So, what do you do?

Perhaps it’s the hummingbird quality I’ve always resonated with, but I tend to pollinate a lot of spaces when it comes to my work.

My work manifests through a variety of streams, some of which interweave from time to time, all of which connect with my intention. In all aspects of my work, from the field to the boardroom, I cultivate environments where inner transformation of individuals and collectives is authentically possible as they embody a more responsive, creative, and collaborative relationship with Earth, ancestors, one another and future generations.

Here is a glimpse of those streams.

I am deeply committed to a life of intentional relationship with Earth, Horse and Soul. Horses have been dedicated companions throughout human history - and they have been fundamental in the development of our species in countless dimensions.

Much like the human relationship with Earth and the untamable aspects of the Soul, the more recent history of the horse and human relationship has relied upon an approach using dominance, violence, and power over, rather than authentic partnership and companionship. However, just because it’s the way it was done doesn’t mean it’s the way it must be done; we have a choice, we can choose authentic relationship - we can choose power with rather than power over. When it comes to the way in which humans are inhabiting this planet, it’s time for us to change the story, and the horses, once again, are walking beside us in our evolutionary development.

It is within this grounded sense of possibility that I co-founded CuraKuda. In collaboration with the horses, the land and an activated heart intelligence, we nurture spaces where the wild essence of the horse, human and earth can encounter their shared language. Working mostly with herds at liberty, I bring individuals and groups out into the field where we deepen our natural capacity to flow and evolve authentically with all that exists within the unknown.

My approach integrates a lifetime of learning and relating from horses and our earth body, and weaves together tools, techniques and approaches that have been gathered and cultivated from a diverse range of teachers.

Learn more about the relational work we do with horses, ecosystems and the soul at CuraKuda here.

In addition the the work that manifests through CuraKuda, we are dedicated to supporting other individuals and organizations that are following the lead of the horses as we collectively dismantle, dissolve and reshape our historically conditioned ways of being and working with horses. We celebrate and wish to amplify the work of The Last Ark Orphanage, a Rewilding safe haven and sanctuary for animals and humans in Uruguay, where Beings that have endured abuse, neglect, trauma, and suffering are given the space, freedom, and love to heal and reconnect with the herd in the lap of nature herself.

Over the years I've gained an intimate understanding of the vast challenges that companies and organizations face while attempting to implement ethical and sustainable business strategies in our globalized economy. I continue to offer thought partnership and consulting engagements with mission-driven organizations and entrepreneurs who are genuinely committed to authentic and relational development as their teams work toward more sustainable, ethical and regenerative business practices. My consulting approach is unique in that I bring perspective, tools, and practical approaches that integrate appreciative inquiry, heart-based coherence and circular business strategy oriented toward wellbeing of the individual and the collective.

In addition to the independent consulting work I offer via my company Quila Quina, “out there” in the industry, you might also come across my work as an Advisor at Mosaic RSR, a multi-industry, stakeholder-informed knowledge management platform that provides impartial, localized improvement guidance to suppliers and buyers. Together, we bring together all of the pieces that are needed to support the collective evolution of responsible business beyond risk mitigation toward true and relational continuous improvement and development.

While I continue to offer corporate consulting in the context of board rooms and corporate settings, I find this work to be vastly more impactful and transformational for both the executive and the organization when we take it out into the field. Working with horses, individually and with herds at liberty- in environmental landscapes we are actively working to regenerate and restore, we activate an attuned leadership that is grounded in authenticity, intuitive responsiveness and non-verbal communication. In partnership with horses, we offer authentic learning journeys to support human development and work toward healing collective trauma as we purposefully evolve through this epoch of global unrest, systems collapse and rapid climate change.

More details about my corporate experience can be found here

In our time on this Earth, humans have radically altered the environment in which we exist. Much of this alteration has been done with blatant disregard for the impacts on our planet, directly threatening our own ability to continue thriving. We cannot damage this Earth without directly damaging ourselves. We must be stewards, not pillagers. 

This is not to say we cannot continue in an industrialized society, but it is instead a challenge to bring our relationship with the ecosystems we inhabit and work within to the forefront of all personal and business decisions. There is vast opportunity for us to collectively shift our economies and societies in order to build productive systems that support and collaborate with our ecosystems, rather than decimate them.

I’ve chosen to direct my energy toward two vital areas where I believe my personal efforts today are contributing to a resilient collective future tomorrow:

Ecosystem Restoration & Forest Protection

The vision woven into CuraKuda is grounded in a commitment to be of service as a regenerative presence to the ecosystems we work and live within. Through our relationship with the land where we live and work with the horses, we are committed to holistic grazing practices that drawdown of carbon from the atmosphere, protecting forests within our care and restoring ecosystems in a manner that increases biodiversity and ensures resilience for future generations.

As an acting member on the Board of Directors for Fundacíon Llancalil, I have the honor of supporting the stewardship of a land preservation project in southern Chile that is dedicated to the long-term preservation of old-growth native Chilean forests and the rewilding of lands previously damaged by clear-cut logging and agricultural use. We are currently working on the restoration of 500 hectares in the Llancalil valley and intend to build programs for scientific research and wilderness education. 

I’m dedicated to the Reforestation Revolution as a Tree Sister, and for the last several years my small yet consistent contributions have allowed to the planting of thousands of trees already. A little bit can go a very long way, especially when we are talking about nurturing the breath of the next several centuries. I hope you’ll consider joining me in the forest and planting a seed of your own.

Collaborating with Nature (Inner and Outer) in Education

Every human alive today has within them a shared language with all beings on this planet - it is our shared language that is guided by our intuition and residing quietly within our hearts. I consider this shared language the language of nature - and we only access this language outside of ourselves by first recovering it from within - reconnecting and remembering our inner nature.

How can we expect future generations to care for this Earth if they live in a context where they cannot relate with nature? So many children, youth, and adults lack access to nature and it is having a critical impact on mental, physical and spiritual health all across the world. One of our greatest opportunities to nurture the resilience of future generations is to bring children and youth back into nature through an educational environment that functions in relationship with Earth elements. When humans can attune to the deep connection we feel with the Earth, we find the direct link between our inner nature and our outer nature. This link is the vital component we need in order to imagine and build a resilient future.

I’m currently on the Advisory Board of Mañke Chile, an innovative company that designs programs focused on the connection with nature, physical, emotional and cognitive development from the bond, love, care and conservation of ecosystems within Aysén Region of Chilean Patagonia. I am also a member of the Board of Directors of the Intuitive Learning Foundation, an organization dedicated to the integration of intuitive education with intellectual education so human innovation can serve all life on our shared planet.

Through my Substack, Subterranean Resilience, and through all of my published writing and sharing online, my intention is to cultivate an eddy of stillness in the midst of our mad world, to offer beauty and light and reflections on the wholeness we find when we trust the goodness of ourselves and our species.

I pour my love into the words that fall onto the page.

I pour my love into the field when I gather with others and the herd.

I pour my love into the forest when I go walking there in silence.

I pour my love into the board room when we are discussing some of the greatest challenges our world faces with regards to environmental and human rights.

I pour my love into my presence as I sit with beloved and my young daughter and we watch her experience this wild home we’ve made in Patagonia.

I am a dedicated spirit nurturing the story that we humans are a loving species, who are capable of loving the world and being loved by it, and when we surrender ourselves to this love, we find our way back to the source of all things, we find our way home.

Moving at the pace of nature

As an integration devotee, I am uninterested in teaching or sharing anything that I don’t practice myself. My life is my practice, and as such, I’ve learned the deep value of periodically removing myself from the unnatural rhythm at which the majority of humanity operates at the moment and returning to a life that moves at the rhythm of nature - the pace of the soul. These are slow, long journeys. Sometimes they are done on foot, sometimes they are done in partnership with horses. These journeys are lifelong sage-guides for me as I wholeheartedly engage and relate with the world and all aspects of my work. They are internal, immersive experiences, that require space and time for digestion and integration (which are vital elements I also build into my consulting, advisory and equine experiential learning programs).

• In 2008 I thru-hiked the entire Appalachian Trail, walking southbound from Maine to Georgia, becoming an official "2000 Miler" under the trail name "Grettle". My husband and I even appeared in the National Geographic Trail Documentary about the trail, making our first major film debut at minute 25:40!

• In 2016, my husband and I completed our first Long Ride, riding horseback across the wilds of Patagonia, Chile. Self-supported and over the course of four months living in the backcountry, we moved slowly across nearly 1700 kilometers of the remote region with our three horses and two dogs. Upon completion of our ride, we became associated members of The Long Riders Guild.

• In 2022, my husband, myself and our 17 month old daughter completed another Long Ride, this time traversing a remote area of northern Patagonia. During this ride our daughter joined the ranks of other associated Long Riders and became the first “official” Little Long Rider, the youngest Long Rider documented and the first second-generation Long Rider.