jei laura (they/them) is a gender expansive/Qariwarmi, story weaver, soul connector, and herbalist of the Andean (Quechua) and irish diaspora. their early beginnings, spent swimming in backyard creeks and mixing potions in the forests of the Muhheaconneok, cultivated a commitment to stewarding right relationship between humans, spirit, and our more-than-human relatives.

jei is currently working on their second film, SACRED - Amara’s story, a short documentary on Amara Illuari of Ayni Herb Farm . The film is part of a larger documentation project that seeks to share the wisdom of gender expansive healers of the Andean diaspora as a medicine offering during a time of climate crisis, paralleling their roles in precololonial society as lighthouses during times of cataclysmic eruption. jei is also a facilitator for vital village network’s community food systems fellowship, a cinematographer for rouge fx, and an organizer for the dandelion collective.

jei was a 2022 graduate of youth fx’s arts2work fellowship and a 2021 attendee of Rootwork Herbals. they are also a 2020 graduate of cornell university, where they co-founded the dyson students of color coalition. currently they are base building to co-create a community owned medicinal garden in their hometown located on unceeded Muhheaconneok land.

in their spare time they like to read, write, watch movies, cook food for beloveds, camp, explore, and play with their cat companions, tofu and boba.