​​Wisdom Circle

A few of the people 
who walk with, assist & inspire 
me on the Journey 

Gretchen Schodde, ARNP-BC, MN, FNP, is the Founding and past Executive Director of Harmony Hill Retreat Center. The mission of Harmony Hill is to improve the quality of life for those affected by cancer, providing support and resources that inspire renewal. Gretchen is a Family Nurse Practitioner, a former UW Assistant Professor, and one of the first Nurse Practitioners in the state of Washington, with a lifelong commitment to community health and wellness.  A wise mentor and Sister of Heart & Spirit. The Harmony Hill Website: www.harmonyhill.org 

Evan Hirsch MD, is a believer in the body’s ability to heal itself. He sees his role as a guide to the removal of obstacles that impede good health and a supporter of those processes that are deficient or need some stimulation. He believes that good health requires a partnership with his patients. He is board certified in Family Medicine and Holistic Medicine. He combines his conventional medical knowledge with trainings in Functional Medicine, Nutritional Therapy, Medical Acupuncture and Yoga to best serve the individual patient. He is the founder of Hirsch Holistic Family Medicine. You can learn of his work at: Beyond Medicine and  Hirsch Holistic Family Medicine

Kathlene Tellgren, RN, CEN, HN-BC, Has worked in a variety of health care settings and has over twenty years of nursing practice in trauma and emergency settings. Her decades of holistic nursing practice and personal journey offer a depth of wisdom and insight as she empowers nurses to discover and renew a sense of the heart and spirit of their work.  Kathlene was a primary facilitator and co-visionary for 'Embracing The Wisdom of Nursing' one of the past programs of Embracing Wisdom. She is currently faculty at Harmony Hill. 
  
Sandra Jennings, Owner of 'Fresh from The Garden' on Kauai. Sandy is a master chef, much sought after caterer and inventive creator of island food products. With access to fresh, local, organic Kauai ingredients, Sandy provides food that is nourishing for heart, body & spirit. Her Kauai home is a lush paradise with gardens, fruit trees and well loved chickens. Sandy's warm presence and shining Aloha Spirit will be a delight in her role as co-facilitator/creator of the Kauai programs. 
 
davidji, is an internationally recognized stress-management expert, corporate trainer, meditation teacher, and author of the critically acclaimed and Amazon #1 Bestseller, destressifying: The Real-World Guide to Personal Empowerment, Lasting Fulfillment, and Peace of Mind; and Secrets of Meditation: A Practical Guide to Inner Peace & Personal Transformation, winner of the Nautilus Book Award. davidji is a delightful advisor, colleague & beloved friend. Explore his website: www.davidji.com 

Koren Paalman BA, MS. is Iyengar yoga certified at the Intermediate Junior level and has been teaching yoga since 1995. She holds a BA in Psychology from UCLA and a MS in Education from USC. Koren teaches at Yoga Works, as well as the Iyengar Yoga Institute of Los Angeles. She strives to infuse each class with enthusiasm, humor, compassion and intelligence leaving students energized, refreshed, motivated and restored. Having survived the death of a loved one, Koren developed her own consulting company, Conscious Grieving™ to be of service to people of all ages in grief and to those supporting people in grief. Visit www.consciousgrieving.com 

Nancy MacLeod is a certified Masters of Wisdom & Meditation Teacher with a passion for helping you connect to your genuine self and open to the infinite possibilities that exist within each of us. She offers private meditation instruction, coaching, and retreat planning. Nancy also works as an events manager and teacher liaison with davidji. In this role, she helps organize and host weekend and week-long meditation and mindfulness retreats.
Nancy began this journey after the sudden loss of her husband in 2009, an experience that taught her to truly embrace the present moment – initially as a trauma coping mechanism and then, over time, as a beautiful expression of self and living a meaningful life. Working with others who have experienced loss, are navigating their way through the recent pain of loss, or are struggling to overcome stress and challenge is a special calling for Nancy.
Nancy and Leonie are co-facilitators for 'Passionate Sadness'. You can reach her through 'Contact Leonie' link below. 

Melissa Layer MA honors life’s challenges and transitions as compelling invitations for creative meaning-making and integration in BodyMindSpirit.  Her sacred calling as a psychospiritual therapist, interfaith spiritual director, and cancer retreat/healing circle facilitator at Harmony Hill have taught her about the potency of the thin places in thresholds and dark nights of the soul.  Utilizing expressive arts for curious exploration of the Great Mystery, Melissa offers her compassionate presence and deep listening to individuals and groups.  Like the honeybee for which she is named, she claims her role as “a bee of the invisible… passionately plundering the honey of the visible in order to gather it in the great golden hive of the invisible” (Rilke).  The evergreen forests of Puget Sound in the Pacific Northwest are her sacred sanctuary.  Melissa is available for spiritual companioning by Skype, phone, email and also in-person (for those living near Olympia, WA). 
 
​Cobie Whitten PhD, has a doctorate in Clinical Psychology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and is a Psycho-Oncology Consultant for the Providence Regional Cancer System. She is also faculty member at Harmony Hill Retreat Center in Union WA. Previously, Cobie worked for the Washington State Department of Health in the Washington Breast, Cervical & Colon Health Program where she founded & chaired the Survivorship, Palliative Care and End-of-Life Issues Taskforce of Washington CARES About Cancer.  She has taught Psychology of Death & Dying and other psychology courses as an adjunct faculty at Saint Martin's University. Her passion is creating survivorship services for cancer patients and their families at all points along the cancer continuum.