Radical Rest

Stewardship Board

  • T. Aisha Edwards, LMHC President

    T. Aisha Edwards, LMHC (xe/she) is a somatic trauma therapist and educator based in Vancouver WA. Xe received xer Masters in Clinical Psychology from Pacific University and has concentrated on socialized oppressions, interpersonal violence, abuse and neglect in marginalized populations throughout xer decade-plus career.

    ​Prior to private practice, xe worked in community mental health, high acuity treatment settings and was an adjunct faculty at Portland Community College.

    Xe uniquely weaves Gestalt, Somatic Experiencing, Early Developmental Movement Therapies, NeuroEmotional Technique and concepts from Traditional Chinese Medicine and Western and Indigenous Herbalism into a holistic approach to mental health that fosters the primary relationship with the body as the vehicle to wellness, wholeness and connection.

    Aisha is also the co-host of Emergent Liberation Collective, a podcast about somatics and spirituality as instruments for personal healing and collective transformation.

  • Amy Ruff - LCSW - Secretary

    Amy Ruff is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) and currently serves as a case manager at a local university where they provides crisis support and assists students to connect with relevant mental health and wellbeing resources both on and off campus. Amy maintains the BIPOC and QT Therapists Guild (please inquire if you'd like to join!). When not working their 9-5 Amy is organizing for healing justice, providing gender affirming care to trans and non-binary folks, watching the Portland Thorns, and attempting to keep her garden alive."

  • Emma Rickman - Treasurer

    Emma brings experience in operational and fiscal planning for nonprofits and municipalities to Radical Rest. Having worked with management consulting firms based out of St. Louis, MO, and Ann Arbor, MI, as well as serving as the Finance Director for Unite Oregon, she is well-versed in internal accounting practices, data development and analysis, grant-writing and management, and mission-driven budgeting and planning. After graduating with honors with her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting Performance from Ball State University, Emma went on to receive her post-baccalaureate certificate in Accounting from Portland State.

    She fundamentally believes that financial data should be highly accessible and comprehensible. Her role includes developing and maintaining strong, intuitive systems that facilitate creative, compliant, and financially sound decision-making.

    When she's not balancing the books or creating timesheets, Emma enjoys hiking with her cute dog, keeping her plants alive, and attempting DIY projects (without disturbing her neighbors).ption goes here

  • Ridhi d’Cruz

    Ridhi d’Cruz (they/them) is a gender wild, neurospicy, caste non-dominant Malayali who grew up in the city of Bangalore in southern India, and, in 2010, moved to the unceded lands of the Chinook people (Portland, USA) to pursue a graduate program in sociocultural and applied anthropology. Trained as a journalist, anthropologist, and culture worker, they fondly identify as a learner, facilitator and artist.

    They root their life artistry in the intersections of place, healing, design and creative justices. They have dedicated over a decade of their life to cultivate liberatory processes, projects, and places that nourish people’s belonging to themselves, to Land, and to each other. You can find out more via ridhidcruz.net

    Since 2023, ridhi has begun organizing with fellow members of the South Asian diaspora, through the Oregon Caste Abolition Collective to educate, organize and advocate for the dismantling of Brahmanical patriarchy and supremacy and its harmful impacts on over 3.7 million caste oppressed people worldwide.

    And finally, after over a decade in the field as an urban Permaculture practitioner & educator through their previous work at City Repair Project, ridhi completed their Permaculture Design Certificate (PDC) program and the Permaculture Teacher Training (PTT) hosted by Aranya Agricultural Alternatives in Jan- Feb 2023 and is returning to organizing in their homelands.

  • Darian Patrick

    Info coming soon..

  • Touk Keo

    Touk Keo (they/them) was raised in Salem, Oregon, after both of their parents fled the Khmer Rouge in April of 1975. Through witnessing and experiencing the impacts of genocide, Touk has taken upon themselves to find mentors like Grace Lee Boggs, to help them understand the world they see themselves thriving in, by "re-spiriting, re-building, and re-imagining” what that could look like. To them, it has meant creating spaces like the Radical Meditation for BIPOC communities to see the deeper truth of what it means to decolonize, re-claim identities, rename oneself, and to reconnect with spirits of their country that have also been displaced by U.S. occupation.

    Touk has their Bachelor's of Science in Gender, Sexuality Studies, and Master's in Education and School Counseling. They're grateful for the work that they've been able to do in graduate studies focusing on the need for BIPOC liberation, community-driven change, and while asking for more accountability from their educational institutions. Much of their work in the community is centered on empowering Black and Indigenous people through fundraisers, community gatherings, and with their farm animals.

    Touk is also an avid farmer with an herbal labyrinth, a quarter acre with veggies grown through companion planting, and 8 chickens, 2 goats, 2 kittens, a doodle pup and an incredible partner, Jeevan and beautiful liberated child Nayeli Nira.

Radical Rest

Advisory Board

  • Alisha

    Alisha Suliven - Advisor

    Info coming soon…

  • Andy

    Andy Eiden - Advisor

    Andy has worked in the energy efficiency and renewable energy field for over 10 years. He is currently a Senior Principal Strategy Analyst with Portland General Electric where he provides subject matter expertise for a range of topics. Mr. Eiden serves as Board co-chair for Sabu Help International, a nonprofit serving Ghana with micro finance and rural development support. He also is the Business Engagement Lead with the East Metro STEAM Partnership serving youth in East Multnomah County. Andy lives with his family in Portland and enjoys reading, home projects, and trips to the coast.

  • Bobbie

    Bobbie Stewart’s - Advisor

    Bobbie Stewart is a serial entrepreneur and mentor passionate about engaging with and building start-ups. She started her entrepreneurial journey at the age of 16 and holds a Bachelor of Business Administration (B.B.A.) from Concordia University, with minors in Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations, Finance. Bobbie's career has been dedicated to creating, developing, and launching small businesses while also teaching and mentoring aspiring entrepreneurs.

    Her notable accomplishments include founding Palette Stores, a successful venture in the retail sector, and Olla.Community, a platform aimed at fostering community connections. Additionally, she has led the KICIT investment club, showcasing her acumen in investment and business growth strategies.

    Bobbie has also made significant contributions as the Women’s Business Center and Education Manager at MercyCorps NW, where she helped empower women entrepreneurs. Her expertise extends to serving as a business advisor, instructor, and freelance contractor, where she has coached small businesses and developed operational plans for their success.

    Throughout her journey, Bobbie has valued mentorship, family support, and community engagement as essential elements in building thriving businesses. Her equanimity and dedication have guided entrepreneurs through their most challenging startup moments, making her a respected figure in the entrepreneurial ecosystem.

  • Eugenie Jolivett Fontana - Advisor

    Eugenie Jolivett Fontana is a plant lover, an active arts and culture creative, curator of events, speaker, facilitator, and an advocate who thrives at the intersection of culture, transformative learning, and equity leadership. She co-created a collective for folxs (People of the Global Majority & LGBTQAI+) in the intersections, “ We Are Here”.

    In addition to Co-Directing the Cascade Festival of African Films, Eugenie is the founder of Gather & Garner: a space where she supports embodied resilience and liberation through somatics practices and trauma-informed resiliency building. The framework for this work is one that amplifies voices from diverse backgrounds, and moves equity work through diverse relationships.

  • Jon Losey - Advisor

    Jon has nearly 20 years of experience in finance and the public sector. He has a Bachelor's of Science from the University of Nevada Las Vegas and a Master's from the University of Washington's Evans School of Public Policy and Governance. He currently serves as a Fiscal Analyst with the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. He is passionate about social justice and the pursuit of an equal and fair society for all.