Nikola Alexandre (he/they) - Co-Creator & Stewardship Lead
Nikola is a Black queer forester by training and by calling. Nikola was raised by the deserts of New Mexico and the alpine mountains of Southern France. After attending a nature-based healing gathering following the Pulse massacre, Nikola committed his life to healing through tending the earth and reclaiming land stewardship as a way of nurturing a future for the communities he belongs to. Nikola holds a Master’s of Forestry and Master’s of Business Administration from Yale University, and founded Conservation International’s Ecosystem Restoration Program. niko[at]shelterwoodcollective.org
Joan Lora (he/him) - Infrastructure Lead
Born in the Dominican Republic and raised in Florida from the age of six, Joan knew from a young age that he was interested in a career in the sciences. Joan studied pre-med in undergrad and pursued a PhD in spatial navigation and head direction cells in mice. During graduate school, Joan discovered carpentry and furniture making and was instantly enamored, and continued expanding his woodworking knowledge while working in the sciences after graduating. With Shelterwood, Joan is excited to meld the worlds of science and woodworking, while making carpentry more accessible to folks not normally seen in this space. joan[at]shelterwoodcollective.org
Jose Becerra (he/him) - Retreat Center Lead
José is a culinary artist and forest restoration practitioner hailing from central Mexico and putting roots down in Northern California since 2017. With a background in culinary arts and sales, he found his way to Shelterwood through a calling for a closer connection to the rest of nature and a deep love of creating sanctuary space for community. After a few years of getting to know the Shelterwood forest, he’s trading in his apron for a pair of sturdy boots and a passion for forest care. José now leads Shelterwood’s planting, fuels-to-flows, and outdoor education programs within the Forest Stewardship team. When he’s not helping to restore ecological habitat, you can find José baking cakes, mixing cocktails, and dancing. jose[at]shelterwoodcollective.org
Maya Harjo (she/they) - Board Treasurer
Maya is a Native queer farmer dedicated to healing Native food systems through the revitalization of traditional foodways and the practice of sustainable agriculture. She is Mvskoke, Shawnee, Seminole, Jewish, and a citizen of the Quapaw Nation, who was raised in the unceded territory of the Gabrielino/Tongva peoples. Maya graduated from Brown University with a degree in Development Studies and a focus in tribal sovereignty and she holds a certificate of Ecological Horticulture from the Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems at UC Santa Cruz. Guided by teachings from Elders, Indigenous farmers, and TEK practitioners, she seeks to be a land steward whose practices cultivate ecocultural health – restoring physical, spiritual, and cultural health to Native communities and ecological health to the land. Maya has worked throughout California and the Southwest supporting tribal gardens and farms, including as a former Farm Manager at The Cultural Conservancy. Maya is currently pursuing a Masters degree in American Indian Studies at UCLA.
Myles Lennon (he/him) - Board Secretary
Myles is an environmental anthropologist, Dean’s Assistant Professor of Environment & Society and Anthropology at Brown University, and a former sustainable energy policy practitioner. His research explores the intersectional dimensions of solar energy and young Black land stewards' efforts to return livelihood to land. His research has been supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation, the Ford Foundation, and the Wenner-Gren Foundation. A Black boy who loves books and being outdoors at his core, he hails from Lenape and Canarsie land (New York City) but prefers to be in the forest at Shelterwood.
Deseree Fontenot (she/they) - Board President
Deseree is a Co-Director of Movement Generation: Justice and Ecology Project where she engages with hundreds of organizers, cultural workers and climate justice activists through justice and ecology retreats, workshops, cultural productions and regional land justice movement building. As a queer black organizer, farmer, and grassroots ecologist, Deseree’s work is focused on liberating land and queering ecological education. Deseree grew up between Southwest Louisiana and Los Angeles, California. She began her movement building journey as a student organizer working on queer and trans struggles in 2008. After almost a decade of working within the LGBTQ movement, Deseree shifted her focus towards land-based work as a scholar, activist and farmer. As a descendant of three generations of rural Louisiana sharecroppers, Deseree is committed to strengthening movements for black land, healing and liberation. In 2015 she became a co-founder of the People of Color Sustainable Housing Network and in 2016 she co-founded the Queer Eco-Justice Project, organizing at the intersection of ecological justice and queer liberation. Deseree holds an interdisciplinary MA in Social Transformation focused on African-diasporic spiritual traditions, ecology and land-based movements. Deseree is also an alumna of the ecological farming apprenticeship at the Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems. She enjoys growing food and medicine, eating spicy foods, and nerding out about cats, nature and movies.
Yomi Sachiko Young (she/her) - Disability Justice Lead
Yomi is a single mama, beloved daughter, community elder and disability justice dreamer/organizer driven by the promise of liberation for all bodyminds. Hailing from the Bronx, NY, Yomi spent her formative years in California's Mojave Desert where she fell hard for big skies and wide open spaces. It was rugged desert terrain that taught her how to navigate wild spaces as a wheelchair user, and she still feels most alive and held in nature. Yomi is a former print journalist who once served as Executive Director of the landmark Center for Independent Living in Berkeley, CA, the nation's founding advocacy organization run by and for people with disabilities. She still writes on occasion, but mostly helps funders and movement organizers ground in disability justice praxis. Yomi has a B.A. in Public Health Equity from Mills College. yomi[at]shelterwoodcollective.org
Brandon Jones (he/him) - Executive Director
Brandon C. Jones is a leader in equitable place-based community development. Before joining Shelterwood, he was Vice President of Placemaking at Jamestown LP, where he led Google’s North American public amenities program. Previously, he served as the Cultural Resilience Program Director at Enterprise Community Partners, managing resilience grant-making and community impact assessments. Brandon joined the Shelterwood Board in May 2022 and now serves as our Executive Director. Through this work, Brandon honors his great-grandparents, Julia and Angus, who first taught him the alchemy of the land and how to talk to trees. He holds Master’s degrees in Cultural Sustainability and Business Administration and Management. brandon[at]shelterwoodcollective.org