Christina Mpilo, Senior Managing Director, (she/they) | Nature and community hold me. It’s been the inspiration and protagonist, the soundtrack to my life. How I relate to those around me. How I wish to show up in the world… much like a garden. Gardens require patience, grace, tenacity and courage. Courage to go fully through the seasons of who we are with passion, with hope… hope that the seeds we plant germinate and in showing us their potential, mirroring our potential back to us. Reminders that seasons of rest are required to create the fertile foundations needed to bloom again next season.
A third-generation farmer, naturalist, community activist, and budding Ecologist/Ethnobotanist; I learned at a young age that we aren’t separate from nature, but are in a beautiful symbiotic dance with it. Working in corporate settings utilizing the knowledge gained studying Human Resources and Business Administration, and feeling a call to combine this with my passion for nature I set out to sow my seeds. With stewardship and community care at the forefront of my upbringing, it was only natural that I would spend my formative years WWOOFing on various farms throughout the US, Central, and South America learning different organic, biodynamic, and indigenous farming practices. Upon returning to the midwest I started working with various nonprofit and grassroots organizations such as Grand Rapids Urban League, Greater Grand Rapids Foods Systems Council, and CO2 to name a few, educating and advocating for more equitable food systems throughout West Michigan. Realizing that to create an equitable food system we also have to create an equitable community around care, I started Sacred Heart and Womb Wellness LLC in 2013 providing Doula, Energetic, and Spiritual care to my community on a sliding scale so it’s accessible to all who seek it.
When I’m not frolicking through the woods, foraging, wading in rivers, ponds, and swamps; you can find me adventuring with my daughter.