Meet Our Team
ALIA BERRY, MSW, LSW
Founder & Executive Director
Licensed Social Worker & Principal Consultant of Seeds and Berries
With over two decades of dedicated service in community-based social work, Alia Berry has been a transformative force in a wide range of environments, from schools and shelters to correctional facilities. As a licensed clinician and the principal consultant at Seeds and Berries, she specializes in trauma-informed, healing-centered approaches, passionately serving individuals impacted by incarceration and community violence. Her work not only supports individual recovery and community healing but also empowers frontline staff through national-level training and capacity-building efforts, emphasizing the wellness of those who heal others.
In 2020, driven by a vision to mend the deep-seated rifts in her community, Alia founded The Village Revival Project. This innovative nonprofit leverages the power of art to bridge the divide between those who have caused violence and their surrounding communities, fostering understanding, healing, and lasting social cohesion.
Alia's expertise is marked by her ability to create safe, vulnerable spaces where healing and restoration can flourish. Through her leadership at Seeds & Berries and The Village Revival Project, she continues to advocate for systemic change, promoting community violence intervention and prevention, and pioneering transformative justice practices. Alia's commitment to her work is underscored by her ongoing efforts to train and support the next generation of practitioners and community leaders, ensuring a legacy of compassion, resilience, and communal strength.
For more information about Alia's work and her initiatives, visit Seeds & Berries.
Alia Berry is a national consultant and trainer and is available to train your agency regarding various topics as well as The Village Revival Project model to improve support modalities to all who are impacted by violence.
Jessica Laus
Grant Writer
Jessica Laus is currently pursuing a PhD in Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Manitoba in Canada.
She holds a Bachelor of Arts from Wayne State University, a Master of Science from the London School of Economics, and she worked in the field of international diplomacy for well over five years.
A practitioner and advocate of restorative justice and nonviolence, she is most proud of her work cultivating youth leadership around the issues of school segregation and injustice in New Jersey.