We're heartbroken Americans. Just like you.
We understand the liberating power of democracy. We know its long arc from the Great Law of Peace of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy to the Declaration of Independence to the UN Declaration of Human Rights. We ache to be free, to belong, to be liberated from oppression in every form. This pilgrimage is not just a national endeavor. It's a human one.
We know that no democracy survives without a powerful civic faith and culture. Democracy isn't just a form of government, it's a spiritual practice, a set of moral and cultural norms. That spirit layer (rites of passage, connection to the earth, reverence for the sacred) is what we're here to tend.
This effort began in early 2025, when it became clear that the official plans for America's 250th birthday weren't deep, honest, or hopeful enough for the moment. A small group of volunteers from across the country began imagining what was truly needed.
The answer: a National Pilgrimage and Assembly.
We know that no democracy survives without a powerful civic faith and culture. Democracy isn't just a form of government, it's a spiritual practice, a set of moral and cultural norms. That spirit layer (rites of passage, connection to the earth, reverence for the sacred) is what we're here to tend.
This effort began in early 2025, when it became clear that the official plans for America's 250th birthday weren't deep, honest, or hopeful enough for the moment. A small group of volunteers from across the country began imagining what was truly needed.
The answer: a National Pilgrimage and Assembly.
Meet the Team
Brandon Peele - Executive Director
Brandon's purpose is to heal the soul of the nation. His latest book, Bison Medicine, and his weekly Bison Medicine Dispatch are love letters to the American people. He's a Citizen University Fellow and Ceremony Leader with The ManKind Project. His work has been featured in USA Today, US News and World Report, and Forbes. |
Sara Younis - Community Lead
Sara is an artist, community leader, painter, designer, and President of the Egyptian-American Society of the Bay Area. She enjoys entertaining, volunteering with the Coptic Church, and playing with her dog, Jazz. |
Colin McBride - Communications Lead
Colin is a strategic communications specialist and public relations manager with over 15 years of experience in storytelling, brand management, and multi-channel content development. Expert in managing end-to-end creative workflows, from vendor selection and contract negotiations to high-stakes print materials and SEO-focused content marketing. |
Jamie Wellik - Partnerships Lead
Jamie is a leader in the ManKind Project, and has had a career spanning multiple domains: Public Policy, Leadership Development, Construction and Commercial Real Estate Acquisition and Leasing, Finance, Business Management, Non-Profit Leadership, Energy Efficiency, Sustainable Design, Construction Management. |
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Mike and Brittney Buffo - Filmmakers
They are the documentary team behind The Call of the Nation, Mike as Director of Photography/Director, Brittney as Producer and Lead Writer. Their collaboration is built on more than a decade of shared work in their marriage: from 2010 to 2017, they ran the HARA Motion Picture Conservatory, a nonprofit organization through which they taught teenagers how to write, act in, and produce their own films. Their documentary Bohemian Soul: A Colony Awakens captures both the founding bohemians of Carmel-by-the-Sea and the living artists carrying that tradition forward, a portrait of place, purpose, and creative inheritance. Their most recognized work is Condor Canyon, a feature documentary currently airing on PBS stations nationwide that has screened more than 350 times across more than 35 states. |
Join the Team
We're volunteers, and we need help. If you have experience in fundraising, marketing, legal, logistics, facilitation, or filmmaking — or if you just have great ideas — we want to hear from you.
