Director of Outreach and Programs, Fibers Fund

Teju is founder and co-creator of Black Fiber and Textile Network (bftn), a connector and facilitator with a focus on sustainable textiles and environmental / climate justice. She supports the creation of regenerative fiber systems and climate resilient strategies for Black and Indigenous communities and people of the global majority. Teju is the creator / host of the Black Material Geographies podcast, a 2022 honoree for the Conscious Fashion Campaign, and a member of the United Nations Conscious Fashion and Lifestyle Network. Teju has worked with diverse organizations like United States Embassy of Botswana and Cooper Hewitt. She has spoken at several colleges including Princeton University and the Rhode Island School of Design. Her work supports people, organizations, and companies who are making sustainable futures through textiles, alternative economies, regenerative agriculture and community-centric organizing.

Founder and Prinicipal, Sacred Futures

Charity May is the Founder and Principal of Sacred Futures, an advisory practice that guides partners in the reimagining, designing and implementing of governance, leadership and ownership models, sustainable growth strategies, and financing vehicles to cultivate renewal and reciprocity between human and more-than-human worlds.

Before launching Sacred Futures, Charity was directly involved in the management of real estate private equity investments and debt capital markets. She has directed, led and supported the investment, structure and development of over $575 million of project value for education facilities across the country, serving over 40,000 students. In her time in investment banking, she conducted the underwriting, analysis, origination and structuring for over $3.8 billion of leveraged finance transactions across multiple sectors including technology, consumer goods, industrial, and energy. [more]

Managing Director, Fibers Fund

Sarah has been working at the intersection of food systems and fiber systems for over 20 years and has been a leader in efforts to raise funder and investor awareness of the fiber sector. She brings particular expertise in sustainable and regenerative agriculture, sustainability in the fiber and textile system, and the funding and financing approaches needed to truly create more equitable and regenerative outcomes.

Sarah is Principal of Common Threads Consulting, working with a range of funder and impact investor clients at the intersection of philanthropy, equity, and sustainability. She has served as Consultant to Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems Funders (SAFSF) for its Initiative on Sustainable Fibers and Textiles since 2019. Previously, Sarah served for 10 years as Senior Program Officer at the Island Foundation and five years as a nonprofit Executive Director. She was selected as a 2018-19 Just Economy Institute Fellow, focusing on integrating investment and grantmaking strategies to drive change in the U.S. sustainable textile field.

Executive Director, Fibershed

Rebecca Burgess is the Executive Director of Fibershed. She has two decades of experience working at the intersection of ecology, fiber systems, and regional economic development. She is the author of the best-selling book Harvesting Color, a bioregional look into the natural dye traditions of North America, and Fibershed: Growing a Movement of Farmers, Fashion Activists, and Makers for a New Textile Economy released in 2019. She has taught at Westminster College, Harvard University, and California College of the Arts. She also holds a new board position at the Livestock Conservancy and is serving on the leadership council of the Center for Regenerative Agriculture and Resilient Systems at Chico State University.

Steward. Cultivator. Shepherdess: High Hog Farm

Originally from upstate NY, Keisha Cameron began farming with her husband and three children on their family farm outside of Atlanta, GA in 2009. A returning generation farmer and cultural seedkeeper, Keisha finds herself leaning into Black agrarian heritage and legacies, incorporating agroecological land and foodways into her evolving relationship with the farm and its ecosystem. [more]

Founder, EMME Studio

Artist and designer Korina Emmerich founded the slow fashion brand EMME Studio in 2015. Her colorful work celebrates her patrilineal Indigenous heritage from The Puyallup tribe while aligning art and design with education. With a strong focus on social and climate justice, Emmerich's artwork strives to expose and dismantle systems of oppression in the fashion industry and challenge colonial ways of thinking. [more]

Portfolio Manager, Olamina Fund at Candide Group

Leticia is the proud daughter of immigrant farmworkers from Guanajuato, Mexico, and grew up in a small rural town in Fresno, CA. Leticia’s work has focused on solving complex environmental, economic, and social problems and co-creating innovative investment solutions.

Most recently, Leticia served as the first Central California Regional Lead Advisor of the California Office of the Small Business Advocate, a position she was appointed by Governor Gavin Newsom. During her term she led strategy development for the state of California’s small business ecosystem-building work, access to affordable capital and diverse entrepreneurship, and innovation portfolios, and created a model across California. In previous positions, she has worked alongside organic small-scale coffee producers and indigenous women's textile cooperatives in Mexico. [more]

Chief Impact Officer, Circulate Capital

Ellen Martin is Chief Impact Officer of Circulate Capital, an investment firm focused on circular economy infrastructure and innovations in emerging markets. Circulate's Ocean Fund launched in 2019 and was the first dedicated exclusively to addressing the ocean plastics challenge in Asia and first circular economy fund to qualify for the 2X Challenge, committed to increasing gender lens investment. In her role, Ellen is responsible for driving impact and insights for Circulate Capital and managing ESG through the investment process. As a member of Circulate’s leadership and investment teams, Ellen is focused on ensuring the firm’s collective strategies, assets, and relationships deliver impact as it grows. She is also a senior advisor to Circulate Capital’s mission-aligned non-profit, The Circulate Initiative. [more]

Executive Director, Fibershed

Vice President, Operations and Finance, SAFSF

Former VP, Strategy and Impact, SAFSF; founding Formation Team

Former E.D., SAFSF; founding Formation Team