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Staff & Contractors

FOUNDER: The Reverend Dr. Lauren Artress

www.laurenartress.com 

Lauren is the Founder of Veriditas. She is the author of: Walking a Sacred Path: Rediscovering the Labyrinth as a Spiritual Tool (Putnam/Riverhead Books, New York), 
The Sand Labyrinth Kit, (Tuttle Publishers) and The Sacred Path Companion: A Guide to Walking the Labyrinth to Heal and Transform (Riverhead, 2006). 

Lauren is a priest of the Episcopal Church, and her home parish is Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, California. From 1986 to 1992, she served as Canon Pastor and then as Canon for Special Ministries until August 2004. In May of 2006, her rediscovery of the labyrinth was honored by Grace Cathedral and she was designated Honorary Canon, a lifetime title. 

In 1991, while on a brief sabbatical, Lauren walked an informal taped labyrinth through the work of Jean Houston. The idea gestated for a few months and then she was compelled to go to Chartres Cathedral, where she moved the chairs and walked the medieval labyrinth. This courageous act has led to the rediscovery of the labyrinth. Lauren not only introduced the walking meditation back into the Christian tradition but also introduced the labyrinth back into Western culture. By December 1991, she had replicated the Medieval Eleven Circuit Labyrinth at Grace Cathedral beginning in canvas form. Due to the enormous response of people desiring to learn a walking meditation, the tapestry labyrinth was installed inside the Cathedral in 1994.  The outdoor terrazzo labyrinth was installed in the Interfaith Meditation Garden in 1995. In 2007, Grace Cathedral installed a permanent limestone labyrinth in the floor to replace the tapestry labyrinth. Veriditas is storing the carpet until it can realize its vision of a retreat center where the tapestry labyrinth will once again have a home. 

In 1995, Lauren created the non-profit Veriditas as a 501c3, with the initial vision of "peppering the planet with labyrinths". After successfully launching thousands of labyrinths in churches, hospitals, cathedrals, prisons, spas, community parks, hospices and other settings, a new mission for Veriditas emerged: To facilitate the transformation of the human spirit through offering the Labyrinth Experience. 

Lauren travels worldwide offering workshops and lectures on the labyrinth, Hildegard of Bingen, Opening the Divine Imagination, Taking That Creative Leap ~ Navigating A Life Transition, and on other topics related to the spiritual journey and the mystical life. She creates large group experiences that nurture the connection between the human and divine such as Walking a Sacred Path held twice a year in Chartres Cathedral. 

Lauren is a much sought after Keynote speaker, an Episcopal priest and licensed as a psychotherapist in the State of California. She holds a Bachelor's Degree in Special Education from Ohio State University and a Master's of Education from Princeton Theological Seminary. She received her analytic training in Object Relations and Systems Theory at The Blanton-Peale Graduate Institute at The Institute of Religion and Health in New York City. Her Doctor of Ministry degree was granted in 1986 from Andover Newton Theological School in Boston Massachusetts in Pastoral Psychology. 

Lauren is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in the State of California, a Diplomate in the American Association for Pastoral Counselors, and a Clinical Member in the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapists.



DEVELOPMENT MANAGER:
Rita Canning


Rita been involved in nonprofit fund development for over 30 years, working for such organizations as United Way to successfully increase their annual funding. She believes that excellence in relationship building with donors, grantors, community leaders and volunteers is the fundamental key to any long-term, successful fund raising and development efforts. Since 2013 she has been successfully implementing these principles in her fundraising for Veriditas.

For many decades Rita has been helping others to experience transformation and awakening through her work as a Spiritual Guide and Counselor. She works with individuals and groups, using a synthesis of Eastern and Western meditations, methods and spiritual teachings. Rita is also a strong proponent of prayer for World Peace, inspiring others to work for peace through various universal methods of prayer and sound.

Rita has lived in the North Bay area for over 30 years. She is grateful for the joy of having raised a wonderful son, now an adult, and enjoys meditation, spiritual company, laughter and being in the joy and beauty of nature.



SOCIAL MEDIA & WEBINAR COORDINATOR:
Lars Howlett

Lars Howlett is a visual storyteller, creating photographs and editing home videos since early childhood. That love of images led him to become a professional photojournalist, freelance documentary photographer and visual artist for over 25 years. He is a graduate of Northwestern University (Evanston, IL) with a degree in Communications and the SALT Institute of Documentary Studies (Portland, ME). He was a photojournalist intern at La Nación on study abroad in Santiago, Chile and completed a three-month documentary journey through Patagonia at the turn of the millennium. For seven years, he taught documentary photography at Sacred Heart Preparatory (Atherton, CA) and the Academy of Art (SF, CA) was the staff photographer for the Half Moon Bay Review from 2008-2011 where he also specialized in social media.

He attended his first Veriditas workshop at Grace Cathedral in 2010 and was trained by Lauren Artress as a labyrinth facilitator at Chartres in 2011 where he also assisted in the building of the labyrinth at Maison St. Yves. He became the apprentice to master labyrinth builder Robert Ferré in 2012 and was the recipient of his techniques, tools, curriculum, and library. Lars was the coordinator for World Labyrinth Day from 2013-18 and the Web Chair as a board member of the Labyrinth Society from 2014-18. Lars joined the faculty of Veriditas in 2015 teaching the labyrinth design and building courses for Labyrinth Summer School. He became an Advanced Labyrinth Facilitator in 2019 and began facilitating handheld labyrinth meditations and qualifying workshops online in 2020. He became a part-time staff member of Veriditas in 2021 to help coordinate, edit and distribute webinars, manage social media, and develop resources for facilitators. He continues to design, build and consult on labyrinth installations through DiscoverLabyrinths.com. Follow him on Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube.


BOOKKEEPER: Angelique Holten


Angelique Holten has a wealth of experience as bookkeeper for various companies but this is her first time working for a non-profit corporation.  When she learned that Veriditas was looking for a part-time bookkeeper she investigated and immediately knew that she wanted to work for a company that offered something to the world that was consistent with her own values.

Self-taught, Angelique first learned bookkeeping at her father’s business, Jacque’s Organic Chocolates.  She then handled the books at numerous other businesses.  When she turned forty, she enrolled in accounting classes at a local college to learn more about the accounting process and financial reports in depth, while continuing her bookkeeping jobs.

These days, when she’s not at Veriditas, Angelique is busy running her own chocolate company, Angelique’s Unique Treats.  She describes herself as curious and someone who enjoys helping people.  And apparently she also enjoys helping dogs as Angelique currently volunteers at Canine Companions, an organization that trains service dogs, and Lily’s Senior Dog Sanctuary, where dogs that weigh more than fifty pounds and are at least seven-years-old are cared for and loved.


EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: 
Dawn Matheny, Ph.D.


Dawn Matheny is a seasoned administrator who has worked for over 30 years, running programs in local government and non-profits. She has a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology from University of California in Santa Cruz, a Masters Degree in Counseling from Sonoma State University, and a Doctorate in East West Psychology from the California Institute of Integral Studies. 

Dawn started her work life in the non-profit sector, working in a children's residential treatment program and a volunteer bureau and then as an executive director of a shelter program for women and children who had been victims of domestic violence where she supervised 11 staff and 40 volunteers. She worked with the board to raise funds for both operational and capitol budgets. In 1984, she was hired by the County of Sonoma to create a volunteer program that would serve County departments. That program grew to over 2,000 volunteers who do a wide variety of tasks from tutoring kids in juvenile hall, walking trails in parks, to cat cuddling in the animal shelter. Dawn's job expanded over the years and involved many projects and assignments including producing on large scale recognition events, editing a 12 page monthly newsletter, and culminating in the coordination of two public sector commissions, the Commission on the Status of Women and the Commission on Human Rights. She ended her career in county government to accept the position with Veriditas. 

Dawn's doctoral dissertation was titled" Dreaming: the Relationship to Self", in which she explored the various ways that people have of relating to their dreams. Dawn is a member of the Association of the Study of Dreams and has made numerous presentations in classes and at conferences on dream related topics. After getting her Ph.D., Dawn taught Qualitative Research and Research Methods as adjunct faculty at John F. Kennedy University and the Institute of Integral Studies. 

Dawn got involved with the labyrinth by attending and then assisting with Women's Dream Quests. With strong administrative, organizational and people skills, Dawn is delighted to be building Veriditas to spread the work of  Lauren Artress in promoting the labyrinth as a psychospiritual tool.


MARKETING, COMMUNICATIONS AND WEBSITE MANAGER: Annika Moore


Annika was born and raised in South Africa, where the stark life-quality contrasts, of mansions on one side of the street and makeshift shantytowns on the other, was so glaring that it inspired her to dedicate her life to making a meaningful difference in the world. She moved to the US in 1996 and enrolled at the University of South Africa (a correspondence university) where she completed her BA in Health Sciences and Social Services with Specialization in Applied Psychology for Professional, Contexts. Together with her training in graphic design, this communications-based degree has helped guide her work with non-profit organizations over the last 10 years. 

Annika’s spiritual journey has included many years of meditation practice. She served on the High Mountain Crystal Lake Zen Community Board of Directors for seven years. During that time she also worked part-time as their Communications Director In June 2008, she moved to Montague Massachusetts to support the work of the Zen Peacemakers, an organization dedicated to social service. She served as their Communications Director, and Event Coordinator.

At the end of 2009, Annika relocated to California with her dog Emma, to be closer to family. She and her young niece share a bundle of giggles! In addition to walking the Labyrinth, Annika enjoys gardening, yoga, meditation, cycling, tennis, reading, playing guitar & singing, and playing Native American flute. She is also pitching in, with her husband, on the development of an organic farm in Sonoma County. 

She is delighted to be part of the Veriditas team, and enjoys contributing to furthering this meaningful work in the world.

EVENT AND FACILITATOR COORDINATOR:
Kathleen Stewart



Kathleen Stewart is a native Californian who came to Sonoma County from suburban Los Angeles to get a BA in Humanistic Psychology at Sonoma State University. She began working in non-profit social services and then went on to employment in publishing, natural foods industry, ecological restoration field, and ended up in local government where she was a case manager and domestic violence specialist for County of Sonoma for 12 years. Throughout her years of employment, Kathleen has completed innumerable trainings on topics ranging from the proper usage of grammar to managing chaos in the workplace. She also has completed graduate units towards her master's of social work and counseling.

Kathleen continued a personal study of psychology and spiritually after studying psychology formally, spending more than a decade immersed in reading studies in Jungian psychology by Jungian analysts - most notably Marion Woodman - and spirituality. Kathleen has practiced yoga with a small group of devoted yoginis for 13 years. With her interest and evolving understanding of symbols and archetypes, her love of spirit and meditation, along with a set of core administrative skills, Kathleen is elated to join the team at Veriditas. She lives in rural Sonoma County with beloved family.


DEVELOPMENT & SALES MANAGER:
Jenny Slama

Jenny been a part of the Veriditas team for nearly a decade.  During her tenure she's helped in a variety of roles (Administrative Assistant, Store Manager, Auction Coordinator), while raising her young family.  Now that her children are both in elementary school, she is able to spend more time supporting Veriditas, and leading our development efforts as Rita Canning retires.

Jenny earned dual Bachelors of Science degrees from Portland State University.  For over twenty years Jenny worked in the financial planning and investment management industry, most recently as an operations consultant for firms on a limited basis.  The inherit pressure of dealing with (sometimes very challenging) financial markets helped Jenny understand the value of personal balance and nurturing your spiritual self. This realization helped lead Jenny to Veriditas, where she knew she had found a wonderfully rare fit - beautifully scenic grounds, genuinely compassionate peers, and an organization with heart and a worthy vision.  Jenny feels honored to contribute to the work Lauren started and loves connecting with the Veriditas community.

Jenny and her husband moved to Sonoma County in 2012. They spend their time with their two sons exploring the world through travel and are always up for adventure - from visiting the stunning Bay Area (which they crisscrossed the whole peninsula and beyond on foot during the pandemic), to local road races (where they'll all participate in the annual Santa Rosa Turkey Trot) to hiking mountain peaks in Switzerland.  Jenny works part-time and stays busy with the boys and being an active volunteer within their schools.  She is on the board of both the Santa Rosa French American Charter School Foundation, and the Presbyterian Preschool of Santa Rosa.


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

© Veriditas 2024. All rights reserved.

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