Sarah van Gelder

Sarah van Gelder is the founding editor of YES! Magazine, and led the magazine from a scrappy startup to a publication that is nationally recognized for exploring leading-edge solutions to the major ecological and human challenges of our times. The magazine has won national awards for its coverage of such topics as the solutions to climate change, racial justice, cooperative economy, alternatives to mass incarceration, neighborhood sustainability, and personal resilience. She is editor and author of several books, including The Revolution Where You Live: Stories from a 12,000-Mile Journey Through a New America (Berrett Koehler) based on her solo road trip through the Midwest rust belt, five Native reservations, Appalachian coal country, and other areas on the margins of American society. In 2017 Sarah founded PeoplesHub, an online school that taps into the knowledge of social change leaders to train others in grassroots change. Most recently she managed communications for the Suquamish Indian Tribe and previously co-founded an organization that helped restore to the tribe the land where Chief Seattle once lived. She continues to serve on the board of the Tribe’s foundation and paddles with the Tribe on the annual canoe journey. In addition to writing for YES! Magazine, Sarah has published articles and essays in The Guardian, Huff Post, Common Dreams, Truthout, and others. Sarah is vice chair of Free Speech TV and maintains an active social media presence. She is the mother of two young adults and has lived in India, China, and Latin America.