Bianca van Heydoorn is a native New Yorker and proud Philadelphian. For over two decades, Bianca academic, personal and professional efforts have focused on supporting communities impacted by interpersonal and state violence. 

She is currently the Executive Director at the Youth Sentencing & Reentry Project (YSRP), a nonprofit organization working to mitigate the harm children experience when they are forced into the adult criminal legal system. Prior to joining YSRP, Bianca served as the founding Director of Philadelphia’s Office of Reentry Partnerships. 

Earlier in her career, she worked directly with adolescents; developed programs to intervene in commercial sexual exploitation; prepared teens for employment; helped incarcerated students and returned citizens engage in post-secondary education; and influenced policy related to conditions of confinement. 

Bianca has an undergraduate degree in Correctional Sociology from the City University of New York and a graduate degree in Criminal Justice from John Jay College. She is certified in Permaculture design and enjoys applying these principles on her mini homestead.

Connie Wun, PhD, is the Executive Director and co-founder of AAPI Women Lead. Connie has published in academic books, journals, and mainstream press, including the anthology, Antiblackness, as well as Educational Policy, Race, Ethnicity and Education, Critical Sociology and Elle magazine. She is a co-editor for the anthology, Abolition for the People, with Colin Kaepernick and Christopher Petrella.

Dr. Wun has appeared on Democracy Now!, MSNBC, NPR, and a range of podcasts. She is a former National Science Foundation Fellow, Soros Justice Fellow, UC Berkeley Chancellor's Fellow and more. She’s also been recognized by California API Legislative Caucus with the 2021 Excellence in Civil Rights Award and by GoldHouse with an A100 award.

She is a former sex worker, high school and college educator, anti-sexual assault advocate and organizer. Dr. Wun continues to co-facilitate community-driven research projects on racial and gender violence with organizations across the US. Connie has a daily meditation practice and is a yoga instructor who has also trained in Muay Thai and kickboxing.

Layel Camargo (Yaqui and Mayo of the Sonoran Desert) was born on the unceded lands of the Kumeyaay, now known as San Diego, CA. From a young age, they loved writing telenovelas, swimming and performing for their family. For 15 years, Layel has joyfully worked at the intersection of climate justice, storytelling, cultural strategy, diversity, inclusion and nonprofit leadership. Their expertise spans from non profit leadership, partnership engagement, organizational management, communications, impact strategies, marketing, branding, and audience engagement; with a background in startups.

In 2020, Layel co-founded Shelterwood Collective, a 878-acre forest restoration project. As Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director, they helped secure $20M in funding over 5 years, including a $4M land acquisition and a $2.5M annual operational budget. During Layel's tenure, they also served as Director (lead) of Arts and Culture, shaping the collective’s artist network, artist programing, narrative, storytelling and cultural strategy.

In 2018, Layel co-founded Climate Woke, a storytelling platform in collaboration with The Center for Cultural Power. They organized 500+ artists of color for climate justice, influenced the creation of cultural strategy programing within movement organizations, and produced 120+ original media pieces, films, and campaigns. Managing the program’s $600K budget, they led its expansion and impact.

Alongside Movement Generation, they co-created cultural strategy efforts using social media to amplify the Just Transition Framework, an equity based climate justice framework. They produced Did We Go Too Far?, commissioned artists for wildfire rapid response, transformed the Creative Wildfire trainings into an artist cohort, and served as impact producer for The North Pole Show, facilitating screenings in 17 locations nationwide.

At the University of California, Santa Cruz, Layel earned dual bachelor’s degrees in Legal Studies and Feminist Studies while engaging in performance art and activism. Since coming out as transgender and gender non-conforming, they have committed to ending gender-based violence and challenging sexism while making connections to the larger societal and environmental impacts.

Most recently, Layel played a key role in stabilizing artist employment in the east coast by supporting a $9M fiscal sponsorship with Tribeworks Cooperative. Layel was recognized as a 2020 Fixer by Grist, they also co-received a Humanitarian Award from the International Association of Sufism in 2023, and a former fellow of Climate Story Lab.

A recognized Indigenous storyteller, Layel advances cultural change through powerful oration, land connection, inclusive art making and storytelling.

Stephanie Kimou is a philanthropic facilitator, equity strategist, writer, and lecturer working to make the NGO and philanthropic sectors more equitable and accessible for Black women, femmes, and gender-expansive folks. She has a decade-long career in African development and now supports philanthropic institutions in defining decolonization and implementing next-generation equity initiatives.

She sits on the boards of the Global Fund for Women and The Black Doula Project. She is an angel investor/supporter for Black women-led startups like Somewhere Good, HoneyChile Productions, ProHoe, and Auttrianna Projects. An aspiring Buddhist, cannabis enthusiast, and yogi, Stephanie resides in Washington, DC, with her family.