The Humia Directory/Network

Aligned voices, tools, and communities for a more dignified world

A dignified life is not built in isolation.

While Humia is primarily a space for reflection, orientation, and shared inquiry, no meaningful shift toward human flourishing happens alone or abstractly. Ideas become real when they connect to people, organizations, and communities already working—often quietly—to expand dignity, agency, and shared prosperity in the world.

The Humia Directory is a curated constellation of such efforts.

This is not a list of “approved beliefs,” nor a call to uniform ideology. Some may be surprising. It is an invitation to explore voices and initiatives that share a common orientation: respect for inherent human dignity, awareness of systemic forces, and a commitment to building lives and systems that are worth inhabiting.

Think of this page as a living map, not a manifesto.

How to Use This Directory/Network

  • Explore freely. Follow what resonates.

  • Disagree thoughtfully. Alignment does not require unanimity.

  • Treat this as a starting point, not a boundary.

  • Return often—this network will evolve.

Where our Library focuses on ideas and frameworks, our Network points outward—toward people and institutions already engaging with those ideas in practice.

A Foundation of Hope & Understanding

Before we explore the systems that shape our world, it's crucial to ground ourselves in the profound potential within humanity. To navigate challenging times, we must first cultivate our own inner strength and clarity. For a powerful, evidence-based look at human goodness, I have found the work of Rutger Bregman to be an essential resource.

  • Humankind: A Hopeful History A powerful counter-narrative that explores the inherent goodness of humanity, offering a vital perspective for long-term hope and collective action.

  • Moral Ambition: Stop Wasting Your Talent and Start Making a Difference This book encourages individuals to use their talents and skills to actively work towards a better world, aligning with the Aretéan ideal of striving for excellence in service of the greater good.
  • Utopia for Realists: And How We Can Get There  In this book Bregman offers practical and evidence-based ideas for creating a more just and equitable society, moving beyond cynicism towards a hopeful and achievable vision of utopia, which connects with the "Renaissance" aspect of our mission.

🛡️ Staying Aware: Voices for Clarity

In a world saturated with noise, finding clear, well-reasoned information is essential for navigating our complex reality. These are trusted sources I personally follow to stay informed and understand the bigger picture.

They offer sharp analysis, deep context, and a commitment to truth over partisan comfort—essential tools for anyone choosing awareness over distraction.

  • 🌳Alt National Park Service A coalition of anonymous National Park Service employees and allies fighting censorship, climate denial, and authoritarianism. Fiercely independent and truth-driven. Follow on Facebook  | Website | Follow on Bluesky 

  • 🌿 Parkrose Permaculture Angela has smart, practical wisdom for building resilient, just communities. Deep systems thinking with a strong voice of hope and action. Follow on Youtube |  Follow on Instagram 

  • 📢 MeidasTouch Sharp, fast political media holding corruption and authoritarianism accountable. Strategic, unapologetic, and action-ready. Follow on YouTube | Visit Website  

  • 🎙️ The Young Turks Independent, hard-hitting journalism willing to name the systemic roots of injustice without flinching. And without purity test's. Follow on YouTube | Visit Website

  • 🌟 Leaders We Deserve Uplifting and supporting bold, justice-driven leaders who are reshaping the future with courage and vision. Follow on Facebook | Visit Website

  • 🎯 50501 Democracy means government by the people — not by a rigged minority. FiftyFifty.One is fighting to end structural inequality in our elections and restore true democratic power to the majority. Visit Website 

Key Talk: 

Video Title: The Secret Form of Resistance No One Talks About

Source: Elizabeth Cronise McLaughlin Channel

Description: This video explores the concept of "stealth activism," a strategic approach using indirect methods to advance justice, particularly where overt action might be met with resistance. It highlights the effectiveness of quiet, calculated efforts in shifting culture and offers guidance on integrating stealth activism into your own strategies. Watch Here. 

⚙️ Understanding the Currents: The Systems That Shape Our World

The daily challenges and anxieties we experience are often not isolated events. They are the predictable outcomes of complex cultural and societal systems that were not always designed with our individual well-being in mind.

To create meaningful, lasting change in our lives, we cannot just react to the daily symptoms. We must learn to see the bigger picture and understand the underlying currents themselves.

Here, we explore these systems—the structures of influence, commerce, and culture that shape our world. By understanding how they work, we move from being passively affected by them to consciously navigating them. This awareness is the first step toward reclaiming our agency and choosing our own path.

Systems, Power, and Inequality

Understanding how structure—not character—shapes outcomes

This section focuses on organizations and thinkers who examine how economic, political, and cultural systems distribute opportunity, risk, and blame.

The emphasis here is not outrage, but clarity: naming the architecture of inequality so individuals can release misplaced shame and societies can imagine better designs.

  • 🏛️ Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) A progressive think tank leading the fight against inequality and injustice. IPS produces cutting-edge research and policy solutions to dismantle structures of concentrated wealth and corporate control. Visit Website

  • 📈 Inequality.org A project of IPS dedicated to tracking and exposing economic inequality — and advocating for a world where wealth and power are shared, not hoarded. Visit Website

  • 🧠 Economic Policy Institute (EPI) Independent research exposing how economic policies systematically advantage the few over the many. EPI focuses on empowering workers, advancing equity, and building a fairer economy. Visit Website

  • 📚 Anand Giridharadas ("Winners Take All") Author and speaker exposing how elite philanthropy often masks — and preserves — the systems of inequality it claims to fix. His book Winners Take All and his public talks challenge the myths that sustain corporate domination and wealth concentration. Learn More

Body Autonomy, Identity, and Lived Dignity

Human flourishing is inseparable from embodiment. This section highlights organizations and voices that defend bodily autonomy, challenge shame-based narratives, and affirm the dignity of people across bodies, identities, and expressions.

  • ⚖️ Equal Justice Initiative Founded by Bryan Stevenson, EJI fights to end mass incarceration, racial injustice, and excessive punishment in America’s legal system. Their work is a powerful call for truth, reckoning, and real reform. Visit Website

  • 🌎 Race Forward An organization driving systemic racial justice through research, narrative shift, and grassroots organizing. Race Forward connects racial justice work to broader struggles for equity and liberation. Visit Website

  • 🗣️ Color of Change The nation’s largest online racial justice organization, Color of Change campaigns to end practices that unfairly hold Black communities back and champion solutions that move us all forward. Visit Website

  • Jane Elliott (Educator & Activist) A renowned anti-racism educator best known for her "Blue Eyes–Brown Eyes" exercise, which powerfully demonstrates the impact of discrimination and prejudice. Her work provides deep insights into the dynamics of systemic racism and internalized bias. (Learn More at her Website)  She has a very powerful Presentation on the Oprah Winfrey Show (Watch). 

  • 📖 The 1619 Project A groundbreaking project from The New York Times reframing American history around the central role of slavery and Black contributions — and exposing how systemic racism shapes our present. Explore the Project 

  • Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) Focuses on organizing white people for racial justice. Visit Website

  • 🎤 Key Talks

    • 🎙️ "We Need to Talk About an Injustice" – Bryan Stevenson (TED Talk) A powerful call to confront the injustices embedded in our criminal justice system and broader society. Watch the Talk 

    • 🎙️ "How Racism Makes Us Sick" – David R. Williams (TED Talk) A compelling exploration of how systemic racism directly impacts public health — and what must change. Watch the Talk

  • ⚖️ National Women's Law Center (NWLC) A leading organization fighting for gender justice in courts, in policy, and in workplaces — with a focus on economic security, reproductive rights, and workplace equality. Visit Website

  • 📚 Everyday Feminism A powerful educational platform that breaks down issues like sexism, privilege, oppression, and liberation into accessible, actionable lessons for everyone. Visit Website

  • 🌍 UN Women A global champion for gender equality, UN Women works to set international standards and support policies that advance women's rights worldwide. Visit Website

  • 🎤 Key Talk

🎙️ "We Should All Be Feminists" – Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (TED Talk) A brilliant, moving call for a new, inclusive feminism that benefits everyone — and an essential primer for understanding gender justice today. Watch the Talk 

  • 🏛️ Human Rights Campaign (HRC) One of the largest organizations advocating for LGBTQ+ civil rights, HRC works to advance legal protections, end discrimination, and create a more inclusive society. Visit Website

  • 🌈 The Trevor Project The leading national organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services for LGBTQ+ youth — saving lives with compassion, advocacy, and support. Visit Website

  • 📞 Trans Lifeline A peer-run support and crisis hotline for trans people, offering direct emotional and financial support to those in need. Trans Lifeline centers community-led healing and solidarity. Visit Website

  • GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) (Website) (Focuses on media advocacy and combating anti-LGBTQ+ bias.)

  • 🎤 Key Talk

🎙️ "A Short History of Trans Identity" – Samy Nour Younes (TED Talk) A personal and historical look at how trans identities have always existed — and why visibility and understanding are crucial today. Watch The Talk 

  • 🌿 The Body Positive A pioneering organization that empowers individuals to reclaim their health, beauty, and identity by breaking free from body shame and embracing radical self-love. Visit Website 

  • ✊ RDRS Initiative This is my other website, A bold, transformative initiative confronting the systems that weaponize shame, promoting full body autonomy, radical self-ownership, and true body respect. The Reclaim Dignity: Reject Shame Initiative (RDRS) leads with truth, science, and unapologetic dignity to unmask and dismantle body oppression. Visit RDRS Initiative 

  • 🌿 American Association for Nude Recreation (AANR) AANR promotes body acceptance and personal freedom through social nudity in appropriate settings. AANR advocates for the rights of individuals to enjoy clothing-optional recreation, emphasizing respect, dignity, and the natural human form. Their mission supports the idea that embracing one's body without shame fosters self-esteem and community. Visit Website 

  • National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance (NAAFA) Focuses on ending size discrimination. Visit Website

  • 🎤 Key Talks

    • 🎙️ "Life Changing Moments - Clothing Optional | Michelle Wallen | TEDxChemungRiver" Michelle Wallen uses “clothing” as a metaphor for the emotional armor we wear to meet society’s expectations, encouraging vulnerability and authenticity. Watch the talk 

    • 🎙️ "Body Positivity or Body Obsession? Learning to See More and Be More" – Dr. Lindsay Kite Dr. Kite challenges the conventional body positivity narrative, advocating for appreciating our bodies for their abilities and experiences over appearance. Watch the Talk

Authoritarianism, Coercion, and the Erosion of Agency

Authoritarian systems rarely arrive all at once. They emerge gradually—through fear, propaganda, attacks on shared truth, and the quiet erosion of personal conscience.

Whether political or religious, these systems rely on similar mechanisms: suppressing critical inquiry, framing obedience as virtue, and using shame or moral certainty to consolidate power. The result is diminished agency—where people feel less free to think, question, or choose for themselves.

This section highlights voices and organizations that recognize these patterns early and work to defend dignity, democratic freedom, and the right to live without coercion.

  • 🗳️ Protect Democracy A nonpartisan organization founded by former government officials, Protect Democracy works to prevent the decline of American democracy into authoritarianism through legal action, public education, and strategic resistance. Visit Website

  • 🎙️ Democracy Now! Independent, fearless journalism exposing abuses of power, threats to democracy, and resistance movements around the world. Democracy Now! tells the stories that corporate media often ignores. Visit Website

  • ⚖️ Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) For decades, SPLC has tracked hate groups, fought for civil rights, and exposed the systemic forces driving racism, extremism, and authoritarianism in America. Visit Website

  • 🛐 Recovering from Religion A nonprofit organization offering support to people struggling with doubt, religious trauma, or loss of faith — providing healing resources for those leaving harmful belief systems. Visit Website 

  • 🏛️ Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) Fighting to uphold the constitutional principle of church-state separation, FFRF defends the rights of nonbelievers and promotes a secular government free from religious interference. Visit Website 

  • 🎙️ The Clergy Project A confidential community of former religious leaders who no longer hold supernatural beliefs, offering support, resources, and connection for those transitioning away from faith leadership roles. Visit Website

  • 🎤 Key Talk

    • 🎙️ "Faith, Hope & Love" – Nate Phelps at TEDxYYC Nate Phelps is the son of Pastor Fred Phelps of the Westboro Baptist Church, which gained infamy from their protests at soldiers’ funerals around the United States. He is the sixth of thirteen children and was taught his father’s extreme version of Calvinism from an early age. This was accompanied by extreme physical punishments and abuse, extreme dietary and health requirements, and other extreme expectations. As a young man Nate rejected his family beliefs and left home at midnight on his eighteenth birthday, Now Nate is a vocal LGBT advocate, and speaks out against the dangers of religion and child abuse. Watch this powerful talk

Empowerment & Resilience

To sustain the fight against these powerful systems, we need to cultivate inner strength, resilience, and a clear understanding of our own minds.

  • Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) (Faith Community & Social Justice) The UUA is a liberal religious association characterized by its commitment to theological diversity, inclusivity, and social justice, rather than adherence to a single creed. Unitarian Universalists are actively involved in numerous social justice causes, including racial justice, LGBTQ+ rights, environmental advocacy, and economic equality, living out shared values of dignity, equity, and compassion through action. Visit Website  (Learn More about Social Justice Work) 

  • Mo Gawdat (Author, Engineer & Happiness Expert) A former Chief Business Officer at Google X, Mo Gawdat shifted his focus to the science of happiness after a personal tragedy. He shares an engineering approach to joy, advocating for a logical framework to achieve emotional well-being. He also speaks extensively on the ethical implications of artificial intelligence and humanity's relationship with technology, advocating for a conscious and responsible future.Book: Solve for Happy: Engineer Your Path to Joy (Learn More) 

  • The Work – Byron Katie A simple yet powerful method of self-inquiry that helps people question and dissolve the internalized beliefs that create suffering, shame, and disempowerment. Visit Website 
  • 📖 Brené Brown Groundbreaking research revealing how shame corrodes identity, fuels disconnection, and undermines courage — and how vulnerability and resilience can break the cycle. Learn More 
  • 🧠 Gabor Maté’s Work on Trauma and Capitalism Dr. Gabor Maté explores how trauma, addiction, and capitalist structures intersect to create widespread suffering — and how healing must involve both personal and systemic change. Visit Website
  • Action for Happiness Focuses on evidence-based actions for greater well-being. Visit Website 
  • The Greater Good Science Center (UC Berkeley) Explores the science of compassion, happiness, and altruism. Visit website
  • 🎤 Key Talk
    • 🎙️ "The Power of Vulnerability" – Brené Brown (TED Talk) A transformational exploration of how embracing vulnerability can dismantle shame and rebuild courage, belonging, and authentic resistance. Watch the Talk