Rebalancing Yin and Yang to Reclaim our Human Wholeness
Join us to surface the schisms and false associations about the archetypes of “yin” and “yang,” or ‘feminine’ and ‘masculine’ that have dominated our civilization’s worldview for far too long. What’s led our societies to behave in ways that have perpetuated this imbalance and led us to this point of emergency on all fronts? What does authentic yin-led leadership look like? We’ll surface new visions for being human, no longer reliant on archaic binaries. Hosted by Nina Simons, author of Nature, Culture & the Sacred and Bioneers’ co-founder. With Taj James, co-founder of Full-Spectrum Capital and Beloved Communities Network; Pat McCabe/Woman Stands Shining (Diné), Co-Creator at Stand In the Light Studio, Co-Founder of Joy House: The School for UnLearning; Aya de Leon, climate author/[CUT publisher], lecturer at UC Berkeley and Berkeley’s new Poet Laureate; Shayna Cureton, founder of Abundant Beginnings.
Crystal Ballroom, Hotel Shattuck Plaza
March 30th | 3:00 pm to 4:15 pm
Panelists
Taj James
Full Spectrum Labs
Co-Founder and Curator
Taj James, co-founder and Curator at Full Spectrum Labs, a Principal with Full Spectrum Capital Partners, and co-founder and a Senior Advisor at Movement Strategy Center, is a father, poet, strategist, designer, and philanthropic and capital advisor. Taj seeks in his work to connect community stewards with capital stewards in order to bring financial value into alignment with sacred values in ways that build community wealth.
Aya de Leon
Author and Activist
Aya de León, Berkeley’s current Poet Laureate, who has published ten novels and teaches creative writing UC Berkeley, co-founded Fighting Chance Books to provide a forum for writers who want to tell the story of how we can still save our planet. Aya and her work have been featured in a wide range of prominent publications, including The NY Times, Harper’s Bazaar, Ebony, and Def Poetry. Her social justice activism has spanned four decades, including working on climate, race, gender, harm reduction, and anti-nuclear issues. In 2022, she organized a groundbreaking online conference: “Black Literature vs. the Climate Emergency.”.
Pat McCabe
Woman Stands Shining
Pat McCabe, (aka “Woman Stands Shining”), of Diné ancestry, was adopted into the Lakota spiritual way of life. She is currently beginning the stewardship of a piece of land at one of the four sacred mountains of her people, as part of the “Rematriation Movement.” McCabe, a proud grandmother, has long spoken and taught widely, nationally and internationally, sharing cultural and spiritual insights.
Shayna Cureton
Abundant Beginnings
Founder
Shayna Cureton is the co-founder of Abundant Beginnings, a project that centers Black children and families and seeks to create liberated learning and activist communities as direct antidotes to the “school-to-prison pipeline.” Shayna, who has led the creation of hundreds of radical child-centered spaces as Director of Abundant Beginnings’ Forest Freedom School and camp programs, is a recipient of the Community Partner Award from Our Family Coalition, and a YBCA 100 honoree.
Nina Simons
