E X P E R I E N C E

GROWING UP 

• 1980-1999 Growing Up - I grew up under the influence of my mom, who worked in a city hospital heading a program for lymphedema treatment, while also offering bodywork in private practice.  She also practiced yoga, transcendental meditation, Celtic and Germanic pagan folk practices, permaculture, western herbalism, grassroots political activism, and is the song carrier within our family.  All of my parents played traditional acoustic roots music (Irish, American folk, Appalachian, old county, and bluegrass) and held regular community jam sessions at our house which significantly impacted my sense of cultural belonging and connection to my ancestry. As a young person I was very passionate about art, music, dance, theater, and connecting with nature and subtle energies. I learned transcendental meditation at the age of 12yo and wrote original music and made art throughout elementary school and high school.  I almost went to college for fine art but decided I wanted to pursue liberal arts instead.

COLLEGE

• 2000-2001 Wildlife Rehabilitation - I volunteered during the summers home from college caring for wounded animals. Working with the birds of prey left an especially powerful imprint on my heart.

• 2003 B.A. in Biology from Knox College - My special focus was in systems ecology and field research, but I was also very interested in human origins/identity/sexuality/development, as well as philosophy and ancient history.  I was granted a yearly fine art scholarship. I also studied abroad my junior year in two field research programs in Tanzania and Costa Rica.  My senior research project was studying habitat fragmentation at Green Oaks Biological Field Station.  Outside of formal studies I was involved in the dance and music communities, and hosted a college radio show with one of my best friends.

EARLY YEARS

• 2004 Environmental Education at Woodlake Nature Center - I interned as an environmental education instructor for kid’s programing at the nature center. Duties included lesson planning, nature program teaching, and basic maintenance of the nature center and grounds. 

• 2004-2009 Musician - I performed and wrote original music in the MPLS bands The Haves Have It (w/ Jenn Bouma, Kelly Pollock) and Drawing Rooms (w/ Ellen Skoro), as well as briefly played in improv sound art duo Tamarack (w/ Tim Glenn), and jammed with friends in their bands (Mark Mallman, Askeleton, Nick Robin, Steven Yasgar + Kate Murray, Dave Matters) and made art for fun.

• 2004-2005 Canvas Director for The Fund for Public Interest - I went through training with The Fund for Public Interest and then directed the Minneapolis office. We knocked on countless doors raising funds for progressive environmental and human rights causes and ate a lot of pizza.

• 2005-2009 Tao Foods Herbery - I worked in the shop selling herbs and natural supplements. Durning this time I dove into western herbalism and food medicine, and I read a bunch of esoteric books.

• 2008 Thai Yoga with Devanadi School of Yoga & Wellness - I completed basic and advanced training and began offering 1:1 body + energy work sessions in the treatment room at Tao and out of my house.

• 2008 -2013 Spring Forest Qigong - In 2008 I began attending qi gong classes and continued to study off and on while I was in grad school (see below).

GRAD SCHOOL

• 2009 Prereqs year - I decided to go back to grad school and thought I wanted to apply to a master of nursing program, so I completed the nine prerequisite classes required to apply , but then changed my mind and decided to pursue integrative healing instead. Besides the basic anatomy/physiology/pathology courses, I enjoyed studying nutrition, human growth/development, and  several psychology courses during this time.

• 2010 Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Integrative Therapies & Healing Practices from the Center for Spirituality and Healing, University of Minnesota (incomplete) - I explored courses in environmental health, ethnobotany, ethnopharmacology, mind-body therapies, restorative justice and forgiveness, yoga philosophy, Ayurveda, TCM, acupressure, Tibetan medicine, shamanic healing, reiki, botanical medicine, functional medicine and food therapy, and the art of healing. I did all but a few credits short of finishing this integrative certificate and then decided to jump tracks again and enroll in the Health Coaching program. I also decided at this time to enroll in a Masters of Chinese Medicine program. During this time I studied board in India at the Men Tsee Khang Tibetan Medical & Astro Institute where I receive the Medicine Buddha initiation ritual. Special thank you to my teachers: Dr. Miriam Cameron, Chris Hafner, Dennis McKenna, Dr. Karen Lawson, Becky Gorman, Patricia Culliton, Carolyn Denton, Tenzin Namdul, Deborah Ringdahl, and Mark Umbreit.

• 2012 Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Integrative Therapies & Healing Practices: Health Coaching from the Center for Spirituality and Healing, University of Minnesota - I was very inspired by the client centered approach and board application of coaching skills. As part of this program I studied integral theory and various other holistic systems and approaches to care, as well as communication techniques such as motivational interviewing and non-violent communication. I was a recipient of the Marilyn Sime Scholarship. I interned at Pillsbury House Integrated Clinic and volunteered there for a year after graduation. Special thank you to my teachers: Dr. Karen Lawson and Becky Gorman.

• 2013 Masters in Chinese Medicine from Northwestern Health Sciences University  - My main interest was working with the shen (spirits and the mind/emotions) and learning what I could about Classical Chinese medicine (vs TCM). I interned as an in-patient practitioner at Abbott Northwestern Hospital’s Penny George Institute, Fairview Hospital, Courage Kennedy Rehabilitation Institute, Aliveness Project, and Salvation Army Free Integrative Clinic. I also created a student club that focused on understanding and applying acupuncture research and organized a student trip to the Society of Acupuncture Research Conference. Special thank you to my teachers and supervisors: John Pirog, Huan Ma, Tao Gong, Yongpiing Jiang, Jinming Yue, Wei Lu, Barbra Gosse, Debra Owen, Jenifer Blair, Jill Larson, Michael Egan, Zenna Kocher, and Steve Compton.

PRACTICING + CONTINUING EDUCATION

• 2013 - 2015 Ascent Acupuncture + Qi Nordeast + Pathways Health Crisis Resource Center - I worked as an acupuncturist and health coach at Ascent (apprenticing under Jill Larsen) and Qi NE (supervised by Megan Odell), as well as volunteered at Pathways Health Crisis Resource Center as a health coach.

• 2013-2016 Center for Earth Wisdom Ceremonies with Pele and FireHawk - Yearly ceremonial retreats dedicated to the communal study of teachings of The Delicate Lodge Teachings and related practices.

• 2015 Initiation into parenthood - My biggest and most rewarding learning curve of all time. My kiddo is my greatest teacher. I believe parenting is a revolutionary and deeply creative spiritual practice.

• 2015 - 2020 Tall Reeds Healing Art - I created a healing space in Uptown, Minneapolis to offer 1:1 sessions and community events and classes centering the intersection of healing + spirituality + activism + art. I collaborated with so many wonderful local and national colleagues during this time.  I decided to close shop due to the pandemic and pivot into a home practice.

• 2015 - 2020 Teaching faculty at the Center for Spirituality and Healing, University of Minnesota and Northwestern Health Sciences University - I taught in the Health Coaching Masters program (Health Coaching Fundamentals I + II, Health Coaching Practicum), the Foundations of Shamanism course, and several Chinese medicine courses (Intro to TCM, Acupressure, Point Location, Accessory Techniques).  In the spring of 2020 I decided to step back from teaching and focus on my family and practice.

• 2015 - 2021  Personal therapy with Kate Daley - I had weekly somatic psychotherapy sessions focusing on nervous system healing, attachment trauma repair, relationships, parenting, spirituality, and professional guidance. Working with Kate had a huge impact on how I work with clients and hold myself as a practitioner, as well as navigating my personal life.

• 2016 Year In Ceremony: Monthly Rituals for Healing and Transformation with Sandra Ingerman (and many international guest teachers) - A year long course and community dedicated to exploring cross-cultural shamanic traditions. 

• 2016 Chinese Medicine: Digestive Health & Food Therapy - A presentation I gave at the National Wellness Conference for health coaches.

• 2016 Building Resilience: Restoring Our Human Capacity to Heal - A day long conference exploring the promise of integrative health and healing practices in treating trauma and its impact on underrepresented individuals, organizations and communities. The most impactful presentation for me was with Linda Eaglespeaker and Donna LaChapelle of Minnesota Indian Women’s Resource Center focusing on traditional ways to tend grief.

• 2016 - 2018 Moon Sisters Mpls - I facilitated a local open coven in Minneapolis that met every dark moon for collaborative enacted ritual and skill sharing on various witchy topics and practices.

• 2017 Mother Night : Myths, Stories, and Teachings for Learning to See in the Dark with Clarissa Pinokola Estes - A course exploring women’s mythology, Jungian symbolism, intuition, mystery, dreams, and the unconscious aspects of the soul.

• 2017 Healing Trauma: A Step-By-Step Program for Healing Trauma with Peter Levine - A course in the foundations of trauma healing and somatic experiencing. 

• 2017 Healing Your Attachment Wounds: How to Create Deep, Lasting, Intimate Relationships with Diane Poller Heller - A course dedicated to attachment healing and relational repair. 

• 2017 Woman Shaman: The Ancients with Max Dashu - A lecture series on the ancient cross-cultural history of women’s spirituality.  

• 2017 Wheel of Consent with Betty Martin - A training on the foundations of The Wheel of Consent model. 

• 2017 Life Coaching / The Teachings of The Delicate Lodge with Lana Holmes - One on one informal mentorship and elder support. 

• 2017 International Conference for the Institute of Noetic Sciences : The Science of What Connects Us - I attended the 17th IONS conference exploring PSI research with presentations by Dean Radin, Rupert Sheldrake, Stanley Kripper, and many more amazing researchers in the fields of collective and non-local consciousness and mind-matter connection.

• 2018 Coaching As Activism with Andrea Ranaej - A course focusing on cultivating an antiracist practice within the coaching industry. 

• 2018 Sacred Terrain with Erin Telford - A course exploring embodied emotional healing, rituals, and practices. 

• 2018 Animism and Earth Reconnection with Daniel Foor / Ancestral Medicine - A course dedicated to animist practice and earth reconnection rituals.

• 2018 Ancestral Healing with Daniel Foor / Ancestral Medicine - A course exploring cross-cultural ancestral healing traditions and practices. 

• 2018 The Runic Feminine with Lara Vesta - A course about Nordic runes and women’s mythology.  

• 2018 Healing The Witch Wound with Lara Vesta - A course about the history of European witch burning times. 

• 2018 Into The Dark with Liv Sulerud - A journey exploring rituals and practices to attune to the dark season. 

• 2018 The Mythic Imagination with Sharon Blackie - A course delving into women’s myth and Jungian symbolism. 

• 2018 Yuletide with Carmen Spagnola - Practices and teachings of the twelve days of Yule. 

• 2018 Activating Your Inner Jaguar: Healthy Differentiation and The Prism of Real World Relating  with Kimberly Ann Johnson - A 6 week course on somatics, relationships, and the nervous system. 

• 2018 Limits and Boundaries with Kimberly Ann Johnson - A course dedicated to cultivating healthy boundaries. 

• 2018 Authentic Allyship Immersive: Connecting with Radical White Ancestors with Tada Hozumi and Dare Sohei - A 6 week program exploring cultural trauma, ancestral healing, and decolonial somatics and ritual practices. 

• 2018 Understanding the Masculine and Feminine: How to Heal This Age-Old Rift with The Powerpath School of Shamanism - A webinar about harmonizing polarities within relationships.  

• 2018 Women’s Shamanic Coaching with Lena Stevens of The Powerpath School of Shamanism - A year long course for women exploring teachings and practices for women's health and empowerment. 

• 2018-2019 Polyamory and Relationship Coaching with The Growth Arc - One on one mentoring in ethical non monogamy, relationship anarchy, solo poly, and other ways of consenual relating.

• 2018 - 2019 Tending the Witch Wound - A year long alchemical course I created that explored the intergenerational trauma legacy left by the witch burning times in European history and the impact on modern western culture.  Here’s interviews I did with Max Dashu and Dean Radin that capture the essence of this experience.

• 2018-2020 Consciousness and Paradigm Shifting Coaching with Michele Rae - One on one mentoring in consciousness expansion. 

• 2018 - 2020 Couples Therapy with Mary Dolejs - Monthly and biweekly somatic psychotherapy focusing on relational tear/repair cycles, nervous system attunement, communication, parenting challenges, money issues, and conscious uncoupling.

• 2018 - 2023 Spiritweavers Gathering - I was part of the original Come Unity Village team, which was a BIPOC lead village and advocacy group that focused on fostering anti-racism culture and education within the gathering. Between 2018-2020 I taught several classes at SWG.  Within the Community Village I offered ““Love Light and Whiteness”, and wIthin the Pussy Powerhouse I offered  “Invoking the Whore” and “Tending the Witchwound”. In 2019 co-authored the Spiritweavers Allyship Guide booklet with the rest of our CUV team. In 2020 I offered a virtual class “The Witch Wound: Remediating a Legacy of Fragmentation”. Between 2021 and 2023 I stepped back from teaching, but continued to play an advisory role to the gathering from a distance, along with members of the original CUV team. In 2023 I assisted in the transition and creation of a new CUV team to support continued anti-racism culture shifting at Spiritweavers.

• 2018 - Present   Musician / Artist - I am making music again under the name Scinnlaece and painting a lot of portraits and Otherworldly visions.

• 2018 - 2023 Mentorship and healing with Susan Raffo - 1:1 mentorship and healing work with a focus on personal and collective complex trauma and healing justice, somatics, and collective-cultural repair and reconnection work.  Susan closed her practice in 2023 to prepare for a sacred pilgrimage, thus we paused our work together. However I still consider Susan one of my main lineage anchors and elders who keeps me accountable and rooted in my carework practice.

• 2019 The Tao of Trauma with Alaine Duncan - A two-day workshop on how Chinese Medicine treats trauma. 

• 2019 Antiracism for White Women with Catrice Jackson - A day long workshop on antiracism. 

• 2019 Racialize Trauma and Cultural Somatics with Resmaa Menakem - A course for practitioners working with personal and collective trauma healing and abolitionist practices. 

• 2019 Decolonizing Health with Ericka Hart - A workshop for health professionals exploring medical bias.

• 2020 Radicalizing The Roots with Michael Newton - A course exploring the history of Scottish colonization and cultural trauma healing. 

• 2020 Somatic Mentoring with Patti Elledge - A 6 month practitioner training in attachment + somatic complex trauma healing.

• 2020 Home Practice - At the beginning of the pandemic I let go of Tall Reeds Healing Arts and teaching at the universities in order to shift into an intimate home practice in my cozy loft studio, and created this new website.  At that time also - I become a single parent and an as needed homeschooling teacher.  On top of these personal changes, the pandemic, the socio-political uprisings, and the increasing impacts of climate change have tasked me with deepening my skill set to move with chaos, foster embodied and relational resilience, and cope with uncertainty.

• 2020 Neuro Affective Relational Model (NARM) informed practitioner - A comprehensive training in a psycho-biological relational model for working with healing complex trauma, (C-PTSD) attachment injury, and identity distortions.

• 2021 - 2022 Animist Arts with Dare Sohei and Larrisa Kaul - An intensive practitioner training in animist arts, exploring the interconnections of creativity + animism + liberatory relating within the context of playful ritual.

• 2021 Dance of the Tarantella with Alessandra Belloni  - A workshop exploring traditional Italian trance dance and drumming ritual to healing sexual trauma.

• 2021 - 2022  Shamanic Mentorship with Jaime Meyer - Jaime is a long time local shamanic mentor of mine who I have worked with on and off for many years. This was an individualized mentorship deep dive focusing on drumming and Celtic shamanic practices.

• 2021 Permaculture Design with Midwest Permaculture - A design course for residential and small farming properties that focused on high yield food production, water capture, soil remediation, and ecologically regenerative practices.

• 2021 - Present The Mythic Body with Joshua Schrei - I attend bimonthly Patreon study groups exploring culture through a mythic lens.  I studied with Josh in a small group The Mythic Body: Intensive Immersion in the spring of 2021. In 2022-23 I  journeyed through his year long The Mythic Body course, which focuses on cross-cultural mythology, animism, mythosomatics, storytelling, invocation, and devotional ritual practice. In 2023-2024 I joined his team as a Course Facilitator. In 2024-2025 my role expanded to include Guest Call Coordinator.

• 2021  Da Yuan Circle, Liu Ming Healing Apprenticeship -Liu Ming’s cycle of teachings on possession, conception to death, sleep, and beyond pathology.

• 2021  Framing Drumming with Zohar Fresco - A frame drum fundamentals course.

• 2021 From Nature Worship to Devil Worship: The Evolution of Pan with Scholar Liz Andres - A class describing the evolution of pan into the devil, explored through art history and cultural symbolism.

• 2022 Aikido with Galen David + Hannah Kramer, Eastlake Aikido - Intro to traditional Aikido practice with my kid.

• 2022 Native Plant Walk with Romina Takimoto - A walk around Mni Owe Sni focusing on learning native plants.

• 2022 Ordained Minister by American Marriage Ministries - Now I can marry you! Love is love.

• 2023 Framing Drumming with Miranda Rondeau -A frame drum fundamentals course that includes sonic invocation, chanting, and processional skills.

• 2023 Iranian Daf Drumming with Naghmeh Farahmand - A drum class focusing on Iranian Daf technique.

• 2023 Dao of Dreaming : Dream Series with Erin Langley + Clarissa Gunawan - A year long study of the complete cycle of teachings on the Dao of Dreaming within the lineage of Liu Ming. 

• 2023 The Song and The Story  with Mary McLaughlin - A course of traditional Irish sean-nós style singing.

• 2023 - 2025   Sean-nós, Keening, and Fairy Faith with Mary McLaughlin - Private lessons with Mary studying traditional Irish sean-nós and keening and it’s role in the traditional wake and psychopomp work, as well as fairy faith customs and traditions. 

• 2023 Singing the World to Be with Josh Schrei + Peia Luzzi - A deep dive into the mythosomatics of invocation, with a focus on traditional Irish songs.

• 2023 Bodhrán drumming with Rónán Ó Snodaigh - A refresher drum class focusing on the traditional Irish bodhrán (which I’ve played for years).

• 2023 Feral Angles Poetry Cafe with Tom Hirons - A poetry workshop. I have attended two so far: Storytelling for Poets + Duende and Fire.

• 2023 Deathclown with Dare Carrasquillo - 1:1 collaborative coaching/playing within creative processes/portals, animistic channeling skills, performance and theater arts, magical improv flow, exploring possession states and mutual dreaming as art making art.

• 2023 Native Plant Walks with Romina Takimoto and David Miller - Two of my favorite local herbalist teachers, native plants walks at various locations around the Twin Cities.

• 2023 Mentorship and healing with Kris Nourse - After my previous mentor Susan Raffo closed her practice, she recommended I work with Kris Nourse on continued personal healing support and professional guidance and development.

• 2024 Bridging Parental Conflict with The Bridge Center - A co-parenting support class.

• 2024 Free the Voice with Odeya Nini - A 6.5 month journey in vocal liberation.

• 2024 A Year In Plants with David Miller - A year long course exploring Celtic medicinal herbalism.

• 2024 Sacred Songs and Spirit Singing with Emily Colay - A 6 week course on Danza de la Luna; Moondance ceremony and traditions.

• 2024 The Irish Keen: Lament of the Ancestors with Mary McLaughlin - A 6 week course on the Irish Keening tradition.

• 2024 - Present The Pachamama Native American Church - A world wide organization dedicated to bringing indigenous teachings and rituals to everyone, under the guidance of Chief and Minister Valerio "Freddy" Cohaila.

• 2025 Shamanic Worldviews and UFOs/UAP: Ancient Wisdom, New Paradigms, with Kimberly S. Engels PhD - An 8 week course on UFO/UAP phenomena explored through indigenous cosmologies.

ON - GOING CONTINUE ED

• Acupuncture and Chinese medicine: Instead of listing every single course and webinar I’ve taken for CEU credit, I’ll simple sum it up like this: over the years I’ve focused on how to treat complex trauma, mental-emotional imbalances, anxiety, depression, autoimmune conditions, aging and longevity, musculoskeletal pain reduction, medical cannabis, fertility support, gynecological issues, digestive health, dream practice, and spirit possession.

• The Mythic Body: As a Facilitator and Guest Call Coordinator in The Mythic Body I am so grateful to be able to continue to learn from Josh Schrei, our core team (Skye Mandozay, Bernardo Malamut, Eve Bradford, Scout Rainer Wiley) and the incredible guest teachers who come through this program, as well as the wealth of wisdom brought forth by the participants. Notable guests over the years include: Bayo Akomolafe, Sophie Strand, Leah Song and Chloe Smith of Rising Appalachia, Peia Luzzi, Tom Hiron, Mary McLaughlin, Katsi Cook, Simon Thakur, Yannick Dubois, Eden Knutilla, Rose Simpson, Saro Lynch-Thomason, Marya Stark, Kanani Aton, Sthaneshwar Timalsina, Maya Ward, and Carl Rabke.

• Indigenous ways : I am honored to learn from indigenous elders directly in ceremonial contexts (who wish to remain unnamed here).  I respect the oral transmission of these stories, teachings, and practices and do not list details here. However the profound impact of my experiences permeates all layers of my work.

• Lineages : Here’s an ever-evolving list of folks I’ve studied with and am inspired by - beyond what is already listed here. Feel free to ask me for more information if you have any questions about my training and experience.