Shilpa Jain is currently rooting herself in Oakland/Berkeley, CA. For 11+ years, she served as the Executive Director of YES!, working with social changemakers at the meeting point of internal, interpersonal and systemic change, and aiming to co-create thriving, just and balanced ways of life for all. Prior to taking on this role, Shilpa spent two years as the Education and Outreach Coordinator of Other Worlds and ten years as a learning activist with Shikshantar: The Peoples’ Institute for Rethinking Education and Development, based in Udaipur, India, where she served as coordinator of the Swapathgami (Walkouts-Walkons) Network. She has facilitated dozens of transformative leadership gatherings with hundreds of young leaders from over 50 countries. She is passionate about dance and music, organic and natural farming, upcycling and zero waste living, asking appreciative questions and being in community.

Many years ago, Shilpa made the decision to leave the trappings of academia, Washington, DC, and the path of “professionalism” to live and work in greater alignment with her soul's calling. Today, she sees her work as contributing to the deep healing of internal, interpersonal and systemic breakdown. Shilpa is committed to using very simple human technologies to uncover ways for people to free themselves from dominating, soul-crushing institutions and to live in greater alignment with their hearts and deepest values, their local communities, and with nature. A focus on healing, forgiveness, compassion, love and wholeness permeates all of her work and life.

Nina Simons is Co-founder and Chief Relationship Officer at Bioneers, and leads its Everywoman’s Leadership program. Throughout her career spanning the nonprofit, social entrepreneurship, corporate, and philanthropic sectors, Nina has worked with nearly a thousand diverse women leaders across disciplines, race, class, age and orientation to create conditions for mutual learning, trust and leadership development.

She loves convening – both in-person and online - for mutual mentorship and shedding conditioning, and to explore methods and practices for reinventing leadership, reclaiming our whole selves, connecting across difference and co-creating communities of belonging.

Nina co-edited Moonrise: The Power of Women Leading from the Heart, and authored Nature, Culture, and the Sacred: A Woman Listens for Leadership—released as a second edition in 2022 with an accompanying discussion guide and embodied practices. The first edition won Nautilus awards in the categories of Women in the 21st Century and Social Change & Social Justice. Both are being used to ignite liberatory learning in individuals, circles and classrooms.