Sharmi Basu (they/them), experimental sound artist, community organizer, and Executive Director of Vital Arts, brings to their work a deep understanding of the challenges artists face in sustaining their lives and practice. They are committed to creating inclusive environments and promoting social justice, diversity in the arts, and mutual aid. They played a crucial role in organizing community responses to the Ghost Ship fire, including raising and distributing funding to the friends and family of Ghost Ship victims and survivors. As an artist, activist, and administrator, they have been actively engaged for over a decade in managing operations, events, fundraising, and finances at a variety of local organizations, including Southern Exposure, St. James Infirmary, SFMOMA, and Gray Area Foundation. Sharmi Basu serves on the board of several organizations, including Safer DIY Spaces, Bay Area Girls Rock Camp, and California FM. They hold an MFA from Mills College and a double BA from UC Davis in Political Science: Public Policy and Technocultural Studies. 

Hope Mohr (she/her) is an artist and arts advocate. A licensed California attorney, Mohr works at the intersection of art and social change as a Fellow with the Sustainable Economies Law Center and as a member of the SELC's Artist Circle. Her law practice, Movement Law, is dedicated to supporting artists, changemakers, and mission-driven organizations. She is also a Fellow with the Grassroots Artist Advocacy Program of CA for the Arts. After a professional dance career, Mohr founded the nonprofit Hope Mohr Dance and its signature presenting program, The Bridge Project, which for over 15 years supported over 100 artists through commissions, residencies, workshops, and collaborative performance projects. In 2020, Mohr co-stewarded the organization’s transition to an equity-driven model of distributed leadership and a new name: Bridge Live Arts. Mohr’s book, Shifting Cultural Power: Case Studies and Questions in Performance, was published in 2020 by the National Center for Choreography. She is a contributor to the anthology Artists on Creative Administration (2024), edited by Tonya Lockyer.

Hope Williams (she/her) is the Director of Legislative Advocacy and Legal Cafe Coordinator at the Sustainable Economies Law Center, based in Oakland. She brings her identity as a Black queer woman to focus on housing, justice, and equity. Hope ran political campaigns in the Bay Area and organized within the boycott division of a labor union to build worker power through nonviolent acts of civil disobedience. She co-leads statewide and regional legislative campaigns, currently serves on the board of the California Community Land Trust Network, and is Board President for the San Francisco Community Land Trust. She also serves as a San Francisco City Commissioner to build equitable strategies that support community-based solutions. Her focus on anti-oppression frameworks makes her a dynamic co-conspirator in movements for economic and racial justice.