People & Partners Archives - Page 5 of 18

Deeper than the Heart: Exploring personal and leadership development work with Dan McKee

I recently had the chance to sit down with my friend, mentor, and colleague Dan McKee to catch up, hang out, and talk about his upcoming personal and leadership development offerings at the Whidbey Institute. Here’s an excerpt from that conversation.—Marnie Jackson

Marnie: I’m familiar with your personal development work through Warrior Monk and Awakening Life and your organizational leadership development work through Deeper Currents. Do these two pursuits overlap?

Dan: They do overlap, in the sense that the common denominator in both are these beautiful human beings—anything but common—who carry a longing to be more whole, happy and useful . . . and who, for whatever reason, find themselves ready to take the risk to grow. So, in that, there are certain explorations and practices core to how we grow and develop that find their way into both pursuits. Read More →

October 24, 2017

Partnership and Transformation: Pacific Integral programs call the Whidbey Institute home

The Whidbey Institute is honored to welcome Generating Transformative Change, on the Chinook land.

The Whidbey Institute exists to serve as a home for ongoing inquiry, learning, and transformation in response to the unprecedented challenges of our time, and Pacific Integral’s accomplishments in building the human capacity to respond are well-established—so much so, in fact, that our Executive Director Heather Johnson directly attributes her readiness for leadership within her Whidbey Institute role to what she learned in the Generating Transformative Change (GTC) certificate program. Read More →

September 27, 2017

Working for Good: An Interview With Jessi Massingale

Floyd|Snider recently held a company retreat at the Whidbey Institute, which included a service component with our staff on the land. From the Whidbey Institute staff perspective, the day was an incredible example of volunteerism done well.

The friendship between our two organizations runs deep—Floyd|Snider has had a longstanding tradition of supporting employee participation in Powers of Leadership, and Kate Snider, founding principal, is the current Whidbey Institute Board President. I had the opportunity last week to talk with Jessi Massingale, a Floyd|Snider Principal with an oceanography and engineering background, about her team’s experience on the land. Here’s that conversation. —Marnie Jackson Read More →

May 11, 2017

Welcoming Development Lead Holly Harlan

We are delighted to welcome Holly Harlan as the Whidbey Institute’s Development Lead.

Holly is a mission oriented, passionate, and experienced business strategist who will bring new ideas and connections, practical experience from both the for-profit and nonprofit worlds, and tremendous heart to our development team. Read More →

January 30, 2017

Blessings from Standing Rock

By Pir Elias Amidon

header photo ® John Duffy

Notes for a speech delivered at the Interfaith Gathering, Nevei Kodesh, 11/13/16

Reprinted with permission from the author; see more of his writing here: http://sufiway.org/teaching/notes-from-the-open-path

The rallying cry at Standing Rock — half prayer, half shout — is mni wiconi! — Water is Life! It’s a prayer of positive resistance, and goes beyond the immediate issue of that particular pipeline crossing the Missouri River in that particular place.

Mni wiconi is a prayer to protect life, and that’s the heart of the prayer that brings us together here, in response to the ominous promises of a Trump presidency.

In the coming months and years, we will need to take our stands—like at Standing Rock—against policies that will threaten the Healthy Flowing of Life—Mni Wiconi. Read More →

January 30, 2017

A Gardening Lineage: Saying Farewell to Abigail

Westgarden Steward Abigail Lazarowski is leaving Whidbey Island later this winter to pursue personal and professional goals in the Portland, Oregon area. While we’re sad to see her go, we’re excited about the potential for a new team member to join us, and we’re proud of the care with which Abigail is stewarding our garden through this transition. Yesterday, Communications Manager Marnie Jackson sat down with Abigail to talk about the transition, the garden, and what to expect in the months ahead. Here’s that conversation. Read More →

December 8, 2016

Garden Steward Sought

We are seeking a permanent three-quarter time employee to join our staff team as Westgarden Steward. The Westgarden Steward is responsible for caring for the Whidbey Institute’s Westgarden as a growing and community education space.

The Westgarden, established in 1979, is a half-acre vegetable and medicinal herb garden on the Whidbey Institute grounds. The scope of the Westgarden is broad, and has three main areas of focus: organic food and medicine production; community education and volunteer engagement; and healing experience.

Read More →

December 3, 2016

Follow the Pink Parasol: Welcoming Madisun Stern to the Staff

Madisun Stern joined our staff team in September as Database Adminstrator. She brings skills in event planning, community engagement, and non-profit marketing as well as a profound appreciation for our organizational mission. Here’s a transcript of our conversation. —Marnie Jackson

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September 22, 2016

These Plants are Teachers: Walking the Westgarden with Kumudini Shoba

by Marnie Jackson

On a recent late summer afternoon, Kumudini Shoba met with garden steward Abigail Lazarowski and me in the garden. I expected an interview, but what I got felt more like an introduction to old friends. We meandered slowly, meeting self-heal and angelica, apothecary rose and elecampane. We touched their leaves, knelt beside their roots, and studied the bees dancing among their petals. “What I do all day is help people restore balance within themselves, through getting to know the garden and its plants,” Kumudini told me. “Some people only know herbs as a capsule. Many people taking echinacea have never even seen an echinacea plant. I want people to meet these plants—these plants are teachers.”

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September 21, 2016

An interview with Craig Fleck, Powers of Leadership facilitator

I had the opportunity to speak with Powers of Leadership (POL) Co-Facilitator Craig Fleck about the program, in which I participated several years ago. Here’s that conversation. The next session of POL begins this October. —Marnie Jackson

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September 14, 2016