Akanno Sinzofin Gedeji
aka Joeanne Mitchell) was born in the urban outposts of Hoodoo culture in a suburb of New York City in the early 1950’s. Her Baptist upbringing prompted a quest for information on her mystical experiences that was to take her to Cuba, Mexico, Haiti, and Africa. Writing as Mama Whodun, she pens the Neohoodoo blog, is a published author and poet. She is an initiate in Las Reglas Congo and La Regla Lucumi crowned to Orisa Oya, and a Manbo in the Rada rite of Haiti. Akanno is a card reader, a lifelong student of occult science, and lover of all craftwork. In her spare time, she decodes conspiracy theories, reads Fortean texts and watches lots of science fiction
Tina Tedesco
an Herbalist and Shamanic Healing Practitioner and Ceremonialist. Having studied under her teacher Don Oscar Miro-Quesada, a kamasqa curandero from Peru, she has been initiated into the Pachakuti Mesa Tradition. Herbal medicine has been a passion of hers for years. Growing her own medicinal herbs, she makes a variety of herbal products and teas. Tina is also a certified Reiki Master and incorporates shamanic energy healing into her work. Creativity has always been a key component of her life which shows in her 30 years as an artist. Her art focus' on abstract painting as a representation of her life experiences.
Tamara Hart
is a boho, artist, psychonault, root worker, writer, daughter of the dust, hierophant ( and a pretty good fortune teller too ) she lives on the southernmost coast of north carolina with her carolina dogs fallon and fey in a hundred-year-old tumbledown shotgun shack. surrounded by water, she loves to fish and cook regional cuisine. a returning college student pursuing an advanced degree, in her spare time she likes exploring the history and culture of her home ( the cape fear ) taking pictures and making stuff. she plans to take up shag dancing soon-
Okomfo Adwoa Tacheampong
is a vocalist, drummer, dancer, and actor who has been performing since the age of 10. Adwoa is also a Mental Health Counselor and specializes in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy as well as serving those who practice indigenous spirituality. She currently works as a program manager in a non-profit agency serving homeless women and children and also works as a counselor for a youth advocacy program. She has been playing Afro-Cuban Batá and studying Afro-Cuban Orisha Dance since for over 11 years and has been dancing sacred Ghanaian Akom dance for over 15 years. Adwoa has taught workshops all over the United States and abroad, yet considers herself a perpetual student and continually seeks to expand her spirituality and creativity through various teachings and endeavors.
Rachael (Spatula) Henrichsen
Chinese Medicine Practitioner, Herbalist, and Daoist 'Zi Wei' Astrologer, has been formally studying the healing arts, music, writing, and photography since 2000. As early in life as she can remember, she has shared a deep connection with nature, animal guides, and internally inspired ritual practice. Currently living the the San Francisco bayarea and apprenticing with wonderful wise teachers, has further inspired her to step into a role of sharing wisdom and humility. She enjoys sharing quiet and peace through bowls of tea, singing gospel music, hearing the sound of a fire, and discovering ways to observe the movement of the wind.
Meg Withers
grew up in a small town in Northern California with mostly relatives and friends of her recently emigrated Italian family. She has been writing to save her sanity since she was about 9 years old, and has often been accused of “making things up.” She has been published in many literary journals and creative projects – The Tule Review, The Sacramento Literary Review, Zyzzyva, The Bohemian, Nimrod. She has been anthologized several times, and has three published books. Her first book, Must Be Present to Win, is a project involving her perception of Buddhism, as a person who does not follow the rules very well. Her second book of poems is a book of experimental prose poems, A Communion of Saints, (TinFish Press, 2008), and was written 23 years after the AIDS epidemic decimated the gay population of Honolulu, Hawai’i, and where she witnessed the unconscionable neglect and poor treatment of people who were diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. Her latest book, Shadowed: Unheard Voices, (The Press at Fresno State, 2014), was written in collaboration with Joell Hallowell, a videographer and photographer. The book focuses on the many voices of women which have been either silenced or ignored. The basis for all Meg’s work is concerned with the attempt to silence voices, to deny dialect, to flatten the English language into an uninteresting grayness. Language is culture, and when language is lost or stolen, cultures die, and whether we acknowledge it or not, we are bereft.