Brooke Rodriguez, a dedicated Borikua Táino mother residing in Munsee Lenape territory, holds key roles as the Grants and Operations manager for the Indigenous Medicine Conservation Fund, co-founder of The Grinding Stone Collective, co-owner of Buffalo Jump NYC, a Native food catering business, and Board President of the Borikua Taino Foundation. As Grants and Operations Manager at IMC, she oversees financial compliance for the organization and ensures the grants, payments and contracts are handled with care. Serving as the executive director of The Grinding Stone Collective for the past three years, Brooke spearheads initiatives to uplift Indigenous communities through impactful events, workshops, classes, and the development of databases for traditional ecological knowledge sharing. The First Foods Program, the centerpiece of GSC's efforts, champions native food culture and food sovereignty through education, reciprocity, and action. As a founding member of the Borikua Taino Foundation, Brooke is committed to preserving the unique cultural identity of Borikua Taíno through traditional education, land preservation, and re-indigenization. Recognized for her contributions, she was awarded a fellowship in Solve MIT’s Indigenous Communities cohort in 2022, showcasing her commitment to innovation within the Native Solver community. GSC is also a proud member of FAO’s North American Urban Indigenous Food Systems Group. With academic roots in agriculture, animal husbandry, biology, and anthropology, Brooke brings over 20 years of experience to her advocacy for Indigenous justice, education, and coalition building.

Benjamin De Loenen is a Belgian born, living in Spain. He studied audiovisual media in the Netherlands where he graduated with his documentary Ibogaine - Rite of Passage (2004) which introduced him to the globalization of plant medicine. This led him to founding the International Center for Ethnobotanical Education, Research & Service (ICEERS) in 2009, which he serves as Executive Director.

In the 12 years leading the organization he became more and more aware of the vital importance of indigenous peoples, their communities, territories and knowledge in the moment of crisis we are living in as a humanity, which led him to deepen his relationship with indigenous leaders since 2017. Benjamin supports the development and management of the IMC Fund in the capacity of interim co-director. Benjamin is the father of a young daughter.

Tanya Kammonen is a Canadian living in the Amazon in Peru. She works primarily in the ayahuasca part of the IMC Fund’s projects, in addition to behind-the-scenes support. She is trained as a molecular biologist and naturopathic doctor, and worked in ayahuasca integration and retreat facilitation before diving into a more interculturally informed investigation into self, then healing, and ayahuasca. This inquiry led to an appreciation that the ceremonies we use in the West are still very active parts of the traditional cultures that kept them alive for generations, and she thinks conserving and protecting those cultures is essential for true integration and healing at a level that goes beyond self.

Tanya is a mother of two small kids in an intercultural family, raising them in a way that integrates their ancestral language and traditions with her own Western roots.

Sandra Suasnabar Alberco is an Expressive Arts Therapist and Community Worker of Andean, Indigenous ancestry, originally from Peru. She holds an MA in Expressive Arts Therapy and Psychology, and has 15+ years of experience supporting diverse communities affected by complex inter-generational trauma, violence, and systemic oppression. Sandra describes her professional path as both unique and generous. Through the diversity of her experience and the communities she has served, Sandra has contributed to and been influenced by a wise textile of wisdom.

Sandra’s practice has taken place in community-based, non-profit, social justice, education, and health-based settings in Canada. She has worked as a a therapeutic counsellor, advocate, manager, educator, and consultant; with each role being deeply informed by her lived experience and intersecting identities. In recent years, Sandra and her family have lived and worked in rural-northern Indigenous communities. Sandra remains deeply connected to her ancestors’ knowledge, culture and worldviews as she contributes to her community and raises her new baby.

Cultural entrepreneur, media producer and indigenous rights activist. Among other things he has been involved in different cultural exchange, sustainability and indigenous knowledge preservation initiatives in different parts of North and South America for over a decade. Collaborating with different organizations such as the Global Ecovillage Network, NuMundo.org, Four World International Institute,  Global Alliance of Territorial Communities and with events such as the Consejo de Visiones – Guardianes de la Tierra in Mexico.

Ivan is the founder of Voces de Amerikua, a collaborative media laboratory that supports and promotes the voices of indigenous peoples of North, Central and South America and their efforts to protect their Culture, Land and Rights, using impact campaigns, social media and documentaries.

Micaela Montsserrat Arroyo Escajeda was born in Torreon, Coahuila and raised in Sonora, Mexico. She is a certified yoga and meditation teacher as well as a holistic therapist, having studied in Rishikesh, India. With over 15 years of experience as a video journalist, Micaela joins the Indigenous Medicine Conservation Fund as social media manager. Passionate about nature and of recognizing herself as an intricate part of it, learning about the self through self-expression, Mica believes that every experience offers opportunities to learn and grow. Inquisitive and insightful, Mica is a keen observer of human behavior and enjoys helping others connect with their inner wisdom. Believing that everyone can heal themselves, Mica is committed to supporting individuals towards their own process of growth. Mica is excited about the possibilities created by new media technologies and social networks, these tools can be used to create powerful connections and to disseminate useful, empowering information to aid the healing, growth and expansion of all.

Miriam Volat M.S.Co-Director of Riverstyx Foundation, is an educator, organizer, facilitator and ecologist with a passion for soils and nutrient cycles. She works Nationally and Internationally to increase health in all systems. She is dedicated to the biocultural conservation of Peyote and other medicines supported by the IMC Fund, and works in any way she can to ensure the conservation of these medicines for Indigenous communities and their precious ways of life. As a mom, she is fortunate her daughter, Cora, also supports her work.