Christine Brooks PHD is an educator, coach, and practitioner whose work explores creativity, self-awareness, social intelligence, and community building. At the California Institute of Integral Studies, she helps prepare expressive arts coaches and facilitators to use creative practice as a tool for connection and transformation.

Effortless City creates inclusive neighborhood and sidewalk guides designed around a simple idea: knowing where you want to go isn’t enough—you also need to know what it will take to get there. Designed for walkers, rollers, and strollers, its guides document the details conventional maps often leave out, including steps, ramps, sidewalk conditions, terrain, restrooms, and potential obstacles.

Expressive Arts Coaching & Community Building is a pioneering program that integrates collaborative, liberatory creative practices with coaching and facilitation to inspire individual and collective transformation. Graduates acquire a unique foundation that encourages their practice and professionalism as credentialed coaches, expressive arts facilitators, and leaders in the field.

ARTogether’s mission is to provide art programs that foster compassionate communities where refugees and immigrants can flourish

We envision a world where there are no barriers—or borders—to art and creative expression, where everyone is welcomed and their stories have impact.

Leva Zand is an Iranian-American conceptual artist, organizational development advisor, and human rights advocate. She is most notably recognized as the founder and former Executive Director of ARTogether, a prominent Oakland-based nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering community, healing, and belonging for refugees and immigrants through the creative arts.