The iEmergence Team

Kharla Acosta is the acting Executive Director of iEmergence, Philippines. She actively engages in the promotion of Indigenous community development, where she journeys along with Indigenous communities in the Philippines. As a cultural worker and community development worker, her focus consists of curriculum development, training workshops, and facilitation. In her youth, she was involved in artist-street theatre plays and enjoyed being behind the camera and focusing on production work. Currently, she is acquiring a Master of Arts in Intercultural Studies through NAIITS: An Indigenous Learning Community.

Ji-gaabiikwe, Anishnaabe name meaning ‘Where the Land and Water Meet Woman.’ Her colonial name is Diane Campeau. She is a nakawe-iniikwe (Saulteaux woman), nêhiya-iskwe (Cree woman), and Metis woman and is a registered member of the Yellow Quill First Nation, a signatory of Treaty 4. She is the mother of N’baagiizho (The Moon Crossing the Night Sky While I am Sleeping), also known as Kenadee. They are currently residing in Regina, Saskatchewan.
Ji-gaabiikwe is a Sixties Scoop survivor and an intergenerational residential school survivor.

Wes and Summer Graham are passionate about helping hurting people know the abundant love and life of our Creator through Jesus. The Grahams have been loved and embraced by the Blackfeet people of northwest Montana since 2009 and they are proud to call Browning their home.

“Close relationship in community and the grace-filled truth of God’s word are the vital ingredients to significant spiritual growth for all of us. We seek to fuse those together through weekly small men's and women's groups, an extension of the Inenimowin conference here in Montana each year.

Our adventurous family life including three young kids (Bradyn, Kaufman, and Gardner) is the nucleus of our ministry. When we aren’t exploring the gorgeous mountains and trails around us our kids love horseback riding, archery, swimming, crafts, and considerable amounts of laughter."

Tim & Vivien (Yin Mooi) moved to Nanaimo on Vancouver Island in 2017, where they now reside and work. Vivien is Chinese-Malaysian, who migrated from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Tim is of Scandinavian extraction, born in Minnesota, raised in Seattle. While with Indigenous Pathways their work has included work on the Indigenous adaptation of the Open Hearts Ministries manual for the "Survivors of Abuse Leadership Training Seminar" (SALTS) into what has become Inenomowin.

Faith and her family is originally from Davao City. She and her brothers, Jehiel and Isaac, grew up in the town of Anitapan in Compostela Valley, a province outside Davao City. Her parents, Gelacio and Jemima Dima-ano pioneered a vibrant ministry in Anitapan and spearheaded the establishment of five (5) churches in Compostela. Their passion inspired Faith to also serve within the same ministry. Her first building blocks for her passion for ministry began when she was still in her elementary years. Today, she still supports and contributes to the ministry of their church, Foursquare Gospel.

Growing up in Anitapan, she and her family spent a lot of time with the Mansaka tribe. This allowed her to experience a variety of things and grow in her understanding of her country especially its Indigenous peoples. Her personal and relational skills developed through these experiences and eventually led her to iEmergence.

The 2012 Tribal Christian Gathering that iEmergence co-hosted near Kidapawan City was the first time she had seen tribal peoples celebrating and sharing their own cultural expressions. It inspired her to continue working with iE in engaging with Indigenous peoples in the Philippines.

Bob is born to a family that is known to engage in leadership positions in their Ata tribe, and he is currently a leader himself at the Indigenous Political Structure (IPS). He enjoys farming and planting crops, and he also enjoys engaging in his leadership responsibilities despite the problems that can come with it. He considers his experience with iEmergence as a valuable source of tools and knowledge that helped him a lot when he became a leader, and is currently pushing forward with the Panoloanan in order to ensure that the Ata culture and identity is passed down and fostered throughout future generations.

Clar is an artist whose creations are a celebration of her existence. She is originally from Tandag City, Surigao del Sur, eventually moving to Davao City to attend university and eventually settle. She is passionate about psychology, LGBT studies, and cat behavior. She aims to lend her skills in art in both inspiring and educating others. During her last year in university, development on a project has led her to discover iEmergence and become more involved in indigenous community development. The experience inspired her to volunteer and eventually work full-time within the organization.