Dr. Nataka Moore is a licensed clinical psychologist, faculty at Adler University’s Department of Psychology, and co-founder of the Mbwakawen Harambee Collective, which integrates Native and African/African American Traditional Ecological Knowledge to address today’s climate justice challenges. With over 20 years of clinical and academic experience, she teaches and consults with organizations across Chicagoland while maintaining a private practice for individuals and couples. A recognized human rights activist, she has led international initiatives in Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Liberia, and Madagascar, and received multiple awards for her commitment to social justice, women’s rights, and community well-being.

Jay Young is the Executive Director of the American Indian Center in Chicago, one of the oldest urban Native centers in the country, and an enrolled citizen of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. He attended Haskell Indian Nations University and the University of Kansas, where he focused on cultural geography and sociology.

An award-winning photojournalist with nearly two decades of experience, Jay’s work has long centered on storytelling, place, memory and community. Across journalism, cultural programming and nonprofit leadership, he has worked to ensure Native stories are told with accuracy, care and accountability.

At the American Indian Center, Jay’s work is rooted in creating space where Native voices, experiences and responsibilities come first. He has helped lead the organization’s work in cultural education, community programming, food sovereignty, land stewardship and Native-led conservation. In December 2025, he helped lead the rematriation of bison to Native community care in partnership with the Forest Preserve District of Kane County, a major step in reconnecting urban Native people with land, culture and intergenerational responsibility.

For Jay, the American Indian Center is more than a cultural center. It is a place where Native identity is strengthened, community knowledge is honored, and urban Native people can build relationships with one another, with culture and with land.