About
After growing up in South Dakota, I followed my call to spiritual service in Berkeley at the Chaplaincy Institute. My prior experiences lie in writing, activism, and yoga. Not only have I written for social media, broadcast, and print publications, I have also supported activist causes focused on mental health and global health education. Most recently, upon receiving my 200-hour yoga teacher certification, I have been teaching yoga in hospital and elementary school settings while working toward interfaith ordination this fall. I also regularly write on my online platform Finding Soulace, which further expresses my thoughts as a spiritual activist.
EcoFaith Recovery has spoken to a core passion and call of mine to faith-driven eco-justice. I am excited to work directly on an eco-justice project as an expansion of my work so far, including participating in climate strikes and personal choices to live a plant-based lifestyle and minimize waste. We as spiritual beings have an ever-growing responsibility to protect our home and recognize it as sacred ground; taking this crucial step sets the groundwork for every other social issue we are facing. The thoughtful, collaborative EcoFaith Recovery community further calls me to grow my eco-conscious ministry, discerning and crafting my unique role to serve all sentient beings, including Mother Earth.
Current Engagement with The Practices
On a personal and professional basis, I am already engaging in story discovery, relationship-building, and spiritual connection. Through my experience and education in writing, I regularly tell and discover stories for myself and others in a similar situation or mindset as me. Also, my experiences in education as a yoga instructor and an elementary teacher in American Samoa have grown my mentorship abilities, through which I am building relationships in order to effectively communicate with and better educate others. Knowing how powerful these practices are, continuing to foster them, especially beyond the personal and interpersonal settings, will allow for a more expansive landscape in which to build relationships, tell stories, and learn more.
Practicum Focus
In the context of a Practicum opportunity, the mentorship Practice provided truly appeals and speaks to me as I am just planting the seeds of my ministry. I hope to gain greater awareness of the practical steps for successfully building an eco-justice initiative, as well as how to best bring Spirit into every step of the process. Working directly with EcoFaith leaders to build upon the growing community carbon initiative, I envision many paths of EcoFaith leaders and other potential community leaders interweaving to allow for wisdom to flourish and increased strength in each of our abilities as spiritual leaders. Those mentorship relationships can then continue to grow past the Practicum end date into future campaigns and possibilities.