2025 All-Partner Convening: Speaker Information and Workshop Descriptions
Our Fall convening is a participatory gathering rooted in care, imagination, and practice. This event invites all COO network partners invested in sustainable, just, and intergenerational futures to come together in dialogue and creative exchange. Join us in cultivating hope, resistance, and shared possibility as we build stronger relationships, align strategies, and exchange knowledge and wisdom to sustain movements for change.
Our collective coming together is a strategy against divisiveness and threats - always - and particularly in this moment of uncertainty and targeted harm. Join with partners across the COO network these two days to build greater solidarity, connection and resources for this moment, and the moments to come.
Schedule:
Wednesday, October 8, 10 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Thursday, October 9, 9 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
When selecting tickets, you can choose to attend only 1 day or both days.
Location: Highline College, Des Moines, Washington
Afternoon Group Activities
Day 1 Keynote Speaker and Workshop Leaders/Speakers
Keynote Speaker, Wednesday, Oct. 8, 11:30 a.m.: Malkia Devich Cyril
Malkia Devich Cyril. Photo Credit: Sachelle Brooks
Malkia Devich Cyril is a Left movement strategist and facilitator, writer, public speaker and award winning activist on issues of collective grief, Black liberation, narrative change and power building. As the founding and former director of Media Justice, Malkia spearheaded national grassroots efforts for abolition and access in a digital age, galvanizing communities of color for an open Internet and media accountability. After two decades of media justice leadership, and in an era of devastating mass loss, Devich Cyril has launched the Radical Loss Project – a Black-led change lab transforming how modern freedom movements face loss and build collective power through collective grief.
Workshop Leaders and Speakers: Day 1, Wednesday
Lunchtime Activation
Jessy Trevizo
Jessy Trevizo, herbalist, doula and yoga teacher, Goddess Throne Naturals
Yoga, 12:50 - 1:30 p.m.
Jessy Trevizo is an Afro-Latina of Mexican and Black ancestry, a community herbalist, traditional full-spectrum birth worker, and yoga teacher devoted to collective healing. Rooted in ancestral wisdom and community care, she weaves plant medicine, birthwork, and embodied practice to honor traditions while nurturing holistic wellness for all.
Day 1 Afternoon Group Activities, 1:45 - 2:45 p.m.
After being called to action by Malkia this morning, and following lunch, we welcome you to attend 1 of 5 group activities to support in processing, integration and release.
Kiarra Hehn, MA, LMHCA, Peace by Piece Counseling (Station 5)
“Pain Shared is Pain Transformed” group activity
My name is Kiarra Hehn. I am an Afro Indigenous mental health therapist who graduated with my Masters in Psychology from the University of Washington. I own and operate my own private practice that is rooted in coming back to or finding self, emotional resonance, spiritual practices and liberation. www.peacebypiececounseling.com
Through my own ancestral guidance and gifts, therapeutic expertise and skills I am a sacred space holder for those wanting to name their stories aloud, reclaim identity pieces stolen or buried through colonial harm, heal inner-wounds and ancestral pains carried, and a guide and thought partner during periods of transformation.
Kiarra Hehn
Dr. Haydeé Lavariega
Dr. Haydeé Lavariega, Co-Founder, Collective Liberation in Practice (Station 2)
“Somatics and Yerbas for Collective Care” group activity
Haydeé Lavariega is a Zapotec, Bene Xhon, Indigenous migrant nonbinary organizer, scholar, and cultural practitioner from Oaxaca, Mexico. Over the last fifteen years, they have lived at the intersections of community organizing, social justice, healing-centered practices, and education with a vision rooted in Black and Indigenous solidarities.
Haydeé utilizes anti-colonial frameworks that center Indigenous values of collectivity, healing, kincentricity, sovereignty, and reciprocity.
Kathei McCoy
Kathei McCoy, Coach (Station 3)
“A Quiet Holding: Grief Practices for This Moment” group activity
Kathei McCoy is a freedom seeker. Her journey to liberation has been a fierce pursuit of breaking free from generational trauma, oppressive systems, and the shackles of grief. Her work is deeply rooted in the belief that everybody is deserving of liberation and joy. She has been supporting and walking alongside women on their journey to freedom for 20 years. She serves as a personal & leadership development coach, facilitator and spiritual guide to people and organizations seeking healing and restoration.
Kathei’s intention is to create and hold sacred healing spaces that provide spiritual, relational and emotional support as people come home to themselves. As a survivor she is committed to the healing, wellness and joy of mamas who’ve lost children to gun violence. It’s her prayer that we all feel seen, heard and loved. Kathei loves lots of rest, swimming, spending time with family and eating delicious desserts.
Diana Mena. Photo Credit: Helena Holmes Photography
Diana Mena, Cultural Social Justice Worker, Esperanza Counseling & Consulting, PLLC (Station 1)
“Grief as Ceremony” group activity
Diana Mena, LICSW, CFSW is a first generation Nicaraguan American raised in Seattle, WA. Diana is a clinical activist and social justice worker. She is a Certified Financial Social Worker. She focuses on the intersections of trauma, the psychosocial consequences of oppression, decolonial (anti-colonial) healing, money and collective liberation. She is a mama to a fierce daughter and a joyful son. www.esperanzapllc.com
Diana Mena, LICSW, CFSW es hija de inmigrantes Nicaragüenses, criada en Seattle, WA. Diana es una trabajadora de justicia social, activista, terapeuta, y trabajadora social financiera. Se enfoca en las intersecciones del trauma, el impacto de la opresión, la sanación decolonial (anti-colonial), el dinero y la liberación colectiva. Es mamá de dos: una niña luchadora y un niño tierno. www.esperanzapllc.com
Emma Medicine White Crow
Emma Medicine White Crow, Consultant, WolfMask Consultants (Station 4)
“Restoring Balance: Grief, Ritual, and Cultural Wisdom” group activity
Emma R. Medicine White Crow, MSc, a Comanche/Cherokee native, descendant of traditional healers, is a dedicated community worker with over 20 years of experience in health equity, social justice, and environmental work, focusing on Tribal, rural, BIPOC, and immigrant/refugee communities. Fluent in Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese, she is a certified community healthcare worker, peer counselor, and court interpreter.
Her consulting work includes creating programs for Elders, youth suicide prevention, behavioral health, and strategic planning for Tribal communities. She has contributed to initiatives addressing racism as a public health crisis, managed $20 million in grants for communities of color, and served on committees focused on race and equity. Emma’s work exemplifies her commitment to community service and health equity.
Day 2, Thursday, Keynote Speakers and Workshop Leaders/Speakers
Morning Activity: COO Partners' Participatory Data Mapping session, 9:30-11 a.m.
Are you interested in learning about what other COO partners have been working on and what COO has accomplished so far? Join the COO Eval Team and COO staff for a Participatory Data Mapping session, where we'll together move through summaries of progress and achievements of COO partners, make additions and identify existing and potential connections between the work you and others are doing.
This session is designed to uplift the work happening across the COO network and to identify new connections to support the work moving forward. This is an opportunity to make sure COO can uplift your organization's progress and achievements and connect with other groups working toward shared goals. Grab a morning coffee and join this experiential data mapping experience!
Your “Data guides” will be COO’s evaluation team, Roxana Chen, Nicole Turcheti, and Carrie Lippy.
Keynote, Day 2, Thursday, 11 a.m. - noon :
Vanessa Priya Daniel, in conversation with Victoria Santos
Vanessa Priya Daniel. Photo credit: Anita Nowacka
Vanessa Priya Daniel - author, organizer
On Day 2 we welcome a conversation with Victoria Santos of Ile Kimoyo and VANESSA PRIYA DANIEL.
Vanessa Priya Daniel is an author, organizer, and award-winning leader for racial and gender justice. She has worked in social justice movements for twenty-five years as a labor and community organizer and funder. Her first book is Unrig the Game: What Women of Color Can Teach Everyone About Winning (Random House, 2025). She founded and served for 17 years as executive director of Groundswell Fund, a leading funder of women of color-led grassroots community and electoral organizing.
She is a recipient of the Smith College Medal, was featured by The Chronicle of Philanthropy as one of fifteen "Influencers" who are changing the nonprofit world, and was recognized by Inside Philanthropy as one of the "Top 100 Most Powerful Players in Philanthropy." Daniel has written for The New York Times and other publications.
Victoria Santos. Photo Credit: Original Studios
Victoria Santos, Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director, Ile Kimoyo
Victoria knows the power of community and the wisdom that emerges when we gather together. Her work is guided by the deep knowing that everyone is needed, and that when we offer each other our compassionate presence, we cultivate our collective freedom.
Victoria sees her life’s work as part of the movement to prioritize wellness and healing for leaders and changemakers. She aims to foster healing that is individual, ancestral, and communal. Her work draws upon her training in psychology, conflict resolution, trauma healing, meditation, rituals, and embodied practices.
In multiple nonprofit leadership roles over the past three decades, Victoria has brought her warmth, discernment, and intersectional awareness to many spaces and communities in the shared work of co-creating a world of justice and belonging.
Session 1: Stitching Narratives with the Patterns of Stories
With Sian Wu and Belinda Griswold from Resource Media
In this session, we'll explore the distinction between narrative and storytelling with a helpful metaphor that will make it easier for you to navigate and socialize discussions on storytelling, narrative and organizing strategy. Perfect for organizers, communicators, and anyone interested in the intersection of personal story and systemic change. Participants will gain practical tools for both honoring individual stories and strategically stitching them together to form narratives that can reshape cultural understanding.
Belinda Griswold
Belinda Griswold, Senior Program Director, Resource Media
Belinda has been creating messaging and strategy at the intersection of social justice and sustainability for over 20 years, including as a campaign and organizational Communications Director, reporter, and editor. Belinda specializes in campaign planning, narrative development, media training, and cognitive and public opinion research. An expert trainer and facilitator, Belinda is also an attorney and mediator licensed in Washington and California. Her current portfolio is centered on the intersections between climate, water, forest health, and social justice. Belinda has been honored to work on Indigenous-led conservation campaigns throughout the Pacific Northwest. She lives and works on Snohomish/Tulalip Tribes land on Whidbey Island, Washington.
Sian Wu
Sian Wu, Managing Director, Resource Media
Sian Wu’s exploration of communications and culture spans over a decade of working with nonprofit organizations, foundations and government agencies, and is based on a foundation of cultural curiosity and analysis. Sian has built a career as a communications consultant, specifically focused on causes and social change. She has spent over a decade at Resource Media, a nonprofit communications firm dedicated to progress and social change through the power of persuasion, content, research and capacity for mission-driven organizations around the world. And, in her role as an instructor at UW's CommLead program, she teaches students about multicultural marketing strategies. Her current role as managing director at RM is to lead teams that work with clients to conceive, direct and execute communications strategies working with frontline communities on issues ranging from climate justice, affordable housing, community development and health equity.
Session 2: Community to Community. Details coming soon
Session 3: Trans Leadership & Solidarity. Details coming soon.
Session 4: Community Media Workshop
Speakers: Sabra Boyd, Cesar Canizales, Calvin Emerson, Mead Gill, Besa Gordon, Vee Hua, Jaime Méndez, Renee Raketty, Omari Salisbury
Connect with some of our most trusted community media partners in this workshop. Media organizations Converge Media, International Examiner, Real Change News, Se Habla Media, and Seattle Gay News work closely with community and want to hear your stories. Learn what kind of stories they’re looking for, who they serve, and how to approach them, and meet some of their journalists in an informal, no-pressure space. You can also hear how some of our partners have worked with them successfully.
Who should attend: Organizations who are interested in deepening their media relationships and honing their strategy, or who are curious about where to start. Come with your questions (we’ll provide you with some starters). You’ll leave with pitching tips and tools, stronger media relationships and strategies, and ideas for other media organizations you can approach.
Sabra Boyd
Sabra Boyd, Editor-in-Chief, Real Change News
Sabra Boyd is Editor-in-Chief of Real Change News. An award-winning journalist, Sabra has owned her own media relations and PR consulting firm, working with nonprofits and human rights organizations. Sabra is a proponent of trauma-informed editing and reporting, and provides media training for people with lived experience so that they can safety plan when speaking with members of the press. This work is featured in the Survivor Storytelling Workbook that Sabra co-authored, as well as the Trafficking Survivors' Journalism Project that she founded. As a journalist, Sabra has covered stories about exploitation, prison and the carceral system, agriculture, entertainment and film, labor rights, climate change through the lens of sports, food equity, poverty and more. Being Editor-in-Chief at Real Change is “full circle” in the best possible way because a Real Change vendor saved Sabra's life when she was a homeless teenager, attempting to sleep in the Westlake Tunnel.
Cesar Canizales
Cesar Canizales, Freelance Reporter, Se Habla Media
Cesar Canizales is a freelance reporter working for Se Habla Media and other organizations in Seattle.
Before moving to Seattle, Cesar worked as a broadcast news producer for more than 20 years covering local, national and international news in Washington, D.C.;, London, UK; and Dallas, Texas. Cesar covered the White House, Congress, terrorist acts, natural disasters, and economic and financial news.
As a freelance journalist, Cesar's coverage for Se Habla Media has included national, state and local politics; issues important to the Hispanic community, especially immigration; feature stories; and more.
Cesar's freelance work has also focused on helping local nonprofit organizations with their communications efforts to reach underserved communities.
Calvin Emerson
Calvin Emerson, Associate Editor, Seattle Gay News
As the second-in-command for the third-oldest LGBTQIA+ newspaper in the country, Emerson helps daily to supervise up & coming writers, assist with multimedia endeavors, and maintain the paper's sports section - his passion project.
Calvin is proud to be keeping local queer media alive, in service of our Western Washington communities.
Mead Gill
Mead Gill, Content Specialist, Converge Media
My name is Mead Gill and I'm a content specialist, writer, and producer at Converge Media. After graduating from the University of Washington with a degree in journalism and public interest communication this past June, my career has centered around hands-on community engagement through media. Whether I'm behind the camera, writing articles, or managing content, I am dedicated to uplifting creatives that make the community tick by telling the best stories possible.
Besa Gordon
Besa Gordon, Host/TV Personality, Converge Media
Besa Gordon is the TV host & media creative behind Back2Besa on FOX 13 & Almost The Weekend on Converge Media. Uplifting culture, community, & Black voices.
Vee Hua
Vee Hua, Interim Editor in Chief, International Examiner
Vee Hua 華婷婷 is a writer, filmmaker, and artist. They are the Interim Editor in Chief at International Examiner, Editor in Chief at REDEFINE magazine, and an Environmental Justice reporter at the South Seattle Emerald. Prior to that, they were the Executive Director of the interdisciplinary community hub, Northwest Film Forum, where they played a groundbreaking role in making the space more welcoming and accessible for diverse audiences. Their latest short film, Reckless Spirits (2022), is a metaphysical, multi-lingual POC buddy comedy; the feature film version is slated for production in early 2026. Vee is also in post-production on a short documentary film about Hunt’s Trading Post in Southern Utah, just outside of the Navajo and Ute Nations.
Learn more at linktr.ee/hellomynameisvee.
Jaime Méndez
Jaime Méndez, CEO, Se Habla Media
Jaime Méndez is an Emmy award-winning journalist, presenter, and influencer with a significant presence in the State of Washington. He is a pioneer and an icon in Spanish-language media in this region.
He was a News Anchor and reporter on the daily news program on Univision Seattle since its inception in 2007. His career in communication spans nearly 30 years, starting in local radio with news and community-focused programs.
Starting from January 1, 2024, Méndez started his journey as an independent journalist on social media under the company Se Habla Media, where he serves as CEO.
Originally from Colombia, Méndez moved to the United States in 1987 and graduated in Communications and Social Sciences from The Evergreen State College. You can find his programs of news and information on his social media platforms as Jaime Mendez News on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
Renee Raketty
Renee Raketty, Publisher, Seattle Gay News
Renee Raketty is the publisher of Seattle Gay News. She's been active in both the journalism space, and among Seattle's LGBTQ+ community, since she worked at her high school paper. She joined the SGN as a writer in October 2001, rose to managing editor in August 2005, and has written for publications including Seattle Gay Standard, Capitol Hill Seattle Blog, and Tacoma Weekly. She was essential in modernizing SGN's production process from physical cut-and-paste to digital technology in the early 2000s, led a successful lawsuit against the Seattle Police Department following the CHOP protests of 2020, and is now collaborating with younger voices in the LGBTQ+ community to lead SGN into a multimedia, platform-driven future, for 2025 and beyond.
Omari Salisbury
Omari Salisbury, Co-Founder, Converge Media
Omari Salisbury is a co-founder of Converge Media, an internationally recognized and Emmy Award-winning media house and production company based in Seattle's Central District. Converge Media produces news, entertainment, and educational content for online and broadcast TV, and is a market leader in short films and documentaries.
Omari returned to Seattle in 2016 with a mission to uplift stories of Seattle's Black community, and alongside Erik Kalligraphy, Converge Media was founded. For nearly 10 years, Converge Media has built a loyal following in the Pacific Northwest for its culturally relevant content.
As Executive Producer, Omari works on TV shows like *Back2Besa* on FOX13 Seattle and FOX SOUL, as well as *The Day With Trae*, *We Live In Color*, and *The Art Of The Matter* on Converge Media platforms. He has earned Emmy nominations for films such as *Reconciliation Tour* and *Nooksack 306*, and won an Emmy for his production work on *The Day With Trae*.
Session 5: SAARC Reparations Dream Lab
C. Davida Ingram
Facilitator: C. Davida Ingram
This Reparations Dream Lab asks participants to look at win-win reparations advocacy approaches that will successfully leverage multi-year organizing for realizing reparations locally. It creates space to imagine a Washington state where everyone thrives using the disparities Black Washingtonians face as a litmus. Along the way, we will look at why multi-racial coalition building that values accountable and intersectional Black civic leaders is part of the future of reparations.
C. Davida Ingram is a creative leader in institutional change with a focus on reparations, equity & inclusion, race & social justice, arts & culture, civic engagement, policy, and public engagement. Her work as a change maker spans community-based organizations, museums, libraries and government institutions.