Meet Our Team: Spotlight on Heather

Meet Our Team: Spotlight on Heather

Associate Director Heather Johnson is passionate about her work, which she described as, “cultivating appropriate structures, identifying clear purpose, and helping to build the culture.”

To her teammates, she is the light in the room. Her passions for cultivating maturity in individuals, the community, and the organization shine in every aspect of her work!

Before coming to the Whidbey Institute four years ago, Heather helped launch and grow Sustainable Connections in Bellingham, Washington. She’s also served as Interim Director of both Sustainable Seattle and Excellence Northwest. Here, she’s loved seeing the Institute evolve into its next wave of life. When asked how working with this current team feels, she answered quickly: “It’s thrilling. It’s a really exciting experience, to be on the inside when everyone on the team is a right fit for their role and we’re all working toward a purpose that we are passionate about.”

In addition to cultivating deep partnerships, right-fit relationships, and organizational maturity for the Institute at large, Heather also values this chance to cultivate her best self. “I’m grateful for the cauldron that is the Whidbey Institute,” she said. “As much as I’ve worked on the Institute, the Institute has worked on me. It has been exactly the learning I’ve needed in these years.”

Heather is currently evolving as a hiker and athlete, and takes great pleasure from returning to strenuous movement after a long hiatus, due partly to injury, and partly to, “forgetting how essential it is to move, every day.” This, too, is part of living to her full potential. “I’m learning how to walk my talk, and it’s exciting to feel greater integrity between what I believe, what I know, and what I actually do.”

May 5, 2014

Meet Our Board: Spotlight on Gabriel

Board President Gabriel Shirley has loved the Institute since he first participated in our Spirited Work program in 1999.

“When I was asked, about four years ago, if I would consider board service, it was really easy to say yes,” he said. “I really believe in the organization and what it’s about. [The Whidbey Institute] helps take peoples’ lives to the next level.” Gabriel describes himself as a “connect-the-dots” person who serves from a whole-systems perspective. He highlights strategy, development, and land and facilities work as particular areas of interest.

Gabriel is a Senior Partner at BigMind Consulting, a firm that focuses on the intersection of people and technology, and he leads the Workforce Design team at Avanade, Inc, helping to strategically identify and grow talent for the future. At the Whidbey Institute, he is deeply engaged in our strategy work, which he says is a blend between vision and a grounding in practical reality. “It’s important to have a compelling vision that people can get behind and support,” he said, “but it’s also important that it be doable. I am comfortable in the visioning, and on the practical side I have sensitivity to whether something can be implemented given our capacities.” We’ve appreciated Gabriel’s heavy lifting in our strategy and development work.

Gabriel said that one of the things he’s come to love about the Whidbey Institute during his service has been its continuing openness to questioning its own identity. “It’s a good thing,” he said. “It keeps us open to growth, and to growing our sense of who we are in ways that are responsive to the needs of the world.”

When not working or serving, Gabriel attends to his interests as an outdoorsman and athlete. He was an avid whitewater kayaker in the past, but has recently turned in the direction of running. “I’m currently training for my first ever half marathon,” he said, “and I’ve always spent a lot of time in the woods.”

May 5, 2014

Remembering Margaret Lloyd

Margaret Lloyd lived with courage and commitment, working on behalf of a new understanding of our relationship to the earth and to each other. She spent her life generously engaging with and supporting significant, prophetic endeavors. 

She died on January 13th at the age of 97.  She leaves a legacy which includes Thomas Berry Hall, as well as other structures and programs around the country (see below).

Margaret first visited Chinook in the 1970s, and remained a friend of the community thereafter though she lived in New York City.  In 1997, sharing the aspirations of Fritz and Vivienne Hull, she made an extraordinary gift that provided the funding for the building of Thomas Berry Hall as well as program support in the early years of the Whidbey Institute.  She deeply understood the work of Thomas Berry, and her gift created a distinctive place for the emerging work for Earth, Spirit, and the Human Future that he inspired.

In the 15 years since completion, this beautiful Ross Chapin-designed structure has been counted among the most distinctive of gathering places on Whidbey Island and in the Northwest.  It has held meetings and gatherings of major importance, along with graduations, memorials, concerts, and a few great parties. Margaret’s gift profoundly changed the culture and opportunities of the Institute. We continue to grow into the power of the space.

To her family, and to all who knew Margaret, we express our gratitude for the manifold ways in which she delighted, challenged, and supported us across three decades of meaningful friendship and inspiration.

Margaret’s friends are invited to one of these celebrations of her life:

July 20th, 1 – 3 pm at the Judson Memorial Church, 55 Washington Square South, New York, New York; or July 27th, 2-4 pm at 140 Vineyard Road, Cotuit (Cape Cod), Massachusetts. RSVP via email at least a week in advance, and please pass this message on to others.

Margaret’s family has already received some wonderful memories, which are being collected for a family scrapbook. Each celebration will be an opportunity to reminisce, but if you cannot come, please send your memories. They are also preparing a photo show and would be delighted to add any scanned images of Margaret (with or without her friends) you might provide.

In lieu of flowers to honor Margaret, the family has suggested a donation to the Fine Arts Center, the Barnstable Land Trust, the New York Open Center, Judson Memorial Church for care of the LaFarge windows, The Brigham & Women’s Hospital’s Father George Winchester Endowment for Chaplaincy, or a charity of your choice.

April 29, 2014

Team Tuesdays: Nurturing the Whole Self

As a home for transformative work at the personal, social, and global levels, the Whidbey Institute itself is also subject to continual improvement. As a staff in service of a greater purpose, we’ve been working closely with board members and Institute fellows to refine our strategy and methods as an organization.

Our work at the Whidbey Institute is all about relationships. Nurturing a holistic perspective toward and cultivating strength in these relationships is core to our mission.Vital questions have emerged: How do we create a sense of belonging? How do we nurture our connections? What does right relationship—with self, with community, and with the ecosystem—look like?

It took some time before, in the midst of this very exciting strategy work, we applied these elemental inquiries of the Whidbey Institute to ourselves: how do we, as a team, create a sense of belonging with one another?

It can be difficult to care for oneself in the throes of the day to day grind, and we found that true on a personal and organizational level. We were struggling to find a healthy balance between “getting the work done”, tending to our inner selves, and being in community with people we respect, admire, and want to hang out with! The inquiry had us surfing the edge; the tension between a gap and a solution. So we did what we do best: those who felt passionate and inspired formed a team and developed a creative solution through invention and imagination.

That team was Dan and Kimi, and after some obviously playful brainstorming, they presented Team Tuesday. Team Tuesday is built around our weekly staff meetings and aims to support our whole selves. We held our first Team Tuesday this week and it was awesome. We were more focused throughout each activity—able to fully participate while knowing that other important activities had space to exist. We had really good work time and really good play time. We served ourselves and the mission of the Institute. We caught the wave—the sweet spot that holds you suspended in harmony. I am so grateful to be in the company of such cool people. Thanks everyone. I’m already looking forward to more!

Check out the sidebar for the proposal that Dan and Kimi shared with the staff.

—Allison Tongate, Operations Manager

April 11, 2014

A Day of Giving that will Stretch Your Gift by 2 or 3 Times!

Participate in The Seattle Foundation’s one-day, online charitable giving event Tuesday, May 6th and grow your gift to the Whidbey Institute.

This giving extravaganza is to inspire people to give generously to nonprofit organizations who make our region a healthier and more vital place to live. Each donation made to the organizations profiled on The Seattle Foundation’s website between midnight and midnight (PST) on Tuesday, May 6, 2014, will receive a prorated portion of the matching funds pool. The amount of the “stretch” depends on the size of the stretch pool and how much is raised in total donations on GiveBIG day.

Additionally, thanks to the generosity of a dedicated community member, your donation made to the Whidbey Institute thru GiveBIG will be matched again – up to $20,000 during this day-long event! This is a giving opportunity you don’t want to miss.

Kate and Cole, two Institute Board members, are putting their heads together to get the word out. Which tactics will prove most effective: Phone-tree? Rolodex? Texting? Hashtags? Wait ’til you see what they come up with!

Boomer vs Millennial: Who’s Got The Best Outreach Tactics? from Whidbey Institute on Vimeo.

April 10, 2014

Meet Our Team: Spotlight on Dan

Dan Mahle loves his role as Whidbey Institute Program Coordinator. “I’ve never had a job that felt so much like a livelihood,” he said. “I didn’t even know it was possible.”

Dan’s been here for just over a year, and brings immeasurable insight and energy to his work. “Now that I work here, there’s no going back. Everything I’m doing here is in alignment with what I care deeply about.” He’s primarily focused on design, coordination, outreach, and facilitation of our major annual programs. He’s also deeply committed to the work of intergenerational collaboration, and involved in the Institute’s strategic planning.

“One of my greatest passions,” he said, “is to build a sense of belonging in the world—a sense of belonging to ourselves, belonging with each other, and belonging on Earth, and that’s what I get to work on every day! I love bringing people together to have deep conversations about what matters most.”

Dan’s first experience with the Whidbey Institute came during a seven day Whidbey Island Bioneers at Chinook and got to know the Institute board and staff members. “I had an intuitive sense that this was a home for me, and that I wanted to contribute to this place,” he said. “On Halloween night, 2012, I lay in Mushroom Cabin writing a proposal to create a position that didn’t exist, to work at the Whidbey Institute.” Those musings led to a video, in which Dan explained how his passions and skills were a good fit for this place. He shared it with the Institute team then, several months later, went so far as to move to Whidbey Island in anticipation of his someday job. “A week and a half after I moved, they were ready to bring me on.”*

And oh, how lucky we were! Dan’s passion for the work of the Whidbey Institute, alongside his energy, sensitivity, and skill, provides a well of inspiration to all of us who work with him. He remains engaged as a trainer and facilitator with GenUp, and co-leads a men’s group. He’s also been involved in starting a weekly improv music jam on the island, and recently made a splash as a budding blogger when one of his early posts went viral to the tune of 100,000+ views. He writes from the heart on matters of gender reconciliation, healthy sexuality, and, “moving beyond dichotomy to hold the paradox of gender.”

At the Institute, Dan’s currently working in the Cascadia Climate Collaborative to help plan our upcoming Climate Conference. “I’m really enjoying being part of a dynamic team of incredible local leaders,” he said, “and I’m excited about Bioneers.” As our 5th Annual Whidbey Island Bioneers conference (and the nation’s 25th) approaches, Dan will be deeply immersed in the work he so loves. About Whidbey Island Bioneers, he says, “no other program speaks to my heart as much, and I get to build the partnerships and teams that make it happen.”

*Incidentally, Dan’s mom, Maggie Mahle, came on board just weeks after Dan, as our Land Care Coordinator, through a separate hiring process. About this, Dan said, “One of the great things about being related is that we hear about each other’s work. Since my work is in the office and hers is in the garden and on the land, we create a bridge which can be helpful.”

April 3, 2014

Meet Our Board: Spotlight on Kate

Kate Snider joined our board at a vital time in the history of the organization: in late 2012, just months before the dawn of our 40th year.

Kate is principal and owner of Floyd | Snider, Inc., an environmental consulting firm, as well as a certified mediator and former Seattle Girls’ Choir board chair. With her networking skills,  interest in youth engagement and mentorship, and experience in environmental business leadership, she was just the candidate we needed at this time of opening doors and deepening commitments. As a POL graduate and a great lover of the Whidbey Institute land and mission, Kate was ready and willing to throw her head and heart behind the big job of planning and executing our 40th Anniversary Festival.

Leadership of the 40th Anniversary Festival was the first thing Kate took on when she joined the board, and in that process she enjoyed deep, integrated work with the staff and community. “I learned so much from it,” she said. “Dan Mahle and I co-mentored each other through the festival planning in a delightful way that made our outcomes so much stronger.” Kate felt that the 40th Festival met its goals, which she described as, “to reconnect with people—the whole community—and to help pivot people’s thinking about the Institute from nostalgia to enthusiasm about the current work and the future.” In that light, Kate is excited about the Institute’s emerging identity as an intergenerational organization powered by great work, led by a new generation, in which we can all proudly be involved.

Kate loves the dynamics of our energetic board/staff team. “The board and staff work very well together as an integrated whole,” she said. “I’m really having a lot of fun. It’s the right group of people that we need at this point in our evolution.” She calls the board  an energizing and diversely experienced group of peers,  describing the group as, “very hands-on, and focused on thoughtful, prioritized work to further address the kind of growth and maturity that the Institute needs at this time.” Kate is currently vice-president of the board and serves on our Development and Strategy committees.

While Kate is busy with her professional and volunteer obligations, her greatest passion is motherhood. Her daughter, Riley (pictured above), studies cultural anthropology and earth science as a junior at Boston University. “She’s wonderful,” Kate said. “She’s one of those people you want for the future of the world.”

April 2, 2014

Introducing Thomas, Our Resident Caretaker

We at the Whidbey Institute were joined in February, 2014 by Thomas Anderson in the role of Resident Caretaker. With his deep love of the land and people at Chinook and his ten year history participating in and facilitating work at the Institute, he was a natural fit for the role. He is a rich addition to our land and office teams. Here is his story:

Marnie: Can you tell me a bit about your background?

Thomas: For most of my adult life I’ve been a solo performing artist, touring my work as a contemplative juggler and visual storyteller to theaters, conferences and schools around the country. Early in my career a series of injuries that kept me from performing for many years led to a study of human movement and development that culminated in graduating from a 4-year program in the Feldenkrais method of movement education. That work and my own personal kinesthetic investigations have had a profound impact on the quality and flow of my art and life.

More recently I’ve been touring with a participatory performance engagement seeking to facilitate an imaginative connection with our living planet. Using photos of “faces” I find in nature, I help facilitate a process giving human voice to the soul of earth.  It’s kind of hard to describe, but maybe we can share a link to a video of these elemental figures in my art. (https://vimeo.com/62441277)

Marnie: I met you here at the Institute when I was a new staff member, before you applied for the Caretaker role. Can you tell me more about your history with the organization?

Thomas: For the past ten years I’ve been coming to the Whidbey Institute as a participant and presenter for a number of seminars and conferences. This place has always felt like an active force for social transformation and a great place to come for inspiration, learning and recharge. The vitality of exploration here feels well grounded in a subtle spiritual depth and of course the awesome natural beauty of the land. What a great combination!

Last autumn I helped to facilitate the 40th anniversary celebration of Chinook and the Whidbey Instititute. During that weekend I experienced a shift in the energetic quality of this learning community. There is fresh buzz of excitement flowing through the many folks here looking to realize the vision of creating a better world. I recognized in a new way the potential of the Institute. I saw what is unfolding here as a living stream helping to shape the landscape of our culture and thought, “hey, I want to be more involved with that.”

When I heard the caretaker’s position was opening I thought I’d check it out. I discovered that the role was shifting into work that felt connected to some of my gifts and skills. And so I stepped forward to see if there was a fit for me in the mix. And here I am!

Marnie: How are you enjoying living and working at Chinook?

Thomas: I’ve been living in the caretaker’s cottage on the land now for almost two months. I am feeling such gratitude for the opportunity to deepen my connection to this community. My soul is nourished here in my kinship with the wild nature of Chinook and the garden and the beautiful built structures of the Institute. Working with the incredible staff to steward the potential of this place is an inspiring challenge.

Marnie: Is there anything else you wish to share with our readers?

Thomas: I step into this new role feeling like beginner and look forward to learning with all of you. Stop by my cottage on your way to the labyrinth sometime and introduce yourself!

One note for those curious about my name. Arthur was my middle name at birth and I adopted it as my stage name when I moved to Seattle. As I settle into this next phase of my life I feel ready to return to my given name, Thomas Anderson. After many years living a nomadic lifestyle I have a deep sense of returning home here and have a personal desire to honor my roots with this change.

March 27, 2014

Swamp Lantern: Our April plant of the month

Our April plant of the month is swamp lantern, also known as skunk cabbage (Lysichiton americanum).

If you walk the wetland trail this month you will see the beautiful yellow ‘lanterns’ of swamp lantern! The broadly elliptic green leaves push upward from fleshy, upright underground stems and unfold in a large basal rosette soon after the bloom appears. These leaves have a distinct odor similar to that of a skunk! The many flowers are borne on a thick fleshy axis which is hooded with a bright yellow bract.  The green to reddish berry-like fruits are embedded in the fleshy flower spike.

Swamp lantern is found in wet areas at low to middle elevations. It can be found in many of the wet areas of the Chinook land.

Northwest Coast peoples used the leaves for lining berry baskets, steaming pits, and berry drying racks. Swamp lantern was rarely used for food, though after steaming or roasting it could be eaten during times of famine.

Header photo by Scott Darbey. Sidebar photo by Marnie Jones.

March 27, 2014

Eight THRIVE quotes, one channel

Are you excited about this Thursday’s Thriving Communities Conference? We sure are!

We can’t wait to reveal our four short documentaries that we’ve worked hard to produce for this year’s conference. They’ll be premiering at the conference, but here’s a preview for those of you who just can’t wait: eight video quotes on four organizations and what THEY’RE doing to help their communities THRIVE! See all eight here.

We’d like to offer a special thanks to Aimie Vallat for her artistry and dedication during the making of these films, and the staff, clients, students, and volunteers of Circle of Life Caregiver Cooperative, Friends of Friends, PNWU, and Enso House for their dedication to their communities.

March 17, 2014