A diverse group of people gathered in a conference room engaged in a team-building activity or discussion, surrounded by tables, chairs, and decorative mirrors on the walls.

ABOUT

Smiling young man with red headphones, beard, mustache, curly hair, wearing a black shirt with a logo and an orange vest with patches and buttons, against a dark background.

Healing-centered lEader

Dr. Justis Lopez — aka DJ Faro — is a son, brother, husband, mama’s boy, chocolate chip cookie lover; and mc extraordinaire.

His home is diasporic, from the city of village charm, to the melodies of the coqui in puerto rico. home is where the heart is and he currently lives in the boogie down bronx nyc, where he is rooted in the rhythm of justice, joy, love and liberation.

Dr. lopez is a harvard-educated educator. his doctorate degree focused on fostering ecosystems of healing, through healing-centered youth development, healing-centered leadership, and healing-centered research through emancipatory inquiry.

Justis is a community organizer, sound healer, researcher, and artivist who brings soul to every space he enters. from teaching social studies in public schools to designing national equity strategies and rocking global stages as a dj, his journey blends scholarship and soul, systems thinking and soundwaves.

As a serial social impact entrepreneur he is the founder and chief enthusiasm officer of just experience llc, where he curates events, workshops, coaching services, curriculum, and immersive experiences that heal, uplift, and mobilize communities. along with the co founder of project happyvism. a project centered on choosing joy and self love as a radical form of activism.

His work has reached international stages from london to costa rica and collaborated with movements, municipalities, and institutions around the world to build cultures of belonging, liberation, and transformation.

As a published author and researcher, justis has written and co-authored pieces on hip-hop pedagogy, healing-centered leadership, and culturally responsive education — including happyvism: a story of choosing joy, and academic contributions spanning the fields of educational leadership, youth development, and justice-centered schooling.

Justis is the recipient multiple awards and fellowships, including the harvard alumni turner cooper award for people-first practice in education, the gates foundation’s create fellowship for culturally responsive education, and the carter g. woodson award for educational leadership and more. his work has been honored by state departments, national associations, and grassroots coalitions for its impact across education, culture, and social change.

Whether he's spinning diasporic beats to shift frequencies, facilitating strategic equity sessions, or writing about radical love in education, justis brings a fierce commitment to joy, justice, and transformation.

His mission? to help people and systems move from surviving to thriving — one beat, one breath, one breakthrough at a time.