Dev.Brous (she/her) is an urban homesteader, a frontline community organizer, and the creator of fromsoil2soul. She consults, writes, formulates herbal remedies, and gardens with individuals and institutions, designing regenerative practices for soul care, community care, and earth care. With a focus on ancient and emergent practices, she is deeply rooted at the nexus of burnout and renewal. Dev offers groups and individuals online Sabbaticals to unearth regenerative practices for our inner and outer landscapes. Prior, a Founding Executive Director for 15+ years, she advanced indigenous land rights, community food sovereignty, and healing justice. Follow her @dev.brous. Check out the TEDx talk about the Sabbatical: We're burning out. What can we glean from nature to regenerate?

Dev.Brous has rooted in the garden for over 25 years, growing community food sovereignty, environmental justice, and land rights. She founded and ran two environmental justice nonprofits for 17 years. For seven years, she served as Founding Executive Director of Netiya (grow) ~ advancing food sovereignty and multi-faith stewardship. Prior, she organized on the frontline of Israel/Palestine for 15 years, and for nine years she served as Founding Executive Director of award-winning environmental justice NGO, BUSTAN (fruit orchard). BUSTAN pioneered the eco-building of an elementary school with indigenous Jahalin Bedouin, and the international solidarity campaign to green build the solar-powered straw-bale Medwed medical clinic with El Azazme Bedouin in the unrecognized Bedouin village #34, Wadi el Na’am, outside of Beer Sheva.

Dev is proud to serve on the steering committee of BiomimicryLA and she runs a super soil site through MakeSoil.

Dev was pivotal in initiating the challenge to the JNF's practices of racist land development and to this day, believes all land is holy, and planting trees should never be wielded as a tool for land grab (the subject of her Master’s thesis).

EXPERIENCE

PUBLIC SPEAKING

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  • NPR, Cultivating Place, 2021
  • TEDx, Regenerating Change, 2020
  • Big Bold Jewish Climate Fest, 2021, 2022
  • Grounded Summit, Sonoma County, 2020. (Covid-19 canceled)
  • Parliament of World’s Religions, Presented three sessions on Eco-Justice, Toronto, 2018.
  • Multi-Faith Earth Stewardship three-day Pandopopulus Pilgrimage, Utah, 2018.
  • Plenary Panel: Women and Farming, JOFEE Conference at Pearlstone, 2018.
  • Closing Plenary: Interfaith Sustainable Food Collaborative, Sonoma County, 2016.
  • Interfaith Environmental Summit, Pasadena, 2015.
  • Keynote: Water Conference, Wilderness Torah, 2014.
  • Keynote: Shmita and Sustainability, KAMII, Chicago, 2013.
  • Organizer of Water and Food Justice panels, Hazon Food & Sustainability Conference, CA, 2009.
  • Delegate at World Water Conference, Mexico City, 2006.
  • Delegate at World Peace Jam, Senegal, 2005.
  • Featured Presenter at Rethinking Development Conference, St. Francis Xavier University, 2005.
  • Featured Presenter at Ben Gurion University Conference: Education Social Development & Empowerment Among Indigenous Peoples and Minorities, 2004.
  • Featured Presenter at House of Commons, Parliament, London, 2003.
  • Featured Presenter at Amnesty International, London, 2003.

COLUMNIST

Click here to check out my regular column in the Forward on urban farming and herbalism in harmony with nature.

FOOD SOVEREIGNTY

I designed, coordinated and oversaw the #PeoplesMedicine, a food-as-medicine program on Skidrow through #LACAN, for one year to resource people with a healthy food source in the heart of a food desert. In this groundbreaking Healing Justice program, houseless people were paid to teach the community how to harvest and prepare fresh food/herbs into healthy vegan meals all sourced from the urban rooftop garden.

Pre-Covid, I launched and directed an environmental stewardship and urban farming program at Adat Ari El in LA. I installed a 6-acre campus-wide edible landscape and compost program converting the institutional waste stream into diverse and productive landscapes.

Under Dev's leadership of the nonprofit Netiya, achievements include converting and offering microgrants to support the transformation of unused land at 35 congregations into food justice gardens to feed houseless people and build intersectional bridges. Netiya also ran annual food, faith, and field symposia, Teach-Ins and quarterly network gatherings to convene multi-faith leadership around stewardship and decarbonization as common ground across the faith sector.

I serve on the Building Resilience team of Dignity and Power Now!

I’ve also designed, installed and partnered with homeless shelter residents to install and maintain a thriving food garden on the rooftop of the Union Rescue Mission on Skidrow with #WorthyofLove and #GrokNation.

EDUCATION

FOUNDER & EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Dev founded and ran two environmental justice nonprofits for 17 years.

For seven years, Dev served as Founding Executive Director of Netiya (grow) ~ advancing food sovereignty and multi-faith stewardship

Prior, Dev organized on the frontline of Israel/Palestine for 14 years, and for nine years she served as Founding Executive Director of BUSTAN (fruit orchard).

INDIGENOUS LAND RIGHTS

The award-winning environmental justice NGO BUSTAN pioneered the eco-building of an elementary school with indigenous Jahalin Bedouin. BUSTAN also built the solar-powered straw-bale Medwed medical clinic in the unrecognized Bedouin village #34, Wadi el Na’am, outside of Beer Sheva to serve the needs of 5,000 Israeli citizens denied access to adequate or culturally appropriate health services. This medical clinic was designed by BUSTAN architect Yuval, Michal Vital and built with 500 Bustan volunteers and Kibbutz Lotan to serve the needs of 5,000 Israeli citizens denied access to adequate or culturally-appropriate health services.

Today, Dev actively supports and encourages others to resource indigenous land rights movements for sovereignty. #reparations #landback #rematriation