ABOUT
We imagine a world where immigrants belong, where our stories are honored, where our cultural power is celebrated. We use music and storytelling to do this work because music and story are ancient human tools to build empathy, seed hope, and bring people together.
Movement uplifts the songs and stories of immigrant musicians via podcast, radio, community building, and live performances. We engage two distinct, interdependent strategies to do this work.
Our podcast and radio show is the centerpiece of a national narrative strategy, telling intimate, sonically rich stories of migration that center the communities who have experienced it.
Our community building work is focused on immigrant communities of the San Francisco Bay Area, where we host gatherings of immigrant musicians, and produce live performances of the Movement Immigrant Orchestra.
Photo by Fred Aube
TIMELINE
Meklit Hadero is a globally renowned Ethiopian-American vocalist, composer, cultural strategist and former refugee, known for her electric stage presence, and deeply personal Ethio-Jazz songs. Her performances have taken her across the globe, and to the top of world music charts in the US, Europe and Africa. Meklit is a National Geographic Explorer, TED Senior Fellow, Annenberg Civic Media Fellow, former artist in residence at Harvard and Stanford, winner of the globalFEST Artist Award and a featured voice in UN Women’s Theme song. Meklit is co-founder, host and steward of Movement. Her music and projects have been featured by the New York Times, NPR, CNN, BBC, Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, LA Times, Seattle Times, Vibe Magazine and many more. She holds a BA in Political Science from Yale University.
OUR TEAM
Meklit Hadero
Project Director/Host/Producer/Co-Founder of Movement and the Movement Immigrant Orchestra
PROGRAM
Sara Langlands
Creative Program Manager
Marco Peris
Producer of Community Strategy & Co-Founder of the Movement Immigrant Orchestra
Mark Nieto
Podcast Sound Designer
& Producer
Megan Tan
Podcast Senior Editor
ADMINISTRATION & OPERATIONS
Emily Sarmiento
Fractional Development Director
Nikolas McConnie-Saad
Administrative and Operations Consultant
Sophia Lacatell
Social Media Manager
ADVISORY BOARD
Julie Caine is story editor and audio-first thinker and strategist. Her editorial work has been awarded some of journalism’s highest honors, including Peabody and Edward R. Murrow awards. Her work blends brass-tacks practicality with creative soul. Ethical, rigorous, and curious, she’s a clear communicator and joyful collaborator, with a special place in her heart for musicians and makers.
Julie Caine
Co-Founder – Movement Podcast
Ian Coss
Ian Coss is the host and creator of “The Big Dig,” which has been honored with a Peabody Award and named one of the Best Podcasts of All Time by Time Magazine. When the show launched in 2023 it made best of the year lists from The New Yorker and Vulture, while spending over six weeks in the Top 100 shows on Apple Podcasts. Previously, his audio memoir "Forever is a Long Time" was named one of the best podcasts of 2021 by The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Atlantic, and Apple Podcasts.Co-Founder – Movement Podcast
Cecillia Wang is the National Legal Director of the American Civil Liberties Union. She oversees over 200 lawyers and support staff in the national ACLU’s Legal Department, works in collaboration with hundreds more legal staff in the ACLU’s 54 state affiliates, and leads the ACLU’s work in the Supreme Court of the United States.Celia Wang
Rufaro is committed to a world animated by unhu (ubuntu) – the understanding that collective and individual well-being are one and the same. She is a writer, facilitator, and organizer, with 10+ years working for gender justice, migrant rights, African-led solutions for Africans, and utilizing art and cultural expression as conduits for healing, liberation, and joy. She co-founded ThriveAfrica.us, Wakanda Dream Lab, and reset, and worked at organizations including CAMFED, Global Fund for Women, Africa Speaks 4 Africa, and Power California. Rufaro is home in Zimbabwe, Oakland and Sacramento, California, with Sangha, on the dance floor, and among creatives and those who strive for liberation of all peoples.
Rufaro Gwarada
Marco Werman
Marco Werman, co-host of GBH’s The World, public radio’s longest-running daily global news program, has worked in journalism since he was a 16-year-old copy boy at the News and Observer in Raleigh, N.C. After graduating from Duke University, he joined the Peace Corps where he served in Togo and Burkina Faso. While in Africa, he started freelancing for the BBC World Service, where he produced Network Africa. He has worked all over the world, joining GBH in 1995 to start The World, which is now heard on 377 public radio stations nationwide — a record number for the program.