Hope & Hard Pills

Susanna Barkataki is a viral TEDx speaker, #1 bestselling author, and is currently pursuing her PhD in yoga philosophy.  She is the founder of Ignite Institute for yogic leadership and social change and Yoke Yoga , a wellness app for self care with yoga. Ordained by Thich Nhat Hanh and trained by masters in India, Susanna bridges ancient wisdom with spiritual leadership for our time. You can learn...

Shahem "5hahem" Mclaurin is a Black, genderqueer, licensed social worker/therapist and influencer born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland who is currently stationed in Brooklyn, New York. With upwards of 800,000 followers Shahem Mclaurin, licensed therapist and social worker, uses their platform to address a wide range of social and mental health issues impacting people of color, patriarchy impacte...

Dayna Lynn Nuckolls, The People’s Oracle, provides Divination for Liberation . She skillfully uses oracles with integrity (sidereal astrology, tarot, dream interpretation, and intuitive guidance) in service to the spiritual and political resistance of our time. She is known for her incisive and relevant social commentary, and consistently accurate predictions for her clients and for the collective...

Tanmeet Sethi, MD is a board-certified Integrative Family Medicine physician and Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Washington School of Medicine. She has spent the past 25 years working on the frontlines of the most marginalized communities, as well as globally with victims of school shootings, survivors of hurricanes, citizens impacted by police violence, and psychologists in Ukra...

Joris Lechêne is a trainer in anti-racism, bias, and decoloniality with lived experience of autism and ADHD. As a Black, Queer, Neurodivergent individual, Joris draws on his unique perspective, practice of sociology and his background in architecture to explore and dismantle systemic inequalities.  Having lived and worked in five countries across three continents, he brings a wealth of experience...

Producer/Director Karen Hayes holds an M.F.A. in Film and Television Production from UCLA. She was selected for the Tribeca All Access and American Film Institute’s (AFI) Directing Workshop for Women (DWW) fellowships. Hayes' production company, Ubuntu Motion Pictures, is devoted to telling stories that educate, create dialog about, and promote justice and healing. She has produced many documentar...

Sophia A.McClennen is professor of international affairs and comparative literature at the Pennsylvania State University and the founding director of Penn State's Center for Global Studies . She has published fourteen books and over 75 scholarly articles. Her research focuses on cultural responses to crisis, change, and repression, Her recent research has focused on the political impact of satire...

Dr. Raquel Martin, PhD is a dynamic force in Black Mental Health and Liberation Psychology. Standing confidently at the intersection of clinical psychology and social advocacy, Dr. Martin has earned a reputation as a pioneering thought leader. Her presentations, filled with depth and passion, don’t merely inform—they ignite a spark, inspiring attendees to delve deeper and think broader. Dr. Martin...

Kalaya'an Mendoza is a Queer , Hard of Hearing, Filipino American human rights defender , street medic , and community safety and mutual protection trainer. He is an award-winning facilitator of holistic safety and security , as well as a recognized expert in disaster preparedness . He currently resides on occupied Lenape land. Kalaya'an serves as the Director of US Programs at Nonviolent Peacefor...

Nikki Blak is a writer, sociologist, and womanist, whose art interrogates social constructs and affirms Blackness. Her thought leadership and radical education work centers marginalized and oppressed populations in the United States. She holds a B.A. in Sociology and a Master of Arts in Social Justice and Community Organizing. She uses her extensive education in combination with her lived experien...

Yolo Akili Robinson (he/him/his) is a non binary award-winning writer, healing justice worker, yogi, and the founder and Executive Director of BEAM (Black Emotional and Mental Health Collective). For over 20 years Yolo has led and designed mental and emotional health workshops, experiences, support groups and training. Catch up with Yolo on Instagram and on his website Check out BEAM's website and...

Ashley Larkin 's superpower lies at the intersection of creative expression and healing. A psychotherapist focused on helping people remember their own agency to find healing and restore trust in their inner voice. Her advocacy is steeped in subverting the colonized norms of the mental health industry. Championing education and access to mindfulness and well-being practices that remind us all of o...

Chichi Agorom is a lifelong student of what it means to be fully human. She is a Certified Enneagram Teacher & Practitioner, Associate Faculty with the Narrative Enneagram, and holds a Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and a Post-Master's Certificate in Marriage and Family Therapy. She is the author of the book, The Enneagram for Black Liberation , now available wherever books ar...

EbonyJanice is the founder and CEO of The Free People Project and The EbonyJanice Project . She earned her Bachelors in Cultural Anthropology and Political Science and a Masters of Arts in Social Change with a concentration in Spiritual Leadership, Womanist Theology, and Racial Justice. The core and center of her work is the professional and personal liberation of Black Women and Femmes. EbonyJani...

Ann Cvetkovich is currently Professor in the Feminist Institute of Social Transformation at Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.  She has been Ellen Clayton Garwood Centennial Professor of English and Professor of Women’s and Gender Studies at the University of Texas at Austin .  She is the author of Mixed Feelings:  Feminism, Mass Culture, and Victorian Sensationalism (Rutgers, 1992);...

As a writer and thought-leader, Tracey Michae’l Lewis-Giggetts offers those who read her work and hear her speak an authentic experience; an opportunity to explore the intersection of culture, identity and faith/spirituality at the deepest levels. She is the host of the podcast, HeARTtalk with Tracey Michae’l, and founder of HeARTspace, a healing community created to serve those who have experienc...

Dr. Chanda Reynolds recently obtained her doctorate degree in Clinical Psychology. Her areas of interest include the impact of transgenerational trauma on the Black community, the integration of faith and mental health, and mental health within the Black church. Dr. Chanda enjoys teaching as an adjunct professor and providing therapy to children, adolescents, and their families. Dr. Reynolds has c...

Dean Spade is a professor at the Seattle University School of Law. Dean has been working in movements for queer and trans liberation and racial and economic justice for the past two decades. He’s the author of Normal Life: Administrative Violence, Critical Trans Politics, and the Limits of Law and the director of the documentary “Pinkwashing Exposed: Seattle Fights Back!” His latest book, Mutual A...

Rebeckah Price is a wellness advocate, yoga instructor (RYT 200), and meditation teacher, and wellness entrepreneur that draws on her wealth of knowledge of working in underserved, marginalized, racialized, and immigrant communities in Canada, the United States and the Caribbean. With a background and education in Community Development and Engagement she saw the ways in which the social determinan...

Rachel Cargle is an Akron, Ohio born writer, entrepreneur and philanthropic innovation. Her work and upcoming book with Penguin Random House, centers the reimagining of womanhood, solidarity and self and how we are in relationship with ourselves and one another. In 2018 she founded The Loveland Foundation, Inc. , a non-profit offering free therapy to Black women and girls.  Her umbrella company, T...

Tanmeet is a board-certified Integrative Family Medicine physician and Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Washington School of Medicine. She has spent the past 25 years working on the frontlines of the most marginalized communities, as well as globally with victims of school shootings, survivors of hurricanes, citizens impacted by police violence, and psychologists in Ukraine under...

Rick Hanson, Ph. D. is a psychologist, Senior Fellow at  UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center , and  New York Times best-selling author. His seven books have been published in 31 languages and include Making Great Relationships , Neurodharma ,  Resilient , Hardwiring Happiness ,  Just One Thing ,  Buddha’s Brain ,  and  Mother Nurture –  with over a million copies in English alone. He's the f...

The Rev. Lauren Grubaugh Thomas (she/her) is a nurturer of faithful dissidents, empowering communities to embrace the sacred art of nonviolent social change. She is a priest reimagining local church ministry,a community organizer building safety through belonging in her neighborhood and beyond, and a writer and podcaster at  A Soulful Revolution . A 2022 Trinity Leadership Fellow and a certified K...

Britt Hawthorne is a momma, teacher, author, and anti-bias/antiracist facilitator. Britt partners with caregivers, educators, and families to raise the next generation of antiracist children. Her book, NY Times Best Selling book, Raising Antiracist Children: A Practical Parenting Guide , is for families ready to take action that'll bring change at home. Together with her beloved partner, they rais...

Jamie Varon is a novelist, author, designer, digital course creator, executive producer, and creative consultant. Her writing has been featured on Huffington Post, Fusion, Complex,  Medium, Thought Catalog, GOOD, Teen Vogue, The Liberty Project, and SF Weekly. Jamie started blogging back when Xanga was still a thing and has been sharing her life online in various capacities for almost a decade. Sh...