Thank you to everyone who joined us for Storyslam 2021: Recipes for Resilience on March 25th.

Sage LaPena, a Certified Clinical Herbalist and teacher specializing in both traditional Native American and Western herbal traditions, has worked with local medicine people from her tribe, California’s Northern Wintu, and neighboring tribes (Maidu, Miwok, Pomo and Karuk) since childhood. Lead herbalist at Mountain Thistle Botanicals and Consultation, Sage is also a consultant to several central California tribes and Native museums concerning TEK, ethnobotany, regalia making and holistic healthcare. Sage is currently seeing patients as part of the Healing Ways Program at Sacramento Native American Health Center, leading Plant Walks on Urban Herbalism and teaching classes on Traditional Native American and Western Herbalism.

Ruthie King is a shepherd and firefighter based out of Mendocino County. Headwaters, her grazing operation, consists of 80 sheep and two donkeys who produce meat, wool, and hides. The flock is more than just for production, they graze land throughout Mendocino for fire fuel reduction and soil fertility. Ruthie's operation is a part of a farming collective at Ridgewood Ranch called the New Agrarian Collective which she helped found, and is closely associated with the training program she helped to start in 2013, the School of Adaptive Agriculture.

Ruthie works seasonally, shearing sheep for flocks around Northern California, harvesting her own animals for meat, working the lambing barns at UC Hopland, and fighting fires during the fire season.

Sarah Kirnon is a West Indian chef. After years honing her craft in kitchens on both sides of the pond, Sarah opened Miss Ollie's in 2012, a farm-to-table Afro Caribbean restaurant in Oakland, CA. Miss Ollie's was named a 'Top 100 Restaurant' and garnered regional and worldwide accolades in countless newspaper reviews, magazine profiles, television shows, and films.

In 2020 the COVID pandemic devastated the hospitality industry and Miss Ollie's was not spared the consequences of forced closures and social distancing guidelines. In 2021 Miss Ollie's will transition to Sanctuary, a non-profit incubator for Black chefs, artists, musicians, and other creators.

Rudy Jimenez is a third generation organic farmer and artist. Growing up in the Salinas Valley, Rudy was inspired by his parents, who had worked on conventional farms for 30 years. Rudy paired this wealth of experience with his entrepreneurship skills to found Green Thumb Organics Farms in 2015. A graduate of the Agriculture Land Base Association (ALBA), he now grows five acres of certified organic produce in San Juan Bautista. Green Thumb Organics currently serves farmers markets in San Francisco and Berkeley.

In addition to farming, Rudy offers wellness and health educational workshops via Urban Arts Collaborative. Together, they serve local families and youth, including the formerly incarcerated and migrant community, to promote healthy eating habits, lift up food production and preparation as a form of artistic expression, develop entrepreneurial skills, and advocate for the community.