Talkin Story

Cameron and Oceana are joined by their colleague, Cendre Hunt, to riff on the experience of organizing and creating solid PGM community in this place settlers call Jefferson County.It's also worth noting that last December, the board of Black Lives Matter of Jefferson County-Well Organized voted to change the name of the organization to Well Organized of Jefferson County.Learn more about Well Organized & Nourishing Beloved Community:well-organized.orgnourishingbelovedcommunity.com---Music Credits, Episode 7:Another Holiday, JustnormalThe White Birch, Moorland SongsSoft Pine, JobiiDreamers Of The Shore, Volcan PeaksStereo Sunrise, Rebecca Mardel, james.lfo---Talkin Story is a project of Well Organized: Collaborative Community Driven Organizing, in Port Townsend, WA.https://well-organized.org/Season Two is sponsored by the Jefferson Community Foundation via a Donor Advised Fund.If you'd like to support us, please go to well-organized.org to make a donation to the Talkin' Story podcast.Music is provided with permission by Paramúcura y Chirigüe and selected artists from Epidemic Sound.

October, 2025:While we finalize the final episode of Season 2, we want to offer a replay of the conversation we had two years ago with Camelia Jade in Season 1 about making music and community.Not only is it a good segue into the next and final episode, "Creating Community in Place," it's also an opportunity to highlight the artist of the theme song for Season Two.Enjoy!---In this episode we spend a bit of time with local musician and audio engineer, Camelia Jade, on a journey of the senses as we wind our way through culture and the arts on our way to community.Since 2006, Camelia Jade has worked in audio production for music, live sound, radio, podcasts, analog and digital preservation, independent film, on-location recordings as well as youth audio workshops, gallery installations and more.As a musician composing on guitar, charango, rhythm and voice, Camelia weaves tradition and innovation into songs that are lush and percussive, joyous or bittersweet. Camelia (pronounced kah-MEL-ee-ah) creates instrumental explorations that become a living soundtrack and sings with a voice that is both soothing and strong.https://cameliajade.com/---Talkin Story is a project of Well Organized: Collaborative Community Driven Organizing, in Port Townsend, WA.https://well-organized.org/Season Two is sponsored by the Jefferson Community Foundation via a Donor Advised Fund.If you'd like to support us, please go to well-organized.org to make a donation to the Talkin' Story podcast.Music is provided with permission by Paramúcura y Chirigüe and selected artists from Epidemic Sound.

In this episode, Cameron and Oceana sit down with Eileen Kindling Spirit to discuss her experience farming livestock in Jefferson county.Woodbridge Farm is a beautiful, 20+ acre property in Chimacum that she has poured a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into, and is proud to call her home.Eileen Kindling Spirit is originally from Philadelphia and has lived in Jefferson since the 1980’s. She and her son Peter are one of the few Black land-owning farmers in Jefferson County. Eileen has a life-long passion for animals and people in need. Note: When this episode was recorded last year, we made an erroneous claim that Woodbridge was the only Black-owned farm in Jefferson, and even Clallam County. We have since learned that is not the case. ---Music Credits, Episode 5:Stereo Sunrise, Rebecca Mardel, james.lfoIt's All For You, Volcan PeaksPost Traumatic Love Disorder, Rain JewelsAnother Holiday, Justnormal---Talkin Story is a project of Well Organized: Collaborative Community Driven Organizing, in Port Townsend, WA.https://well-organized.org/Season Two is sponsored by the Jefferson Community Foundation via a Donor Advised Fund.If you'd like to support us, please go to well-organized.org to make a donation to the Talkin' Story podcast.Music is provided with permission by Paramúcura y Chirigüe and selected artists from Epidemic Sound.

In this episode, we explore the otherside of giving birth as we chat with a couple local PGM folx - Savannah and Sasha - who both recently have given birth.The effects that community can have on families is poignantly explored in this episode, which could be heard as the second half of the previous episode with Meshell.Sasha Marshall is a local parent, dreamer, and data nerd. She finds joy in building up community and watching things flourish through the chaos.As an enrolled Haida tribal member, mother of three, wife, and golden doodle mamma, Savannah Hansel is a verified NW boss lady. She grew up between Port Townsend, where her dad's family lived since the 1960s, and Seattle's Native Alaskan diaspora on Capitol Hill. Over the past 20 years in PT, she has managed restaurants, worked in healthcare, run for county office on a substantive progressive platform, and was sponsored by the local Democrats as a fellow in a state democratic leadership program. Savannah takes pride in her work at Centrum promoting the next generation of youth creatives. At home, she's a masterful cook and food preserver, and fierce leader for her family. ---Music Credits, Episode 4:Reunited, FeinbergTrevande, William ClaesonBastard, Ramin---Talkin Story is a project of Well Organized: Collaborative Community Driven Organizing, in Port Townsend, WA.https://well-organized.org/Season Two is sponsored by the Jefferson Community Foundation via a Donor Advised Fund.If you'd like to support us, please go to well-organized.org to make a donation to the Talkin' Story podcast.Music is provided with permission by Paramúcura y Chirigüe and selected artists from Epidemic Sound.

In this episode Cameron and Oceana traverse the vast territory of body sovereignty with our friend Meshell.We touch on food as family, what it's like to try in a body related profession as a PGM, and gender fluidity in a traditionally femme dominated midwifery profession.Their fearless advocacy for culturally relevant agency over the body is nothing short of inspired.Meshell (they/she) is a Xicana Partera, a Certified Professional and Licensed Midwife (CPM, LM) and a Community Herbalist who centers community and ancestral knowledge in their work.Learn more about Raices Midwifery:raicesmidwifery.comIG - @raicesmidwifery---Music Credits, Episode 3:No Distractions, Staffan CarlénStarry Night, Collin LimTarifa, VendlaThere is Always Tomorrow, Staffan Carlén---Talkin Story is a project of Well Organized: Collaborative Community Driven Organizing, in Port Townsend, WA.https://well-organized.org/Season Two is sponsored by the Jefferson Community Foundation via a Donor Advised Fund.If you'd like to support us, please go to well-organized.org to make a donation to the Talkin' Story podcast.Music is provided with permission by Paramúcura y Chirigüe and selected artists from Epidemic Sound.

In this episode, Oceana and Cameron get into some provocative material with davy regarding the intersectional identities and how to convey those as an entertainer, without it feeling extractive, as well as the near-taboo topic of colorism inside PGM community.davy is a Chimacum-based farmer, artist, performer, and radically tender human. Their art and the way they move through the world is informed by their experiences as a mixed race queer person. They are one half of the drag performing duo Bobby4Bobby.Find Bobby4Bobby on Instagram:@bobby.4.bobby---Music Credits, Episode 2:Aguas de Cordillera, Paramúcura y ChirigüeMorgontimma, Christian NanzellGratitude Loop, HATAMITSUNAMIKiri o koete, Sugoi---Talkin Story is a project of Well Organized: Collaborative Community Driven Organizing, in Port Townsend, WA.https://well-organized.org/Season Two is sponsored by the Jefferson Community Foundation via a Donor Advised Fund.If you'd like to support us, please go to well-organized.org to make a donation to the Talkin' Story podcast.Music is provided with permission by Paramúcura y Chirigüe and selected artists from Epidemic Sound.

Welcome to Season 2 of Talkin' Story. In this first episode, "Writing in Place", Oceana sits down with author/poet Lisbeth White in a conversational ramble through writing grounded in relationship to the Earth, and what impact that can have on our individual and collective liberation.Lisbeth White is an enchantivist writer based in the Pacific Northwest. She is the author of American Sycamore (Perugia Press, 2022), and co-editor of Poetry as Spellcasting: Poems, Essays, and Prompts for Manifesting Liberation and Reclaiming Power (North Atlantic Books, 2023).Her nonfiction chapbook, A Most Natural Thing: An Elemental Memoir (Red Mare Press, 2025), won The Master’s Review Open Chapbook contest.Lisbeth has received support for her work from Artist Trust, VONA, Callaloo, Tin House, Roots.Wounds.Words., The Watering Hole, and Bread Loaf Environmental Writers Conference.She is a 2025 Periplus fellow and is at work on her first novel.Lisbeth's website:http://www.lisbethwrites.comLisbeth's socials:IG: @earthmaven,Bluesky:@earthmaven.bsky.socialDr. Daneil Black HBCU Commencement Addresshttps://youtu.be/F25OAzSzhfM?si=wm_zMrbKirbsxerK---Music Credits, Episode 1:Aguas de Cordillera, Paramúcura y ChirigüeEffort, Katori Walkerhöstlöv, bomullmånskensvals, bomull---Talkin Story is a project of Well Organized: Collaborative Community Driven Organizing, in Port Townsend, WA.https://well-organized.org/Season Two is sponsored by the Jefferson Community Foundation via a Donor Advised Fund.If you'd like to support us, please go to well-organized.org to make a donation to the Talkin' Story podcast.Music is provided with permission by Paramúcura y Chirigüe and selected artists from Epidemic Sound.

Thank you for joining us for the first season of Talkin Story podcast.Over the course of the past six months of recordings, and the past 9 weeks of episodes, we have traveled through the complex terrain of racialized challenges, profound insights, far more laughs than tears, and many, many moments of delight.What emerged and grew was a sense that our collective capacity and vision can, and in fact is, generating unique and resilient ways of living and creating in these shifting times.We extend our deep thanks and appreciation to the many contributors to this podcast, for sharing their insight, perspective, wisdom, struggles and hope.As we turn our attention towards season two, please consider supporting us on this journey. Sponsorship inquiries can be addressed here: [email protected] episode concludes with the playing in full of our theme song, "Melanin" by Ben Wilson, in collaboration with Ave Avelino, and Morgan Tigerman, which has been a wonderful contribution. You can also find it on Spotify here:Melanin by Ben Wilson-----Talkin Story is a project of Well Organized: Collaborative Community Driven Organizing in Port Townsend, WA.https://well-organized.org/We appreciate the support of the Port Townsend Arts Commission, Jefferson Community Foundation, Finnriver Farm and Cidery, Addieun Foundation, the Community Equity Initiative, as well as private in-kind and monetary donations. Thank you!

In our search for the right music for the Landback/Reparations episode, we had the pleasure of crossing paths with renowned flutist, Chiyokten. He spent a bit of time sharing with us how the life he has lived and is living is informed by ancestors, elders, and more-than-human beings.We hope you enjoy this special bonus episode.Paul Chiyokten Wagner is the founder of Protectors of the Salish Sea, an indigenous-led organization dedicated to protecting and restoring our Salish Sea through direct actions.Chiyokten is also a cultural educator, bringing forward the words given by his Coast Salish ancestors which have allowed the First Peoples here to co-create paradise for many thousands of years.Chiyokten and Protectors have stood on the front lines of many places of indigenous led resistance such as Standing Rock, Line 3, Sabal Trail Pipeline, Lelu Island, Mauna Kea, Thacker Pass and Fairy Creek, Olympia State Capitol Climate Change Occupations, Chase Bank divestment campaigns and Salish Sea Prayer Walks.Chiyokten is an award winning Coast Salish Native flutist and storyteller and has performed with a few greats such as Kitaro of Japan and Seattle Symphony Orchestra.You can support his work via Venmo @PaulWagner13.Talkin Story is a project of Well Organized: Collaborative Community Driven Organizing in Port Townsend, WA.https://well-organized.org/We appreciate the support of the Port Townsend Arts Commission, Jefferson Community Foundation, Finnriver Farm and Cidery, Addieun Foundation, the Community Equity Initiative, as well as private in-kind and monetary donations. Thank you!

This is a very special episode in which local indigenous people and an African-descended community member talk about their efforts and viewpoints on reparations and landback. It gets personal as well as hopeful.The original flute music in this episode was generously provided by Paul Chiyokten Wagner, a member of the Saanich tribe of Vancouver Island.Chiyokten is a knowledge keeper of Coast Salish ways of educating and governing pertaining to co-creating Paradise from the time of the animal people to before Settler colonial contact. He is also a Frontline warrior and has spent much time at many indigenous lead occupations, most recently Fairy Creek.Most importantly, he is the founder of Protectors of the Salish Sea an Indigenous led group who has occupied the Washington State Capitol three times to help create a future for our wild salmon, our whales, the circle of life and all children.Jessaca Lee is a Łingít two-spirit femme with two lineages indigenous to Turtle Island, as well as European ancestry. She was raised on Łingít aaní and Dena’ina territory, born into the Tongass rainforest of Southeast Alaska where a piece of her heart will always remain. She now resides in Qatáy (Port Townsend), with gratitude to the traditional people of this land, the Chemakum, S’Klallam, Twana, Makah and more. She is growing roots and weaving dreams of a permanent home.While bed-bound from chronic illness in early 2019, she imagined the Jefferson County Anti-Racist Fund into being. JCARF is a grassroots community project, providing white folks with an opportunity to enact reparations and mutual aid.Naiome Dawn Krienke is a mixed tribal woman working on rematriating the lands of their ancestors and bringing back traditional ways.Chasity Sade is a mother, naturalist, earth-tender and mentor to youth. Connecting with her ancestral roots, supporting indigenous empowerment, and upholding social justice are all dear to her heart. She has lived in Chimacum, Washington for twelve years, intent on cultivating right relationship with the land and the people of the land.Talkin Story is a project of Well Organized: Collaborative Community Driven Organizing in Port Townsend, WA.https://well-organized.org/We appreciate the support of the Port Townsend Arts Commission, Jefferson Community Foundation, Finnriver Farm and Cidery, Addieun Foundation, the Community Equity Initiative, as well as private in-kind and monetary donations. Thank you!

In this episode with Velda Thomas, we sink into a relational field that includes ancestors, more-than-human-kin, and each other.Velda also reads a beautiful original poem inspired by her recent exploration of communal healing called "For the Benefit of All" which you can find on her Patreon.Velda was born in England, with family ancestry sourced from Africa, the Caribbean and the Americas.Love of creative expression has been a constant thread running through Velda’s life. Whether visual, written or performance she has dabbled in it all: blending genres to expose distinct hybrid forms of personal expression.Current practices and interests include sound, somatic movement, clay, printmaking, poetry and personal narrative.www.veldathomas.comwww.patreon/veldathomas.comBook - Blended - Perspectives on BelongingArt Deck - Bless the Horses - An Equine Wisdom DeckIG - veldathomas11FB - Velda Thomas and Stardust Press---Talkin Story is a project of Well Organized: Collaborative Community Driven Organizing in Port Townsend, WA.https://well-organized.org/We appreciate the support of the Port Townsend Arts Commission, Jefferson Community Foundation, Finnriver Farm and Cidery, Addieun Foundation, the Community Equity Initiative, as well as private in-kind and monetary donations. Thank you!In this episode with Velda Thomas sink into a relational field that includes ancestors, more-than-human-kin, and each other. She also reads a beautiful original poem inspired by her recent exploration of communal healing.Velda was born in England, UK with family ancestry sourced from Africa, the Caribbean and the America's.Love of creative expression has been a constant thread running through Velda’s life. Wether visual , written or performance she has dabbled in it all. Blending genres to expose distinct hybrid forms of personal expression.Current practices and interests include sound, somatic movement, clay, printmaking, poetry and personal narrative.

This episode with Ave Avelino, together with co-hosts, Ezra and Lorenzo, uncovers what it is like to grow up in a small, white, progressive town. Finding your way and maintaining a sense of self is not easy but entirely possible, as they describe.Ave Avelino is a second-generation Filipino/mixed-European American. They were born and raised in Port Townsend and have the interesting perspective of being a BIPOC person who has grown up in a primarily white town.They see their destiny as one that continues to uphold the People's Power Revolution of the Philippines through protesting Imperialist Practices that still ravish colonized/formerly colonized countries, and plan to do this in part through art and music about the diasporic Filipino experience.They are also passionate about keeping their culture alive through incorporating Arnis (Filipino Martial Arts) into performance, self defense, and daily movement.Ave's website: www.suaveavemusic.comKickstarterYouTubeSoundcloudInstagramTikTokEmail: [email protected] Story is a project of Well Organized: Collaborative Community Driven Organizing in Port Townsend, WA.https://well-organized.org/We appreciate the support of the Port Townsend Arts Commission, Jefferson Community Foundation, Finnriver Farm and Cidery, Addieun Foundation, the Community Equity Initiative, as well as private in-kind and monetary donations. Thank you!

In this episode we spend a bit of time with local musician and audio engineer, Camelia Jade, on a journey of the senses as we wind our way through culture and the arts on our way to community.Since 2006, Camelia Jade has worked in audio production for music, live sound, radio, podcasts, analog and digital preservation, independent film, on-location recordings as well as youth audio workshops, gallery installations and more. As a musician composing on guitar, charango, rhythm and voice, Camelia weaves tradition and innovation into songs that are lush and percussive, joyous or bittersweet. Camelia (pronounced kah-MEL-ee-ah) creates instrumental explorations that become a living soundtrack and sings with a voice that is both soothing and strong.https://cameliajade.com/Talkin Story is a project of Well Organized: Collaborative Community Driven Organizing in Port Townsend, WA.https://well-organized.org/We appreciate the support of the Port Townsend Arts Commission, Jefferson Community Foundation, Finnriver Farm and Cidery, Addieun Foundation, the Community Equity Initiative, as well as private in-kind and monetary donations. Thank you!

Tomoki Sage wanders with us through experiences in the theater that mirror life as a person of the global majority in Jefferson county. Together we deconstruct the persona that wants to fit in the the dominant culture but never quite does and the what that makes possible.Tomoki was a child of the forest. He spent many long hours as a boy running through the woods of Port Townsend without any shoes on. His family wasn't completely poor, they were just hippies living in the glories of mother nature.Tomoki's parents are Aikido masters, so naturally, Tomoki was born to be a badass. From the tender age of three, he was doing backflips off the one piece of furniture in his house. As the land his family lived on got more developed, so did Tomoki's masterful ninja skills. With electricity came Jackie Chan movies. With hot water came showers. And before long Tomoki was wearing shoes.Talkin Story is a project of Well Organized: Collaborative Community Driven Organizing in Port Townsend, WA.https://well-organized.org/We appreciate the support of the Port Townsend Arts Commission, Jefferson Community Foundation, Finnriver Farm and Cidery, Addieun Foundation, the Community Equity Initiative, as well as private in-kind and monetary donations. Thank you!

In this episode with JooRi Jun, we wind up our conversation about PGM in schools with an in-depth exploration about the need for radical new models that allow our children to unfurl into their truest selves.Several resources are mentioned in this episode, should you wish to go further down the rabbit hole:Sky Bear ALC - www.skybearalc.orgAlliance for Self Directed Education: https://www.self-directed.org/Agile Learning Center Network: https://agilelearningcenters.org/Akilah Richards' work: https://raisingfreepeople.com/A Brief History of Education: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/freedom-learn/200808/brief-history-educationCarol Black's Schooling the World Documentary: https://carolblack.org/schooling-the-worldLeticia Neito's work: https://beyondinclusionbeyondempowerment.com/JooRi is the vision steward for Sky Bear Agile Learning Community and a parent of a self-directed child. A naturopathic physician and ancestral healing practitioner, she has always been drawn to healing. Her personal journey of decolonization, healing from internalized oppression, and cultural reclamation as well as inspiration from her child led her to create a radical, liberated alternative to school for PGM children in her community.She envisions a community of children growing up fully honoring themselves, remaining liberated, and staying connected with their own specific and unique gift and purpose to offer to the world. She sees this work as her deepest ancestor and earth-honoring work yet.To learn more about her work and offerings:www.ancestralkorea.comwww.ancestralreconnection.comTalkin Story is a project of Well Organized: Collaborative Community Driven Organizing in Port Townsend, WA.https://well-organized.org/We appreciate the support of the Port Townsend Arts Commission, Jefferson Community Foundation, Finnriver Farm and Cidery, Addieun Foundation, the Community Equity Initiative, as well as private in-kind and monetary donations. Thank you!

Cherry Geelan and Aaron Hall take us on a deep dive into the challenges for our PGM students and teachers inside public school systems, where systemic racism continues to reign, despite decades of reform.An independent documentary called, The Right to Read, is specifically mentioned as a beacon of hope and a powerful depiction of effective advocacy for literacy among PGM children.We are pleased to offer the film for your streaming pleasure for a limited time (October 13-15, 2023). Our hope is that it ignites a substantive conversation in our communities about effective strategies for ensuring the literacy of our people.You can access the film here. Invitation Code (case-sensitive and contains a single dash): TRT-WBLMAlso mentioned in this episode is a podcast called, "Sold A Story": https://features.apmreports.org/sold-a-story/ .Aaron Hall Is an Indigenous (Séliš/Qlispé/Ktunaxa) Educator and currently works at Salish Coast Elementary School in Port Townsend, Washington. Aaron works with colleagues to create a sustainable PGM/BIPOC community for youth and family from our locale.Cherry Geelan has lived in Port Townsend for twelve years with her partner and two children. She was born in Los Angeles, California to immigrant parents from Thailand. She has a bachelor's in Ethnic and Women's Studies, an M.Ed in Reading Instruction and Curriculum, a National Board certification in Literacy, and recently became a certified Dyslexia Therapist.As a reading interventionist in the area, her goal is to spread the word that literacy is a social justice issue. This is her twentieth year in teaching.Talkin Story is a project of Well Organized: Collaborative Community Driven Organizing in Port Townsend, WA.https://well-organized.org/We appreciate the support of the Port Townsend Arts Commission, Jefferson Community Foundation, Finnriver Farm and Cidery, Addieun Foundation, the Community Equity Initiative, as well as private in-kind and monetary donations. Thank you!

Darrell Thomas and Melissa O'Neil drop the veil on a personal pivotal moment, stewarding children, and what it takes to support youth and each other as professionals as they make their way in educational systems setup for their failure.Talkin Story is a project of Well Organized: Collaborative Community Driven Organizing in Port Townsend, WA.https://well-organized.org/We appreciate the support of the Port Townsend Arts Commission, Jefferson Community Foundation, Finnriver Farm and Cidery, Addieun Foundation, the Community Equity Initiative, as well as private in-kind and monetary donations. Thank you!

Azurite and Corey talk to Lorenzo and Oceana about the significance of culture in this episode. Notably, how the exploration of one’s own cultural ways allows for a kind of rootedness beyond place.Azurite is a biracial Black, neurodivergent, artist, community organizer and mother. Azurite was born and raised in the Southwest before moving to Port Townsend where she has lived for the better part of two decades. Azurite has been working with PGM youth and families in community settings through the BIPOC Family Excursion Program alongside Corey Chin and with Tonia Burkett and Zhaleh Almea as a member of the Community Equity Initiative. Azurite also works within the Port Townsend School District co-facilitating the Port Townsend School district’s BIPOC student unions with other PGM community members. Azurite hopes to continue supporting more equitable experiences for PGM in Education and the Arts while also creating community centered spaces for BIPOC youth and families.Corey Chin is mixed race person of Japanese, Chinese, and mixed European descent. They currently reside in Quilcene, Washington on Twana and S'klallam land. Corey has a background in experiential education with children and now works to build inclusive community that empowers cultural healing and community wellness. She currently works for the Jefferson County Anti Racist Fund coordinating a no cost reparations based fresh food and medicine distribution program as well as for the BIPOC Family Program discussed in this podcast episode, and hopes that this work can uplift the dignity and well being of their community.Talkin Story is a project of Well Organized: Collaborative Community Driven Organizing in Port Townsend, WA.https://well-organized.org/We appreciate the support of the Port Townsend Arts Commission, Jefferson Community Foundation, Finnriver Farm and Cidery, Addieun Foundation, the Community Equity Initiative, as well as private in-kind and monetary donations. Thank you!

Welcome to Talkin Story! In this first episode, the co-hosts - Oceana, Lorenzo, and Ezra - describe how the podcast came to be and the point of the project.Talkin Story is a project of Well Organized: Collaborative Community Driven Organizing in Port Townsend, WA.https://well-organized.org/We appreciate the support of the Port Townsend Arts Commission, Jefferson Community Foundation, Finnriver Farm and Cidery, Addieun Foundation, the Community Equity Initiative, as well as private in-kind and monetary donations. Thank you!