CO-FOUNDER

Zandra has lived in her northeast Washington, DC home and neighborhood for over 53 years with her husband Dennis. They raised their children to give back to their community, and she has enjoyed outdoor photography for most of her career. As a citizen scientist, Zandra monitors the local waterways to measure the health of the tributary of the Anacostia River, Washington, DC’s main waterway.

In 2020, the destruction of a legacy cherry tree in her neighborhood park by beavers (planted during the Lyndon B. Johnson administration) prompted Zandra to contact local DC agencies to help protect the remaining trees in the park. In the Spring of 2023, a tributary of the Anacostia River (Watts Branch) had been blocked by beaver construction of a dam that impacted one mile of the stream. During a water monitoring session, the dam was discovered by Zandra and her associate. Photos revealed the extensive engineering and their use of trash, logs and all debris in or near the stream. The beaver is a protected species in the District of Columbia. They are changing the environment of the park with new ponding and mosquitoes in the stagnant waters caused by the dam blockage. Climate change is impacting the urban forest animals as well as humans.

Zandra promotes environmental literacy and stewardship by volunteering with community-based organizations that focus on the environment and respecting Mother-Earth. In early 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Zandra collaborated with other photographers of the Exposure Group African American Photographers Inc. and the Fotocraft Camera Club, by installing a virtual art exhibition on the DC Public Library website entitled “Washington DC, City of Interest, City of Change.”

CO FOUNDER

Kimberly C. Gaines is the Executive Director of the East of the River Boys and Girls Steelband, Washington DC's Premier Youth SteelBand. She is a multi-hyphenated visual artist, producer, and arts management professional, passionate about community. Kimberly has served as Mentorship Program Manager for BCAUSEICAN and the former Director of Youth Development and Leadership for CentroNia’s youth program, Studio 64. The Howard University graduate and former 202 Creates Resident has served as lead designer on the African American Civil War Museum’s traveling exhibition which was the foundation for the current design of the permanent museum. She was co-producer and creative director of the Deanwood X Design temporium, developed by community members for the community through a grant from ArtsPlace and the DC Office of Planning.

Kimberly has also developed arts curriculum for nonprofits including The Union for Contemporary Art (NE), With Food in Mind (NC), BCAUSEICAN (MD), and is the creator of the forthcoming Girl’s Guide to Self-empowerment app and card deck for girls 13 and up. She is a founding member and former Managing Director of Parallel Film Collective (Ava Duvernay’s ARRAY, Washington, DC distribution partner) and co-founder of Green Urban Arts Collective (G.U.A.C.) Kimberly is also a producer of the feature-length film “Love Dot Com: The Social Experiment” streaming now on Amazon Prime and BET + and the forthcoming short film “Weary Blues: a Pandemic Love Story” (official selection of the San Francisco Black Film Festival and the inaugural Black Girls Rock Film Festival).