Our Story & Cohort

Transforming Health Equity Through Nature-Inspired Collaboration.

The Project

Led by Biomimicry for Social Innovation and Biomimicry 3.8, with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Nature of Trust Project launched in the fall of 2023.

Three community Listening Sessions, engaging over 40 health equity professionals, informed the guiding research question: “What is important for us to learn from nature about building trust?”

Following the sessions, Biomimicry 3.8 led a six-month Bio360 research process, distilling findings on how nature establishes, builds, and maintains trust. The preliminary trust framework was shared in May 2024, and five health equity teams were selected to join the Learning Cohort, which convened in-person and online to practice and refine the Nature of Trust principles.

The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

The Cohort

The Nature of Trust Co-Lab Learning Cohort included 11 health equity and social justice leaders from six organizations working across the U.S., with expertise spanning community and maternal health, union organizing, racial justice, youth education, public health, and more. Cohort members:

  • Applied the Nature of Trust principles in practice.

  • Designed and implemented nature-inspired projects.

  • Contributed to the creation of public educational resources, multimedia materials, and the Nature of Trust Toolkit.

  • Roxey Nelson

    1199 SEIU

  • Milly Silva

    1199 SEIU

  • Jen Lewis-Walden

    Shift Health Accelerator

  • Lisa Richardson

    Shift Health Accelerator

  • Sonia Sarkar

    Shift Health Accelerator

  • Anna Rutins

    Presbyterian & EarthCare

  • Miguel Acosta

    Presbyterian & EarthCare

  • Thomas Savage

    Creative Reaction Lab

  • Antionette D. Carroll

    Creative Reaction Lab

  • Brandi Mack

    The Butterfly Movement

  • Minkah Taharkah

    The Butterfly Movement

Cohort Organizations

  • Advocates for quality care and good jobs for over 450,000 members in the U.S.

  • Supports community-based health equity leaders in building power and securing resources.

  • Educates and empowers Black and Latino/a/x/e youth to design healthy, racially equitable communities.

  • Empowers Black women and girls through personal development, entrepreneurship, and advocacy.

  • Equips youth and families with tools for a healthy, just, and equitable future.

  • Bridges healthcare and community to address structural and social determinants of health.

  • "We are witnessing a resurgence of worker organizations. Yet historical organizational challenges persist. We believe confronting these challenges requires shifting organizational culture to center trust in both internal and external matters. We sense that nature’s wisdom might show us the way."

    Roxey Nelson,
    1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East

  • “Shift's work is deeply relational, and rooted in trust as a primary currency across multiple aspects of our work; we also frequently advise other grassroots, community-based organizations and healthcare institutions on how to build trust. We are excited about the opportunity to explore a dimension of relationship-building and collaboration, and to add it to our toolbox of strategy and facilitation.”

    Jen Lewis-Walden,
    Shift Health Accelerator

  • “Biomimicry highlights the importance of authenticity, understanding context, and the relationships between messengers and their audiences. Our community-based health equity work relies on the mobilization of trusted messengers for conveying information. We can learn from nature’s systems for improving access to better health.”

    Miguel Acosta,
    Earth Care

  • “CRXLAB's participation in the Cohort and exploration of trust through nature's lens inspires systems-thinking, fosters collaboration, and highlights interdependence, mirroring nature's ecosystems. This approach enhances our work in the field of equity design by promoting holistic, sustainable community development.”

    Antionette D. Carroll,
    Creative Reaction Lab’s (CRXLAB)

  • “The Butterfly Movement Team was drawn to this cohort for many amazing reasons. We are always looking for ways to grow and ask critical questions. Our foundation mimics the stages of a Butterfly as a way to build trust and support women and girls.”

    Brandi Mack,
    The Butterfly Movement