It has been a minute since I last posted a Rooted Spotlight! In my work in Oakland, I've had to support families at the hardest and most painful times of their lives. Youth ALIVE! knows how to show up in those moments — and they've been doing it for over 30 years. They don't just respond to violence. They work the full cycle — prevention, intervention, and healing. Their Violence Interrupters are out on Oakland's streets defusing tensions before shots are fired. Their Caught in the Crossfire team is at the hospital bedside when someone gets shot, working to prevent retaliation before the cycle repeats. Their Teens on Target program trains young people from the most impacted neighborhoods to become violence prevention leaders in their own schools. And the Khadafy Washington Project — named after a young man killed just two months after graduating from McClymonds High (a school I worked at) — sends crisis responders to nearly 100% of Oakland homicide victims' families with emotional support, financial assistance, and guidance through the chaos that follows losing someone to violence. His mother Marilyn built what didn't exist when she needed it most. The people doing this work come from the same communities they serve. That's what makes it real. That's what makes it work. Hurt people hurt people. Healed people heal people. Youth ALIVE! lives that every single day. Learn more: youthalive.org

It's been a minute since my last Rooted Spotlight, and I was reminded today how important it is to elevate the amazing things people are doing around the world and in our communities. I hope this inspires you to share what you're seeing that's giving you hope! Youth Speaks is a national spoken word youth organization. Folks like Chance the Rapper and Amanda Gorman have come through this program. Hope Reimagined is lucky enough to be providing mental health support during this year's slam season. We have a dedicated space that young people can access throughout the event, and we're also available to anyone in the audience who needs to process what they're experiencing. I want to thank @Darius Parker and the Youth Speaks team for cultivating this incredible space where young people truly find their voice and embody transformation on stage. Tonight we'll be at the San Francisco Public Library for the final qualifying event. April 10th is the Semi-Finals in Oakland, and it all leads to the national Brave New Voices event, which will be right here in the Bay Area this year. Come get inspired — and you might want to bring a tissue.

I have created a new category, a space to uplift people, programs, and communities doing meaningful healing and care work. While Skool community can be a part of this, the idea behind Rooted Spotlights highlights practices grounded in relationship, embodiment, justice, creativity, and connection to the living world outside of Skool. This is where we honor what’s working, learn from one another, and stay nourished by collective wisdom and possibility. The first highlight is Soulfire Farm. This is a powerful organization doing incredibly important work in the world.

Today we’re spotlighting the growing movement of singing resistance—communities gathering to raise their voices in protest, prayer, grief, and love. When people sing together, something happens in the collective body. Breathing synchronizes. Hearts entrain. Nervous systems regulate. What could feel isolating becomes shared. Music has always been a tool of liberation. Singing moves us from contraction to connection. It transforms fear into courage and reminds us that we belong to something larger than ourselves. In moments of division or despair, the collective voice becomes an act of hope. From a neuro-somatic lens, singing together is not just symbolic—it is biological. It supports regulation, co-regulation, and solidarity. It reminds us that love is not passive. It is embodied. It is vocal. It is shared. Take a moment today to listen. Or better yet—sing.What song helps you feel the power of the collective body?

This week’s Rooted Spotlight is an organization that shaped me deeply—Destiny Arts Center in Oakland. I had the honor of working there for three years helping to develop the Care Team (here my voice and video at 1:29 minutes!), building wraparound supports that continue to hold kids and families in powerful ways. I came to do what I was meant to do in what was supposed to be a year and ended up 3—and while it was hard to leave, I’m incredibly proud of what we built and how Destiny continues to serve. Destiny is where I deepen my understanding of somatics. That experience changed me. It transformed how I understand relationship—with young people, with community, with myself. Somatics moved from something I was learning into something I live. What makes Destiny extraordinary is that it is an arts organization first—mental health is not separate or siloed. It is integrated into the making of art. Young people train in hip hop, martial arts, and performance with teaching artists, while clinicians work alongside them, weaving regulation, reflection, and healing into the creative process. There is something profoundly dignifying about that model. And culturally? When I wear my Destiny sweatshirt out in the Bay Area, someone always says, “I did Destiny.” or “Destiny is the best.” It holds a powerful place in this community—and I truly don’t know of another model quite like it across the country. Rooted Spotlight is about honoring organizations doing good work in the world. Destiny is one of those places. 🌿 If you’ve experienced Destiny—drop your memories below. What organizations have shaped you the way Destiny shaped me?