"Love in such a way that the person you love feels free."- Thich Nhat Hanh
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Hi! I'm EMILY FROST. I'm an artist and mentor working with youth and families in the Bay Area. I am also a devoted mother, wife, sister and daughter. As the Founding Director of LOVE YOUR NATURE, I consider the heart of my work to be about our responsibility to remember, tend and teach what is sacred about being alive for the next generation.
I work with young people and adults, in groups and individually, as a girls empowerment coach, contemporary rites of passage guide, experiential educator and consultant. Facilitating programs that develop social, emotional and spiritual intelligence, with a focus on girls coming of age and honoring life passages for all of us, is my thing. I am a fiercely loving woman and mama who is passionate about Mystery and how we create meaning through ritual, ceremony and journeys of initiation. My mission is to help people, especially girls and young women, to know themselves and discover their inherent wisdom, power, and place in this world. We all belong. I have worked with hundreds of girls and families around the Bay Area, and am thrilled to devote my life energy to LOVE YOUR NATURE. |
How did I get here?
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As a tween/teen I deeply struggled with feeling like I didn't belong, that I wasn't "wanted", that I wasn't ________ enough. It's amazing how vivid those early memories are, of being teased and excluded, of going silent. Like so many teens, I was living an outwardly "normal" life with a private world filled with doubt, self-judgment, body-shame, and need to feel "seen". How lonely that could be. So deep are the wounds, I can taste their bitterness as they still arise in my adult life... just, wow.
As I found my way into adulthood, finally landing in the Bay Area (yay!) and into the arms of loving community, mentors and chosen family (thank god for growing up!) I began my exploration (and self-study) of the essential need for connection and belonging. This led me into the realms of spirituality, healing, rites of passage, social justice - and most importantly into nature. My personal journey is inseparable from having chosen (or been chosen) to do this job, to play this role in the world. It is my own healing offered back for the benefit of all (at least that's my intention). It's the work I can't not do. I am SO grateful for all my mentors and guides who have shown me the way. We need each other! |
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Experience:
A renaissance woman who has already lived many lives, Emily holds dual degrees in Art and Interdisciplinary Studies from UC Berkeley, has completed 2 years of the Somatic/Mindfulness based Hakomi Method Training, is a certified Integral Counselor and Life Coach with Interchange Counseling Institute in SF, permitted Early Childhood Educator, certified Mindfulness Educator with Mindful Schools, and practitioner of several healing arts.
She has taught art, mindfulness, ecology, and been a specialist in social-emotional literacy curriculum in many venues throughout the Bay Area; mainly UC Berkeley, Park Day School, Prospect Sierra Elementary School, Summit K2 Middle School, the Young Artists Work Space (YAWS), Westside Studio, and the Early Childhood Gazebo Park School at Esalen Institute. She has served as a consultant with Greenwood School in Marin and was a panel member with a Creation Spirituality Conference at UC Berkeley on Rites of Passage, Intergenerational Wisdom, and Spirituality.
She has taught art, mindfulness, ecology, and been a specialist in social-emotional literacy curriculum in many venues throughout the Bay Area; mainly UC Berkeley, Park Day School, Prospect Sierra Elementary School, Summit K2 Middle School, the Young Artists Work Space (YAWS), Westside Studio, and the Early Childhood Gazebo Park School at Esalen Institute. She has served as a consultant with Greenwood School in Marin and was a panel member with a Creation Spirituality Conference at UC Berkeley on Rites of Passage, Intergenerational Wisdom, and Spirituality.
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Emily has been featured on Revolutionary Wellness Talk Radio via the VoiceAmerica™ & World Talk Radio™ Networks, focusing on the theme of empowerment. Emily has worked in collaboration with Naomi Katz on the international Beautiful Project, a movement that is transforming the lives of young women across the globe by empowering them to love themselves and speak their truths. Emily is a proud member of the Alliance for Girls, an active network of powerful leaders, organizations and youth voices supporting girls and women.
Emily is the former Director of the Stepping Stones Project, offering long term mentoring and contemporary rites of passage to middle school youth and their families. After having her son Emily shifted into an advisory role, facilitating groups of youth and parents, leading trainings, and providing support for the organization as she is able. |
Emily is a is a certified facilitator with Prajna Consulting, at the crossroads of youth advocacy, gender, sex and sexuality. She has trained in the work, philosophy and practice with Prajna's founder, Charis Denison. Their partnered themes address the questions: What are teens doing, what do they want, what do they need, and how can we support them?
With her awesome husband, Emily is the co-founder of Real Talk Events, designing events for adults to inspire learning, honest sharing, and authentic connection about what it's like to be alive in these times. She looks forward to returning to this project and inspiring work partnership once she recovers a bit from #momlife.
She is currently completing a year of Beth Berry's MotherWorthy coaching group for mothers, centering around the themes "Reclaim. Rewild. Revillage.". This experience has been deeply inspiring, both as a mother and group facilitator, and has offered inner and outer tools for Emily to start the new digital girls group for 1st year college students, launching Fall 2019.
Emily is also a devoted friend and ongoing student of global humanitarian teacher and founding member of the Amala Foundation, Vanessa Stone. Deep bows to Vanessa and all the incredible mentors here.
With her awesome husband, Emily is the co-founder of Real Talk Events, designing events for adults to inspire learning, honest sharing, and authentic connection about what it's like to be alive in these times. She looks forward to returning to this project and inspiring work partnership once she recovers a bit from #momlife.
She is currently completing a year of Beth Berry's MotherWorthy coaching group for mothers, centering around the themes "Reclaim. Rewild. Revillage.". This experience has been deeply inspiring, both as a mother and group facilitator, and has offered inner and outer tools for Emily to start the new digital girls group for 1st year college students, launching Fall 2019.
Emily is also a devoted friend and ongoing student of global humanitarian teacher and founding member of the Amala Foundation, Vanessa Stone. Deep bows to Vanessa and all the incredible mentors here.
Credentials:
- Founding Director, Love Your Nature, 10 years working with children in learning communities, retreat centers and non-profits as independent creative/experiential educator
- Co-Founder, Real Talk Events SF, events designed to inspire learning, honest sharing, and authentic connection
- Professional member of Alliance for Girls, 2016 - current
- MotherWorthy Coaching Group with Beth Berry, 2018-current
- Completed Hakomi Method Training (Somatic/Mindfulness based) with Hakomi Institute of CA (300 Hour 2 Year Comprehensive Training), 2015 - 2017
- Facilitator with Prajna Consulting, at the crossroads of youth advocacy, gender, sex and sexuality, 2016-2017
- Council 1 Training with Shay Sloan of the Ojai Foundation, 2017
- Graduate Interchange Counseling Institute, 2013-14
- Faculty with Interchange Counseling Institute (300+ hours supervised training & practice), 2014-2016
- Approved Vendor with California Charter Schools, 2014-2017
- Permitted Early Childhood Educator, 2012-2014
- Certified Mindfulness Educator, Mindful Schools, 2012
- Additional shorter courses in Diversity, Social Justice, and Process Work / Deep Democracy, 2010 - 2016
- Certified Massage Practitioner with the California Massage Therapy Council (450+ hours supervised training & practice), 2009-2013, Current
- Certified Reiki Master & Jin Shin Jyutsu Practitioner, 2008-9
- Student Teacher with UC Berkeley Decal Courses Meditation, Mysticism & the Mind and Awakened Leadership, 2007-2009
- Dual Undergraduate Degrees, Art & Interdisciplinary Studies, UC Berkeley, 2004-2008
Emily is not a licensed therapist and does not take any insurance. She practices as a mentor, rites-of-passage guide and 'life coach', utilizing 10 years of training in various modalities, and her own life experience. We are happy to offer referrals if you are seeking a licensed therapist.
Fun Facts:
- I can draw or paint anything... having devoted 11+ years to painting. Dedicated to the arts most of my life, I have studied in California, Italy and Peru. I was awarded the Selma B. Meyorwitz Fellowship in 2008 for my work with art and disabilities and have had numerous exhibitions in the Bay Area and Florence, Italy while studying abroad. My artistic skills vary widely, including oil and acrylic painting, life drawing, clay sculpture, printmaking, bookmaking, collage, paper making, jewelry, and textile arts. I have been featured in several collaborative exhibitions focusing on Eco-Literacy, including a huge Dia De Los Muertos exhibit at the Oakland Museum of CA. My absolute favorite is and will always be figure drawing. I barely have time for art any more, though I squeeze in the occasional doodle, so hardly anyone even knows this about me.
- Dancing is just about the only exercise I'll consider.
- I had a clothing business focused on recycled & vintage fabrics, and worked for a Los Angeles based company as well as assisted local clothes maker Cari Borja.
- I am a homesteader at heart, and often think I should have been born in another time (or place!) where I could happily steward a piece of land, tend a garden, have lots of animals, grow a big family... and barely ever leave home :)
