Who We Are

Mission,
Vision & Values

A 501(c)(3) nonprofit specializing in critical consciousness — weaving together wellness, cultural wisdom, and environmental stewardship to build thriving BIPOC communities.

Our Mission Support Our Work

501(c)(3)

Recognized Nonprofit

San Diego & Beyond

Our Mission

Thoughtful tools for
lasting change

We seek Oneness that builds capacity and environmental care — ensuring that service is both restorative and transformative.

ASCENDtials provides thoughtful, holistic, and educative tools, economic initiatives, and collaborative partnerships that use principles and practical activities to advance cultural wisdom, food equity, and sustainable community development.

Through our expanded role as a Maintenance Assessment District administrator, we support local businesses, enhance public spaces, and foster inclusive economic growth that reflects the cultural integrity and wellness of the communities we serve.

By blending wellness, volunteerism, and environmental stewardship, ASCENDtials empowers individuals and communities to thrive while building scalable models that can be replicated across states.

Cultural Wisdom

Centering African philosophies and ancestral teachings as the foundation of everything we do — a living practice, not a theory.

Food Equity

Advancing access to nutritious, culturally resonant food as a fundamental right for every community member.

Sustainable
Development

Building scalable community models grounded in environmental stewardship and long-term resilience.

MAD Administrator

Supporting local businesses and enhancing public spaces as a Maintenance Assessment District administrator across Southern California.

Our Vision for Change

Thriving communities
woven with purpose

ASCENDtials envisions communities where wellness, cultural wisdom, and environmental stewardship are woven into everyday life — creating spaces that honor cultural integrity and foster Oneness with nature. Through our MAD administrator role, we strengthen local businesses and build capacity for long-term community resilience.

Food Equity

Ensuring every community has equitable access to nutritious, culturally appropriate food through systemic programs and partnerships.

Sustainable Development

Creating lasting infrastructure — physical, social, and economic — that communities can own and grow for generations.

Inclusive Growth

Advancing economic opportunity through MAD administration — strengthening local businesses and enhancing public spaces.

Cultural Integrity

Honoring the cultural identity of every community as the non-negotiable foundation of all programming and partnerships.

Environmental Care

Building reciprocal relationships between communities and the natural world through stewardship, education, and shared practice.

Long-Term Resilience

Designing scalable models that build community capacity and can be replicated to serve BIPOC communities across the nation.

Truth & Transformation

Guided by the
Seven Principles of Maat

African philosophies and principles are at our core. We turn to the wisdom of our ancestors from Kemet — the indigenous name given to ancient Egypt — to guide us. They founded a system that not only imitates nature but provides a deeper understanding of our Oneness, true nature, and unity with all things in existence. It is through their teachings that we will find truth and transformation.

Truth

Ma'at

Speaking and living in truth as the foundation of all relationships.

Justice

Netjer

Upholding fairness and accountability in every community relationship and structure.

Harmony

Hetep

Creating peace within ourselves and with the world around us.

Balance

Saa

Maintaining equilibrium between giving and receiving, action and rest, self and community.

Order

Neheh

Living with intention and structure that honors natural cycles.

Reciprocity

Iru

What we give to community, community returns to us tenfold.

Oneness

Amen

Recognizing our unity with all living things and the cosmos — the principle that binds all others together.

"A system that not only imitates nature but provides a deeper understanding of our unity with all things in existence."

"It is through their teachings that we will find truth and transformation — a system that not only imitates nature but provides a deeper understanding of our unity with all things in existence."

Rooted in Kemet

The indigenous wisdom of ancient Egypt guides our approach to education, wellness, and community healing.

A System for All

Every person deserves
a complete human experience

We believe that all people deserve systems that support a complete human experience. From our founding, we have worked hard to recognize and fight against the systems of inequality holding us back. But we don't do it alone. Your support and participation in our programs is what keeps us going.

Food Equity Wellness Education Legal Aid Environmental Programs Youth Programs Economic Justice

Community First

Everything we build is done with, not for, the communities we serve.

Proven Results

Candid Platinum 2025 certified — transparent, accountable, and impact-driven.

Fighting Inequality Together

From founding we have worked to recognize and dismantle the systems of inequality holding us back — and we do it as a collective, powered by your participation.

Our Founder

Mika

Founder & Director

Meet Our Founder

The vision
behind the mission

The founder, Mika, is dedicated to advancing critical consciousness, food equity, and sustainable development. Through holistic education, wellness initiatives, and collaborative partnerships, she has built programs that connect individuals to nature while strengthening community resilience.

"Through our role as a Maintenance Assessment District administrator, we champion inclusive economic growth, enhance public spaces, and ensure that cultural integrity and wellness remain at the heart of community transformation."

As a MAD administrator, Mika champions inclusive economic growth for San Diego's BIPOC communities — ensuring that cultural integrity and wellness remain the non-negotiable heart of every initiative, every partnership, and every program ASCENDtials builds.

Critical Consciousness Educator MAD Administrator Community Builder Wellness Advocate

Mission, Vision & Values

Thoughtful tools forlasting change

Thriving communitieswoven with purpose

Guided by theSeven Principles of Maat

Every person deservesa complete human experience

The visionbehind the mission

Ready to risewith your community?