw-see-lah)

Santana Rabang identifies as being from Lummi Nation, Nooksack Tribe, and First Nations Shxwhay Village. She is enrolled at Northwest Indian College (NWIC) and will attain her AA at the end of 2022. NWIC is located on the traditional homelands of the Lhaq’temish people where Santana proudly raises her two teenage brothers. Attending NWIC allows Santana to learn about place based knowledge and commit to the betterment of her community. Santana works at Children of The Setting Sun Productions (CSSP) as a producer and lead researcher. She is working on her first podcast episode within ‘Young and Indigenous’ that highlights identity. She has worked closely with the Salmon People Project. Santana is committed to finding ways to be an asset to her organization, community, and her people. Participating in as many cultural events as she can, Tribal Canoe Journeys is her favorite.

Jade Mazon

Rebel Bells Collective

Jade Mazon is a lifelong resident of Southeast Chicago. She is an environmental justice leader, a mother, and a co-founder of the Rebel Bells Collective, a social justice organization for young girls of color. The intention is to home-grow activists and guide 7-17 year-olds to discover their worth and power. As part of her leadership with Rebel Bells, in 2020, Jade joined a hunger strike led by community activists in opposition to community exclusion from the City of Chicago’s permitting process for an industrial auto demolition and shredding operation. Jade has a Bachelor’s Degree in Anthropology from Loyola University Chicago.

Olga Bautista

Southeast Environmental Task Force

Olga Bautista is a mother of two and lifelong resident of Southeast Chicago. Olga is the executive director of the Southeast Environmental Taskforce and has a deep commitment to ensuring a sustainable and equitable future for South Chicago. She is trained in Restorative Justice Conflict Resolution and DIY Balloon Mapping. As one of the lead organizers for the Chicago Southeast Side Coalition to Ban Petcoke, Olga continues to lead the fight that has forced state and local politicians to address pressing environmental issues in Chicago’s 10th Ward.

Trinity Colón

George Washington High School

Trinity Colón is a senior at George Washington High School working as the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC)’s 2021 Midwest Youth Ambassador and an environmental justice activist based out of the Southeast Side of Chicago. She takes pride in being from her underserved community and having Mexican-American and Puerto Rican heritage.

Alejandra Cruz

George Washington High School

Alejandra Cruz is a junior at George Washington High School where she is part of the Youth Leadership Council and Student Voice Committee. “Through those spaces I have grown with love and as a youth activist in the east side of Chicago I have advocated for environmental justice to be able to see our community heal and feel that love.”

Gregory Miller

George Washington High School

Gregory Miller is a sophomore at George Washington High School where he is a part of the Student Voice Committee and a part of the YLC, also known as ASE (Alliance of the Southeast), who helped deny a permit to General Iron's relocation to the southeast side of Chicago.

Amanda Stanfield

Richland Gro-Op

Amanda Stanfield is the founder and owner of GrowFourth Urban Farm, a member farm of the Richland Gro-Op in Mansfield, Ohio. GrowFourth developed from a community garden started by Amanda’s family. As the first homestead urban farmers in Richland County, Amanda strives to not only to provide fresh, high quality produce, but lead by example in the natural, organic locally-minded processes of farming, permaculture, youth interaction, positive neighborhood connections and a healthier living environment for all.

Walt Bonham

Richland Gro-Op

Walter Bonham is an Urban Farmer and a founding member of the Richland Gro-Op who works to bridge the gaps between food insecurities and agriculture awareness in Mansfield, Ohio. By combining his background in business and science management with his newfound love for farming, Bonham created The Food Lab LLC. Walt helps people to become more conscious about what they eat and where it comes from and addresses food insecurities by building hoop houses, forming community gardens, and offering catering and meal prep services to residents. Walt holds a B.S. in Business from Wittenberg University and an M.S. in Management from Ohio Dominican University.

Donna Chavis (Lumbee)

Friends of the Earth U.S.

Donna Chavis has over 40 years of service in the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors on the local, state, and national level and currently serves as Senior Climate Campaigner with Friends of the Earth U.S. She is a recognized leader in social and environmental justice change and practice. Donna was a member of the Planning Committee of the First National People of Color Leadership Summit in 1991 which developed the Principles of Environmental Justice. She remains committed to those principles and has specifically integrated them in her work over the past four years in opposition to the proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline. When she is not working for environmental and social justice Donna enjoys music, poetry and time outside with her friends and family. She is a member and Elder of the Lumbee tribe of North Carolina and resides in the ancestral home of Pembroke, NC.

Ryan Emanuel, PhD (Lumbee)

Duke University

Ryan Emanuel is an associate professor at Duke University in the Nicholas School of the Environment. He been involved in water resources research for more than 25 years. At Duke, he leads a research group that focuses on environmental processes in natural and human-altered ecosystems. Ryan is an enrolled member of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, the largest American Indian tribe in the eastern United States. He also studies policy issues surrounding environmental justice and Indigenous rights, working alongside tribal governments and American Indian organizations to provide information and analysis related to environmental and cultural issues. He holds a B.S. in Geology from Duke University and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Environmental Sciences from the University of Virginia.

Ryan Emanuel (Lumbee), Associate Professor of Hydrology

Durham, North Carolina

Bianca Bowman

GreenRoots

Bianca Bowman joined GreenRoots after an AmeriCorps year on Cape Cod where she did varied environmental field work and forest fire management work. Bianca believes strongly in fighting for climate and environmental equity by focusing on local issues. She spent time in college advocating for educational and housing equity in Williamsburg, VA and participating in community-based citizen science research. Bianca is originally from the Washington, DC area and graduated from the College of William and Mary in Virginia where she double-majored in English and Environmental Science and Policy.

John Walkey

GreenRoots

John Walkey is an East Boston resident who has been committed to the work of the Chelsea Creek Action Group (a cross-Creek coalition of Chelsea and East Boston residents, organized in Chelsea by GreenRoots) and the movement for environmental, climate and transportation justice for the past fifteen years. He has previously worked with Alternatives for Community and Environment (ACE) and the Urban Ecology Institute. John’s technical capacity in GIS, database development and web-based technologies complement his program management experience in the Greater Boston area and in Central America.