About Us
For over a decade, our three families have built deep community with one another—sharing resources, raising children, and collaborating across projects rooted in service, creativity, and transformation. Together, we bring decades of experience across nonprofit strategy, media production, cultural organizing, health and wellness, and spiritual leadership. Our work spans sectors but shares a common thread: a commitment to building infrastructure that supports strong, connected, and resilient communities. With backgrounds in grant strategy, music, filmmaking, public health, farming, movement-building, and the healing arts, we offer a rare combination of practical expertise and visionary, creative thinking. What unites us is a long-standing dedication to doing the work—on the ground and in partnership—with integrity, love, and care.
Jessica Handy is a Pasadena native, a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist and lifelong advocate for community health, food justice, and environmental stewardship. She has spent over 20 years living in Pasadena with her husband Ri-Karlo and their two children, leading public health initiatives for the City—including projects with the Health Department and Parks & Recreation aimed at improving wellness in underserved communities. Her passion for healing deepened through years of outdoor education in the San Gabriel Mountains and her journey into agriculture, which led her to become the founder and farmer of Sandalwood Farm. As an advisor to Kiss the Ground, she champions the vital link between soil health, nutrition, and community resilience. Jessica’s work continues to center equity, regeneration, and the power of land-based healing.
Noni Limar is a seasoned creative strategist, cultural organizer, and healer with over 25 years of experience leading community-based initiatives at the intersection of art, justice, and healing. She has led creative direction, program development, and film production for national movements and institutions, including Black Lives Matter Global Network, the Center for Third World Organizing, and the Kalliopeia Foundation. Through her work with Soil & Shadow, she spent five years cultivating intentional communities of elders, mothers, farmers, leaders, and artists grounded in the sacred intersection of ecology, culture, and spirit. A long-time resident of Pasadena with her husband TaRaach and their four children, her work has been featured by platforms and institutions including Warner Bros, Lincoln Center, the Los Angeles Theater Center, and MoCADA, and continues to reflect a deep commitment to creativity, connection, and transformative change.
TaRaach Mathis El is a Detroit-bred artist and producer with over 30 years of experience at the intersection of culture, healing, and community building. Deeply rooted in both Detroit and Los Angeles’ underground music scenes, he has collaborated with iconic artists such as J Dilla and Erykah Badu. His musical foundation reflects a profound respect for both innovation and legacy. Since relocating to Pasadena in 2005, he has built a creative and familial home on the West Coast, continuing to use his artistry as a vehicle for cultural expression, collective healing, and community empowerment. Well-versed in the healing arts of Reiki, Pranic Healing, and Qigong, he currently serves as an officer for the Moorish Science Temple of America, committed to the upliftment of humanity.
Ri-Karlo Handy is a celebrated producer and showrunner with over 25 years in the industry, known for projects like Saints & Sinners, Harlem Globetrotters: Play It Forward, and Rebuilding Black Wall Street: Greenwood. As co-founder of Sunwise Media, he creates impactful content that uplifts marginalized voices and centers stories of resilience, justice, and community empowerment. In response to industry inequities, Handy founded the Handy Foundation, a nonprofit that trains and places diverse talent into competitive Hollywood production roles. Based in Pasadena for more than 20 years with his wife Jessica and their two children, Handy remains committed to using both his creative work and community efforts to drive meaningful, grassroots change. An Emmy nominee and NAACP Image Award honoree, he continues to use storytelling as a force for representation, opportunity, and lasting impact.
Jaimie Lewis is a seasoned nonprofit strategist, grant expert, and business owner with a proven track record of helping frontline organizations access the funding and support they need to thrive. As founder of Anese & Associates, she leads a team of over 25 staff, specializing in capacity building, grant writing, and compliance for nonprofits in under-resourced communities—tripling the firm’s revenue in just two years. With deep expertise in municipal auditing, state-level enforcement, and federal grant administration, Jaimie has helped organizations recover lost revenue and implement transformative, community-led initiatives. She also serves as a Program Navigator for the Justice40 Accelerator, connecting climate justice organizations to technical assistance and federal funding aimed at advancing equity and resilience. Known for her sharp business acumen and unwavering commitment to justice, Jaimie empowers communities to secure resources, build power, and drive sustainable change.
