Charlotte María Sáenz

Humbled and inspired by liberation pedagogies of the Zapatistas and other revolutionary movements, Charlotte María Sáenz joins fellow artists, scientists, and peoples of conscience everywhere to practice other ways of seeing, as well as listening, more deeply to the creatures and elements of our world. Working globally over 25 years across various educational settings, her collaborations aim to challenge dominant narratives, expand awareness and collective knowledge, while developing greater socioecological health and equity.

In her native Mexico, her current research studies how the Zapatista movement engages society in an integrated ethical-political educational process she calls Pedagogy of the Seed. Previous collaborations include working with Universidad de la Tierra in both Chiapas (Indigenous Center for Integral Learning) as well as Oaxaca–where she was Ecology faculty for World Learning/IHP. Before that, she worked in Lebanon with Palestinian refugees through Al-Jana, the Arab Resource Center for Popular Arts, and was Artist-in-Residence at a Quaker K-12 school above Beirut. In Chicago, she co-directed Street-Level Youth Media and served on the board of Women in the Director’s Chair. In San Francisco, she teaches Interdisciplinary Studies at the California Institute of Integral Studies since 2007.

Her formal education has been in Sciences of Ecology (ECOSUR: Colegio de la Frontera Sur), experimental film and new media (SAIC), and International Education for Social and Political Change (HGSE).

Born and raised in the mountain-rimmed high-desert valley megapolis guarded by the Popocatepetl and Iztaccihuatl volcanoes, she now lives in the Oakland Sausal Creek watershed in the territory of Huichin.

Residency/Fellowship

2022 Revolution

Website

https://www.deepmedicinecircle.org/

Location

Oakland, CA USA