Ricky Bratz

QMF Director, Queer Mobilization Fund, Southern Vision Alliance

Ricky Bratz is a plant nerd, queer dog mom and survivor of Sicilian/SWANA/Eastern European roots. Her time as a member of Greensboro-based radical marching band Cakalak Thunder (2003-2008), serving as a board member of Fund for Democratic Communities (2007-2009) and as an intern with Student Action with Farmworkers (2006) are part of her formative politicization.

Throughout the Triad and the Triangle, she has initiated and/or been involved in projects such as: healing justice, community gardening/farming, food justice, labor organizing, homelessness, community centers, collective living, racial equity, consensus decision-making, and queer liberation. Ricky holds a BA in Health Arts & Science from Goddard College and did her thesis work on the intersections of racial identity, trauma, & herbal medicine. Most recently, Ricky was a coordinator with Resourceful Communities and provided capacity building and technical assistance to rural grassroots organizations under their Healthy Eating Active Living Initiative and small grants program.

Ricky also maintains a private healing arts practice, Cazimi Healing, that focuses on supporting people working for social change in healing through plant medicine, energy work and functional medicine. She believes that knowing, connecting to, and healing our Selves is vital for the health of our communities, organizations and movements as a whole.