Category: Our Team

Instructor

Marisa (Sasa), born and raised on the Central Coast of California, comes from an Irish, German, Bolivian and Spanish lineage. She is a nature connection guide, rites of passage facilitator and holistic sexual health educator.  Marisa has been working with youth since she was one herself, and began to hold ceremonial rites of passage for adolescents and adults in 2012. As a recipient of the powerful healing attributes of nature, she is a strong advocate for soul discovery in the wild. Marisa is now fully dedicated to empowering youth through the lens of holistic sexual health education, and has taught in classrooms and private programs since 2016. She believes that education is the preventative medicine of potential trauma and the key to fully embracing and embodying our wild, natural selves.
Se habla español

Instructor

Cameron Withey began leading youth rites of passage in 2011. Wandering the woods at The Evergreen State College, he found his calling through self-designed studies in eco-psychology, contemporary rites of passage, and writing. He served as Rite of Passage Journeys’ Program Director from 2015-2018, and joined the Youth Passageways Stewardship Council in 2017. As a poet and sixth-generation Pacific Northwesterner with ancestry in the Celtic Isles, his soul is full of sea, green, and many shades of grey. He is passionate about addressing the cultural challenges of becoming fully human and deeply belonging to this Earth. He strives to be both a student and ally in indigenous spiritualities and politics, as an activist, poet, and community-builder.

Crofter’s Guild Journeyman
Scout Leader

Madrona has been with WildWise School from it’s very founding, first as a student in the Adventure Scout program and has spent the last three years as an apprentice for WoodSprites, Adventure Scouts, and Summer Camps. She is excited to be coming on as staff and is comfortable and competent taking part in the Ranger, Crofter, Voyager or Bard Guilds.

Spending her childhood exploring the forests, streams, and shores of her home on the Quimper Peninsula, she has always had a strong connection to the natural world and impressed her peers and relatives with knowledge about native plant species. One of her first mentors was Justin Lake during her time with CedarRoot Folk School and WildWise School’s Adventure Scouts, and she is excited to join him this summer as a mentor herself in WildWise School’s Ranger Adventure Camp.

Madrona also attended Sunfield Farm and School where she learned many skills including how to raise farm animals and garden, and how to knit, crochet, and needle felt. She also is a student in the Youth Environmental Stewardship Program (YES!), which includes working with kids and organizations like the North Olympic Salmon Coalition and the Jefferson County Land Trust, restoring native habitats while studying natural history.

Last summer Madrona completed a rite of passage on a three week backpacking trip traversing the Olympic Mountain Range and along the shores of the Pacific Ocean with Rite of Passage Journeys. Besides spending time in the Wilderness and environmental studies, Madrona enjoys reading novels, climbing, archery, crafting, fishing for salmon, and participating in the Drama Program at Kingston High School. Her favorite animal is the bobcat and her favorite tree is the Vine Maple.

WoodSprites & Rite of Passage Apprentice

Instructor

Born and raised in Georgia, Jakob Ledbetter grew up exploring the beautiful blue ridge mountains of Southern Appalachia. Heeding the call of the Earth, Jakob embarked upon a MA in Ecopsychology at Naropa University. While completing his masters, Jakob worked as a personal development mentor at a young-adult transition home, in addition to working as a nature-connection mentor at multiple organizations in the southeast. During a vision fast ceremony, Jakob realized his calling to become a wilderness guide. This calling led him to Wilderness Awareness School where he has spent the year playing with ancestral fire, geeking out on bird language, and tracking wild creatures through the forest. He is passionate about community leadership, cultural renewal, land stewardship, wildlife tracking, bird language, wild edibles, and earth-based living skills. He believes that rite of passage and initiatory experiences are the most important cultural tools to be to utilized in the modern world towards creating soul-centric communities. On most days, Jakob can be found in the woods staring up at birds in trees, crawling on the ground looking at tracks, or sharing food around a campfire, singing with friends.

Instructor

Annie Humiston has been a life long horticulturist, working in the industry for 23 years. Her focus is on integrated pest management. She is a bee keeper and loves the bugs.

Ranger’s Guild Master Emeritus

“When we assume the role of the character we see in ourselves, we reveal the inner most longing of our soul. Through roleplaying, we cast aside our inhibitions and become the hero we truly are. We are then set free to live out the great epic of our life.”

Justin Lake combines his love of the outdoors and storytelling in a unique style of Nature Mentoring. He got his start camping and fishing in Michigan. As a young man he moved to Washington to complete a course on longboat sailing, mountaineering, and outdoor leadership through Outward Bound. He has attended many gatherings, including Michigan Outdoor Skills School and Saskatoon Circle Primitive Skills Gathering. He is a lead instructor for CedarRoot Folk School youth programs. He is certified level IV Track and Sign through the international standards set by CyberTracker Conservation. He has instructed for Wilderness Awareness School including the Art Of Mentoring and a Wolf Tracking Expedition. He serves as a Lead Summer Camp Counselor for the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi. He has completed the Shore and Stream Stewards programs through Washington State University Extension. He teaches Outdoor Education, Field STEM, and Martial Arts for the Quilcene School District. His favorite animal is the Turtle.