Leadership Council

Forest Fein, M.A in Counseling Psychology, works as a Massage Therapist, and a Marriage and Family Therapist Intern seeing individuals and couples. Previously, while living at the Esalen Institute, he studied massage, meditation, Gestalt therapy and other embodied practices, before moving on to the Ojai Foundation where he assisted rite-of-passage programs and sweat lodges for youth. He is trained to lead quests in the lineage of the School of Lost Borders. Forest is a lover of nature, story, poetry and song.

 

Jai Flicker is the founder of LifeWorks Learning Center, a Marin-based Academic Mentoring program for high school and middle school students. For the past six years he has helped teens navigate the often rocky waters of adolescence. During this time he has also worked with “at risk” youth through Project AVARY, a community of support for children whose parents are imprisoned or otherwise involved with the criminal justice system. Jai spent a year studying religion and spirituality in India and has a BA in Philosophy from UC San Diego.

Erin Hill, B.S, is residential counselor at the SAGE HOUSE, a safe house for teenage girls involved in the sex industry. Erin teaches a teen mediation group in Berkeley and facilitates teen mediation retreats with the Buddhist Peace Fellowship. She teaches yoga in the after school program at Martin Luther Kind Middle School.She leads a women's circle consisting of public school teachers and youth educators.

Adrian Klaphaak, certified life coach, helps teens and young adults find their path and live it.  He believes that everyone has a unique life path that maximizes their potential and effectiveness.  Adrian worked extensively with teens in the school system as a mentor, and his speeches and workshops have impacted hundreds of students by inspiring them to find their own path.  In addition to his work with teens, Adrian studied Organizational Behavior at USC, had a career in management consulting, and spent six months traveling in Asia.  He loves nature, travel, learning, and practicing Tai Chi and Vipassana meditation.

Shai Lavie, M.A., licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, works with adults, adolescents, and children in private practice in San Rafael and San Francisco. He co-leads Rites of Passage groups for pre-teens and high school seniors, and leads therapy groups in Marin County schools. He also teaches meditation classes for teens through Spirit Rock Meditation Center, co-leads the annual Youth Quest, and gives talks to therapists and parents about teen issues. Shai is co-supervisor for the Stepping Stones leaders council.

Joaquin Lopez has an M.A. in Counseling Psychology and an M.A. in Sports Psychology. He is a native from Spain, and has an extensive background in counseling youth, playing professional tennis, coaching tennis, and performing poetry. As a psychotherapist intern he has worked during the last five years with youth teaching life skills in schools. As a tennis coach he has created Transformational Tennis, a holistic approach to coaching tennis that integrates body-mind-spirit. His main artistic interest is the integration of poetry, shamanism, and visual art.

Ivy Mayer, M.A., graduated from high school at sixteen in order to tour nationally speaking on environmental issues. It was during this time that she developed her interest in assisting youth to find their gifts and begin to bring them into their communities. She has worked as counselor and yoga teacher for at-risk youth, has led youth empowerment workshops internationally through YES!, leads ongoing children's programs at Esalen Institute, and has a holistic psychotherapy practice in Marin. Ivy has a Masters in Counseling Psychology, has taught mind-body awareness through yoga for ten years, and has also worked as a professional modern dancer and choreographer. She is grateful to be able to contribute to the ancient traditions of mentorship and rites of passage through the Stepping Stones Project.

Casey McCarroll, M.A. in Counseling Psychology, has worked with youth aged 5-18 over the last 12 years in the wilderness as an outdoor adventure program coordinator, backpacking guide and wilderness therapist and in the classroom as a Head Start teacher. He has studied rites of passage facilitation with the School of Lost Borders and is currently working as a staff therapist and transition counselor at Holden High School in Orinda.

Matthew Morey an educator and returned Peace Corps Volunteer, is currently studying to become a Marriage and Family Therapist at California Institute for Integral Studies. He has taught high school English and mathematics for six years. He has led youth groups in nature with children from Connecticut, New York City and Kamabia, Sierra Leone, West Africa. Currently he works with teens teaching meditation at Spirit Rock and works with children at Edgewood Center for Children and Families. He has studied Progressive Education at New School for Social Research and Outdoor Education with NOLS.

Eliyahu Sills is a professional musician and teen mentor. As a musician, he performs music from many parts of the world, such as West Africa, the Middle East, India, and North America, on multiple instruments. As an educator, Eliyahu has worked with teenagers in many settings, including work with young men focusing on becoming empowered men, and rites of passage work. In his work with young people, Eliyahu draws on martial arts, wilderness survival, gender studies, rite of passage, and the mytho-poetic men's movement. He is a mentor for adolescent boys for Stepping Stones Project.

Karl Smart has worked in service with young people for over fourteen years. In college, he taught mountain biking, swimming, and outdoor skills at retreats and camps for children and adolescents with special needs and medical illness. For nine years he has cared for children and families as a pediatric nurse. In June, he will complete a dual graduate degree program to become a Family Mental Health Nurse Practitioner and Clinical Nurse Specialist in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. In the last four years he has gained experience leading groups for both men, and preadolescent boys. He tackles difficult existential problems through a program of rigorous exercise, long walks, and journaling.

Jeffrey Szilagyi, M.T.C.M., licensed acupuncturist. Brings his gifts as a storyteller into his work with teens using metaphor and myth to teach and illuminate the moment. He is a musician and builder of instruments. He is trained as a vision quest guide.

Alice Treves, LCSW, as well as leading Stepping Stones groups, currently works with teens, pre-teens and their families doing therapy in private practice in San Anselmo. She has over a decade of experience working with youth and their families in facilitating rites of passage experiences. She has conducted long-term coming of age groups for girls as well as wilderness rites of passage experiences for older teens. Alice brings experience, innovation and a deep commitment to her work. She is a certified wilderness first responder.

Dave Talamo, M.A., founder of Wilderness Reflections, a therapeutic wilderness program dedicated to helping adolescents and adults turn to nature to meet the challenges and needs of their lives. He has over 20 years of experience guiding wilderness trips throughout North and South America. He currently works leading quests for Bay Area schools and as a bi-lingual counselor with youth and families in Novato.

Nancy Goddard MA. in Counseling Psychology has led wilderness rites of passage programs for The Omega Institute, The Ojai Foundation, The Lama Foundation, numerous high schools and through organizations in Europe. She has also been adjunct faculty at Prescott College leading courses in ecopsychology, sustainable living and community building. She brings song and play to the ceremony and celebration of rites of passage.

 

 

Zachary Jasper-Miller received an M.A. in Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness from the California Institute of Integral Studies, and a B.A. in Ecopsychology from Naropa University in Colorado. He is passionate about the collaboration and mutual empowerment of philosophy and engaged action. He has taught eco-literacy and permaculture courses in Colorado and California. Zachary has received training in the tradition of The School of Lost Borders and continues to seek ever more effective ways to assist in the individual and collective initiation and reinvention of the human species.

Karen Kohley is currently attending the Regenerative Designs and Nature Awareness Institute, where she is studying to reconnect people to their roots in the earth, their ancestors, and their community. A certified teacher, she has led various outdoor excursions for K-12 students throughout California, Utah, and Costa Rica. She has taught Spanish, ESL, ecology, botany, biology, astronomy, rock climbing, and snorkeling. She has worked in wilderness therapy with at risk teens. She is currently an assistant teacher for the Permaculture First Responder Certification course and excited to plant seeds of mindfulness for a sustainable world.

 

Mia Rose Maltz has lived in Sonoma County for seven years. She has been studying mycology, mushroom cultivation and mycorestoration with Paul Stamets, founder of Fungi Perfecti, for over ten years. Mia was certified in Permaculture Design at OAEC in 1999 and again at EAT in 2002, and then was certified to teach Permaculture in 2003. A graduate of NCOC, Mia enjoys educating others about Permaculture,mycorestoration and bioremediation. Mia is co-founder and Executive Director of the RITES Project, (Return Intention Towards EcologicalSustainability) a nonprofit in Sebastopol that focuses its efforts on education, research, and community development.

Rachel Ruch has a passion and love for nature that has existed since the dawn of her own time. She is gratefully committed to a path of service and stewardship to the earth and people. She has worked with kids, nature, and the meshing of the two most of her life. She has a BS in Physics and a BA in Religious Studies. Most recently, she is in her third year with the RDNA (Regenerative Design & Nature Awareness) program based in Bolinas, Ca. learning in depth about nature awareness, the art of mentoring, sustainable living and regenerative community.

 

 

 

Will Scott Graduated from UC Santa Cruz with a BA in Community Studies, with a focus in ecopsychology and the wilderness experience. Will has trained in vision quest guiding with The School of Lost Borders and co-founded The Wilderness Within in 2003, and has worked as wilderness guide and rites of passage facilitator with The Sierra Institute, Wilderness Reflections, and The Wilderness Within. Will is a certified Wilderness First Responder, currently living in Marin where he teaches ecopsychology and environmental studies.