Pseads Team

Penny Lane is a founder, strategist, writer, and musician whose work brings together creative vision, disciplined execution, and a deep commitment to human connection. At Pseads, she leads the development of scalable systems and intentional partnerships that enable this work with children, educators, elders, and communities to deepen and expand.

Before joining Pseads, Penny Lane founded and led a nationally recognized cleantech company built to support the waste industry. Over three and a half years, she advanced distinct technology, waste infrastructure, and safety advocacy while securing private investment, public grants, and patent protection, building relationships with global industry leaders, public agencies, and policymakers. She has spoken at national conferences, universities, government organizations, and environmental forums, and is grateful to migrate her voice into Pseads’ heart-centered work.

Raised across Sonoma County and New Orleans in multigenerational households of educators, caretakers, and creators, Penny Lane developed an enduring reverence for children, elders, poetry, nature, music, and above all, the limitless human spirit. A lifelong poet, singer, and songwriter, she believes that the heart gives birth to bold ideas, and dreams come to life through intention and conviction.

Jolie manages the Light Fellowship and oversees day-to-day implementation, supporting students as they design and carry out projects while building communication, organization, accountability, and collaboration.

She brings more than 20 years of experience supporting public-school administrators and school communities, guided by equity, inclusion, deep listening, and the belief that every person can grow into their fullest potential. She holds a BA in Psychology with a minor in Dance and brings a lifelong relationship with the arts into her work.

Raised in Marin County in a family with a strong legacy of social activism, Jolie is also studying Intuition Medicine® and integrates holistic perspectives into youth development, personal growth, and community connection.

Lauren first learned and worked with Pseads as a high-school student, an experience that helped shape her commitment to youth voice, collaboration, and community-centered development.

Her career has crossed four continents and six countries. She has supported youth leadership through the USAID-funded Blue Pacific Youth Initiative and previously served as a U.S. Peace Corps Community Economic Development Facilitator in an Indigenous Fijian village, supporting women’s economic empowerment and locally owned development.

Lauren is a Master’s candidate in Sustainable Urban Development at the University of Oxford, researching the role of social capital in community resilience. She has also worked with UN-Habitat in Nairobi and continues to build spaces for interconnection among people, place, and planet.

Belvie’s pioneering work connects social healing, environmental restoration, education, and community-building. Her lifelong commitment to human and civil rights was shaped early, including by an encounter with Martin Luther King, Jr. as a teenager.

During the anti-apartheid era she served in national leadership, traveled throughout Africa, monitored elections during South Africa’s transition to majority rule, and attended Nelson Mandela’s inauguration. She has taught at SUNY College of Social Justice, Holy Names University, and Naropa University.

Belvie created Hey Listen Up! and ConverZations That Matter, co-founded Growing a Global Heart with Dedan Gills, and has served organizations including Bioneers, the Ella Baker Center, and the Institute of Noetic Sciences. Her mentorship continues to shape Pseads’ approach to youth voice, intergenerational learning, and community.

Zach has taught with Pseads for six years, working weekly in K–8 classrooms. His interests in science, design, movement arts, and sustainable development shape a highly curious and imaginative approach to teaching.

He also teaches gymnastics and parkour and brings that same interest in movement, rhythm, and discovery into learning. As a poet, Zach is known within Pseads for “Listening Poems” that weave many voices into communal expressions of hope and possibility.

He contributes to new programs and media while continually looking for practical and creative ways to care for people and the planet.

Ali brings more than 18 years of integrated communications and marketing experience, including consumer public relations, corporate reputation, employee engagement, partnerships, influencer work, and social media strategy.

Her career has included leadership across major national and global brands. A growing interest in people rather than brands led her toward employee experience and professional coaching, where she focused more directly on personal and organizational transformation.

At Pseads, Ali brings a holistic strategic lens to development, relationship-building, and the work of helping organizations grow from the inside out.

Richard has taught and facilitated learning experiences for people from elementary-school age through older adulthood. He previously worked in communications at Meridian University and with admissions at the California Institute of Integral Studies.

A guitarist and composer for more than 25 years, his music moves through Spanish, Middle Eastern, jazz, flamenco, blues, and hip hop traditions. He founded Zen Guitar in Marin County and teaches students of many ages.

His research and professional practice explore music, learning, healing, cosmology, connectivity, and shared humanity. Richard has collaborated with Pseads’ founders and mentors for more than a decade and contributes to the Living Wisdom work.