FEATURED SPEAKER: Ryan Harris

On Wednesday, Ryan will be leading the workshop about Programming on a Budget and the value in partnerships.
 
Ryan Harris is a Man of God, husband, father, and community architect based in Philadelphia. He is the Founder of As I Plant This Seed, a faith-rooted nonprofit organization dedicated to restoring human agency, strengthening families, and developing youth through mentorship, accountability, and opportunity.
 
As the creator of the Mini Urban EchoSystem, Ryan has designed and implemented a community-based model that addresses root causes rather than symptoms integrating mentorship, education, leadership development, mental wellness access, and family support into a sustainable ecosystem that serves both youth and adults. His work centers on building environments where positive identity, responsibility, and purpose can take root and reproduce across generations.
 
With over a decade of experience serving communities across Philadelphia and beyond, Ryan is widely respected for his authentic leadership, hands-on mentorship, and commitment to remaining present in the neighborhoods he serves. His perspective on fatherhood and male mentorship is shaped not only by his professional work, but by his lived experience as a devoted husband and father raising children with faith, structure, and love.
 
Ryan’s mission is simple but uncompromising: to protect human dignity, restore hope, and equip the next generation to lead with integrity, courage, and purpose.

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FEATURED SPEAKER: Carlos Aponte

On Tuesday, Carlos will be leading the workshop called “A Seat at the Table: How Youth engagement will take your programming to the next level.”
 
Young adults are often overlooked and under utilized within animal centric organizations. You will leave this workshop with actionable steps and a one pager to correctly engage young adults in order for them to multiply your impact. 
 
Carlos is a lifelong Philadelphian who traces his culture to the Island of Puerto Rico. After close to a decade inside of the classroom, Carlos realized the shortcomings of traditional education. With the help of his students, Carlos decided to create the 501c3 non profit organization, We Love Philly. We Love Philly provides state recognized pre apprenticeship courses to ensure high school students graduate with their diplomas. After graduation, students are provided pathways to livable wage career apprenticeship programs. Carlos sits on the Board of Directors of the Nelson Foundation, The Penn Treaty Museum, and The Pennsylvania Chapter of LULAC. Carlos is also a proud Prince Hall Free Mason.

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FEATURED SPEAKER: Come see Amy Jin Johnson on Tuesday at The Gathering. She is conducting a workshop addressing bias and how that shows up, why it does and tools to address and mitigate bias in your work.

Amy Jin Johnson (she/her) is the Executive Director of Project Implicit, where she helps organizations turn research on implicit bias into practical tools for change.

Known for bringing clarity to complex topics, Amy guides leaders from uncertainty to informed, actionable decisions. Her work spans keynotes, conference panels, large-scale facilitation, and strategic consulting, partnering with leadership teams, departments, and community groups. With a focus on building trust and promoting dialogue, Amy moves individuals and organizations from awareness to action, aligning decisions with values in ways that are measurable and lasting.

Before joining Project Implicit in 2019, Amy helped to launch two startups, led a nonprofit digital marketing team, edited two international academic journals, curated four museum exhibitions, and lobbied on Capitol Hill in support of the arts and humanities. This breadth of experience allows her to bridge disciplines and translate research into real-world impact.

Amy holds degrees in History from Kalamazoo College (B.A.) and American University (M.A.), and in American Studies from Brown University (M.A.), where she is currently completing her Ph.D. Her research examines race, space, immigration, and the formation of Los Angeles’s Chinatown in the late 1890s.

Rooted in a deep commitment to equity and inclusion, Amy blends academic rigor with practical insight. She believes bias isn’t just a problem to solve; it’s a pattern to unlearn, one decision at a time.

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FEATURED SPEAKER: Akisha Townsend Eaton
 
Wednesday, May 13th
Policy Breakdown of the Philly Backyard Breeding Bill.
 
Learn about what exactly the 600 page legislation is saying they will enforce and how it could affect the Philly community. We hope to have the authors of the bill there to answer all questions.
 
Akisha brings over a decade of animal law and policy experience to her current role as Chief of Policy, Environmental Justice Division at CARE. Prior to joining CARE, she worked as a managing attorney for the Animal Legal Defense Fund and as legislative attorney and policy advisor at various other national and international animal protection organizations. Akisha is an AmeriCorps alumni and is currently an active contributor to the Black Appalachian Coalition (BLAC) as well as the legal redress, environmental justice, and economic development committees of her local NAACP chapter, which recently awarded her the Prince and Cora Mack Humanitarian Award. 
 
Akisha has contributed to numerous publications. Her most recent chapters have appeared in the Palgrave Handbook of Animal Ethics, Career Paths in Human-Animal Interaction for Social and Behavioral Scientists and People, Pets, and Policies: Towards Community Supported Animal Sheltering.  She served as a consultant editor and contributor to the Journal of Animal Ethics and associate editor for the Journal of Animal Law. 
 
She is a former contributor for the Huffington Post and the Dodo and former Diversity Vice-Chair for the American Bar Association’s Animal Law Committee within the Tort, Trial, and Insurance Practice Section. She is a Fellow at the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics.

#thankstomaddie #CAREgathering2026 #humanandanimalwellbeing …