Homecoming

Homecoming Retreat Leader Team 2010

Lael Couper Jepson

As the founder and principle of SheChanges, Lael is the proud “birth mother” and host of Homecoming. SheChanges was born out of a deep passion and commitment to support women in more fully stepping into their power and honoring the wisdom inside them. As a coach and an organization development consultant, Lael works with women who are ready and willing to be architects of change in their lives or their businesses. Most recently, Lael has begun research with women leaders to demonstrate how women are revolutionizing the workplace and to identify new feminine models for organizations. She believes that powerful things – seen and unseen – happen when women gather together and is proud to offer this women’s retreat as an opportunity to return home to themselves – however that looks. In addition to designing and facilitating the Homecoming, Lael will be leading the Seek Out a Little Solace circle.

Anita Dore

A native of Maine now living in Luxembourg, Anita will be joining Homecoming as our resident artist, photographing the retreat as well as leading the A Good Look at Yourself circle. She is also the designer of the marketing materials for Homecoming. As a seasoned visual artist, Anita has an extensive design background in both textile and graphics as well as photography and painting. She is known for her signature use of color and composition. Whether she is working on a commissioned painting, a logo, a catalogue page or developing a color palette for a product line, Anita is bold, full of life, and in color.

Elisa Doucette

A self-described “not so average girl next door”, Elisa will be the leader of the Being the Author of Your Own Life circle. As the syndicated blogger of Ophelia’s Webb and an online columnist for Maine Today.com’s The Single Slice, Elisa has become known as a writer who tells it like it is with her trademark wit and directness. She is also a savvy social media maven and has consulted with small businesses and organizations on how to create more of an on-line presence. Elisa aspires to live – and write – her life as a “girl who knows what she wants and isn’t afraid to pursue her desires”. Such was the motivation behind bringing this spirit to Homecoming with her writing circle. She brings a sassy irreverence and a commitment to living life full of passion that is irresistibly engaging.

Rosemary Erb

Rosemary describes herself as solid as the bones of the earth and as direct as the wind. In matters of the heart, however, she’ll tell you she’s a marshmallow; for her heart is on her sleeve. What you see is what you get with Rosemary; there is a transparent nature to her if you are willing to take the time to look- you won’t have to guess. As the matriarch of Homecoming’s Kitchen Goddesses, Rosemary will invite us all to honor the sacredness of food – from the growing to the shopping, and from the planning to the preparation. As the owner of Crow’s Alchemy, Rosemary is all about love through “Food, Art and Hands” and after experiencing her food at Homecoming, women will see and feel how all those pieces come together to create one amazingly beautiful experience.

Debbie Graul

Debbie will be making the trip from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania to join us at Homecoming as a Kitchen Goddess. Debbie is known for bringing a reverence to her work that adds art and spirituality to how we nourish and honor ourselves with food. Believing that the best way to navigate life is to give up all the controls, Debbie is an ardent observer of the world around her, frequently capturing the simple and profound beauty of life during her ride and walkabouts.

Tirzah Griffin

A woman who describes herself as “a paradox waiting to happen”, Tirzah will be travelling all the way from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to be a Kitchen Goddess at Homecoming with her mother, Rosemary. Having recently uprooted her life in the Pacific North West and transplanted it in the “not quite Mid-Atlantic and not quite Mid-West”, Tirzah is no stranger to the idea of Homecoming and has written about her journey on her blog Losing Sight of Shore. Tirzah is known for her gift of bringing sanity to chaos and for having a knack of keeping everything humming and on track.

Jeanne Handy

Jeanne is an interior designer, but is best known to the women of Homecoming as Jamileh, the owner of Maine Belly Dance, having performed and taught different forms of movement for over twenty years. Jeanne’s passion was born out of a deep commitment to honor her heritage and to help other women celebrate their bodies and all the power they hold in every phase of life: excitement of youth, the pride of motherhood, and the wisdom of age. Her gift is gently taking us back to our roots as women, reminding us that every move we make with our bodies is an opportunity to take pride in the great power that is the softness and sensuality of women. This is Jeanne’s second time at Homecoming, and she will be leading a morning Belly Dance experience as well as the Celebrating Your Birthright circle.

Krista Haapala

Krista is the founder of Living Balance coaching for women. She has a passion for working with women to “find their edge,” believing that we each have a unique path and expression. Having a background as a social worker and as a faculty member at the Boston College Graduate School of Social Work, Krista most recently has expanded her practice to include being a certified sexuality educator. By Homecoming, she will be a clinical sexologist and will continue to pursue her PhD in the subject. Krista’s work with women to honor and embrace their sexual selves has informed her most recent research on the mind as a primary erogenous zone. Krista will be leading the I’ll Have What She’s Having circle.

Traca Marshall

As a an energy worker and a certified yoga instructor that has extensive dance background as well as a bronze medal at the aerobic world championships, Traca pulls from many traditions and teachers in her practice. Traca’s philosophy that runs through all of her instruction and workshops is about creating space for people to rediscover/uncover their authenticity. Through her work, she invites others to reconnect with all aspects of themselves - their peace as well as their wildness - in a ways that feel supportive and easeful. As a returning Homecoming leader, Traca will be once again guiding women in a Journey Dance circle having just returned from a six-month trip with her family around the world.

Katy Park

As a certified doula, writer and social worker, Katy is passionate about witnessing the “unfolding” moments in life and will be bringing this gift of midwifery to her role as returning retreat leader. Katy credits her new appreciation for “dynamic rootedness” for her recent ability to settle into life at this stage of her life and is now learning to live out from that rootedness in a more flexible and open way. By retreat time, Katy will have completed her teaching certification for phoenix rising yoga therapy. Presently, she is teaching children’s yoga classes and is excited about developing her own website for her future endeavors. Katy will be the “first face” of Homecoming, welcoming women to the retreat upon arrival and helping them get their bearings as well as working with Rosemary as a Kitchen Goddess.

Kara Seymour

As a returning retreat leader, Kara will once again be bringing her uniquely feminine experience of yoga to Homecoming in the Honoring the Grace Within circle. Kara is the visionary creator of Open HeART Space, a sacred gathering place that seeks to build community through yoga, movement and body work. She focuses her classes on finding ease and joy in the body, so that our lives can mirror our experiences on the mat. Kara is a certified Thai Massage Therapist and by retreat time, Kara will have completed her teacher certification in Acro Yoga. Her passion for play and “flight exploration” has further fulfilled her mission of inspiring authentic movement and facilitating the flow of creative energies. In this spirit, Kara will also be leading our community in a Barefoot Boogie experience in the evening.

Katie West

Katie is the founder of the Levity Institute, a coaching, training, research and social change building organization dedicated to heightening the awareness and experience of global lightness, joy and buoyancy in our individual and collective daily lives. As a certified coach and laughter yoga teacher/trainer, Katie also maintains her own practice and is the force behind the Levity Project, a social movement which engages in public acts of play, laughter and levity to create a global change in how we view each day. Katie will be bringing her trademark wit and easy-going style to our community with her Releasing Into Laughter experience as a means to invite us all to settle into the retreat.

Karen Wyman

Originally from Maine, Karen now hails from New Mexico and will be returning to Homecoming once again as a storyteller and leader of the Singing Her Flesh Back on Our Bones circle. Two of her passions are women and words, and she has combined these two passions in her professional life. Whether it is through intuitive Tarot readings for women or her work as a trainer for the New Mexico Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Karen uses her words and her deep belief in the sacredness of women to strengthen and empower women. It is her deepest hope that all women will recognize their sacred selves, find their true voices, and create this world in a way that honors all.