Louis Alemayehu is a writer, educator, activist, poet, and mentor of younger artists and activist. His writing has appeared in national and international publications. Louis is a founding member of the seminal, award-winning poetry/jazz ensemble, Ancestor Energy, strongly influenced by Chicago’s Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians. In 2009 the Minnesota Spoken Word Association gave Louis an Urban Griot award for 30 years of excellence as a pioneering spoken word artist. In 2012 the Process Work Institute in Portland, OR, certified Louis as a “World Work Elder” as he engages in art as a “spirit weaver” or community builder, connecting diverse populations. Much of his non-artistic work today is centered on food security, climate change, human rights, environmental justice and always performance. Louis has been community faculty or “Wisdom Carrier” for the environmental sustainability class at the Higher Education Consortium for Urban Affairs where he has taught for 12 years. 

At the end of 2018 Louis launched the second constellation of his original band now known as ANCESTOR ENERGY2. It is truly a constellation of immensely gifted artists skilled in improvisational performance. Louis is humbled and gratified to be joined by these younger artist who bring new life to his older and now new 21st Century spoken word.

Mysti Babineau serves as MN350’s Climate Justice Organizer, leading the Climate Majority Project and coordinating the work of the Policy Action Team. As an enrolled member of the Red Lake Nation, Mysti was inspired by the events at Standing Rock and has since volunteered her time to support indigenous-led resistance to the Enbridge Line 3 tar sands pipeline. She is eager to help MN350 build its political power and build an inclusive climate movement with the leadership of people of color, immigrants and indigenous people.

Sophia Benrud is a Black multiracial queer community organizer, postpartum doula and chef currently residing in Minneapolis, MN. Sophia works as the environmental justice organizer for Black Visions Collective—building connections between IBPOC climate and environmental, food, and healing justice, as well as labor and immigration rights. Sophia is committed to transforming the current movement by centering communities directly impacted by these issues. Sophia was a speaker at the People’s Climate Movement March for Climate, Jobs and Justice in San Francisco; a panelist at the Environmental Justice Symposium at the University of Minnesota; and a co-founder of Divine Natural Ancestry, a reparations and food justice initiative. Sophia brings a grounded perspective on the crossroads between climate, healing justice and environmental racism.

Leigh Finke is a producer and writer living in St. Paul, MN. Her writing has appeared in Yes Magazine, Christian Science Monitor, PRI, Truthout, and elsewhere. She is Sr. Producer of Multimedia Resources at 1517 Media, where she makes multimedia content for millennial audiences. This year, Leigh’s first documentary project, Ending the Silence: Confronting Sexual Shame in the Church, was released.

Charles Frempong-Longdon is a poet and activist based in Minneapolis. He is the youngest son of African immigrants from Ghana and the grandson of Ghanaian author & Historian, Prof. Robert Addo-Fening. With interests ranging from racial justice to sustainable architecture he hopes to help support an equitable future for marginalized communities in Minnesota and to combat the effects of Environmental Racism. On his off time he enjoys biking, cooking, and writing. His poems have been featured in Apt Magazine and Flypaper Magazine respectively.

LOTT is the solo project of Minneapolis musician, Leah Ottman (We Are The Willows).

Loosely categorized as “Classical Experimental Violin,” LOTT has been exploring songwriting with the personal lens of a former orchestra nerd turned singer songwriter and indie musician. One side of her songwriting style draws inspiration from Romantic Period composers like Dvorak, Tchaikovsky, Ravel and Borodin. The violin looping and technical side of her songs have been compared to Andrew Bird and Kishi Bashi, topped with clean alto vocal melodies with melancholy undertones.

As Director of Energy Access and Equity, Ben directs Fresh Energy’s work to advance equitable outcomes across Minnesota’s energy system, and also supports the organization’s diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. He joined Fresh Energy as a Policy Associate in May 2015. Ben’s previous experience includes legal clerkships with the Minnesota Department of Commerce and Honeywell International, and internships with Governor Mark Dayton and Senator John Marty. Ben holds a Bachelor of Arts in political science from the University of Minnesota and a Juris Doctor from William Mitchell College of Law. He is a member of the Minnesota Bar.

Myesha Powell has been a writer, photographer, and creative storyteller for North News community newspaper since she was a junior in high school in 2017. She will begin pursuing a communications degree from MCTC this fall. During her time at North News, she served as a “Trauma Trooper,” one of the four young reporters that interviewed over 50 of their peers living in Minneapolis about trauma, coping, and healing and turned it into a special edition of North News that published in September 2018. The project was a partnership between North News, Art is My Weapon, and ReCAST at the City of Minneapolis. 

Sagirah Shahid is a Black Muslim poet and occasional prose writer. She is a recipient of a 2015 Loft Mentor Series Award in Poetry, a 2017 Minnesota Center For Book Arts mentorship award, and was a participant in a 2018 Twin Cities Media Alliances’ “Our Space is Spoken For” Public Art and Performance Fellowship. Sagirah’s poetry and short stories have been published in several literary journals including Mizna, Paper Darts, Winter Tangerine, and Juked. Sagirah’s poems have also been welded into giant metal, sculptural-lanterns along downtown Minneapolis’ iconic Nicollet Mall.

Danielle Trajano is excited to share her passion for environmental justice and hope for a sustainable future in her role as Climate Justice Organizer. Her connection to the climate justice movement is rooted in her love and appreciation for nature, deep values of respect and responsibility, and travel experiences where she witnessed the devastating impact climate change is already having on the global south. She also lived in Uppsala, Sweden for six months where she saw sustainable systems in place, like comprehensive public transportation and winterized bike paths, which inspired her about changes we can make in Minnesota.

As a policy associate, Janiece plays a key role in Fresh Energy’s Energy Access and Equity program that is working to advance equitable outcomes across Minnesota’s energy system. Before joining Fresh Energy, Janiece worked as a community engagement manager for Eureka Recycling where she developed strategies and materials to educate and engage community members on zero waste and environmental justice. She previously worked as an environmental justice organizer to effectively reach the greater community of North Minneapolis and the Twin Cities on issues of environmental justice through outreach, events, community meetings, and political action. She has a Bachelor of Liberal Arts in Political Science and Environmental Science, Policy and Management from the University of Minnesota. Janiece is a board member of Headwaters Foundation for Justice. She loves food—from growing it in her garden to cooking—and even stocking produce at the Mississippi Market Co-op.

Creating a community of families committed to life-long learning and practicing the traditions of the Mexica-Nahua culture.