OUr founder’s circle

Founder and Chief dreamer Fabiola Santos-Gaerlan has provided superior child care through Honeydew Drop Child Care services in Park Slope, Brooklyn for over 20 years. After a decade of work as a TV show producer which included years in children's programming, she wanted to apply her expertise through more meaningful work within the community and transitioned into child care services. 

Honeydew has catered to an average of 80 kids annually and attracts children from all backgrounds. Her love for children and passion towards her craft has lead her to discover a new mission: A mission to inform the world of the significance of a child's feelings and start a movement of awareness and training service about socio-emotional development.

When she’s not training her staff or enjoying the company of all the children, she can be seen walking her dog Troy, the only remaining baby in the house

Sarah Chase Natan MAcOM earned a masters degree in Chinese Medicine at the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine and continued her studies in Yichun, China. Sarah has been practicing Chinese Medicine including acupuncture, herbs, nutrition, and therapeutic body work since 2006 and has treated thousands of people around the world for everything from broken heart to body pain to babesiosis wholeheartedly and without hesitation.

Sarah is the founder of the Brooklyn Acupuncture Project http://www.brooklynacupunctureproject.com, a low cost sliding scale clinic in Gowanus, Brooklyn and continues to dedicate her life to making this ancient, safe, and effective medicine available to all people of all walks of life.  

She is particularly focused on treating chronic Lyme, back pain, depression and anxiety, digestive issues, and woman’s health. She is a trained birth and postpartum doula and offers acupuncture support for moms and families through all stages of pregnancy, from pre-conseption onwards. 

 A thorough pulse diagnosis guides her approach as she hopes to encourage the highest expression of health and wellbeing in every person with whom she works. She hopes that by helping individuals and communities thrive, the rest of the the planet will benefit.  She is honored to practice on Lenni-Lenape, Mahican, and Iroquois land in what is now called Western Massachusetts and New York. 

STELLA FAY METZNER worked as a fashion stylist for over 20 years. She co-owned an Arts and Crafts boutique called SPACECRAFT from 2008-2011 in Williamsburg Brooklyn. In 2008 Stella developed some health issues which inspired her to learn several healing modalities. She became certified in Reiki level 1 and 2, and is trained in two separate Master programs. Stella has practiced REIKI since 2011, and teaches Reiki in Brooklyn and in Upstate New York. Stella is also a certified EATING PSYCHOLOGY COACH after graduating from the Institute for the Psychology of Eating in 2014.

Stella has also been learning to work with herbs, and tinctures, and the ancient healing technique for women called V-STEAM, or Yoni Steam. She has combined all of these healing modalities along with styling, crafting and artwork, to help her clients get to their highest goals and their best self. Stella loves working with Children and also developed a warrior program for kids called WOLFOX ACADEMY. She is a born caretaker, and through her SHINE Holistic Home Care business, works with clients to organize, purge, cook, and cleanse their insides and outsides. Not only does Stella work with individual human clients, she also has several animal clients and can work with clearing unwanted energy in homes and offices.

Stella is most recently passionate about bringing healers and wellness practitioners together to collaborate, support each other, and create events and spaces for them to grow their businesses and work their magic. She co-produces a wellness Festival in upstate New York called the TAKE CARE FAIR, which is in its second year of life.

"I’ve been a witch, a fairy,  a writer, an artist, a fashion designer, a stylist, a mother, a sister, an Aunt, a gypsy, a lover, a wife, a healer and a friend to name a few.

In the future I wish to be all of those things, plus, a surfer, folk singer, philanthropist, priestess., successful business woman., teacher, mentor, grandmother, earth saver.  My goal is to help to bring you to your highest good and to help to save the world.

Joél Mejia

Joél is a Bronx based artist, entrepreneur, pedagogue, and social activist. He graduated in 2002 from Lehman College with a degree in Economics, but his passion was quickly becoming music production and filmmaking. In 2007 he began working full time on his pursuits, freelancing with numerous clients, and mostly looking for ways to explore the intersection between Afro-Latino/Afro-Futurism aesthetics, radical activism, and indigenous shamanic practices. Above all, it is his relentless pursuit of truth, equity, and justice that fuels his creative projects and work as an educator. He teaches media literacy in a high school in the Bronx, which provides him an opportunity to fulfill his debt to the many mentors that have helped him along his journey, and providing the foundation for his current state of mind. “Switching between the role of artist, entrepreneur, and educator is in balance because of my role as a father. That singular event confirmed that what I am meant to do is be of assistance to the future generations that will inhabit this planet. I’ve always known that to be my trajectory; it’s just that being a father gives my work even more urgency now.” 

Things Are Changing Productions, which he co-founded with his wife, is a pioneering social enterprise with a vision of creating a viable market for socially conscious media and to fill the educational space with programs around the principles of permaculture. The company is currently working on two distinct projects: a feature-length documentary sequel to his company’s 2015 film, Time is Art: Synchronicity and the Collective Dream, an artist-centered series exploring the mystical side of being an artist. The follow up film, due in 2020, is called Time is Art: The Frequency of Love. 

As a self styled leader committed to speaking about the future in optimistic terms, his approach to creativity is rooted in co-creation and self-empowerment. Growing up in New York City, his exposure to a wide array of cultures and art forms inspired him to develop his own unique style and approach to creativity. 

Throughout his youth he studied acting and photography, while simultaneously learning about the music industry through an after-school internship he was offered during his high school years. After graduating from college in 2002 with a degree in economics, he divided his time between music recording and composition, and released several albums under various aliases. In 2007 he began producing and directing music videos and documentary films for clients, adding a skill set that has since enhanced his ability to tell stories that resonate with the world. 

He  envisions a future that embraces diversity in not just storytelling, but in what the human experience can offer. The environmental crisis due to climate change is something that worries the artist very much. He believes that it is the separation we feel from nature and ourselves that has caused this catastrophe for future generations, and that only through healing can we move forward and help leave this planet better for future generations.

Mr. Mejia has received numerous grants for his work and programs, including: NALAC Fund for the Arts (2007), Children for Children Teacher's Assistance Program Grant (2008), Brooklyn Arts Council Regrant Award (2008), and The Fund for the City of New York Incubator Grant (2009).

Seth Lennon Nguyen Weiner

When I first learned of the Alliance for a Viable Future I felt a sense of inspiration, hope and enthusiasm. There is a simple and powerful force in our coming together.  I believe that as we align we also create a future that is good, beautiful and life-giving. 

I am a husband and also a father to two beautiful boys. I am a student of an animist understanding of the world. I am a descendent of Jewish immigrants and early European settlers in America and I am also a beneficiary of the kindness and generosity of a number of indigenous people and cultures who have helped me along in my own journey.  In my current work I have the great honor of serving as executive director to the Wabankai cultural and healing center Nibezun in Passadumkeag, Maine.  I am a graduate of the University of California, Santa Cruz with a BA in Community Studies and I also earned a JD from Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. Much of my career has been in the fields of restorative justice, human rights, philanthropy and indigenous peacemaking. I am thrilled to be a founding member of the Alliance for a Viable Future.

Jon Lee Rucker

I started the organization PermaJam to unite people in ecological, social and cultural restoration. PermaJam is about collaboration and cooperation rather than competition. We team with people and organizations that are pioneering Regenerative Culture. Featuring a wide variety of workshops in Permaculture; foraging; herbalism; renewable energies; yoga and meditation; art and music; and much more. With performances from over 70 musical groups, and we have had amazing support in collaborating with indigenous people.

The community has been steadily growing over 4 years. We’ve gone from doing one big annual event to many smaller events year round.
Our events do NOT allow drugs to provide a space for people of all ages, especially children. We have a 4 year model for transforming ecosystems as well as people through our events. Currently in our second year on 125 acres in upstate NY. A one of a kind experience, and a way for people to gather while leaving the land more healthy and abundant than we found it.

I’ve been a musician all my life; Community organizer working for environmental and social causes for over 10 years; farming for about 8 years; certified in BioDynamic Agriculture; currently co-own a gourmet mushroom farm located in Brooklyn, NY. 

Kelvin Young

Kelvin Young is a Sound Healer and a person in long-term recovery which means he hasn't consume alcohol or any other drug to cope with emotional distress since March 6th 2009. The first time he was exposed to sound healing, Kelvin discovered the sounds of the crystal and Tibetan singing bowls and gongs calmed his mind, relaxed his body and nourished his soul. He went on to study sound healing with Master Sound Healers, Paul Hubbert of the Holographic Sound and Inner Balance and Satya Brat Jaiswal of the International Academy of Sound Healing, Kelvin has also studied with Brian Luke Seaward of Inspiration Unlimited, a renowned international expert in the field of holistic stress management and received his recovery coach certification from CT Community for Addiction Recovery.(CCAR) 

Kelvin has presented around the country in diverse settings, including Yoga Reaches Out, Newtown Yoga Festival, Indie Yoga in San Francisco, CA, Alex Grey's Chapel of Sacred Mirrors, yoga studios, retreat centers, conferences, colleges, prisons, addiction treatment centers, psychiatric inpatient units at state hospitals and mental health agencies. Kelvin also was presented with the 2017 Dr. F. Marcus Brown Memorial Integrative Medicine Award for exceptional commitment to incorporating integrative medicine within CT Valley Hospital, a state psychiatric hospital. Kelvin was featured in a powerful documentary on trauma, addiction and recovery called Uprooting Addiction. He also serves on the board of directors at Manchester, CT HOPE Initiative, Eat The Sunlight Health Inc. and an active member of the Sound Healer's Association.

Kelvin sustains his health and recovery by eating a vegan/plant-based diet, practicing sound healing/humming/toning, deep breathing exercises, listening to uplifting and relaxing music, body movement, being in nature, reading, resting and spending quality time with loved ones.

Today, he continues to share his story of finding freedom from alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, heroin and prescription drugs and facilitates group sound healing sessions for holistic stress management at yoga studios, wellness centers, ecstatic dances, festivals, retreat centers, businesses, corporations, non-profit organizations, schools and addiction treatment centers throughout the United States.. He is passionate about holding space for people to heal with sound and is known for his warm, loving and down-to-earth way of connecting with people.

Glenn Bair

Glenn contributes to AVF as part of a commitment to maintaining a healthy planet for his children and future generations. As an artist and leader, Glenn values new opportunities that allow for learning and exchanging ideas through creative partnership with others. Glenn works
with artists to facilitate creative experiences that invite understanding and the possibility of changing the status quo. Beyond his commitments to AVF, Glenn serves as a program manager in the healthcare industry where he works as part of a team focused on improving patient care through innovative digital strategies. Glenn resides in Connecticut and recently earned his master’s degree in Organizational Leadership in 2019.

Darut McGregor

I am the founder and frontman/lead emcee of the group Wadada the Love Movement. I am a Father and husband first then an emcee, poet, songwriter, beatmaker, visual artist, men’s work facilitator, martial artist and a down low anime lover. I have been creating music since the late 90’s early 2000’s first from the underground hip hop landscape with my genre redefining Rasta hip hop group InI Mighty lockdown. To the genre breaking Live punkadelic band InI Allstars which grew and became Wadada. We had a great run. Then the paths that Percussionist and dope beat maker JP began to explore deeply and my return to my hip hop based song writing led us to the now duo of Wadada: the Love Movement.

My other deep passion is doing Men’s work. And facilitating the change I want to see in our communities men and young men. I am a firm believer that we have to address the issue of divine masculinity to realign our men in order to address the other issues we as a community are facing. If we raise aware boys, they grow into aware young men ready to change and address whatever is out of sync. When we talk about sustainability, the way we deal with each other and interact on all levels must be factor we address. The desire is to spread love in a way it has not been done before musically, spiritually and physically and sustainably. My hope is by consciously engaging with positive uplifting music we can get their ear...through the personal and facilitated Men’s work we can get rid of their fear! Then we can focus on the changes we need to make. Our plan is to engage our fans in a manner where each performance is a ritualistic musical ceremony where you leave different than you entered. If it resonates with you I ask you to join us on this journey of self exploration as we ride this wave of paradigm shifting energy to the apex....where ever that leads us. Wadada means love and I love you! One love. Aho

Thomas O. Murtha 

We’re at a precipitous time of humanity that requires individuals to “show up” and bring about the collective action needed to address the multiple crises our world currently faces. Leadership, vision, and action for social change is what’s needed now. Becoming a member of the Founder’s Circle provides me with a connection with a community that is focused on co-creating and leading the transformation our species must achieve to survive, thrive, and evolve.

Thomas (Tom) Murtha is enjoying the world and working to keep the world enjoyable. He resides in both New York City and Norfolk, Connecticut and is working with many others to transition to a new story where we make a more regenerative, inclusive, kinder, beautiful, and diverse world possible. His service on the advisory boards of This- Is-My-Earth and the Alliance for a Viable Future focuses on biodiversity conservation and leadership for social change, respectively. At Preventable Surprises, his work focuses on forceful stewardship and corporate engagement to address the systemic risk of the climate emergency and biodiversity loss. After retiring from the Nature Conservancy (TNC), Tom continues actions initiated at TNC to help corporations address impacts and assume necessary responsibility for conservation and preservation of biodiversity and living natural systems. 

In an earlier part of his story, Tom worked as an analyst and investment banker in Tokyo, Hong Kong, and New York for the investment bank Jardine Fleming, a joint venture between Hong Kong trading company Jardine Matheson and UK investment bank Robert Fleming. At T. Rowe Price Associates in Baltimore, Maryland, USA, Tom was a portfolio manager for the International Stock Fund and the Global Technology Fund. Tom is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and earned an MPA degree in Environmental Science and Policy from Columbia University and, MA and BS degrees, in economics and mathematics, respectively, from Ohio University. His publications include op-eds in Institutional Investor, Pensions and investments, Greenbiz.com, and the Huffington Post. Tom and his spouse Elizabeth Knowles actively support the Norfolk Land Trust and Great Mountain Forest in Connecticut’s northwest corner. Tom also serves on the advisory board of Climate and Forest Capital. 

Jeff has worked in cultural preservation for 20 years. Starting in 2001, under the direct training of the legendary scholar and Library of Congress director E. Gene Smith, Jeff led Buddhist Digital Resource Center on its global effort to preserve and make available endangered Buddhist manuscripts and woodblock prints, creating the largest digital library of Buddhist literature in the world. Jeff has extensive experience in digital archiving, digital preservation, library and information science, fundraising, leadership and management. Jeff is a song-writer, old house enthusiast and a board member of WBCR, a community radio station in Great Barrington, MA.  Jeff is committed in supporting Lev Natan with his vision for the Alliance for a Viable Future.

Rob Garrity

I entered the Founder’s Circle because I believe deeply in AVF’s work.  This pragmatic, on-the-ground work is what's needed at this moment on our planet.  Through such deep connection, churning through otherwise unquestioned worldviews and perceptions of common sense we see new possibilities, take deeper responsibility and move forward, in action, in the world, in a deeper, more caring stance, making a more viable, beautiful future possible.

From off-grid cabins in ’01 to a utility scale CDG projects today, Rob has been selling, constructing and developing solar projects in New York for over 17 years. Most recently, from early ’14 to mid-’18, he led Borrego to the state’s largest C&I market share, developing >60MW of projects, from origination & site control through permitting, interconnection, MWB, property tax negotiation and complete entitlement. He now runs his own solar development consultancy.

He has served on NY Solar Energy Industry Association’s (NYSEIA) board since 2013, on the executive committee as both Secretary and President of the board and leading the charge to build-out NYSEIA’s staff, increasing the organization’s impact in the State. He is currently facilitating NYSEIA’s RPTL487 Property Tax Campaign, working with NYSERDA and the Governor’s office.

Rob is also working on a documentary film series about The Great Work. The series highlights, explores and contemplates places, communities, projects and governing structures embodying The New Story of our interconnected place on this wild, awe-inspiring life experiment we call Earth.

We are striving to create a diverse alliance
and would like to have more women and people of color
represented in our founder’s circle.

If you know of anyone who might resonate with this mission,
please make the connection via email: lev@allianceforaviablefuture.org.