Root Board of Directors
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Brattleboro, VTB.E. Farrow is a multi-instrumentalist partially matured by Howard University under jazz bassist Steve Novosel, Howard University Jazz band leader Fred Irby, and saxophonist Charlie Young and the diverse D.C. metropolitan music scene including yU of Diamond District, Prince George's Philharmonic, Sitali, and Rana Mansour. Farrow has perform before President Barrack Obama, for the opening of the National Musuem of African American History and Culture, at the Ryman Theater apart of the Grand Ole Opry and has toured with Jonny Grave, Paperhaus, The Hackensaw Boys, Letitia Van Sant, Spirit Family Reunion and currently Grammy award winning artist Dom Flemons the American Songster.
His journey has taken him to the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage, The Hamilton in DC, the Rococo Theater in Lincoln, the Red Butte Garden Ampitheater in Salt Lake City, the Chatauqua Amphitheater in Boulder, the George Eastman Museum in Rochester, the Gillioz in Springfield, the Bijou Theater in Knoxville, City Winery in Nashville and Chicago, Joe’s Pub in Manhattan, Thalia Mara Hall in Jackson, the Paradiso in Amsterdam, The Garage in London, before President Barack Obama, The Ryman Theater in Nashville, and on the Grand Ole Opry.
You can hear Farrow as a member of the Clara Barton Sessions, a recording of DC folk/traditional musicians that released an album commemorating the revitalization of the Clara Barton Museum, Elena y Los Fulanos' Volcàn, R&B Soul artist Dante Pope's After 5 Music, and on Dom Flemon’s Grammy nominated album Black Cowboys under Smithsonian's Folkways label and with th Emmy nominated Gangstagrass.
From touring with Grammy award winner Dom Flemons to, giving talks at the Library Company of Philadelphia, and running a music program in Greece with the refugees, Farrow has formed a discipline in understanding the unspoken roots of music and exploring the impact of expression on cultural history.
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Brattleboro, VTCindy brings a powerful blend of entrepreneurial spirit, community leadership, and strategic execution to her work with social justice initiatives. As the co-owner of High Priestess, a sustainable indoor cannabis cultivation venture, they have built a business grounded in ethical practices, regulatory compliance, and environmental stewardship. Cindy also collaborates with a local grassroots organization on strategy and operations. They guide local initiatives that promote civic engagement, while also fostering neighborhood safety and solidarity through community-based action.
Beyond the private sector, Cindy has dedicated time to youth development and education equity, serving as an After School Program Coordinator for a local elementary school. There, she created holistic programs that nurtured the academic, social, and emotional well-being of K-6 students, collaborating closely with educators, parents, and community stakeholders. With a robust background leading high-impact teams at Optum and WellCare — where she directed large-scale product strategies and advanced healthcare technology — she brings deep healthcare and payer expertise.
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Brattleboro, VTEason is a junior from Brattleboro Union High School. At his school he is very active in many different groups and sports, such as track and soccer, soccer being his favorite. In his free time he enjoys playing with his dog, listening to audiobooks, and running. He is lucky enough to have a family supporting him, and through that he can pursue his own goals which are mainly gaining more intelligence and being happy.
Eason started working with the Root through Y4C where he attended meetings until joining a black youth scholarship committee. He’s spent most of his life in Brattleboro, and some of his main values are community and fighting for what he believes in. So naturally he found the Root so interesting since it could be a way for him to help out the community, while also getting to meet people he may not have met before and actually help build that community.
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Brattleboro, VTImani Namutebi has lived in Brattleboro for over 17 years. She is a current college student studying biology while also working as a library clerk.
Over the years, she has been deeply involved in social justice work, beginning with her time in AWARE at BUHS, where she built many meaningful and lasting connections with peers and community members that continue today. Imani is passionate about educating fellow youth and has delivered presentations at both her high school and conferences—opportunities made possible through AWARE and Mikaela Simms. She has also had valuable opportunities for self-education during trips to Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia, where she visited African American History museums and several Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
In addition to her social justice work, Imani is passionate about art and writing, spending much of her free time developing both crafts. She also holds a deep appreciation for nature, one of the things she loves most about living in Vermont.
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Winooski, VTJeffrey Mbarushimana is a public health leader and emergency preparedness strategist with over 15 years of experience advancing health equity, crisis response, and systems transformation. His work bridges global and domestic public health, focusing on building trauma-informed, community-centered systems for historically excluded populations.
With expertise spanning reproductive health, chronic disease prevention, and culturally responsive emergency planning, Jeffrey has led regional and international preparedness initiatives. He has coordinated mass medical countermeasure distribution, developed emergency operations plans, and trained healthcare providers and frontline responders across diverse communities.
A key highlight of Jeffrey’s policy work includes co-developing legislative strategies for Georgia House Bill 405, designed to improve access to care for individuals living with Sickle Cell Disease. Through multi-state policy analysis and Medicaid research, he helped craft recommendations to increase specialist availability, expand transportation access, and address health inequities in underserved regions—particularly in the South.
Jeffrey has also contributed to global public health efforts, including menstrual equity and reproductive health education for girls in East Africa, and health systems support for displaced communities. He integrates a systems-thinking lens with values of healing justice, equity, and liberation.
He holds certifications in Lean Six Sigma (Master Black Belt), Emergency Management, and medic-level care, and is currently completing a Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) degree with a focus on policy and health systems. His work challenges the status quo, pushes for structural accountability, and uplifts the leadership of those most impacted by injustice in building healthier, more just communities.
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Brattleboro, VTSamia is a California native and transplant to the Green Mountains. They completed their MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Goddard College, where they built their own curriculum focused on multicultural counseling and community-based approaches to therapy. As a community mental health practitioner, Samia is interested in how mental health systems intersect with social and racial justice and systems of oppression. She dreams of decolonizing healing work in order to support healthy, safe, strong communities where all people thrive, and where collective wellbeing is uplifted.
Samia self-identifies as a queer person of color, multiracial, and multiethnic with roots that wrap around the world and deep into the earth. She approaches therapy/healing with an integrative and holistic lens, weaving together mindfulness, nature, art, play, movement, meditation, neuroscience, and a background in restorative justice and grassroots community work for nonprofit organizations.