Brian Simpson - Masters in Integrative Ecosocial Design
Brian Simpson worked for years as an Allied Healthcare professional specializing as an Endoscopy Technologist in Maryland, with expertise in GI procedures and endoscope reprocessing. His background includes Medical Assisting and a strong foundation in patient advocacy, honed through previous roles supporting individuals with disabilities.
Beyond his clinical work, Brian deeply engages with indigenous knowledge systems as a certified 500hr yoga teacher, a self-taught Jyotish astrologer (https://mysticskywords.com/), and a longtime student initiate in the Yoruba Isese tradition, devoted to Ifa & Oya.
Returning to his birthplace, Jamaica, in 2019 led Brian to complete a Permaculture Design Course at The Source Farm Ecovillage in 2022, seeing this as a physical complement to his Isese practice.
He hopes his (un)learning experience at Gaia University will help him implement his vision which includes establishing popular permaculture summer camps for youth and founding a publishing house specializing in Eco-social themes.
Brian also channels his nurturing spirit into writing, anticipating the publication of his debut children’s story, ‘Ess Gee & The Water Vessels’.
Keegan Meade - Bachelors in Integrative Ecosocial Design
Keegan Anatole loves to help grow healthy communities comprised of an abundant variety of lifeforms, and he has done so through over 100 work/stays at organic farms, permaculture projects, and retreat centers since 2012. Raised in a highly physical and adventurous family, he is most at home in the wild countryside and amongst other pioneering spirits exercising strenuous creativity by building homes and off-grid sanctuaries.
Besides helping families and small communities establish robust and resilient roots, he
thrives by traversing the in-between realms of international travel and spiritual reverie. Keegan has a passion for language and has enjoyed learning Spanish, Chinese, and Italian by way of immersion in foreign lands. Currently he is exploring the European and Slavic cultural heritage of his own ancestral vine in the Balkans and greater Europe.
He is an adept in the healing arts and practices energy medicine and various touch-based therapies grounded in the spiritual discipline to cultivate a high-vibrational state of being. He is an advocate for healing and positive transformation at every level and works to create communities of mutual support such as the free weekly online Aquarian Renaissance Roundtable. In July of 2025 he hosted The 1st Aquarian Renaissance Indigenous Revival Summit and is presently engaged in encouraging such a revival through his initiative Integreatfullness.
Nadia Attar - Masters in Integrative Ecosocial Design
Over the past 4 years, Nadia Attar has dedicated her expertise to advancing regenerative agriculture practices in Syria as a Project Manager with UNDP. Her leadership supported more than 700 farmers nationwide, equipping them with training and grants to apply regenerative techniques directly on their farms.
The project focused on practical, nature-based solutions such as composting, bio-reactors, deep beds, and companion planting. Nadia and her team regularly visited farmers to witness the results firsthand and hear their reflections. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive — with many farmers not only achieving healthier soils and improved yields, but also sharing their new knowledge with their peers, creating a ripple effect of change across farming communities.
Alongside this impactful work, Nadia is currently completing her Master’s in Integrative Eco-Social Design, deepening her commitment to weaving ecology, design, and community resilience into her practice.
Saba Zahara - Masters in Integrative Ecosocial Design
Saba Zahara is a leader in creative arts, cultural advocacy, and social impact communications, with experience spanning visual and performing arts, the green sector, social entrepreneurship, and media development. She has collaborated with local and international organizations to empower marginalized communities through innovative, transformative projects.
She holds an MBA in Humanitarian Social Entrepreneurship from the Roxbourg Institute of Social Entrepreneurship (RISE) in Switzerland and was recently accepted into Gaia U
International’s Master’s in Integrative Ecosocial Design as a recipient of the Liora Adler Scholarship Fund.
Saba currently participates in Create 2030’s Artist and Curator-in-Residence initiative, serves on the Board Council of the Artscape Theatre Centre, and has advised V20 South Africa in developing policy recommendations for the G20. She has also supported the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa on their Sustainability Documentary Series and contributes to global learning networks such as Voices of Biodiversity and Ecoversities.
Her work includes leading digital marketing and advocacy campaigns, founding the HoneyBush Healing Arts Platform, and facilitating community art projects through the Butterfly Art’s Project network. Guided by a passion for environmental conservation and indigenous knowledge systems, Saba continues to weave sustainability, healing, creativity, and cultural arts into strategies for social transformation.
January Watchman Mulva - Masters in Integrative Ecosocial Design
January Watchman Mvula is a community development leader and Executive Director of the Sustainable Rural Community Development Organisation (SURCOD), a Malawian NGO he has guided since its founding in 2010. With more than 13 years of experience, he has led projects in Nsanje and Chikwawa districts that advance sustainable agriculture, gender equity, youth empowerment, and climate resilience.
Under his leadership, SURCOD launched the Chikwa Ecovillage—a 10-hectare regenerative community in Chikwawa designed to be self-sufficient, ecologically sound, and socially inclusive.Featuring permaculture, agroforestry, renewable energy, as well as
solar-powered borehole, providing clean, reliable water. The ecovillage now functions as a hub for environmental restoration, soil conservation, and alternative livelihoods, helping local residents build regenerative and climate-adaptive futures.
Beyond Chikwa, SURCOD runs initiatives such as the Chididi Women Savings and Capital Building Project, which supports women’s savings groups to launch a fruit processing factory, and the Girls Empowerment Project, which promotes literacy, health education, and entrepreneurship among adolescent girls.
January is completing his MSc in Sustainable Development at Unicaf University Zambia and has been awarded a scholarship for an MA in Integrative Ecosocial Design at Gaia U. Through Gaia U’s action-learning approach, mentorship, and peer collaboration, he is equipping himself to design regenerative solutions that meet the pressing social and ecological challenges of rural Malawi.
Looking ahead, he aims to scale SURCOD’s impact by integrating digital tools and climate-smart practices into rural development, with the goal of replicating the Chikwa Ecovillage model across Malawi and beyond.
Christopher Nesbitt - Joint Bachelors & Masters in Integrative Ecosocial Design
Christopher Nesbitt embodies the regenerative futures Gaia U works toward. Originally from New York City, he moved to Belize at 19 and has farmed in San Pedro Columbia since 1988, cultivating a philosophy of land stewardship rooted in biodiversity, resilience, and food security.
From 1997–2004, he managed the Toledo Cacao Growers Association, where he saw firsthand that farmer-to-farmer learning far outperformed conventional models—an insight that shaped his lifelong approach to agricultural education.
In 2004, Chris and his wife, Celini Logan-Nesbitt, founded the Maya Mountain Research Farm (MMRF), a registered NGO and internationally recognized leader in regenerative agroforestry. Guided by the principle “Food Security through Biodiversity,” MMRF has won awards including the Commonwealth Secretary General’s Innovation in Sustainable Development Award (2019) and IICA’s Soul of Rurality designation (2025). The farm demonstrates multistrata agroforestry systems that restore degraded land, sequester carbon, and build climate resilience. Chris is now developing a carbon farming curriculum and farmer-friendly manual to share this knowledge more widely.
Alongside MMRF, he and Celini run Belize Permaculture and Renewable Energy, Ltd., a consulting firm specializing in photovoltaic systems, agricultural training, and research. Between 2023–2025, they led a vanilla cultivation program for women in collaboration with the Government of Belize and funded by the Government of Taiwan.
Now joining Gaia U, Chris brings decades of experience and a heart rooted in regeneration—ready to deepen his impact through our action-learning model.
Sophya Jone - Bachelors in Integrative Ecosocial Design
Sophya Jone is an undergraduate student of Biological Sciences at the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG) in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, and a Bachelor’s candidate in Integrative Ecosocial Design at Gaia University International. At the intersection of these two paths, Sophya brings together a love of scientific inquiry with a commitment to ecological and social regeneration, embodying Gaia U’s vision of cultivating leaders who design for resilient, just, and life-affirming futures.
Her academic journey has led her into diverse fields of biology, neuroscience, and ecology, where she is especially interested in how modern science can be enriched by traditional knowledge systems. As a researcher at Labnanomed, she contributed to investigations in nanobiotechnology, studying the use of nanoparticles for pulmonary fibrosis treatment. This experience sharpened her skills in scientific research while fueling her curiosity about the practical applications of science in improving health and wellbeing.
Beyond her formal studies, Sophya is deeply engaged in educational and leadership initiatives. She volunteers with Equalizar as a biology teacher, supporting young learners in gaining access to high-quality science education. She is also an active participant in the Latin American Leadership Academy (LALA), where she develops her skills as a changemaker committed to the empowerment of her community and region.
Balancing her academic and leadership work, Sophya is nourished by her love of culture, books, music, and the arts. She delights in exploring new places and perspectives, always seeking out opportunities to broaden her understanding of the world. Through her studies and engagements, she is building a unique foundation that bridges science, design, and human connection—one she hopes to use in service of regenerative futures.
Angeli Olorunsogo - Masters in Integrative Ecosocial Design
Angeli Olorunsogo is a Whole Health Advocate, Clean Living Specialist and Brain Health Trainer, who is versed in the art of Long Life, engaging in over 39 years of theoretical and highly practical research and experience in Long Life Living and Disease Prevention. She earned her Plant-Based Nutrition Certificate from the T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies at Cornell University.
Angeli is a published author and speaker, who has presented papers and spoken in Africa and the United States. She is also a Doula and Childbirth Educator, and has an expertise in Winning Skincare and Depression Relief/Release with Afrotanicals.
Despite her vast knowledge in health, wellness, and longevity through Garden of Eden Eating, Angeli had never planted anything in her life. Angeli is an Ambassador of Christ Jesus, Whose she is and Whom she serves, and God revealed part of His plan for her life in 2014 when He instructed her to start a garden business. She exclaimed, “Lord, I know nothing about gardening,” to which He responded: “Angeli—I created the plants. I can show you.”
This statement immediately eased her apprehensions, and she launched into the plant journey of a lifetime. Fat and Flourishing Farmacy (Psalms 92:12-14) was initiated. God named it and named her a Farmacist to this day. He raised her up, giving her unusual secrets for outstanding results in growing on small and large scales. By 2020, she became a master gardener in growing fruits, vegetables, culinary herbs, spices, and plants for fabric dyeing, as well as medicinal herbs. She also promotes urban gardening (“Safe Food Wherever You Grow”), training adults and children to have their gardens and eat them too.
A life-changing experience for Angeli happened in 2020, while in Seattle, Washington. She visited an organic farm and the owner offered her 300 excess, overgrown tomato seedlings that were going to be composted. She took them, nurtured them, and gave them away to elder Africans and diasporans in the underserved areas of urban Seattle (“Spread the Love”). She realized that farms had many excess plants each year, and so she traveled to organic farms in the Pacific Northwest (PNW), gathered their excess seedlings, and distributed them to underserved pregnant women, midwives, birth workers, families, Black farmers, children, schools, and more in the Seattle and PNW area (“Giving is Living”). Angeli believes that people do not care how much you know until they know how much you care.