Faculty: Workshops, trainings and specialty programs

Reverend Dr. Lauren Artress

Catherine Anderson, Workshops, Facilitator Training, Retreats (Virginia)

The labyrinth Catherine constructed in her backyard in 2007 has been an important element in her mindfulness and creativity practices and Catherine loves showing others how the labyrinth can support us in quietening our mind and uncovering our creativity. She is the author of Journaling the Labyrinth Path, a book of finger labyrinths, quotes and journal prompts inspiring you to find your unique work in the world, Meeting Your Soul on the Labyrinth: SoulCollage® and the Labyrinth as Pathways for Transformation, and Tracing the Labyrinth Path, a book of finger labyrinths to use as a daily practice.

Catherine uses the labyrinth, SoulCollage®, expressive arts, poetry and mindfulness as pathways for self-discovery and as ways of uncovering meaning and purpose in life. Her personal journey of self-discovery has taken her from a career as an attorney to photography franchise owner, to creativity workshop facilitator.

Photography as contemplative practice is another creative passion for Catherine and her book The Creative Photographer won a Silver Nautilus Award in the Creative Process Category in 2012. Her book Contemplative Photography Retreat: Deepen Your Connection to the Elements of Earth, Air, Fire and Water is a self-guided retreat in nature with your camera.

As a SoulCollage® Facilitator Trainer, Catherine loves teaching others how to facilitate workshops using the SoulCollage® process which uses images as a form of “soul language” to access our inner wisdom.

As a life-long learner, Catherine has been fortunate to train with Jean Houston, Seena Frost, Lauren Artress, Jan Phillips and many other wise teachers. In addition to her work in the US, Catherine leads creative pilgrimages to South Africa, France, Italy, Mexico, Portugal and Scotland.

www.CreativePilgrimage.com

Laura Esculcas,
Workshops, Facilitator Training

(Portugal)

http://www.mysticalportugal.com

With passion for myth and metaphor, Laura curates wisdom journeys and immersion experiences in Portugal’s mystical landscape. Laura is co-founder of EarthShamans, a SoulCollage® facilitator, and teaches Energetics of Art with Ubiquity University Wisdom School. She is trained in Sacred Landscapes, Intuitive Feng Shui, and the Personessence™ System of Understanding People. Laura holds both an M.A. in Wisdom Studies and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering.

Originally from the US and having worked in Silicon Valley for over ten years in high tech operations and management, Laura moved to Portugal to pursue her dream of an integrated life lived as a sacred journey shared with others. Now informed by more than ten years of immersion in the Portugal ecofield, Laura uniquely blends depth of experience, keen curiosity, and genuine open-heartedness as she facilitates wisdom journeys and pilgrimage experiences into Portugal's place-based myths.

Laura first met the labyrinth in 2001, on an Advent Quiet Day in Santa Cruz, California. Since that day, Laura has been a Labyrinth Enthusiast. She has served with Veriditas as a small group facilitator in Chartres, and teaches qualifying workshops and Labyrinth Facilitator Training in Europe.

Laura speaks English and Portuguese and lives near Lisbon with her husband and son, and their two dogs.

Betty (Elizabeth) Lopez Towey
Workshops, Facilitator Training

bettylopez2e@gmail.com

It was at Silver Bay on Lake George that Betty was first introduced to the labyrinth, an ancient walking meditation tool found in cultures around the world. This profound experience led to a deepening interest which soon became a passion. She was trained as a labyrinth facilitator by Lauren Artress in 2001 and has helped to build the outdoor labyrinth at Silver Bay Conference Center on Lake George, has painted canvas labyrinths with various communities and has carried her own painted canvas labyrinth into New York City Schools, Colleges, Medical Schools, Churches and Synagogues. She has continued her study of the labyrinth with Lauren Artress at Chartres Cathedral, the site of the original eleven circuit labyrinth and is now an Advanced Labyrinth Facilitator and member of the Veriditas Faculty.

Betty got started in education through an interest in finding the best school for her children in New York City. After her active engagement in their school, the then founder/director and Mac Arther Award winner Debra Meier asked Betty to join the staff. Betty's passion for supporting children and their families and working with staff led to her becoming a teacher, winning the 1995 Bank Street College, "Teacher of the Year Award". After 20 years of teaching and out of the classroom support roles, Betty was inspired to pursue an administrative position through her own experience on the labyrinth, which led to her starting a New York City Public School.

As the principal and founder, an important part of building this new progressive public school was to support adults and children in mind, body and spirit by incorporating the labyrinth in its development. Educators, Administrators and School Support Teams who attended these labyrinth walks came to know how valuable and effective the labyrinth is for our own personal and spiritual growth and as an effective ongoing practice within schools. Frequent Labyrinth walks can assist our schools in creating wonderfully deep and solid learning communities, that assist us in all of the many ways of supporting and working with children, parents and staff. It is an exciting time to consider how to inspire, support and grow schools that work in the important area of spiritual growth, as part of teaching and nourishing the whole child. Betty looks forward to offering Qualifying Workshops as she leads educators and members of varied communities into a deeper experience of being with one another through the use of the labyrinth.

As a life long seeker, Betty is also an active member of the diverse and inclusive Spiritual Life Team at Silver Bay Conference Center on Lake George in New York. She is a trained Spiritual Advisor and Reiki Master and is responsible for the Labyrinth programs, which are offered to conferences and retreats, including large and small groups of ministers, educators, business organizations and those seeking respite here at Silver Bay.

As a Veriditas Faculty member, Betty also designs and offers Qualifying Workshops and Labyrinth Facilitator Training.

www.wisdomjourney.net
Elizabeth@wisdomjourney.net
LLC Wisdom Journey

Lars Howlett, Workshops, Facilitator Training, Summer School, Labyrinth Design & Making (Maryland)

lars@veriditas.org

Lars Howlett is a leading expert in the design and creation of sacred space for walking meditation, centering prayer, personal healing, conflict resolution and community building. Lars is a practitioner of mindfulness and student of sacred geometry since 2003, experimenting with a wide variety of designs, materials, intentions and settings in his personal and professional projects. Universities, churches, health centers, retirement communities, mental health centers, retreats, and individuals find Lars for inspiration and insight in creating exact replicas of historical patterns or one-of-a-kind artistic installations.

Lars was a three year apprentice to Robert Ferré, inheriting the tools, techniques, and teaching curriculum of a master builder. Lars is a Veriditas Faculty Member and Certified Advanced Labyrinth Facilitator trained by the Reverend Dr. Lauren Artress at Grace and Chartres Cathedrals. He was the Chairperson of World Labyrinth Day from 2013-18.

Lars is an inspiring teacher and passionate speaker on the history, spirituality, and practice of walking labyrinths, leading workshops to cultivate inner wisdom for personal transformation with slideshows of personal projects and visits to sacred sites on four continents. www.DiscoverLabyrinths.com

Lars is available for Labyrinth Construction consultations. To book a time to discuss your labyrinth construction project with Lars, please complete this form.

Judith Tripp, Women’s Dream Quest, Meeting Mary, Workshops (California)

judith@veriditas.org

Judith Tripp, MA, MFT has created a body of work, which she calls Circleway which encompasses her passions for individual healing work through psychotherapy and spiritual counseling, the Women’s Dream Quest, Pilgrimages to Avalon, retreats and workshops all over the world as well as flute and vocal recordings. Her book, Circleway, The Story of the Women’s Dream Quest, chronicles 25 years of her work with the Dream Quest. Trained in Transpersonal Psychology, Judith is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. She began her work with the Women’s Dream Quest in 1987 at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco. Today she leads Dream Quests all over the world. She has been involved with Veriditas since its inception and trained as a labyrinth facilitator in 1996. She began her work at Chartres and her Avalon pilgrimages in 2000. Judith's produced musical offerings Homage, Return Again, and To Bless the Walk. Integrating a healthy psychology with a robust spiritual practice is a mainstay of Judith’s life and work. Well versed and practiced in diverse spiritual traditions, Judith is equally at home in a Cathedral, a Yoga Ashram, a Buddhist Meditation retreat, and the temple of Nature. She loves to chant and dance, meditate and pray.

Click here for Judith's Speaker's Packet
http://www.circleway.com/

Nathan Wiles, Workshops, Facilitator Training, Labyrinth Builder and Designer

Innatecreations@outlook.com

Nathan Wiles is a professional in the field of labyrinth education, building, and design. With a background as an Interior Designer and Project Manager, Nathan draws upon his extensive skills and experience to create labyrinth builds and facilitate workshops.

With a career spanning over 30 years in building and designing, Nathan has honed his expertise specifically in labyrinth design and construction for over 15 years. Through his understanding of the labyrinth, he possesses the ability to tap into the collective consciousness of individuals and groups, bringing their visions to life.

Nathan's passion lies in unraveling the mysteries that surround us in today's diverse world, while maintaining both a secular and non-secular approach. He aims to expand the labyrinth community by collaborating with public schools, corporations, churches, and wellness facilities to foster education and raise awareness about the labyrinth's benefits.

Reverend Dr. Kay Mutert, Master Teacher Emeritus (Alabama)

kay@veriditas.org

The Reverend Dr. Kay Mutert was one of the first Master Teachers with Veriditas. She has been offering labyrinth workshops in awakening new creative energy, community building, and spiritual formation. Her Master Teacher responsibilities included training new facilitators and renewal training for those trained in past years.

She works with organizations to establish labyrinth communities, to translating hopes into an ongoing vision. In her workshops and training she holds the space for participants to discover and develop their own gifts and skills. Kay has been a member of the Veriditas Council, Southeastern USA regional representative, and event musician.

When she left her local church ministry Kay created "DaySpring - a source of creative expression and renewal of spirit", as a conduit to work with an increasingly larger circle of community. Through her labyrinth work, she uses her experience as musician, minister, teacher and spiritual accompanist with groups and individuals from diverse arenas of life, inviting them to discover the possibilities of the labyrinth to experience a reconnection with the sacredness of life, to find language for their setting.

As a pastor, Kay served congregations in the United Methodist Church and the British Methodist Church, a local ecumenical partnership in England, and an interim ministry with the Presbyterian Church USA. Before that she worked as a music educator/church musician in Florida and Alabama. She is a conductor, composer and pianist, incorporating her music into her events. Her work has included compositions and concerts for those affected by cancer and AIDS, connected with her own journey.

Kay believes the ancient archetype of the labyrinth serves as a strong source of presence for today's world, in meditation, reconciliation, peace-making, for young and old, for cross-cultures, creativity and healing, for community and personal use.

Kay holds a BS from Mississippi State University, MA from University of South Florida, EdD from University of Alabama and Mdiv from Candler School of Theology, Emory University. Her published works include a set of her musical compositions - Songs for the Journey, a piano CD, The Joy of Two. Her book Seasons of Change is a memoir of her Jubilee (50th) year's transition into pastoral ministry while living in the Midlands of England. She is a contributor of a labyrinth chapter to the recently published book Sacred Habits: the Rise of the Creative Clergy.

WORKSHOP presenters in the US

Barrie Carter Gibby, Workshops

Barrie Carter Gibby works on that creative edge between the branches of words and movement expression. A long-time educator, community builder, avid traveler and labyrinth facilitator, Barrie entwines her background in design, music, theater production and ritual-making to facilitate workshops and pilgrimages across the nation on a variety of themes. She is especially fascinated by the parallels of Celtic and Native American cultures and their loving embrace of nature centered whole life. Her annual pilgrimage to the 13th c. Chartres Cathedral labyrinth, in Chartres, France, provokes inspired passion for her ongoing labyrinth work. As a Veriditas Advanced Certified Labyrinth facilitator, Barrie finds sacred spaces everywhere.

Susan Borkin, California

Susan Borkin, PhD, is a psychotherapist and speaker based in the San Francisco Bay Area. A pioneer in the field of writing therapy, she is the author (or contributing author) to six books on journaling. She is an advanced facilitator and member of the Veriditas faculty.

Brighid Fitzgibbon, California

Brighid has been a teacher for over 20 years working with students of all ages in a wide variety of instructional settings. She currently teaches English and History at Credo High, a public Waldorf high school in Sonoma County, where she lives with her family. She has shared her knowledge of and appreciation for the labyrinth as a tool for contemplation and connection with high school and university students, as well as helping to develop a community labyrinth initiative in Sonoma County.

During the summer of 2018, Brighid worked in the Veriditas office as an intern as part of her graduate studies in Humanities at Dominican University of California. She has served as a small-group leader in Chartres and at the Women’s Dream Quest. She recently completed Advanced Facilitator Training.

Sharry Nyberg, Washington

Sharry Nyberg is Co-Founder of Glide into Grace Retreats. She is passionate about sharing the labyrinth with others, training with the Reverend Dr. Lauren Artress in San Francisco in 2002 and becoming a Veriditas certified Advanced Labyrinth Facilitator in 2019. She is a trained SoulCollage® Facilitator and a creator of art. She retired after serving the United Church of Christ for over 21 years and continues to lead retreats, workshops and creative opportunities, as a spiritual companion on the journey, holding sacred space for others to experience and engage in rituals and practices noticing moments of sacred-nicity.

Mary Ann Wamhoff, Virginia

Mary Ann Wamhoff has been walking labyrinths since 1995, has been to Chartres twice, and really loves introducing folks to the possibilities of the labyrinth practice. She is a life-long learner and enjoys weaving the labyrinth with the Four Paths of Creation Spirituality, the cosmology of deep time, the Work that Reconnects, and her love of the Sacred Feminine. Prior to retiring—ha! rather refiring—Mary Ann taught for 44 years, practiced therapeutic massage, and was a professional musician. She still teaches, does energy work, balances chakras, sings, does yoga, and practices T’ai Chi Chih every chance she gets. She and her husband travel as often as possible. Mary Ann enjoys embodied and contemplative prayer. The labyrinth is a powerful vehicle for that. She believes each of us is a mystic, an artist, and a prophet.

Dr. Robin B. Dilley, Faculty

Dr. Robin B. Dilley brings over 35 years of experience to the table as an Arizona Licensed psychologist, author, and workshop facilitator. She has been an Advanced Veriditas Labyrinth Facilitator since 2015 and recently became a Veriditas Faculty member.

Since learning about the Labyrinth in 1992, Robin has drawn on her background in Experiential Family Therapy, Psychodynamic Therapy, and Jungian Theory to develop an active Labyrinth practice. She incorporates the Labyrinth into her work with clients in several ways. She explores its use as an ancient archetypal symbol for guidance and personal insight. Additionally, she teaches clients to use the Labyrinth as a tool for mindfulness and anxiety management, empowering them to use it for relaxation and stress reduction.

Now, through her newest endeavor, Arizona Labyrinth Connections, an extension of her psychotherapy and spiritual consulting practice, Dr. Dilley leads well-designed transformative workshops which include storytelling, journal writing, and a labyrinth experience. She creates workshops regularly and has two signature workshops, “Lessons from The Yellow Brick Road” and “Lessons from The Miller’s Daughter.”

Robin is available to create a workshop for your group or individual consulting to enhance your life’s journey. She also publishes a regular newsletter, Continue Your Journey.

Robin lives happily with her spouse of 28 years, Pam Smead. They enjoy cruising, walking, reading, and exploring life together. Don't hesitate to get in touch with Robin at drrobinbdilley@gmail.com to learn more.

Rob Hodges, California

Rob Hodges is a cellist, singer, and composer who enjoys collaborating with artists of all stripes. He earned his Ph.D. in ethnomusicology from UC Santa Barbara in 2009 after having spent many years teaching in higher education as well as conducting fieldwork research on funerary ritual and songs of grief in North Sumatra, Indonesia. Rob’s ongoing musical interests and explorations involve mind – body – spirit connections to music in relation to healing, ritual, and collaborative improvisation. Rob is a labyrinth designer and builder as well as an Advanced Labyrinth Walk Facilitator, having trained with Lauren Artress through Veriditas in 2017 and in 2022. He operates a small landscape design and installation business focusing on native and pollinator-friendly plant propagation. It was through one of his early landscape projects that Rob came to know the labyrinth intimately, after having installed one on a client’s property for her daily walking / praying meditation practice. He takes profound pleasure in connecting with others through musical offerings during labyrinth walks, whether online or in person, and he continues to grow in his understanding of the labyrinth as an organ of healing, processing, and profound spiritual and emotional significance. In recent years he has joined with a few others to provide soundbath meditations following labyrinth walks on the quarterly solstice and equinox celebrations. Rob and his wife (and collaborative partner) poet, Catherine Abbey Hodges, live and work at The Croft, their home in the southern Sierra Nevada foothills, near Springville, California.

Christine Wiles, Vermont

Christine, a retired HR professional with 25+ years of experience across different industries, now manages a wellness spa located in northern Vermont. She received training from Lauren Artress and is a Veriditas Advanced Accredited Labyrinth Facilitator. In addition, she is also certified as a Nature Therapy Guide by the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy (ANFT). Christine enjoys leading wellness workshops, participating in community events, and connecting with people through shared experiences. Her passion for HR and wellness practices has inspired her to assist others in advancing their lives and careers. She has volunteered for many non-profit organizations, served on the Veriditas Council, and is currently studying Reflexology while also developing and expanding the family businesses. Christine possesses a curious and creative mind, which drives her to explore the world and everything it has to offer.

Bio’s to come
Heidi Schweizer, Virginia

Carmel Stabley, Pennsylvania

Karen Knight, Michigan

Connie Beall, California

WORKSHOP PRESENTERS IN THE UK

Bio's to come

Jan Sellers

Jim Bailey

Jay Edge

workshop Presenters in AUSTRALIA

Sue Thomas (Queensland)

sue@suethomas.net.au

I live on the land of the Yugambeh language people, the traditional custodians of the Gold Coast region in South-East Queensland.

My long association with using the labyrinth as a tool for contemplative, meditative and spiritual practices began many years ago when the labyrinth ‘found’ me in Year 11 at high school through an “Art and Architecture in History” subject. Many decades later, I now enjoy sharing my love of the labyrinth with teaching staff in schools, children and their parents preparing to celebrate faith rituals, my parish and local communities, and all those I journey with as Spiritual Director, Retreat Facilitator, and mentor and supervisor. A great delight has been introducing the labyrinth to a new generation, as I share the joy of the labyrinth with my grandchildren as they walk and play on my garden labyrinth, and with their own hand labyrinths.

Using the labyrinth as a tool for contemplation and reflection in my work and my personal spiritual practices has been grounded and enriched by connecting with Veriditas in 2017, when I did my initial Labyrinth Facilitator Training and received certification. I became a VIA member, and in 2021 progressed to Advanced Facilitator and Trainer. “The labyrinth belongs to no one and everyone” has been a grounding mantra in my work, as I draw labyrinths on beaches, work with peers in creating large portable calico labyrinths, and use the hand labyrinth for journaling and reflection in many facets of my life and life’s work.

Tina Christensen, (Tasmania)

tinachristensen@me.com

Tina is a writer and poet who has spent the last 3 years cultivating a poetic life in Tasmania’s magnificent Huon Valley. She lives in sync with nature’s cycles and is endlessly fascinated by sacred geometry.

Her love of labyrinths began in San Francisco in the Spring of 2010. It was a sliding door moment in her personal meditative practise and in her work with clients as an art therapist. Although she didn’t know it, another apprenticeship was about to begin. She came home to Melbourne and built a sanctuary in the city, centred around a full size walking labyrinth, to cultivate conversations of stillness, creativity and nature.

Tina became the founding Chair of the Australian Labyrinth Network 2016-2018. She went on to sit on the international Veriditas Council 2018-present. The Council seeks to support labyrinth facilitators in their work.

At her sanctuary labyrinthlane.com, over seven years Tina introduced the labyrinth conversation to thousands of people. Currently she is visioning in a labyrinth pilgrimage experience in Tasmania at Pippin Hill with her partner and labyrinth designer, Mark Healy. A first of its kind worldwide, it’ll be home to her labyrinth teaching.

As a guide for others exploring their relationship with the labyrinth, Tina offers the deep listening of a therapist, the spontaneity of a SoulCollage®facilitator and a poetic lightness with the labyrinth work. Always there is a place at her table for Nature and stillness to arrive and now a place for you too.

Christina Rowntree (Victoria)

chris.rowntree@optusnet.com.au

I live, work, and walk on Wurundjeri Country, inner city Naarm (Melbourne), appreciating the land and waters of the Merri Merri creek.

I first walked a labyrinth in 2003 at St Andrew’s Beach on the Mornington Peninsula, Victoria. I remember the profound sense the walk reflected my whole life. Since then I reflect on all the turns I’ve taken on so many labyrinths across these lands now called Australia. The beautiful paved labyrinths in Dunkeld, Centennial Park, and the Jessie Vasey labyrinth in Heidelberg, are firm underfoot. Softer is the desert red sand labyrinth at Campfire in the Heart in Alice Springs. I’ve marked up many temporary labyrinths, from stones, or tape, or coloured fabric. A highlight has been the Spring labyrinth made for the Festival of Hildegard in 2012 where hundreds of flowering pots formed a garden labyrinth. In the past decade I’ve returned to Queenscliff to mark out the Ocean Labyrinth from old fishing ropes, shells and nets, for Sacrededge Festival usually on World Labyrinth Day. Now with the beautiful canvas Peace Labyrinth made at the 2nd National Australian Labyrinth Gathering in Pymble, many more indoor labyrinth walks have been conducted.

Sharing these labyrinth experiences with others, facilitating walks for people of diverse ages, experiences and abilities, is now my vocation and joy. With passion and warmth, I create artful, invitational experiences with music, poetry, story and natural materials. As a trainer, I am keen to share my years of experience and knowledge with others on the path, engaging people with warmth, respect and humour in offering Veriditas Facilitator Training.

I participate in planning ALN gatherings, offering workshops and newsreel items to support our growing labyrinth community in Australia. My current placement as Ministry Coordinator is at Sophia’s Spring – an eco-feminist faith community of the Uniting Church in Australia that meets at CERES environment park.

WORKSHOP PRESENTER & Trainer IN HONG KONG

Chi Shan Lam

Dr. Chi-Shan Lam is a specialist Anaesthesiologist serving in public hospital in Hong Kong. He is a candidate of the Professional Doctorate in Practical Theology. His ongoing thesis “Theologically orientated action research on labyrinth, spirituality and pain medicine” is based on his research “A quantitative and qualitative evaluation of labyrinth walking on chronic pain patient” which is kindly supported by the Hong Kong Pain Society research grant (2015).

Dr. Lam is a Veriditas facilitator trainer/faculty who has been offering qualifying workshop for the local communities since 2019, and facilitator training workshop since 2021. He is one of the founders and currently the chairperson of the Hong Kong Labyrinth Society.

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About Veriditas
Faculty & Accredited Presenters

101 H Street, Suite D, Petaluma, CA 94952 | Phone 707-283-0373 | contact@veriditas.org

Veriditas is dedicated to inspiring personal and planetary change and renewal through the labyrinth experience.

We accomplish our mission by training and supporting labyrinth facilitators around the world, and offering meaningful events that promote further understanding of the labyrinth as a tool for personal and community transformation. Our Vision is that the labyrinth experience guides us in developing the higher level of human awareness we need to thrive in the 21st century.

Veriditas is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and donations made are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. EIN 94-3229902

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