THE FUTURE COLLECTIVE
An event series designed to cultivate Sonoma Valley’s new generation of community leaders, sponsored by Sonoma Valley Catalyst Fund.
ABOUT
What is The Future Collective?
The Future Collective, led by Kim Jones, is bringing together Sonoma Valley’s next generation of community leaders to learn, build relationships, and generate ideas that can be acted on now to shape the future of Sonoma Valley. With the support of philanthropy, The Future Collective is creating an impactful outlet for the cultural capital and lived experience of its community.
Why is it important to Sonoma Valley Catalyst Fund?
Catalyst is focused on problems in Sonoma Valley that no single organization or person can solve alone—ones that are chronic, urgent, and emerging. New solutions require innovative thinking and a funding strategy that goes beyond traditional grantmaking. Through The Future Collective, Catalyst is providing resources—funding and thought partnership—to help a new generation of influential community members determine how to better act on their commitment to the future of Sonoma Valley.
UPCOMING EVENTS
LET’S GET DEEP is an event series designed to cultivate Sonoma Valley’s new generation of community leaders—each providing a different entry point to the future of Sonoma Valley, with panel discussions on agriculture, labor, food security, housing affordability, urban design and connectivity, youth and mental health, and the generational transition of leadership. All events are opportunities for emerging community leaders to learn, build relationships, and generate ideas. The following event topics are evolving, with more dates and invitations to come.
LET’S GET DEEP: THE HOUSING AFFORDABILITY CRISIS
September 2025
Ned Forrest Architects
Findings of the Catalyst-funded study, Sonoma Valley Housing Affordability Roadmap, to be published in September 2025 by Sonoma Valley Collaborative, on how to produce and preserve affordable infill homes, and protect precariously housed residents in Sonoma Valley.
LET’S GET DEEP: YOUTH AND MENTAL HEALTH
October, 2025
Sonoma
Hear from the people providing direct mental health services to local youth about what the issues are and how you can help.
GENERATIONS IN CONVERSATION
November, 2025
Sonoma
How can younger generations respectfully draw on the wisdom of their elders to create a future on new terms—and what unfolds when elders, in turn, resource the ideas of emerging leaders?
PAST EVENTS
At LET’S GO DEEPER, farmworker advocate Zeke Guzman shared his life's story in conversation with author Elaine Chukan Brown, concluding The Future Collective x Dos’ Bar LET'S GET DEEP series on land, labor, and community.
Growing up, Zeke migrated seasonally for agricultural work with his family, missing parts of the school year to harvest. Thanks to a teacher, his parents found a year-round job, allowing Zeke and his siblings to become anchored to the school system and local resources. After studying workforce development at UC Davis, he joined his mentor George Ortiz at the California Human Development Corporation’s Farmworker Programs. For over 40 years, he has been a member of Latinos Unidos del Condado de Sonoma, the county’s first farmworker organization, founded in 1966 by Ortiz and Monsignor Jerry Cox. In 2022, Zeke launched Jardin del Pueblo, community farms throughout Sonoma County that now produce over 150,000 lbs of fresh organic food for families in need.
Housing has been another major focus of his advocacy. In the late 70s and 80s, he helped families build homes in Windsor through the self-help housing model and served over seven years on the Burbank Housing Development Corporation board. More recently, he helped secure 72 affordable housing units Cloverdale and Sebastopol. He now serves as Community Engagement Coordinator for Commonspace Community Land Trust in Sonoma County and on the State Community Land Trust Committee on Home Ownership, advocating for undocumented families’ access to housing. → EVENT PHOTOS by Kayla Schmach
LET'S GET DEEP: COMMUNITY was a conversation on the intersection of wine, farming, and the pillars of employment, housing, financial stability, health, and education.
Christopher Renfo, co-founder of Two Eighty Project, Lucy O'Dea of Feed Cooporative, farmworker advocate Maria Membrilla, and Elise Gonzelas of the Catalyst Food Security Initiative, and author Elaine Chuckan Brown gave us incredible insights on how connections between local leadership and community members can build new systems, programs, and businesses in ways that fix temporary need while building towards long term sovereignty, stability, and security.
Ingredients sourced from the Catalyst Food Security Initiative—a portion of 20,000 lbs being collected from grocery stores and being distributed to food banks that were previously going to waste—were used with produce from Paul’s Produce for the spread. → EVENT PHOTOS by Marielle V Chua
LET’S REIMAGINE: THE FUTURE OF SONOMA VALLEY brought community members, designers, and planners together to envision a more connected Sonoma Valley. Architect Ned Forrest led a reflection on the Genius Loci, the soul of Sonoma Valley. Caitlin Cornwall and Maria Membrila of Sonoma Valley Collaborative shared plans for founding a Community Development Corporation that will create opportunities for well-designed missing middle housing. Sedra Nathan introduced the Greenlinks Infrastructure as a framework for influencing the County and City General Plans, with the chair of Sonoma’s Planning Commission, Donna Dombach, there to help people better understand civic engagement and service. In groups, we mapped the sacred spaces that define our sense of place—most of which were green spaces throughout Sonoma Valley. A dynamic group discussion followed—thank you to everyone who stayed late to GO DEEP.
Hosted by The Future Collective and Haus of Hommeboys, the gathering offered an entry point to integrated community design and connected many designers invested in the future of Sonoma Valley with ways to influence how it will grow to meet the needs of the community. → EVENT PHOTOS by Kayla Schmach
The June 25 The Future Collective x Dos’ Bar panel discussion, LET’S GET DEEP: LABOR, was the second in what is now a four part series on local food and wine production, employers and farmworkers, housing affordability and food security, with moderator, Elaine Chuckan Brown author of The Wines of California and panelists Cody Cirtus of Paul’s Produce, David Rothschild of Las Vivas Wines, Los Paisanos Vineyard Management, Emma Lipp of Valley Bar & Bottle, Valley Swim Club, and Daniel Chavez of Daylight Vineyard Management Services. Once again, food recovered by the Catalyst Fund Food Security Initiative was served alongside produce from Oakhill Farm and Pauls Produce. → EVENT PHOTOS by Kayla Schmach
The Future Collective x Dos’ Bar LET’S GET DEEP: LAND on April 24 launched a three-part panel discussion series exploring the intersection of local food and wine production, employers and farmworkers, and housing affordability and food security.
This panel discussion brought together distinct perspectives on Sonoma Valley’s land: Melissa Bucklin of Oak Hill Farm on the inherently extractive and exclusive nature of local food production; Saskia Tingey of Hamel Wines on land ownership and decision making around viticultural practices; Christian Cain of Perennial Grazing, whose sheep grazing practice is rooted in mutualism between animals and plants; Charlie Toledo (Towa) of Suscol Intertribal Council, who has led the creation of land-based projects to preserve Native American culture and human rights, and Elaine Chukan Brown (Inupiaq and Unangan-Sugpiaq), whose work as an author and global educator is at the forefront of using wine as an entry point to self-determination that leads to social justice. → FULL AUDIO RECORDING. EVENT PHOTOS by Kayla Schmah
The Future Collective at UpValley event, LET’S GET DEEP: VALUES-DRIVEN LOCAL BUSINESSES, was ticketed a dinner and panel discussion between young, values-driven local business owners Sam Coturri, Winery Sixteen600, Erinn Benziger-Weiswasser, Glen Ellen Star, and Lauren Feldman, Valley Bar + Bottle, moderated by Elaine Chukan Brown on community-minded business practices that promote resilience and how, together, we can shape a rejuvenated and regenerative Sonoma economy. The event featured a dinner and wine pairings that showcased the principled sourcing that aims to close the loop on our local regenerative economic system and retain the value of purchased goods within the loop of our community utilizing local farmers that prioritize the land and the humans to the same level that we do. → FULL AUDIO RECORDING by James Joiner. EVENT PHOTOS by Marielle V Chua.
The second event, GET TO KNOW CATALYST, in December 2024, gave The Future Collective the opportunity to cosy up around a fire at Westerbeke Ranch for a panel discussion on how Catalyst Fund works, what issues it is focused on, and how to get involved. → EVENT PHOTOS by Kayla Schmah.
The launch of The Future Collective in October 2024, MEET CATALYST, brought together over 100 of Sonoma Valley's new generation of thinkers, donors, and influential community members for a high-level introduction to Sonoma Valley Catalyst Fund. The event was held in the home of founding Catalyst donors Gayle Olsen and John Boich and invited attendees to gain a deeper understanding of Sonoma Valley through the lens of a new type of philanthropy. → EVENT PHOTOS by Kayla Schmah.
Get involved.
COLLABORATORS & PARTNERS
The Future Collective does not solicit donations from local businesses. This effort aims to support local staff and business owners while fostering community partnerships. These businesses have generously offered discounts, in-kind donations, venues, and collaboration for The Future Collective events.
