Throughout her career as a nonprofit executive, award-winning executive producer and producer/director, broadcast programmer, curator, teacher, and writer, Cara Mertes has championed the leadership role of artists in society, and worked to harness the power of cultural expression—with an emphasis on nonfiction storytelling—to amplify awareness and accelerate progressive change.

As Operations Manager, Adeola propels IRIS forward from the ground up. Adeola has built a career creating impact using a well-rounded set of skills across the operations realm, including expertise in strategic communications, marketing, member recruitment, partnerships and database and project management.

Maya Luz Soto (Boriken Taino and Settler [European]) resides in Yanaguana/Somi Se’k (San Antonio, TX), the traditional homelands of the Coahuiltecan, Estok G’na, and Lipan Apache. Her work is grounded in Indigenous knowledge systems, collective care, and community-led futures, with an approach shaped by years of engagement in Indigenous-led networks focused on ecological knowledge, cultural revitalization, and relational accountability.

With long roots in international development and research, Mia Deschamps has spent a career starting up innovative initiatives across sectors and around the world. From a background in literature, public policy, and data visualization has emerged her passion to leverage human-centered systems and amplify authentic voices for social good.

Miso Jeong builds elegant systems, strong relationships and generative work cultures to maximize organizational capacity for creating the liberatory futures we most need and desire. In addition to their work at IRIS, Miso is devoted to co-creating liberatory relationships with people and place through ancestral, spiritual and storytelling practices in collectives of queer and displaced folks.