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About Me

I support individuals, families and groups in their efforts to live more vibrantly, deepening their connections with themselves, each other and the world around them. I have devoted the last 10 years to working as a teacher, school counselor, social emotional educator, life and family coach, self-discovery mentor, group facilitator, organizational coach, wilderness trip leader and community organizer. I work individually with children and adults and facilitate groups for parents, teachers, school communities, organizations and interest-based groups. The essence of my work arises from my passion for life. I am a student of the heart who brings presence, playfulness, creativity and grounded action to the work I do and the life I live. I am an engaged learner and creative thinker with an astute social sensibility and a keen capacity to see the whole while caring for the parts. I am deeply curious about life itself, and especially about the nuances of human experience and the intricate webs of connections that weave the world together.

Location:
United States, Asheville, NC
Current organization:
Woven Essence: Community Catalyst and Life and Family Coach
Current role:
Community Catalyst
Gender:
Female
Areas of expertise:
Education & Psychology/Sociology, Education - Curriculum design, Community Engagement , conversation architecture, recognizing what people want, Encouraging people, Passion for kids, enthusiastic
I am:
Artist, Brainstormer, Change Agent, Connector, Consultant, Educator/Teacher, Idea generator, Job-seeker, Life mentor, Social entrepreneur
Languages:
English
My website links:
Woven Essence
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TEDCRED 500+ TEDx Organizer

More About Me

I'm passionate about

I am passionate about life and the potential that is activated when people genuinely connect with themselves, each other, the world around us and a purpose that serves the greatest good.

An idea worth spreading

People of different ages and from different disciplines actively collaborating together around the challenges and opportunities that face us during this time in life.

Talk to me about

Intergenerational and interdisciplinary collaboration. Bridging the arts and creative expression with meaningful dialogue. Embodied learning that spreads into creative action.

Comments

  • TEDCred score: +2200.00 TEDCred reflects your contribution to the TED community.

  • A reply on Conversation: Gaming the future.

    Apr 9 2011: I've not played it myself. I've watched as some teenagers played it and was waiting for the mac version to be released. The kids I watched play it were amazed at how complex it is to be a leader of the world... how much one thing effects another thing. And many people enjoy the apocalypse option. In the game world you get to play out some of the what-ifs that are unimaginable and actually point to the end of the world... versus saving the world. Better to play that out in a game and figure out what could be done to help make a difference in the 'real world.'

  • A comment on Conversation: Gaming the future.

    Apr 8 2011: Check out Fate of the World http://fateoftheworld.net/ It is a newly released game that is just what you are asking for. It is a sequel to a game the company developed for a BBC Climate Challenge.

    And interestingly, we recently had an event called Gaming the Future where Fate of the World was released and other companies shared their gaming and visualization programs that focus on this intersection between science and gaming. Here are some links if you want to explore.

    http://dl.dropbox.com/u/4933537/Gamingthefuture.pdf
    http://wunc.org/programs/news/archive/TKT022411.mp3/view
  • +2

    A comment on Talk: Birke Baehr: What's wrong with our food system

    Nov 30 2010: I am the TEDxNextGenerationAsheville licensee, an educator and a child therapist. It is great to see the adult world waking up to the power of young people's ideas and listening to what they notice and have to say. They have experienced a different world than we adults and they have perspectives and ways of making meaning that stretch beyond what many of our conditioned responses can see. It is intriguing how emphatically some people want to cut down these youth and discredit their ideas as being scripted and forced by adults. Yet, pioneers of bold ideas historically receive strong push back.

    Each of our presenters applied via a written paper and video. We only accepted applicants who showed a strong passion for their own idea. We supported each presenter as fully as possible via presentation coaching and connecting them with a mentor in their field. Birke was given a 5 minute slot. His enthusiasm, depth of knowledge and commitment to this message stems from his own research and care.

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