Grinding Stone Collective has always been shaped by the communities we serve, and strengthened by the people who help keep us accountable to our values. Today, we are proud to introduce our Advisory Board, a circle of Indigenous leaders, elders, and cultural bearers whose lived experience spans food sovereignty, cultural revitalization, education, community wellness, art, and intergenerational stewardship. Our Advisory Board is here to help us grow with integrity: offering strategic guidance, deep cultural knowledge, and the kind of “been there” leadership that only comes from years of doing the work. They help us expand knowledge, ask better questions, build stronger relationships, and ensure that our programming stays rooted in reciprocity and real community needs.

This board includes award-winning chefs, language and early-childhood educators, cultural resources leaders, nonprofit executives, and traditional artists. Together, they bring practical expertise and community-held knowledge that supports our First Foods work across Turtle Island, Abya Yala, and the Indigenous Caribbean. From all of us at GSC, we welcome our advisors and look forward to learning and growing together.

What each advisor brings to the collective 

(Click to read their full bios and explore their work)

Vince Morgan (Ramapough Munsee Lenape) contributes operational leadership and community-centered management experience through his role overseeing the Ramapough Mountain Indian Community Center. He brings a steady, grounded approach to building programs that meet real needs, while protecting cultural continuity and strengthening community infrastructure.

Chef Joseph Rocchi (Pamunkey Indian Tribe of Virginia) strengthens GSC with decades of culinary leadership and a strong commitment to Indigenous food sovereignty education. From institutional food service to community-facing learning spaces, he brings a “systems and solutions” mindset, plus a grounded ability to translate history into nourishing practice. He currently serves as Committee Chair under the Food and Culinary Program at the Native American Food Sovereignty Alliance.

Chef Sherry Pocknett (Mashpee Wampanoag) brings visionary leadership in Indigenous foodways, along with national recognition and public education experience that helps broaden understanding of Northeastern Indigenous cuisine. As the first Indigenous woman to win a James Beard Award, she carries both excellence and responsibility with clarity, and we are honored to learn alongside her.

Shannon Francis (Diné and Hopi) brings extensive expertise in Indigenous permaculture, seedkeeping, and land-based education as Executive Director at Spirit of the Sun. Her work bridges Traditional Ecological Knowledge with practical, community-driven growing strategies that support long-term wellness and resilience, especially for families and youth.

Patricia Tarrant (Three Affiliated Tribes: Mandan & Hidatsa) brings long-standing leadership in urban Indigenous community care and advocacy. As Executive Director of the American Indian Community House in NYC, she strengthens our ability to build culturally grounded programming in urban settings, where visibility and access remain daily struggles for Native people.

Josephine Smith (Shinnecock Indian Nation) offers the deep, place-based knowledge of a lifelong cultural bearer and educator, rooted in traditional foods, medicines, and community teaching. As the previous Director of the Cultural Resources Department for the Shinnecock Nation, she brings critical guidance around stewardship, cultural preservation, and how foodways live through family, ceremony, and responsibility to land and water.

Luis Kacian Calderon (Borikua Taíno) strengthens the collective through cultural arts, education, and the material knowledge of Taíno clay traditions. As a ceramicist and educator, he brings a living relationship to ancestral practice and a commitment to ensuring tradition remains practiced, taught, and evolving.

Emma-Lee Joe (Nłeʔkepmx) offers powerful insight at the intersection of language revitalization, early childhood learning, and culturally rooted curriculum design. Her work supporting a language nest model reflects the kind of future-facing, intergenerational planning we believe is essential to food sovereignty and Indigenous continuity.

As we welcome this circle, we also want to thank our broader community: the elders, educators, volunteers, growers, cooks, youth, supporters, and partner organizations who keep showing up. This Advisory Board is one more way we are building a stronger foundation for the work ahead.