about us

At Mycelium Rootworks, we believe purpose grows through connection. Together, we can spark imagination, grow resilience, and root creativity in a future where people and planet thrive.

Our Mission

Mycelium Rootworks helps people and organizations use creativity to find their purpose and fuel climate action. Like the underground networks of mycelium that connect and nourish entire ecosystems, we cultivate purpose-driven storytelling and creative expression that connect people to each other and to the planet.

We cut our teeth as musicians, artists, and educators, and we know firsthand how creativity can spark connection, inspire purpose, and drive action. We bring those roots into climate storytelling, helping individuals and organizations alike align their work with meaning and impact.

Our mission is simple: to grow transformative narratives that regenerate culture, inspire action, and deepen ecological belonging.

We do this by blending artistic practice, advocacy, and coaching — educating and guiding artists and changemakers to root themselves at the intersection of what they love, what they are good at, what the world needs, and what gives their life purpose.

Through our three pathways, we meet people where they are on their creative and professional journey:

  • Seed – Keynotes & panels that plant the first ideas for purpose-driven action.

  • Sprout – Interactive workshops for students and emerging artists to grow their skills, voices, and advocacy.

  • Root – Private coaching to help  anchor creative practice in purpose and cultivate long-term impact.

Our Values

Our work is guided by these roots:

Connection – Like mycelium, we believe strength comes from interdependence, building networks that nourish people and planet.

Creativity – Art is more than expression; it’s a tool for transformation, imagination, and justice.

Purpose – We help people discover their ikigai, grounding their work in meaning that sustains them and serves the world.

Regeneration – We strive for practices that restore culture, community, and ecosystems for generations to come.

 

meet the team

Ranjani Prabhakar

Ranjani Prabhakar, based in Washington DC, is a multifaceted personality: a musician, educator, and climate justice advocate, deeply rooted in ancestral storytelling and the healing of our collective ecology. Through her brainchild, Flame Lily Media, Ranjani amplifies decolonized ecological narratives, seamlessly intertwining her passion for the arts and storytelling with her proficiency in environmental policy and activism. As its Executive Director, she helms the creative direction, right from music to storyboard.


A first-generation Tamil American, Ranjani’s roots in the arts trace back to her formative years when she trained in South Indian Carnatic music, majoring in classical vocal. She has showcased her talents both in the U.S. and India and played a pivotal role in helping establish the inaugural Carnatic ensemble at her alma mater Emory University. Her musical skills, spanning voice, violin, and guitar, blossomed in her teen years as she ventured into songwriting. This led to her co-founding Lil Idli, an experimental pop duo exploring the essence of human responsibility in a changing climate. Watch her PBS documentary segment on the “Climate Artists” series here.


Professionally, Ranjani is part of the Earthjustice policy & legislation team, focused on championing potent climate actions and grassroots expertise in Congress and the Administration. Before Earthjustice, she worked on the Mayor’s policy team at the City of Chicago, spearheading multiple clean energy and climate programs. Recognized for her contributions in public policy and the arts, she was a 2022 awardee of the US Grassroots Accelerator by the Women’s Earth Alliance. Ranjani has degrees in city planning and civil engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Deepak Gopinath

Deepak Gopinath, a classical composer and percussionist from Thrissur, Kerala, bridges music technology, robotics, and education. He is the chief orchestrator of all technical production aspects of the Flame Lily team, overseeing production capture and post-production editing and score.


Deepak began his studies in Physics at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IITB) before his passion for music led him to the Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA. At Berklee, he mastered classical composition, jazz, and electronic music, studying under notable experts like Ralph Peterson Jr., Dean Anderson, Tibor Pusztai, and Dr. Richard Boulanger.


Deepak’s work with Dr. Boulanger ignited a passion for blending arts and technology. At the Georgia Tech Center for Music Technology, he teamed up with Dr. Gil Weinberg, significantly contributing to the development of the world’s first robotic drumming prosthetic arm. Later, at Northwestern University, he pursued a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, focusing on human-robot interactions and assistive solutions at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab with Dr. Brenna Argall. This expertise led him to joining Risk Aware Driving group at Toyota Research Institute as a researcher, focusing on projects enhancing driver safety.


In his artistic pursuits, Deepak is the music producer and percussionist for Lil Idli, a band he co-founded with his partner Ranjani. As a composer, he primarily works in the contemporary classical idiom with a focus on small-form ensembles utilizing electronic as well as acoustic modalities. His compositions have been played by ensembles such as Triple Helix Trio, Zodiac Trio, and GTLork (Georgia Tech Laptop Orchestra).