2025 Speakers + Performers

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Dr. Katie Clark is a longtime Altadena renter, organizer, and local elected official. She has served as an elected Trustee of the Altadena Library District since 2018, and is one of the founders of the Altadena Tenants Union, created to ensure that renters had a voice in the aftermath of the Eaton Fire. She is a steering committee member for the Altadena Earthseed Community Land Trust, working towards community ownership and permanently affordable housing in Altadena. An Oxford-trained historian, she is also the founder and principal of The Applied Humanities, a creative consulting firm serving nonprofits locally and nationwide. 

Alexis Jeffries is a strategist, professor, public speaker, board director, startup advisor and investor raised in Altadena, CA. Currently based in Los Angeles, her professional career has spanned companies like Accenture, Meta, Glassdoor, Disney, OMD, Wunderman Thompson, Essence and Money Magazines, and more. She is an “Expert-in-Residence” and entrepreneurship instructor at USC, serves on the boards of the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) and Alvin Ailey’s Young Patrons Circle, and is a frequent contributor to podcasts and panels where she shares insights from her previous TEDx talk, “Rest as Resilience.” She holds degrees from Northwestern, The American University of Paris and USC, and is currently a doctoral candidate at Pepperdine University. 

Alex Athenson, AIA , is a licensed Architect and Urban Designer, as well as Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Foothill Catalog Foundation in Altadena, CA. Mr. Athenson has previously earned a B.A. in Economics from the University of Chicago, as well as a Master of Architecture from the University of Notre Dame. With an expertise and passion for regional traditional design, Mr. Athenson has contributed to a number of architecture and urban design projects throughout the United States. He is a board member of the AIA Pasadena Foothill Chapter.

Dr. Nanyamka Redmond is an applied developmental scientist whose work explores how supportive relationships shape adolescent performance, wellbeing, and long-term success. With experience as a high school teacher, track coach, youth pastor, mentor, and therapist, she bridges research and practice to make science meaningful in real-world settings. Dr. Redmond is passionate about equipping families, educators, and youth workers with tools to foster thriving environments, ensuring that young people are not only prepared for the future but empowered to lead and flourish today.  

Mark Gibson is the most renowned Mentalist of the 21st Century. For over 20 years, he has been a Headliner at the prestigious Magic Castle in Hollywood, CA - showcasing his extraordinary abilities to sell out audiences for Fortune 500 companies, theaters, cruise lines, and international clientele in over 15 countries. 

On January 7th, 2025, Mark and his wife lost their home in the Eaton Fire, an event that tested and deepened their understanding of resilience. Mark’s performance explores the enduring strength of memory—not just as fragments of the past, but as sparks of hope that guide us in rebuilding, reconnecting, and reimagining what the future may hold. 

Baba Onochie Chukwurah is a Nigerian-born musician, folklorist, and griot who carries the living legacy of African storytelling, music, and history. In 1969, he toured America with Fela Kuti as bassist on the iconic L.A. Sessions album. Today, Baba Onochie is a professor at Cal State Los Angeles, where he teaches Yoruba and Igbo language as well as African History. A master storyteller, he weaves ancestral wisdom with modern relevance, captivating audiences through music, rhythm, and parable. His life’s work—through teaching, performance, and cultural preservation—embodies the power of heritage as a tool for healing, unity, and transformation. 

Jasmin Shupper is the Founder and CEO of Greenline Housing Foundation, a non-profit organization that aims to close the racial wealth and homeownership gaps and reverse the effects of systemic racism in housing by granting access to homeownership for Black and Brown people. Additionally, Greenline has played a leadership role in responding to community needs after the Eaton fire. Jasmin is also the Founder and President of The Greenline Group, a community-minded real estate development and consulting company. Prior to starting Greenline, Jasmin worked as the Business Director at a large nonprofit for four years, where she managed an $8 million dollar budget. Jasmin also worked as a corporate credit risk underwriter and financial analyst for ten years. She holds a BS in International Business from Pepperdine University, as well as a California Real Estate Salesperson's license and a Certificate in Real Estate Development from the University of Southern California. Jasmin serves on the Board of Directors of Harambee Ministries and Heritage Housing Partners, an affordable homeownership developer, both in Pasadena. She was also appointed by the City of Pasadena to their 710 Reconnecting Communities Advisory Body. When she’s not busy trying to dismantle systemic injustice, she enjoys traveling with her husband and two girls, speaking French, hosting gatherings, cooking, and eating at new and exciting restaurants. 

Steven T. Seagle is a co-founding partner of MAN OF ACTION Entertainment; the bi-coastal

collective that created the BEN 10 franchise for Cartoon Network and the BIG HERO 6 team and

characters for MARVEL/Disney. With his partners, Seagle has created, executive produced, and

written the animated series Ultimate Spider-Man, Avengers Assemble (MARVEL/Disney);

Generator Rex, Power Players, Mega Man: Fully Charged, Bakugan (Cartoon Network); SONIC:

Prime, Zak Storm (NETFLIX); and their most recent series is Hello Neighbor (YouTube/Amazon)

for which Seagle also voices Otto Kinander. Seagle is a multiple Eisner Award and Ringo Award

nominated and Inkpot and Wizard Award winning graphic novelist whose works include

Uncanny X-Men (MARVEL), Sandman Mystery Theatre, it’s a bird... (DC), Camp Midnight, and

Get Naked (Image). Seagle is a proud foster/adoptive parent and lost his home and office in this

year’s Eaton Fire in California.

Shawn Maestretti is a regenerative landscape architect, landscape medium, and educator dedicated to earth-aligned futures. He is the founder of Studio Petrichor, an Altadena design practice rooted in ecological restoration, spiritual ecology, and whole-systems thinking. After losing his home in the 2025 Eaton Fires, the resilience of his nurtured landscape deepened his commitment to design as relationship, not control. Shawn also co-founded Poly/Ana, an educational nonprofit for regenerative systems. Honored with the Design Futurist Award for A Resilient Cottage, he has been featured in the Los Angeles Times, Horticulture Magazine, and NPR, and continues to teach across California and beyond. 

Kristen Ochoa is a physician, a UCLA associate professor, and the founder of the Chaney Trail Corridor Project. She leads community- and science-driven efforts to monitor wildlife recovery and protect land in the Altadena foothills, especially after the Eaton Fire. Through trail cameras, ecological partnerships, and public engagement, Kristen and the Chaney Trail team are building data to support local conservation and resilience.

Erica Slater is a Senior Brand Manager at Califia Farms and a volunteer with the Altadena Community Garden, where she is chair of the Membership & Outreach Team. Born and raised in Altadena, she and her family were among many who lost their home in the Eaton Fire.  As they rebuild and reclaim their land, Erica draws on her professional experience in the plant-based food sector to highlight the connection between healthy soil, nutrition, and community. Her work reflects a belief that resilience grows from the ground up.

Eleanor Smith is a 15-year-old student, athlete, and activist from Altadena, California. A fire survivor, she transforms her story into fuel for leadership, resilience, and community impact. As a varsity track sprinter and national champion, she brings the same discipline and drive from the field into her projects, from  serving as the youngest LA2050 Youth Leader, allocating 1,000,000 dollars of grants to working as an Uprooted Academy Fellow, helping Mae college admissions help and support more accessible for our 10,000 Los Angeles Youth. Eleanor is passionate about global connection, creativity, and service, with aspirations to represent youth voices on the world stage. She believes in living boldly, giving back, and inspiring others to unapologetically follow their dreams.

Bridget Fonger is the author of Superhero of Love: Heal Your Broken Heart & Then Go Save the World, co-author (with Altadena longtime resident, Judie O’Neill) of The Lazy Woman’s Guide to Just About Everything, creator of the Superhero of Love Podcast and Love Forward Talks -- all in the name of helping us all remove the barriers we have to loving and being loved. Bridget was days away from her 10-year anniversary of home-owning in Altadena when the fire took her house.  So, her heart healing game has had to go up several hundred notches since January 8th!

Sam James is the CEO and co-founder of the Altadena Recovery Team (ART) created after the

Eaton Fire to support the financial and mental wellbeing of the community through distribution

drives and community events. She was born and raised in the Altadena area where she is a

sixth-generation resident after her family originally placed roots in the area in 1890. Outside of

ART, Sam has a BA in Political Science from UCLA and is currently pursuing a Master of Public

Policy (MPP) at UCLA's Luskin School of Public Affairs as a Luskin Leader in the Field

scholarship recipient.

Courtney “SuNWhoa Love” Linsey is an artist, educator, and creative leader in the Pasadena/Altadena community whose work bridges music, storytelling, and spirituality. As Program Director of Harambee Ministries, he develops culturally responsive programs and productions that empower youth to discover their worth and purpose. A youth pastor and lifelong educator, SuNWhoa believes recovery is not just about healing; it is about reclaiming identity, voice, and legacy. Through his art and teaching, he calls others to walk boldly in their God-given potential.