Kendra Calhoun is a community organizer, musician, and lover of the natural world. She arrived in Fairbanks in 2000 to study fungi and immediately fell in love with Alaska and the community that embraced her. Her father instilled a love for nature in her which has led to a deep understanding and appreciation of the interconnectedness of all things. She is a student of trauma theory and recovery and a true believer in the power of music, art, theater and all forms of artistic expression to heal. She specializes in embodiment practices and approaches that integrate her understanding of trauma, yoga and her love for music, theater and art. She has a Masters in Biology (UAF) and completed a 200hr yoga teacher training at Yandara Yoga Institute in 2012. She spent a decade working as a positive youth development professional and brings her knowledge and experience of working with youth to the programs she creates and facilitates with Blossom House. 

Allan is the son of Lena Pauline Hayton from Fort Yukon, Alaska, and James T. Hayton from Natick, Massachusetts. He was raised in Arctic Village, Alaska, and his grandparents are Robert and Lena Albert from Tanana and Fort Yukon, Alaska. Allan studied theatre and film at Haskell Indian Nations University and the University of Kansas, finishing his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1992. He continued studies at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, graduating spring 2013 with a Master of Arts in Applied Linguistics. Allan brings together his love of language and the arts, translating and adapting works for the stage and screen, as well as curriculum and language learning materials for educational settings. Allan’s work focuses on carrying forward his ancestral Gwich’in language, culture, and values in today’s world. Nakhwatsii govehłeech’agohkhyaa shro’... "do not stray from the path left for you by the ancestors."

Siqiññaatchiaq Rio Andrade is a mother of 3 children that were born on the unceded lands of the Lower Tanana Dene’ next to the Ch’eno’ (Chena River) in the interior of Alaska. She is a hunter, dancer, wife, lei maker, berry picker, artist and a teacher.

Kendell Newman Sadiik is a community advocate and organizer, a writer, and a magic/meaning-maker. Driven in all things by curiosity, she found her way from social science research to the creative arts, drawn by more participatory, humane, and expansive approaches to understanding. With an MFA in Creative Writing from University of Alaska, Fairbanks, she hosts an annual Art of Teaching residency for local K–12 educators as well as a weekly Art Gym supporting creative practice across artistic disciplines. In admiration of children (her own and many others), she collaborates regularly with such magic makers as the Tooth Fairy, Santa, and the Easter Bunny, as well as the wood fairies who build castles on the trails behind her home in Fairbanks, Alaska. Across the many spheres of her life, she is guided by a driving question: What else is possible? 

Sarah Finnell is a theater artist, educator, and facilitator. While studying abroad in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, Sarah became familiar with the work of Augusto Boal and fell in love with the idea that theater can be used as a tool for community building, social justice, and healing.  She is a founding member of Breadcrumbs Theatre Troupe, a program of Blossom House. Sarah has been living in Germany for the past 5 years, where she birthed two beautiful sons, and is thrilled to return to Fairbanks and re-engage with the inspiring work of Blossom House. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Arts from University of Puget Sound, and a Masters degree in Elementary Education from University of Alaska, Fairbanks. 

JJ Laserna has been dancing since the age of 5. He grew up dancing traditional Filipino folk dances and hip-hop choreography. Since his move to the US, he has been a part of the Lathrop high school ballroom and swing club team, then eventually got serious with Latin dancing at a professional level, learning from local and national pros throughout his college years. Around the same time, he grew to love the art of breaking, otherwise known as breakdancing. He incorporated Latin dancing/cultures and breaking into his anthropological studies in college, immersing himself into the cultures. JJ has taught a range of dance styles and was known as that one guy who taught Salsa at the Ballroom Dance Club of Fairbanks, and who also taught breaking at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. He has also organized various dance workshops and events in Fairbanks, AK, including the breakdancing event known as the Midnight Sun Break-fest. Along with his passion for dance, JJ is a husband and father of two and works in the electrical field. He spends most of his free time with his little girls and does a lot of stretching more than dancing nowadays.

Board Member

Board Member

Trauma Specialist

Trauma Informed Trainer

Visionary Tactical Solutionist and Ancestral Oracle

Co Founder

https://www.totheroot.net/