Neil Thapar
Neil Thapar (he/him) is Co-Director of Minnow. Neil’s role includes using his legal background to co-create legal entities for community ownership of land and financial resources that are democratic and participatory. Neil emphasizes collective action and cooperation as cornerstones in every project or policy he participates in. Prior to Minnow, Neil was the Sustainable Economies Law Center’s Food and Farm Program Director. Outside of Minnow, Neil is a parent member of a childcare cooperative for families of color in Oakland and he organizes with the Community Democracy Project to bring participatory budgeting, through a People’s Budget, to the City of Oakland where he lives.
About Minnow: Minnow shapes a world where all beings can experience joy and belonging with reverence for the land. Such conditions repair the harms of settler colonialism that persist under capitalism and white supremacy. By securing land tenure for California’s farmers of color and indigenous communities, Minnow supports the heritage and foodways of those most affected by state-sponsored dispossession. Through democratic ownership of land and food systems, colonized peoples can thrive in their cultural practices while contributing proven solutions to climate change.
Plenary Speaker