about us

Common Ground is a space created by a couple of parents who came together and thought, what if there was a space for kids and families that looked like ours? Common Ground centers BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color), LGBTQIA2S+, and people of the global majority in the Catskills area to gather, share resources, and build a supportive community. We can't wait to grow with you!

Hello!

  • A Smith

    CO-CREATOR / FACILITATOR

    A is a queer, Anishinaabe artist, speaker, author, Reiki practitioner, and non-traditional educator. They create workshops and containers for educators and students on a variety of topics. For the last couple of years, they have provided several of these offerings to the Homestead School. Previously, they hosted online containers through regular live sessions with a more National base.

    Recently, they have helped organize the 2Spirit Care Project, a National project dedicated to sending out 30 care packages to two-spirit youth in the Native Community. Their part in this project was (is) the loving creation of 30 ribbon shirts and ribbon skirts. Above all else, A is vested in providing as much big love as possible to the next 7 generations.

  • Sarah Nelson Jackson

    CO-CREATOR / LEAD DESIGNER

    Sarah serves as advising partner of WSDIA, a multidisciplinary design studio based in Brooklyn and upstate New York. The studio's diverse portfolio spans large-scale museum projects to smaller initiatives focused on social justice, encompassing both spatial and graphic design. Sarah has shared her expertise through lectures at renowned institutions such as the Ecole Superieure en Visual Merchandising Design in Switzerland, UsByNight Design Festival in Antwerp, Belgium, Art Directors Club, AIGA/NY, and University of Michigan Taubman College of Architecture & Urban Planning.

    While currently dedicating much of her time to parenting her two young boys and engaging in occasional postpartum doula work, Sarah is also navigating the realm of reproductive justice. Her commitment to Common Ground stems from a deep passion for establishing safe and supportive spaces for families of color and those with unique family structures

  • Tsz Lok Leung

    PROGRAM DIRECTOR

    Tsz Lok is a Chinese-American artist, graphic designer, and energy worker. In her art, she seamlessly melds traditional and contemporary aesthetics, creating visually stunning and thought-provoking works that challenge societal norms. Their artistic journey is further enriched by their spiritual practice. As a certified Reiki practitioner, Tsz Lok draws on her spirituality, daoist traditions and higher guidance to infuse healing energy and depth in her creations. Her work brings people to a realm of possibility where they feel empowered to embrace their true selves and celebrate the beauty of individuality.

" When we talk about land, land is part of who we are. It's a mixture of our blood, our past, our current, and our future. We carry our ancestors in us, and they're around us. As you all do.”

-Mary Lyons, Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe

We want to take a moment to say miigwech (thank you) to the land for nourishing us, the water for healing us, and the winds for inspiring us. We recognize that this land, the great Catskills Region is the traditional homeland of the Munsee Lenape, Mohican, and Susquehannock, who were forcibly removed from this land as early as 1624 by Dutch Settlers. Despite this long history of genocide and forced removal, not only are the Lenape still here but so are relatives from over 574 Federally recognized tribes and over 200 Indigenous languages in the US, in addition to all the unrecognized Tribes, Nations, and Languages.

To find out who's land you're occupying, visit Native-Land.ca