Jeanette Acosta: Senior ITEK Environmental Ethnobotany Science Director, Land/Water Community Director, and Tribal Liason
Jeanette Acosta serves as the Senior ITEK Environmental Ethnobotany Science Director and Land/Water Community Director for Watershed Progressive. Grounded in Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledge (ITEK) and relational stewardship, she leads collaborative initiatives that bridge ecological restoration with Tribal sovereignty, community resilience, and cultural resource protection across California and beyond.
A Clinical Herbalist, Clinical Aromatherapist, and Ayurveda Health Practitioner, Jeanette trained at Cornell University in medicinal plants and specializes in Maritime Culture, California native plants, and Indigenous permaculture agroecological design. She has partnered with multiple Indigenous Nations to establish successful, self-determined cultural food sovereignty programs. Among her notable collaborative work, she co-curated the herbal curriculum for Weaving Earth in partnership with the Native American Rehabilitation Association (NARA) at their Youth Residential Treatment Center.
For over a decade, Jeanette has served as Vice President and Board Member for Kua’Aina Associates, an Indigenous-led non-profit founded by Native Hawaiian and Māori cultural stewards upholding their kuleana (responsibility) to ancestral lands and waters. She also serves as a Board Member-at-Large for Weaving Earth, advancing nature-based education at the intersection of systemic ecological and social change.
Committed to trauma-informed, community-centered advocacy, Jeanette brings extensive international experience and certified training in cultural competency and survivor advocacy to her environmental work. By weaving together ITEK, community history, and holistic land protection, Jeanette advances regenerative practices that honor Indigenous rights, uphold local access, and safeguard precious cultural and natural resources for generations to come.