My name is Jimanekia Eborn (She/Her/Hers). I have been a Comprehensive Sex Educator and Sexual Assault & Trauma Expert for over a decade. This year, I’m expanding upon my mission by creating a retreat specifically for sexual assault survivors who identify as femmes of color. The experts leading this event are black femmes and femmes of color with decades of experience as sex therapists, sex educators, and facilitators who specifically speak to survivors.

WHY I DO THIS:

Since I was a child, I’ve known that I wanted to support and protect women who, like my mother before me, had endured traumas that uprooted their lives. This passion led me down several paths from school for criminal justice to work as a rape crisis counselor to more school – psychology this time – to several mental health facilities across California.

Now, several years into my work as a Comprehensive Sex Educator and Sexual Assault & Trauma Expert, I have found my ultimate calling. Spending my days working with survivors – educating them on how to care for themselves, uplifting them out of trauma, and celebrating their strength – is a dream come true.

As an expert in my field and as a survivor myself, I know firsthand the importance of finding healing and community when it comes time to process your trauma. When we can come together as survivors to reflect, reenergize, and regenerate ourselves, the healing magnifies. This is more than mantra; it is my mission.

For every Black woman that reports her rape, at least 15 Black women do not report. Communities of color need this healing. The statistics are staggering and our communities are least likely to be attended to. With a donation of ANY amount, you can be a part of creating this sacred space.

My name is Jessie Yamasaki (She/Her/Hers). I am committed to and passionate about uplifting the voices of women and minorities through viral brand messaging and community event organizing. I spent three years with a grass-roots feminist apparel brand, developing the business and scaling events to amass thousands of paid attendees, featuring performers such as Roxane Gay, Aparna Nancherla, Luenell & Shirley Manson. I have produced events covered by NYTimes, BBC, NPR, Playboy and coordinated partnerships with major brands; RedBull, Buzzfeed, Unbound, and Brooklyn99. With a background in Neuroresearch at UNC Chapel Hill, I strive to use all that I’ve learned about the inner workings of the human mind and communication to facilitate conversations, curate events, and create spaces that are truly safe for all identities.

WHY I DO THIS:

To me, Tending the Garden is easily one of the most meaningful projects I've ever been a part of. It's the on-the-ground work that society needs to invest in to open safe spaces for femmes of color to heal, provided & curated by folx who know exactly what type of support these victims need. Jimanekia's trauma expertise, community, and years of experience has ultimately culminated into the perfect confluence of factors, making her the ideal person to carry this vision forward. Tending the Garden is simply taking a tangible stand against the silencing, invalidation and dismissal that femmes of color experience when they seek help and healing resources from the healthcare industry or government. If you've been looking for steps you can take to fight the harm inflicted on femmes of color, then you can get behind Tending the Garden.

My name is Dan (he & they), I am talent manager and inclusivity consultant based out of Los Angeles. In 2010, I co-founded the LGBTQ youth organization, Everyone is Gay. In 2015, co-authored "This is a Book for Parents of Gay Kids" (chronicle books). I’ve managed campaigns raising over $500k in crowdfunding for various creatives. I have spoken at over 150 universities in the US and Canada, led business/staff training, faculty/admin training, and student led organizational consulting.

WHY I DO THIS:

The thing I care about most in the world is equitable distribution of wealth. To me wealth is financial, as well as, emotional, mental, and physical.

There are many events and spaces for survivors that prioritize the stories of white women. There are a few events and spaces for women of color, many of those spaces prioritize cis women. Jimanekia has created a safe space for femmes of color.

Money should absolutely be spent on creating these safe spaces. In fact, there should be more of them. And for every dollar that is spent creating a space that prioritize white women, a dollar should also go toward events that prioritize queer and trans femmes of color. If there is money for cis white women, there should also be money for queer and trans femmes of color. That is equitable distribution of wealth.

Jimanekia is a queer black woman. She is the perfect curator and creator for this retreat. She has hired multiple nonbinary black facilitators. The best way to support Femmes of Color is to back the work they are already doing.

If you're looking to get involved, please send me an email: Dan@DanOwensMGMT.com