our planning committee

We are a group of volunteers that are of Indigenous and non-Indigenous heritage who are all residents of Newton, MA.

Indigenous Community Liaison

Hiawatha J. Brown

Hiawatha Jon Brown, an enrolled member of the Narragansett Indian Tribe of Rhode Island and a resident of Newton. He is one of the tribe’s longest-serving Tribal Councilman who served for more than 35 years. Born to the late Mr. John Brown and the late Dr. Ella Sekatuau, Medicine Woman, Linguistic Specialist of Algic and Late Algonquin Woodland Narragansett Language, Hiawatha was raised with a deep respect for Narragansett culture.

Founder, Indigenous Community Liaison

Dr. Darlene Flores

Dr. Darlene Flores is a traditional Medicine Keeper for her Taino Higuayagua Caribbean Tribe and facilitates groups in such ceremonial practices. She is also a highly decorated U.S. Veteran for her participation in the War in Iraq where she was an Interrogator and Human Intelligence Collector for Military Intel. Dr. Flores is a Newton resident and mother, and runs and owns Karaya Wellness Clinic in Brookline.

Clerk

Kerry Prasad

6 years experience community organizing in Newton; CoFounder Countryside Elementary School FORJ Chapter (Families Organizing for Racial Justice), CoFounder FORJ at Brown Middle School Chapter, Countryside Elementary School PTO CoPresident (2015-17); Founder and Chairperson, Countryside and Brown PTO ELL Committees, Understanding Our Differences School Coordinator. Kerry resides in Newton.

Vendor Manager & Website Manager

Krysia L. Villón

Peruvian/Quechua American, Krysia was born and raised in the Boston area, on unceded Massachusett territory. She and her beloved child are Newton residents. Krysia owns a small Peruvian empanada business, Chiqui's Kitchen. She also serves as an online facilitator at Boston University and as a board member with Newton Community Pride. She has a background in event/conference planning in development, alumni relations, the food industry, and non-profit orgs.