"You will be lost and unlost. over and over again. relax love. you were meant to be this epic. glorious. story."- Nayyirah Waheed

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, is my thing.

I am a fiercely loving mama who is passionate about creating meaning through ritual, ceremony and journeys of initiation. My mission is to help people, especially girls, young women and mothers, to know themselves and discover their inherent wisdom, power, and place in this world. We all belong.

How did I get here?

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 excluded, of going silent. Like so many youth, I was living an outwardly "normal" life with a private world steeped in self-judgment, shame, and a deep need to feel "seen". My natural turning outwards from the nest was painful and lonely.

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, I began my formal study of the essential human 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 professionally. It is my own healing offered back for the benefit of all (at least that's my intention). I have worked with hundreds of girls and families around the Bay Area. I am SO grateful for all my mentors and guides who have shown me the way.

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, 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, Greenwood School, the Young Artists Work Space (YAWS), Westside Studio, and the Early Childhood Gazebo Park School at Esalen Institute. She continues to offer educational consulting on the side. Currently she is tending to the development of the Courage Museum, an immersive learning center (in person in SF) to grow empathy and prevent violence, with Futures Without Violence.

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. After tending to the org for 10 years, she helped bring the non-profit's 20 years of service to a close with an intergenerational Marking Ceremony in Fall of 2021.

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?

Emily has been profoundly inspired by the crossroads of her 10+ years of intensive youth mentoring with her journey as a mother, especially related to her writing and parent coaching work. She participated in a three year coaching group for mothers, with Beth Berry's MotherWorthy, centering around the themes "Reclaim. Rewild. Revillage."

Emily is also a devoted friend and ongoing student of global humanitarian teacher and founding member of the Amala Foundation, Vanessa Stone, and past facilitator with the Global Youth Peace Summit. Emily has committed to deepening her study with Vanessa with extensive professional mentoring, and by joining the School for Transformational Facilitation for multiple years. Deep bows to Vanessa and all the incredible teachers, young and old, I am blessed to learn from.

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My greatest credential to date is mentoring this group of incredible young humans for 12 years! They started with me when they were 10 years old, meeting twice monthly. Now, they are 22 years old and graduating college... and we still meet twice monthly! They have shaped me as much as I have shaped them. Tracking these stellar humans over so many years is one of the most profound gifts of my life.

Credentials:

• Founding Director, Love Your Nature, 15 years working with children in learning communities, retreat centers and non-profits as independent creative/experiential educator
  
• Consultant with non-profit Futures Without Violence for development of "Empathy Mirrors" permanent exhibit of new Courage Museum, 2021-current
  
• Devoted student of global humanitarian Vanessa Stone, School of Transformational Facilitation, 2020-current
  
• Facilitator with Prajna Consulting & Charis Denison, at the crossroads of youth advocacy, gender, sex and sexuality, 2016-2022
  
• Former Executive Director / Program Director, Stepping Stones Project, 2011-2021
• MotherWorthy Coaching Group with Beth Berry, 2018-2021
• Professional member of Alliance for Girls, 2016-2021
• Completed Hakomi Method Training (Mindfulness Based, Body-Centered Therapy Training) with Hakomi Institute of CA (300 Hour Levels 1 & 2, 2015 - 2017
• Council 1 Training with Shay Sloan of the Ojai Foundation, 2017
• Facilitator with Global Youth Peace Summit, 2017
• Graduated "Certified Integral Counselor and Life Coach" Interchange Counseling Institute, 2013-2014
• Faculty with Interchange Counseling Institute (300+ hours supervised training & practice), 2014-2016
• Additional courses in Diversity, Social Justice, and Process Work / Deep Democracy, 2010-2017
• Certified Educator with California Charter Schools, 2014-2017
• Permitted Early Childhood Educator, Saddleback College, 2012-2014
• Certified Mindfulness Educator, Mindful Schools, 2012
• Certified Massage Practitioner with the California Massage Therapy Council (450+ hours supervised training & practice), 2009-2013
• Certified Reiki Master & Jin Shin Jyutsu Practitioner, 2008-2009
• 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 years of rich trainings in various modalities, and her own life experience. She is happy to offer referrals if you are seeking a licensed therapist.

Fun Facts:

• 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 :) I have a 5 year old son and we could literally spend all our time happily between nature adventures, hand crafts and the kitchen.
• 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 can draw or paint anything... having devoted 11+ years to painting in my youth. 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 mediums 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 the annual Dia De Los Muertos exhibit at the Oakland Museum of CA. My absolute favorite is and will always be figure drawing. Between #momlife and running a business, I don't have time for my art anymore, so hardly anyone even knows this about me.
  

"Love in such a way that the person you love feels free."- Thich Nhat Hanh

"All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up." - Pablo Picasso