OUR TEAM.
Hi, I’m Haydeé Lavariega.
I am a Bene Xhon Zapotec Indigenous nonbinary organizer and educator from Oaxaca, Mexico. I ground my practice in Indigenous values of collectivity, acknowledgement, and relationships that honor the knowledges and narratives of my community. I work diligently and intentionally to organize and collectively heal by utilizing decolonial and anti-racist frameworks that center Black and Indigenous people and other People of Color in practice. I deeply believe that organizing and healing must be done together, with awareness of the multitude of intersections and complexities of community, in our journey to collective liberation.
I hold a Doctorate in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from the University of Washington. Over the last fifteen years I have worked at the intersections of community organizing, social justice, philanthropy, and early learning to higher education.
Hi, I’m Mu Knowles.
I am a Black trans non-binary queer liberation steward as well as an Afro-Indigenous Futurist born and raised in the historically Black Hilltop Neighborhood on Puyallup Tribal Territory. As an artist I express myself through various mediums including music, poetry, spoken word, storytelling, urban agriculture & land stewardship, film making, scholarly writing and photography. I focus my energy and efforts on co-creating and crafting an environment and community that is grounded in sustainable, intentional, fluid, responsive and inclusive practices and ways of being.
I hold a Bachelors in Sociology and Anthropology from the University of Puget Sound. Over the last thirteen years I have been delving into power building and movement making. My energy work has been closely tied to the fostering of a world where Black Liberation, Indigenous Sovereignty, Immigration Justice, Trans & Queer Liberation, community care, food justice, housing & land justice, economic justice, food sovereignty, mutual aid and collective liberation are actualized and brought to fruition.