Today we’d like to introduce you to Erin Harris and Emanuel Thomas.
Emanuel and Erin are the co-founders of the social justice leadership training nonprofit Armada Unified, an organization that was born out of the Covid-19 crisis. Armada Unified’s programming is based on the principle that community resilience begins with personal resilience, so they equip participants with mental and emotional health tools as well as practical skills for self sufficiency and a healthier lifestyle.
As it did for so many others, the rapid escalation of Covid-19 led to a dramatic reduction in Erin’s income–as a gardening and composting instructor, her job was immediately placed in jeopardy and it was only through the goodwill and flexibility of her boss that she was able to continue working at all. At the same time, Emanuel, who had recently left corporate America to pursue a promising career as a motivational speaker and mindset coach, quickly became derailed by the limiting effects of Covid-19. But the health crisis also presented immediate opportunities for the couple to be of service that they were both eager to seize upon.
In the early days of March 2020, the pair began managing a small urban farm on the outskirts of Compton and quickly established relationships with organizations like Social Justice Learning Institute, Alma Backyard Farms, Farm2People, Future City Pantry and Feed Our Soul, which had the infrastructure in place to distribute the produce they grew and harvested to families and individuals whose access to healthy food was further threatened by the crisis.
Erin had been a Master Gardener for several years, working as an urban farmer and school garden educator. She was also inspired by the small and sustainable farming movement to write the agritourism guidebook Visit California Farms (Wilderness Press). While she had been gardening for her family and friends for years, her primary role was in teaching others how to reduce waste and grow organically. She hadn’t yet found the partner who would enthusiastically join her in the field, dividing the labor or urban farming while doubling the reward.
While he was new to working with the soil, Emanuel took to it like a fish to water. His professional background was in human resource management. But he had decided to switch into the lane of public speaking and coaching children of color to believe that they can make it in life without having to rely on athletic ability, but rather by using their minds to build the future that they dreamed of; Which inspired him to write his first book The Power of Thinking Inside the Box. Emanuel was eager to learn the science of urban farming and was inspired by Erin’s passion for food sovereignty. He came to realize that agricultural studies, food education, and farming were three areas that fell seamlessly into his overall goal of living a meaningful life of purpose. Urban farming has provided Emanuel with a sense of gratitude and solace that he’d been searching for for years.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It’s worth noting that as all of this was going on, Covid-19 put Erin and Emanuel’s romantic partnership on trial by fire. Their long-distance relationship was merely seven months old when Emanuel relocated from South Carolina to Los Angeles at the end of February 2020, just as the health crisis was becoming apparent.
Within a month, they were cohabitating for everyone’s safety, and Erin, Emanuel and their children from each of their previous marriages were learning how to be a family, just as school was getting canceled and options to get out of the house for much-needed personal time became drastically limited (thank God for the garden). All of this to say, the fact that in the intervening eight months, their relationship is stronger than ever and they’ve managed to carve out a niche in the nonprofit world that allows them to offer ongoing value and support where it’s most needed feels like something of a miracle.
Since the onset of the Covid-19 crisis, Erin and Emanuel have dedicated themselves to a daily practice of remaining “peaceful in purpose,” and creating Armada Unified has allowed them to do just that.
Armada Unified – what should we know? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Their experience with food relief farming and its interrelatedness with equity and justice movements led Emanuel and Erin to launch their nonprofit Armada Unified with the mission to provide leadership training and resources to active and aspiring social justice leaders in LA’s underserved communities.
Armada’s current projects include developing a Food Justice Leadership certificate program for Cal State Northridge. The program interweaves personal development and urban farming training in order to continuously inspire and motivate students toward their personal and community goals. Participants not only gain the practical knowledge to grow food and to teach others to do so but are also empowered to recreate the current food system that is so clearly failing our underserved communities.
Armada Unified has also partnered with the Boys & Girls Club located within the Mar Vista Gardens public housing project and nearby Marina Del Rey Middle School to revitalize an existing three-quarter-acre school garden as a hub for its youth leadership programming. The program will focus on land stewardship and its relation to environmental, racial, food and culinary justice. As parents themselves, Emanuel and Erin both understand how crucial it is to instill a sense of purpose from a young age, so the program is designed to engage middle schoolers in improving not only their own mental, physical and emotional health but the overall well being of their communities.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Erin and Emanuel define success by the lives in which they’re able to impact on a daily basis.
People in our homes, neighborhoods, communities, and all around the world are hurting. Erin and Emanuel realize this because pain is a universal language that everyone speaks fluently. So, Erin and Emanuel approach each day with the attitude of trying to be a light for others because no one deserves to go through their darkest moments alone.
Peace of Mind, personal health, and love for self and others are the only non-negotiable principles that Erin and Emanuel operate their personal and professional lives form. And inspiring others to do the same is the only mile-marker that Erin and Emanuel strive to reach. One day at a time.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.ArmadaUnified.org
- Phone: 323.365.6762 or 864.331.9771
- Email: [email protected] | [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/armadaunified/
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