2024 Retreat Contributors
Meet our amazing team of artists, activity leaders and creative humans!
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FOUNDER (she / her)Sara Camille is a singer-songwriter and graphic designer based in Seattle. Her engagement in visual art and the music community are increasingly overlapping – her artwork is frequently commissioned for show posters for many local musicians in Seattle. She is also the creator of the Queer Songwriter Showcase, a regular event held at the Wildrose Bar, Seattle’s only lesbian bar.
She has been on a journey of creative pursuits. Inspired by the Montana countryside, she taught herself how to play the guitar during the pandemic and began writing songs a few months later. She has since written 40+ original songs and performs regularly throughout the greater Seattle region. Her debut EP, “Grow Wings to Fly,” will be released in 2024. Her story is one that shows that the most fulfilling dreams are the ones yet to be discovered.
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FOUNDER (she / her)Amy Laybourn is a Seattle based music teacher, songwriter and performer. She grew up playing classical piano, but shelved music for decades until a spontaneous $50 piano purchase from Value Village rekindled her musical journey. Since that serendipitous day, she has embarked on a transformative path of self expression, learning new instruments and passionately crafting songs that blend introspection with powerful and soulful melodies. Amy has a love for creativity which extends beyond music into writing, visual art, cooking, crafting, gardening and dreaming up ways to bring people together. She enjoys writing poetry, and is featured in a published anthology of Seattle musician/poets, Becoming Visible. Visual arts and crafts have been a persistent source of hobby and business throughout her life, and she has previously owned Leadmill Studio, an abstract stained glass company, and LuCoo Kids, a boutique applique clothing brand. Amy has a degree in environmental science and feels most at home when out in nature, ideally playing music! She enjoys inspiring youth through music teaching, leading Girl Scouts, and her favorite job of all, being a mom. A lifelong learner herself, Amy is a strong advocate for creativity at any age, and encourages others to discover and follow their passions.
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INSTRUCTOR (they/them)K Van Petten is a musician and poet based in Seattle, Washington. They make music and poetry that explores themes of multiplicity, queerness, and nostalgia, drawing inspiration from their personal journey as a queer, non-binary, Gemini, middle-child, from the midwest. K started their performing journey as a musician-in-residence at a harbor bar in Chicago while living on a sailboat. They relocated to Seattle over a decade ago, and most recently authored and composed 'For Someone,' a cassette tape of poetry created during a residency at Centrum in Fort Worden, Port Townsend that explored an offset of the 200-million-gallon cistern deemed the 'Cistern Chapel'. One of their poems was adapted into a film showcased at Northwest Film Forum and selected for SIFF's NW Folklife Forum in 2023.
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INSTRUCTOR (she / her)Recognized for her enchanting vocals, collaborative spirit, and magnetic stage presence, Brittany Allyson is a beacon of inspiration in Seattle's vibrant music and theatre community. With a unique fusion of jazz, pop, and dynamic storytelling, she curates immersive, communal experiences, intentionally elevating atmospheres with the power of song. From commanding roles in Regional Theatre Equity Productions and National Commercials to electrifying performances at renowned music festivals like SXSW in Austin, Bumbershoot, and Cap Hill Block Party, Brittany captivates audiences far and wide, driven by a mission to raise frequencies and foster healing.
Sharing stages with esteemed Seattle artists such as Reposado, Ollella, and Shaina Shepherd, Brittany actively tours, records, and performs with a genre-expansive array of musical projects. When not collaborating with others, Brittany mesmerizes audiences with her original compositions and collaborative orchestral works, currently preparing to release a live performance album with The Sound Ensemble.
As a devoted performance artist and educator rooted in Seattle, Brittany is dedicated to empowering women and amplifying underrepresented voices through the transformative power of music. With unwavering commitment, she serves as a guiding light, helping students of all ages tap into their fullest artistic potential. Join Brittany for her upcoming Vocal Activation Workshop, where she will share her expertise and passion to unlock participants' vocal prowess and embrace their authentic selves. Let's embark together on a journey of self-love through the playful, transformative power of singing!
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Professional Chef (she / they / he)
Amy Lee is a culinary arts professional and musician. They have many years experience in professional kitchens around North America. The most common response you'll hear from people when learning you'll be eating meals prepared by Chef Lee is, "Ooooooh, you're so lucky."
Musically, Amy Lee is known as Bolin Sparks. They started playing music in 5th grade and wrote their 1st song at 15 about their best friend and recorded an EP. Bolin has a unique and textured finger picking style, and her music is country and R&B inspired – growing up they were obsessed with Toni Braxton, Reba, Ani DiFranco, and Luther Vandross. As a kid, Bolin lived in Virginia Beach until their family moved to Seattle, and later moved to Austin, Texas for 5 years, but then came back to Seattle during the pandemic to be with family. Bolin Sparks is also a member of two Seattle bands, the Clam Slam Jammers and Queenfisher!
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INSTRUCTOR (she / her)Jenny Davidson is excited to spark your creative side and have a weekend of play! She has been a national board certified art educator for over 25 years, teaching both youth and adults. Jenny received her BFA from Washington University in St. Louis and her MFA from NYU. Her own artwork has led to travels in Africa, Europe and Mexico where she gets inspiration from people, places and stories. She gravitates to personal expression through photography, and has recently been exploring digital storytelling. Her work with young people over the last two decades has been focused on global education and using art to help bridge cultural understanding. A recent highlight in education has been partnering with an organization where students make a heartfelt piece of artwork for children living in refugee camps. One of Jenny’s true passions is teaching and igniting passions, and she is always excited to build new connections through art.
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INSTRUCTOR (she / her)Emily Persha is a singer-songwriter, music-educator and a mother of two, who lives and loves in the Pacific Northwest. Birdsong Seattle describes her as “a singer-songwriter who weaves experience, talent, and passion into emotional places you didn’t know you had. Her songs reflect the familiar moments of life while painting the accompanied complicated feelings with luscious vocals and keyboard arrangements parallel to Regina Spektor or Sara Bareilles." Emily works for the Bushwick Book Club of Seattle and teaches voice and songwriting at KPC Studios - she is passionate about building community and helping others to express themselves through music.
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INSTRUCTOR (she / her)Self-described as a “strummer of stringers, singer of songs and overthinker of everything,” Taryn Hadfield is a full-time digital marketer, lifelong songwriter and part-time livestreamer. In 2019, she began writing songs and performing music around the bar scene in her hometown of Boise, Idaho. Later that year, she signed on to a grassroots indie record label, Next Records. When the pandemic put her crowdfunding plans for her first album on hold, she pivoted to performing on the live streaming platform, Twitch, where she later successfully funded her Kickstarter. Since then, she has released her first album (with plans to produce another), moved to Seattle and continues to perform and live-stream weekly.
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Deborah May Wilk is a PNW Native, psychotherapist in private practice and founder of Mindful in the Wild. Nature has always been a foundational part of her own healing and joy and 20 years ago, she began inviting clients out into Nature for their sessions and renamed her practice Riverwalk Therapy. Then in 2017, wanting to bring even more people into the Wild for peace and rejuvenation, she founded Mindful in the Wild and began teaching her unique blend of Mindfulness Meditation, Shinrin-yoku ( Japanese Forest Bathing) and Wandering at gardens, parks and Wild places all over the Northwest, often with co-teacher and Naturopathic physician Jessica Hancock.
When she isn't sitting for hours in quiet, hidden Nature places near her home in the Snoqualmie Valley ( and trying to capture the Wonder of the Moment in photo and words), she can be found volunteering for the Lee Arts Foundation, advocating for peace and social justice causes, cuddling with her kitty Coco, or connecting and dancing to live music with old and new friends at Millers: A Gathering Place in Carnation ( where her musician husband is the sound engineer and she recently met Amy and discovered the incredible Acorn Collective!). She loves listening to the birds while soaking up the orange pink splendor of dawn all over the world ( and in her backyard), rocking out at concerts, cheering on the Mariners, and hiking with her brother and 2 adult sons, backpacking solo by the mesmerizing and soothing waves of the wild Washington coast and singing along with Eddie Vedder and Aretha Franklin with the windows down while driving around the back roads of Mt Tahoma (Rainier).
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INSTRUCTOR (she / her)
Francesca Rosati is an emerging artist working as a Visual Arts Educator in Seattle, WA. Before she was living in Providence, where she earned her BFA with honors in painting and a concentration in the Theory and History of Art and Design from the Rhode Island School of Design (2019) and then received her MAT (Master of Arts in Teaching) through their graduate program of Teaching & Learning Art + Design (2020). At RISD, she participated in the European Honors Program in Rome, Italy. After completing her graduate degree, she moved to Seattle where she has worked as a Visual Arts Educator and continues to develop her practice as a painter. Francesca is a recipient of the AAF/Seebacher Prize for Fine Arts (2022) and participated in the Awakenings at Wick Artist Residency in the Somerset region of England (2022).
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Instructor (she/hers)Writing songs ever since she can remember, Andi Scher (aka Her Mountain Majesty) has been performing ever since she was 13 years old. Songwriting has always been a way to process the world around her and move through the intricacies of life. She regards her songs and her physical expression of music as something that moves through her, rather than something she owns. Scher explains that she never feels more like herself than when she’s on stage. A Certified Life Coach, Scher is passionate about empowering creators to design their most rebellious life and to begin to nurture their own creative process through embodiment practices, self-reflection, and simply granting the permission and the freedom to dream wildly. Outside of her creative endeavors, Scher has built a career helping consumer products companies build brand licensing partnerships with major entertainment studios, brand agencies, and other IP holders. Within the past three years, Scher has begun to integrate the different parts of her life to fully embrace her creative calling while also striving to maintain a more healthy work balance and cultivate a sense of groundedness within herself and her community.
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INSTRUCTOR (she / her)Adrien is a naturalist, visual artist, and musician who believes that environmental justice and art are inextricably entwined with an empowered community. Through the visual arts she has practiced patience and appreciation for others (human and non-human alike), learning that these components are key to awareness of ourselves and the world around us. She is also the songwriter and lead singer for Seattle band Queenfisher. Her passion for nature-based themes can be seen in her sketching and watercolor and is also reflected into her evocative songwriting. Adrien has a degree in Environmental Justice, works as a Rivers Restoration Coordinator, and loves spending time outdoors. She is looking forward to teaching what she knows about sketching and watercolor techniques, and learning lots from others in a fun, supportive, and collaborative workspace!
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INSTRUCTOR (she / her)Gemma Maliszewski is a lifelong explorer, artist, nature-lover, and wonder-seeker. After a life of changing home bases, she became captivated by the old growth forests of Western Washington on a visit to the Olympic Peninsula and settled in Seattle soon after. A self-professed “merry wanderer,” she can’t help but seek out ancient truths in ancient places and find signs of hope at every turn of a trail.
Now a professional hiking guide, published poet, and passionate musician, Gemma enjoys sharing nature’s lessons with others to deepen their understanding of their home planet and themselves. The parallels found between humanity and the natural world fuel the “whimsical wordplay” in her writings. She strives to weave together the grand mysteries of the universe with the nuanced intricacies of life on Earth.
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Bios are coming for activity leaders in visual arts, music, personal empowerment and others!
Are you interested in being a contributor? Send us a message!
“Find a group of people who challenge and inspire you, spend a lot of time with them, and it will change your life.”
- Amy Poehler