Tour Managers/Guides
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Aspen Madrone, SEBASTOPOL & SONOMAAspen is a water ecologist, farmer, chef, entrepreneur, homesteader and health enthusiast who shares permaculture principles, explains watershed health, and facilitates an understanding of the full spectrum of agro ecology. Her food-as-medicine tour shows how what we eat can also help heal our bodies. Aspen’s farm-to-orchard tour gives people a chance to experience an apple cider pressing. Aspen also:
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Constance Washburn, Marin & SonomaConstance has more than 35 years of experience designing and directing educational outreach programs and is a graduate of the Ecology of Leadership and Permaculture Design programs at the Regenerative Design Institute. For 18 years, she served as Education Director at the Marin Agricultural Land Trust (MALT) and Marin Organic which reached more than 5,000 people a year. These programs included farm tours, talks, art shows, volunteer and teacher trainings, as well as the Farm Field Studies program, which brought more than 2,000 students out to farms. Constance also:
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Anne Freiwald, San MAteo Coast, Santa Cruz area, Silicon ValleyFounder - https://www.rehydratetheearth.com/vital-cycles
Anne has a passion for work that brings individuals and communities together to creatively address issues of social justice, personal and community health, and regenerative life practices. She has 30 years combined experience in the non-profit realm working as a program manager, researcher, and educator creating experiential learning opportunities and programs for youth and adults across disciplines from all aspects of personal health, to permaculture and food justice. She is the co-founder and facilitator for Vital Cycles: Creating Personal and Planetary Resilience, which offers a year-long dual certificate in Permaculture Design and Personal Ecology and permaculture design consulting. She holds a Master of Public Health as well as certifications in Permaculture Design, Mental Health First Aid, Diversity and Inclusivity, and Digital Education. These days she is most likely spotted in her garden where she grows an abundance of fruits, vegetables, herbs, and flowers. She is thrilled to be part of the Bay Area Green Tours team! |
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Leah Dockstader, EAST BAYLeah has led programming for Bay Area Green Tours, featuring leaders across various sectors of sustainability, such as food justice, green building, renewable energy, waste and water. She also serves as a contractor for administrative assistance and event management, with clients such as Sustainable Apparel Coalition, Pure Water, and Global Inheritance and manages yoga and wellness programming for Wild-soul and Yogascapes. Leah also:
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Lowell Downey, Napa, Sonoma & Mendocino Lowell Downey tells stories of world culture and the environment through his photographic and poetic lenses. A principal of Art & Clarity, an international green photography and video company, Lowell is an active member of the Napa Valley environmental and educational community and is documenting the changes of the Napa River. He serves on the board of the nonprofit ICARE (Institute for Conservation, Advocacy, Research and Education) whose mission is to restore and conserve the biological ecosystem of the Napa watershed where he has a close working relationship with local farmers and vintners in the Napa Valley. Lowell also:
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Susan Silber, EAST BAYSusan has worked as both a community organizer and environmental educator for the past 30 years. She grew up in the suburbs of Los Angeles and Orange County where she had healthy doses of nature through frequent trips all over the United States Susan is proud to have introduced thousands of youth to the joys of nature and coordinating environmental education programs, from serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Costa Rica to working as a naturalist with various Bay Area outdoor science programs and writing the Berkeley Unified School District’s Sustainability Plan. She was introduced to community resilience after learning about the Transition Movement several years ago. Susan went on to help organize Transition Berkeley, co-produce several Permaculture Convergences and then founded the NorCal Resilience Network in 2015, where she served as director until 2021. She is now a strategic planning and fundraising consultant with the Planting Seeds Consulting, including supporting fundraising with Bay Area Green Tours and helping to develop the Resilience Hubs Initiative with the City of San Leandro. She lives in a tight-knit neighborhood in Berkeley with her daughter and husband, and loves to hike with her dog & friends in her spare time.
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Anito Rao, East BayAnita Rao, is a multicultural ambassador, with a particular interest in the realms of social justice and equity. She grew up in India and the United States. Early on in life, she learnt what it was to have, to appear to have, to not have, and then to climb back up again. Having to adjust to "fitting in" taught her a lot! This gave her a deeper understanding in relating to those who struggle to get ahead, whether as an immigrant or as someone from an underserved community.Professionally, she has consistently been involved in communicating with a diverse audience, whether in her role flying, or her accompanying groups or individuals into experiential forays to really get to know a place and it's people.Her higher education, was enabled by joining the military, where she attended the Defense Language Institute, and was the Valedictorian in the German Language Program. She was the Cultural Coordinator in Worms, Germany, for the KONTAKT Deutsche-Amerikanische Freundschaftsklub. With the Veterans Assistance Program (VEAP), she earned her BA in Spanish at San Fransisco State University, which included a year abroad in Lima, Peru. Later, she completed a 2 year course in Travel & Tourism. She was a volunteer Programs Coordinator for the San Francisco Tour Guide Guild (SFTGG), from 2008-2013. In 2021, she earned a certificate at Cornell in Diversity & Inclusion in HR Practices. Anita loves to explore ways to communicate and connect with people of all backgrounds. Dabbling in the languages of the world, catching expressions and phrases in the local jargon, is her thing. She speaks Hindi, Telegu, Spanish, French, German, and Italian (Spitaliano) and has lived in India, Peru, Germany, France, and Hong Kong. She know resides in Oakland, CA.
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Afiba Johnson, EAST BAYGrowing up in Jamaica, Afiba was exposed to all the natural resources and cultures the island had to offer. His love of food and his upbringing is what has inspired him to become a Chef. Moving to the United States has taken his culinary journey to the next level, with an ability to work with renown chefs all over the world. Afiba has hosted countless pop-ups and supper clubs, and is always learning and growing, bringing people together as a kind of spiritual experience. Afiba looks forward to sharing the love and his experience to empower people and build communities though sustainable food.
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Elena VelezWith over 15 years as a medical interpreter and 5 years of being an environmental educator for the Latino community across the San Francisco Bay Area; Elena Velez recognized there was an extreme disparity in the accessibility to health and wellness resources for the Latino community. She knew the power and wealth in health that can come from self-care and regular medical appointments.
Elena’s mission then shifted to guide the community through understanding the importance of taking deliberate action towards taking care of our mind and body through educational material and ergonomic exercises that minimize the harsh effects of labor intensive work over the course of many years. Through language, her personal experience, mindfulness and her compassion towards the community of color, Elena decided to become a tool for access to wellness within her community, first. Through her personal education and research she became well-versed in the variety of illnesses that can stem from disproportionate systematic marginalization. Statistics show today about how much the COVID-19 pandemic has taken the lives of high risk communities - like the Latino community along with the African American community. The death toll far exceeds other groups of people because people of color are usually the ones to work 'essential jobs' and are facing a risk far greater every day the moment they are forced to work. Not only does work present a potentially fatal risk, but also the housing provided and accessible to POC (People of Color) is typically in extremely densely populated neighborhoods, highly polluted and with very little access to regular healthy foods on their diet. The Latino community is full of tenacity, hope and love and has so much potential. Through education and by working alongside and within the community, together; Elena envisions a brighter and healthier future for the POC. |