Archive

  1. Emilie Schneider

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    Emilie Schneider is a community-oriented queer leader and operational strategist with over a decade of experience building the practical systems and workflows needed to turn organizational missions into real-world impact. With a career rooted in the tension between stillness and activism, Emilie excels at translating big-picture vision into attainable plans of action. Known for her “human care” approach, she prioritizes effective listening and empathetic connection, ensuring that organizational growth never comes at the expense of culture or community.

    Emilie completed her Master of Divinity through Fuller Theological Seminary and Azusa Pacific’s Haggard School of Theology, alongside a B.A. in Philosophy and Theology from Point Loma Nazarene University. Before coming out she served as a pastor for 12 years, gaining a unique “insider” perspective on the complexities of faith, identity, and liberation. She is now an ordained minister through the Universal Life Church.

    A founding member of Tierra Spiritual Care, Emilie is deeply passionate about helping LGBTQ+ people find peace and community within their spiritual journeys. Her work focuses on navigating religious and spiritual trauma, providing non-judgmental emotional support, and returning to the self.

    At her core, Emilie is a collaborative team player dedicated to the “long game” of justice work. Whether facilitating spiritual care groups or developing organizational work plans, she remains committed to creating spaces where activists and changemakers can practice true presence and maintain deep connection through difficult conversations.

  2. Heena Shah

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    Heena Shah (she/her) is a researcher & writer living on occupied Ohlone land in Berkeley, CA. Her research centers the experiences and expertise of Black and brown communities.  She has had the honor of interviewing and lifting up the stories of mothers struggling to feed their families in CA, domestic workers fighting for fair pay and better working conditions across the U.S., and informal settlement residents organizing for basic human rights in Kenya. She has collaborated with the National Domestic Workers Alliance, the Economic Security Project, and The Nutrition Policy Institute. Heena is mama to two beautiful babies, loves experimenting with watercolor, watching stand-up comedy, and eating good food with beloved community.

  3. Seema Thakker

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    Seema has spent her career seeking the right relationship among power, story and social change and has built brands, campaigns, and organizations working at this intersection. Her career began at ABC Studios where she worked on shows like LOST, Grey’s Anatomy and Desperate Housewives. She moved on to focus on work that would blend story and impact, producing commercials for Google featuring small businesses and entrepreneurs who were changing their lives and communities around the world as well as a star-studded live television special, hosted by Viola Davis, rallying Americans to reimagine their high schools. Seema has also designed and managed a family office and the arts and culture fund within it, designing strategies to center equity while supporting leading activists and artists to care for themselves the same way they care for their communities.

    A Blue Springs, Missouri native, Seema has lived all over–from Hyderabad, India to New York to LA, and even a brief stint in Dallas, Texas. She’s finally settled down in Oakland with her cat Miles and, when she’s not cuddled up with her, Seema is working on her memoir, doing pilates, finding new hikes, and eating and drinking her way through all of the Bay Area’s most delicious restaurants.

  4. Cristina Pacheco

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    Cristina Pacheco is a creative strategist and facilitator. She is the founder and CEO of FRCE, a boutique consulting firm that designs innovative events and provides transformational organizational coaching. She has been a member of the HARNESS community from its very beginning stages and has worked with HARNESS on a number of programs and campaigns including the HARNESS 2023 Retreat, 2020 Census Campaign Be Counted, The BREATHE Act art campaign, and other salon events.

    Cristina has served as an executive at The Underground Museum in Los Angeles; NationBuilder, a global tech company; and is the co-founder of Cale & Cael, an ethical fashion brand. Cristina’s experience in design work is rooted in the arts and justice movements. She has produced large-scale activations including INTO ACT!ON, embRACE LA: 100 Dinners on Race, the Women’s March LA, and more. She spent her early career creating programs and expanding impact for nonprofit organizations. She was formerly the Director of Programs at Arts for LA, a regional arts advocacy organization serving Los Angeles County where she founded the ACTIVATE Arts Advocacy Leadership Program, training hundreds of community arts advocates in areas of policy, leadership, coalition building, and communication. She is also a former teaching artist with SDYS’ Community Opus Project, making music education accessible for students in Chula Vista, California. She has served on many nonprofit boards including the Executive Boards of The Underground Museum and Get Lit – Words Ignite. 

    In addition to her consulting work, Cristina produces international wellness retreats and has a robust movement and breathwork practice. She is dedicated to the lifelong work of storytelling to advance justice. www.cristinapacheco.com

  5. Kelley McGregor

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    Kelley McGregor is the Vice President of Development, leading organizational strategies for securing the resources needed to implement our mission. A new addition to our team, she brings over twenty years of fundraising experience working among education, international nonprofits, and social service organizations to advance social justice causes. She has collaborated with individuals, foundations, and corporations to raise millions of dollars in support of improving lives and equal access. Prior to launching her career in development, she served political campaigns through consulting and political action committees. Kelley graduated from the University of Washington with a degree in Political Science and more recently secured her master’s degree from the University of Bridgeport in Global Development and Peace. She is passionate about restorative justice and improving the lives of women and girls, as research has shown that they will, in turn, improve the lives of their families and communities. In her spare time, Kelley enjoys being walked by her dog, Stella, kickboxing, and brunch with friends. She is inspired by her favorite Margaret Mead quote, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” Her cultural diet includes 90’s hip hop, self-development and personal growth, documentaries, and a voracious appetite for reading.

  6. Mindy Pflug

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    Mindy Pflug, Operations Manager, leads the management of operations, finance, and fundraising systems for Harness. Mindy has spent seven years in operations at a variety of nonprofits that aim to support gender, disability, and racial justice. She graduated from the University of California, San Diego with a B.A. in Public Policy and Critical Gender Studies. She recently earned her M.A. in Cultural Studies and Gender Studies at Claremont Graduate University. Passionate about social justice-based education, she also teaches as an adjunct professor, blending advocacy with education. Outside of work, Mindy enjoys reading historical fiction, exploring cozy video games, and spending quality time with her dog, Boba.

  7. Allie Young

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    Allie Young is a citizen of the Diné (Navajo) Nation from the Northern Agency of the reservation in Northern New Mexico. She is a storyteller and writer on a mission to increase the authentic representation of Native people in TV, film, and mainstream media by sharing the stories and traditions of her ancestors to help her community persevere in a world where they are largely invisible, underrepresented, and misrepresented. She founded Protect the Sacred—a program of culture change organization Harness—a program that focuses on educating and empowering the next generation of Navajo and Indian Country leaders and allies. Through Protect the Sacred, Allie makes certain Native voices are centered in culture and policy, especially the voices of Indigenous youth and womxn. It is her objective to ensure that the stories of her people are no longer history – the fabricated American narrative perpetuated in textbooks and Hollywood Westerns. Instead, they will be authentic and from the original peoples, the original storytellers of this land.

  8. Kevin Rutkowski

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    Kevin Rutkowski is a strategic consultant in the culture change and entertainment impact sectors helping mission-driven brands, organizations, and artists affect positive social change. He serves as Senior Strategist to Harness having developed the brand at its founding and provides strategic consulting on the organization’s communications and programmatic offerings. Kevin’s notable past projects include working with AEG to develop the Stonewall Inn Safe Spaces Initiative, executing multiple cause product campaigns for Jesse Tyler Ferguson’s Tie The Knot organization, and managing impact initiatives with Cyndi Lauper, Christina Applegate, Beth Behrs, Jason Mraz, and others. His work has been covered by CNN, NPR, The New York Times, The Washington Post, BuzzFeed, GOOD/Upworthy, NowThis, The Talk, Cosmopolitan, People Magazine, Food & Wine Magazine, and more.

    Kevin holds a joint B.A. in politics and theater from the University of Southern California. Previously, he served as the Communications Manager for the American Foundation for Equal Rights and in field operations for Congressman Joe Kennedy (MA-4) and President Barack Obama. Kevin is an avid cyclist and functional fitness fan, travel adventurer, a singer-songwriter, the President of the Downtown Women’s Center Leadership Council, and serves on the Neighborhood Council for Silver Lake, Los Angeles. He believes there is room for everybody in our web of networks and that we must view everyone through the most generous lens to achieve progressive change together.

  9. Miriam Fogelson

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    Miriam Fogelson is a strategist, producer, and organizational leader with over two decades of experience working in the social justice nonprofit, philanthropic, impact entertainment, and progressive political sectors. She joined the HARNESS team in 2019, most recently serving in the role of President, before transitioning to her current role and becoming a full-time mom!

    Miriam is the producer of numerous award winning cultural campaigns including Halal in the Family, a Peabody Award winning web-series that aims to shift dehumanizing narratives about Muslim Americans. Her work has appeared in prominent media outlets such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Rolling Stone, TIME, MSNBC, CNN and NPR.

    Miriam serves on the Advisory Boards of The Carmack Collective, The Michael Latt Legacy Fund, and The Action Lab. She has a B.A. in Journalism from Boston University and a M.A. in International Affairs from The New School.