Pseads Team

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Jolie is the Fellowship Program Manager for the Lambert Light Fellowship, where she oversees day-to-day program implementation. She plays a central role in supporting students as they design and carry out their projects, ensuring strong mentorship, accountability, and development of key skills such as communication, organization, and collaboration. Jolie brings over 20 years of experience supporting public school administrators and school communities, guided by a deep commitment to equity, inclusion, and helping every individual reach their fullest potential. She is a relationship-centered leader who values deep listening, authentic connection, and shared understanding. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with a minor in Dance and brings a lifelong engagement with the arts into her work with students. Currently studying Intuition Medicine® in Sausalito, California, Jolie integrates a holistic perspective into her approach to youth development, supporting both personal growth and community connnection. Raised in Marin County within a family legacy of social activism – as the granddaughter of one of the “Hollywood Ten” – Jolie developed an early commitment to community engagement and creative expression. Inspired by the cosmos, the natural world, and the connections that bind us, Jolie brings her energy, heart, and vision to the Pseads team, helping cultivate a more compassionate, connected, and hopeful world.

Lauren Conrow is an urbanist, activist, and scholar working to mainstream communal perspectives within community development practice and policy. She first began learning and working with Pseads as a high school student, an experience that helped shape her commitment to youth voice, collaboration, and community-centered approaches to learning and development. She has since supported leadership development initiatives for youth from Samoa, Tonga, and Vanuatu through the USAID-funded Blue Pacific Youth Initiative. Curiosity and connectivity make her world go ‘round. Originally from San Francisco, Lauren’s career has spanned four continents and six countries, grounding her perspective in diverse cultural and community contexts. She previously served as a U.S. Peace Corps Community Economic Development Facilitator, living and working within a highly communal, Indigenous Fijian village, where she supported women’s economic empowerment initiatives and collaborated with local counterparts to develop a village-owned shopping center aimed at strengthening rural-urban linkages. Lauren is currently a Master’s candidate in Sustainable Urban Development at the University of Oxford, where her research examines the role of social capital in building community resilience. She has also worked as Co-Lead for the New Urban Agenda Write-shop series at the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) in Nairobi, Kenya. Through her work, she aims to develop spaces that foster interconnection and open-hearted dialogue between people, place, and planet.

Belvie Rooks is an essayist, educator, organizational leader, and social advocate whose pioneering work weaves social care and healing with environmental restoration and community-building. Her lifelong commitment to human and civil rights was profoundly impacted by a weekend with Martin Luther King, Jr., when she was a teenager. During the anti-apartheid era, Belvie was among the first women on national steering committees and served as Associate Director of the Third World Fund, traveling throughout Africa, monitoring elections during South Africa’s transition to majority rule, and attending Nelson Mandela’s inauguration. She was founding faculty at SUNY College of Social Justice, and taught at Holy Names University and Naropa University’s Environmental Studies Program. Belvie is the creator of Hey Listen Up!, a groundbreaking urban eco-literacy project, and ConverZations That Matter, featuring global thought leaders. She co-founded Growing a Global Heart with Dedan Gills, and both contributed essays to Global Chorus: 365 Voices on the Future of the Planet. She also edited I Give You the Springtime of My Blushing Heart, a poetic love story between her and Dedan. Her leadership includes service on boards of Bioneers, the Ella Baker Center, and the Institute for Noetic Sciences. She was also a founding staff member of Wild Trees Press with Alice Walker and Robert Allen. Her writing appears in numerous publications and anthologies, and she co-produced the award-winning film The House on Coco Road (with Damani Baker and Danny Glover). Belvie’s visionary mentorship and work on programs like Hey Listen Up!, Journey of the Universe, and ConverZations That Matter have been a guiding influence for Pseads. Today, she continues to inspire Pseads by fostering creativity, uplifting youth voices, and promoting intergenerational learning and leadership, including sharing wisdom with Fellows. Her spirit for community building and nurturing growth across generations is without parallel.

Zach has taught with Pseads for six years, engaging weekly in K-8 classrooms. A student of science and design, movement arts, and sustainable development, he brings boundless curiosity, creativity, and deep care for the Earth for every program. He also teaches gymnastics and parkour, exploring the dynamics of movement with the same passion he brings to learning and teaching. An inspired poet, Zach’s work delights in rhythm, rhyme, and transformation, reflecting his playful, imaginative spirit. At Pseads, he contributes to building new programs and media, uplifting students, colleagues, and communities alike. He is always thinking about new ways to care for people and the planet and is famous for his “Listening Poems,” which weave voices into communal expressions of hope and possibility.

Ali is a coach, consultant, and former PR executive. She has more than 18 years of integrated communications and marketing experience, building cultural relevance and positive reputation for global and national consumer brands. She led teams and client relationships across Mars brands (e.g., Orbit gum, Ben’s Original), Wells Enterprises (e.g., Blue Bunny, Halo Top), Rosetta Stone and Jimmy John’s, to name a few. Her experience across consumer PR, corporate reputation, employee engagement, partnership strategy and development, influencer relations and social media engagement, uniquely positions her to help solve business challenges with a holistic lens. Ali’s passion for people over brands led to a career transition, initially taking on an Employee Experience role and pursuing professional coaching certification. Led by the strong belief that true transformative change comes from within, Ali continues to let her desire for empowering, uplifting, and supporting personal and social transformaton fully guide her as a consultant and coach.

Richard is an educator, urban cosmologist, and musician with experience teaching and facilitating learning experiences for all ages, from elementary students to older adults. He previously served as Director of Communications at Meridian University and on the Admissions Team at the California Institute of Integral Studies. A guitarist and composer for over 25 years, Richard’s music spans Spanish, Middle Eastern, Jazz, Flamenco, Blues, and Hip Hop. He is the founder of Zen Guitar in Marin County, California, teaching students of all ages. His professional practice and research explore the intersections of music, learning, healing, and the evolutionary principles of the universe, emphasizing connectivity and shared humanity. Richard has collaborated with Matt, Elizabeth, Belvie Rooks, and Dedan Gils for over 14 years, co-creating projects and initiatives. At Pseads, he is developing the new Hope on the Rize Legacy Project, fostering communities of belonging. He drafts inspiration from his Japanese and diverse heritage and a his lifelong love of rhythm in all he does.