Announcing the Aki Institute!
toward justice, care & peace
Friends,
This has been over five years in the making, and I am so excited to finally announce the launch of The Aki Institute For Peace and Justice.
The Aki Institute seeks to change the world through rest, responsibility and resistance. We are dedicated to promoting social justice, environmental sustainability, and human rights.
Our team is committed to challenging the status quo and creating a more equitable and inclusive society. Through advocacy, education, and community engagement, we aim to inspire individuals to become agents of positive change in their communities. Join us in our journey to build a better world for all.
The logo of the institute was designed by Megan Gambino , and is the peace lily, a flower that represents universal ideas and embodiments of peace, unity, care, and love.
My partner, Travis Curtice, and I wanted to create this institute to house the work we hope to do in the world, things like:
retreats for tired activists, authors/artists and academics
workshops for folks to talk about resistance and care
building community through relevant policy work
promoting human rights
fostering conversations about care for Mother Earth
creating and sustaining relationships between people who foster justice in the world
At the end of the day, we want to move toward justice, care & peace in a world that is deeply hurting.
How are we going to do this work?
We’ve created three pillars that will move us toward a future of justice, care & peace:
First, Rest.
Academics, authors and activists are tired. In an era marked by the fast pace of change, keeping up with our work can feel challenging.
Doing equitable work in the world within systems that are not meant to sustain care and rest can often leave us experiencing burnout and exhaustion. Our capitalistic society rewards the hustler, but we want to fight for rest, because it is our birthright as humans. The Aki Institute is committed to making space for rest through organizing retreats, providing resources about rest, and facilitating conversations about care.
Second, Resistance.
Resistance happens in our personal lives and also on the collective level. We rally around one another and ask what resistance means and how we can practice it. We resist with the books we read and the people we listen to; we resist by decolonizing and fighting and dreaming of a better world.
Third, Responsibility.
As academics, authors and activists, we each have a responsibility to care for each other in sustainable ways. The Aki Institute is dedicated to naming and practicing this responsibility toward one another and Mother Earth.
We are committed to sharing the work of those on the ground fighting for a better world, developing relevant policy reports, and holding space that brings people together around this work including online and in-person gatherings.










Congratulations! What good, good work!
Congratulations, Kaitlin and Travis! I nearly cried as I read this email and reflected on the pillars of Aki Institute. Your work is vital!