TOPEKA, KS – MOTHER EARTH NEWS is happy to announce the 2024 Voices Initiative participants: Tomia MacQueen, Farai Harreld, Dalia Monterroso, and Erin Hamilton! The 2024 Voices are experts in various fields of self-sufficiency and sustainable living and are creating a path to build equality among historically marginalized populations within their respective fields.
“We learned a great deal from our inaugural cohort of Voices in 2023 and we’re excited to take those lessons and build upon them with the participants in the 2024 Voices program. Their contributions to our programming and learning community in the fields of chicken keeping, herbal medicine, organic gardening, and mushroom growing are invaluable and we’re fortunate to have them share their knowledge with our audience,” said Josh Wilder, Director of Events and Video.
Queren King-Orozco, Voices Initiative Coordinator and Senior Event Producer for the MOTHER EARTH NEWS FAIR, said, “I’m really excited for the 2024 Voices program. As I look ahead towards the MOTHER EARTH NEWS FAIR season, I feel honored to be among an incredible group of experts, who our team admires because of their passion to share their knowledge with others. This year we are excited to welcome four individuals who play a big role in their families living a sustainable lifestyle, each in their unique way.”
In the coming year, the Voices will share their knowledge and advocacy through MOTHER EARTH NEWS online, in print, in-person at FAIR events, and more. Congratulations to the 2024 Voices! We look forward to a year of community building and education. Learn more about the Voices below and meet them at the 2024 FAIRs to come along on this journey of learning!
Tomia MacQueen
Tomia MacQueen is an educator (BA) of 18 years, a farmer as well as a Master Gardener specializing in edible gardens for over 14 years. She is the owner of Wildflower Farm and the founder of Dance for LIFE (Love, Inspiration, Faith and Empowerment) and Gardening for LIFE. Wildflower Farm sustainably produces organically and ethically raised pastured and free range poultry, lamb, vegetables with a truly unique focus on humane animal husbandry policies and conservation practices.
Farai Harreld
Farai Harreld, also known as The Hillbilly African, is a postpartum doula, folk herbalist, urban homesteader, and writer who takes inspiration from both her African and rural American roots. She shares education surrounding how folks can weave herbal medicine into their lives regardless of where they live, along with all things herbal, natural, and eco-friendly on topics ranging from plants, motherhood, food, sustainability, fashion, gardening, and much more. Her passions include empowering people to build community and reclaim simple herbal medicine as their birthright. Farai derives joy and connection to her ancestors through handwork. Find her on Instagram or her website.
Dalia Monterroso
Dalia Monterroso, also known as The President of Chickenlandia, is a Backyard Chicken Educator, content creator, and published author. When she’s not teaching classes or doing seminars, you can find her on the popular YouTube channel Welcome to Chickenlandia, as well as her podcast Bawk Tawk. In 2017, Dalia gave a TEDx Talk at Western Washington University, where she urged her audience to accept one another through humankind’s most amazing common denominator: the chicken. Dalia believes that being among her flock has brought peace and significance into her life and she wishes to share that with everyone she meets. Her popular new book Let’s All Keep Chickens! was released in 2023.
Erin Hamilton
Erin Hamilton, an agricultural educator and mushroom growing expert, hails from Howell, Michigan. As founder of The Mushroom Conservatory, Erin has helped countless individuals across the globe produce their own fresh and nutritious food through innovative, hands-on mushroom growing kits and workshops. With a deep commitment to regenerative agriculture and farmland preservation, Erin brings a unique blend of technical knowledge, creativity, and passion to everything she does — whether it’s strumming a ukulele, devouring a new book, or turning homegrown mushrooms into mouth-watering feasts.
