Ms. Ito has served in executive roles in both public and private companies and serves on the board of several organizations. She is currently the CEO and co-founder of Within Health, a greater-good company offering medication-free electroceuticals to improve health and mental wellness. She is also the Founder and Executive Director of Seeds to Sew International, a non-profit organization committed to improving the lives of women and girls in compromised communities. Ms. Ito’s social justice focus fuels her passion to create opportunities for those less fortunate.

Mikaela Levons is Director of Stakeholder Relations, Equal Justice USA. Mikaela Levons (she/her) is a native of Kingston, Jamaica, who spends her days connecting generous people and institutions who want to invest in community safety with the work of Equal Justice USA. She ensures that EJUSA has the resources to transform the justice system by promoting responses to violence that break cycles of trauma. She’s a Trustee of Young Audiences of NJ and Eastern PA (YA), which inspires young people and expands their learning through the arts, and also serves on the board of the Fergus Simpson Foundation, a non-profit operating in rural Jamaica.

Uma Purandare is a Hopewell Township Committee Member and Founder of the Marathi Language School. She is on the Township’s Board of Health and is the liaison to the Lawrence Hopewell Trail, the Environmental Commission, and the Senior Advisory Board. Uma Purandare has been a Girl Scout troop leader and a member of the PTO, has managed A-Z Mentoring to provide free tutoring to underprivileged children, and started Marathi Language School for families and neighboring communities. She volunteers with the Hopewell Valley Mobile Food Pantry.

Colby Cedar Smith is an award-winning poet, novelist, and educator. She has spent the last fifteen years teaching writing and storytelling workshops in schools, art museums, community centers, university classrooms, non-profits, and corporations. Her poems have appeared in numerous publications and she is the recipient of a 2020 Poetry Fellowship from the New Jersey Council on the Arts. Call Me Athena, A Girl From Detroit, is a novel in verse loosely based on her grandmother’s immigrant experiences.