“Incredible. Most transformative professor... Andrea walks the talk, models the work, and this consistently left a lasting impression on me.”
— End of semester evaluation
“We intentionally change in ways that grow our capacity to embody the just and liberated worlds we long for.”
— adrienne maree brown
why fireweed?
Fireweed is a vibrant and resilient wildflower that thrives in challenging environments, symbolizing renewal, transformation, and strength. It is known for its role in regrowth and regeneration following natural disturbances like wildfires, embodying the power of recovery and growth. It attracts bees, butterflies, and other pollinators, playing a crucial role in sustaining ecosystems. Growing up in Alaska, I was surrounded by summer landscapes filled with fireweed standing tall amidst nature’s changes. As fireweed fosters life and growth after disruption, I help individuals and organizations navigate change, build capacity, and thrive in their missions.
about andrea.
At my core, I am an organizer centering the power of bringing people together – a weaver that sees connections across organizations, people, ideas, and movements. I bring 20 years of experience managing multi-sector projects, leadership development, and training at the graduate-level and in community spaces. Growing up in a difficult financial situation, including losing our family home, brought moments of tremendous shame; however, it also greatly informed the work I do and my approach to doing it. I have been a waiter, field director, housekeeper, consultant, board member, statewide project lead, fishing boat cleaner, union organizer, small business owner, and graduate school faculty member. I am uniquely adept at being creative with resources and connecting across differences. My passion and aliveness come from working to co-create systems rooted in equity, compassion, and mutuality. I have had the pleasure of working with individuals, students, and groups on deepening their commitment for social change, and developing their practices to employ that commitment. I offer support in the following areas:
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leadership development and coaching
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training and skill building
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retreats
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multi-sector project management
values.
Resiliency
I foster practices to build resiliency, individually and collectively, to support moving from a place of resourcefulness.
Creativity
Imagination is central to creating new liberated worlds. I believe in fostering the creative space and time to allow our movements, relationships, and spirits to grow.
Integrity
I strive to live my values through my actions and behaviors, understanding the messiness and contradictions that exist in the work of social justice.
Transformation
I am committed to systemic change and working in solidarity with our movements for collective liberation. This requires both personal and collective transformation.
Connection
I center the importance of relationships across all aspects of this work. Fostering connection and trust seeds strong communities.
Curiosity
I lead with curiosity to help uncover what I may not know or understand or explore other ways of doing things.
testimonials.
“Andrea was a core team member for helping put on UC Berkeley's Labor Summer program. For orientation she designed curriculum and facilitated trainings, along with creating a cohesive plan for the research and legal track participants. Andrea co-led a supervisor training and facilitated several midsummer evaluation meetings with interns and host organizations. She provided support for interns and worked closely with Labor Center staff to fill gaps, anticipate challenges, and ensure that the program was a huge success. I recommend her without reservation.”
— Danielle Mahones, Director
Leadership Development Program, UC Berkeley Labor Center
“Andrea supported the Chinese Progressive Association on key research for our pilot workforce development program. She worked with an incredibly ambitious timeline to successfully complete a final report for us, building upon findings from our SRO Families United Collaborative survey and focus groups. She conducted meetings with 24 leaders/experts in the broader workforce development space and did industry research on the four industries that survey participants are interested in working in: homecare, childcare, hotel, and janitorial/custodial. She captured recommended best practices for the pilot based on the meetings with the leaders. She was thoughtful and thorough in her approach, I highly recommend Andrea and welcome the opportunity to collaborate with her again in the future.”
— Claire Lau, Senior Advocacy Manager
Chinese Progressive Association 華人進步會
"As a new founder, launching my nutrition consulting business has been an exciting journey, and I’m so grateful to have had Andrea’s guidance along the way. She has been a gentle yet firm coach, helping me accomplish the goals I was eager to tackle and those that felt more challenging.
Andrea’s ability to ask important and sometimes tough questions while remaining deeply supportive made all the difference. Her coaching encouraged me to reflect, grow, and take actionable steps forward. She has a rare gift for balancing encouragement with accountability, which was exactly what I needed as I navigated the complexities of starting a new business.
When you’re launching something new, having someone in your corner rooting for you and guiding you is invaluable. Andrea was that person for me, and I can’t recommend her highly enough!"
— Sean Krainert, NC, Founder, Healthy You, Happy Planet!
“Andrea was a wonderfully conscientious colleague, and she was invaluable in: helping to foster a supportive and collaborative learning community, developing/co-creating thoughtful materials, consistently bringing a professional and high caliber of collaborative work, paying attention to the small details that help implement the broader vision, bringing a joyful attitude and being lots of fun to work with! I would gladly welcome the opportunity to work with her again in the future.”
— Loretta J. Ross, Associate Professor, Smith College
“Andrea has an impressive way to make space for everyone in the class. She’s patient, considerate, engaging and wicked smart. She had the best residencies of all of my time at PGS – they were dynamic– included 1-1 time with other students, guest speakers, lecture, group work, etc. She’s an incredible leader and PGS is lucky to have her! It was such a perfect way to end my time at PGS, and I look forward to staying in touch with her for years to come!”
— Kristen Albrecht, CSO + Director of Production & Operations, Ravel
“Andrea managed all aspects of a pioneering new research methodology for understanding working conditions and livelihoods for on-demand mobility workers in San Francisco. She was incredibly efficient, organized, and effective in managing a complex process with multiple data gatherers and a diverse research team of academic, public, and labor/community partners. She was an invaluable thought-partner, and always several steps ahead of where we needed to be. I would recommend her without reservation – it was a real joy working with her.”
– Chris Benner, Professor of Environmental Studies and Sociology & Director Institute for Social Transformation, UC Santa Cruz
“Working with Andrea unlocked entirely new ways for me to collaborate with my team. She guided me through pivotal conversations with care and clarity, helping me navigate sensitive topics that ultimately transformed how my organization and team approached a new year. Andrea’s support extended beyond those conversations, she even helped me prepare for a big pitch on short notice, ensuring I felt both confident and prepared. From the moment we started working together, I knew I could trust Andrea to be in my corner. She made every session count and left me feeling equipped to tackle anything that came my way.”
— Kaitlyn Tierney, Co-Founder & CEO, Diverting Hate
“I was very impressed with the ease and poise and firmness Andrea brought to hard discussions. What could have been conflict was turned into mutual understanding. Learning from her example was enlightening.”
— End of semester evaluation
“She kept us safe and encouraged us to access emotional appreciation for each other. She did so in a way that was such an amazing experience and led to vulnerability and connection among the group. She brings a perspective on power and hierarchy that gave depth to the content.”
– Workshop evaluation
