Facilitators & Faculty (For Cancer Retreats)

J Fields, MA, LMFT, Cancer Retreat facilitator, has studied Taiji and Qi Gong for years. He also provides mentoring for new Harmony Hill faculty. His private practice involves movement, meditation, passionate spirituality, art, and poetry. J has journeyed through his own cancer treatment and is most grateful for the doors it opened.

Beth Fischer, MA, LMP, Cancer Retreat facilitator, has been involved with Harmony Hill for many years. She has worked in various mental health, healing, and retreat settings for over 20 years. Her private psychotherapy practice integrates counseling skills, expressive arts, health psychology, and spirituality. Through her own journey of living with breast cancer, she has come to realize that the ultimate healing is the healing of the heart.

Margo Wade Walsh, PhD, is a Cancer Retreat facilitator. A health psychologist specializing in cancer care, Dr. Walsh provides psychotherapy consultations through her private practice in Gig Harbor, and at Hematology Oncology NW, a cancer clinic in Tacoma. She teaches psychological techniques that help people improve overall health, energy, immune functioning, and coping skills; reduce stress; and function more effectively at home and work. She helps patients regain peace of mind, hope, and sense of purpose, and rebuild self-esteem and healthy relationships.

Kathy Heffernan, MA, is a Cancer Retreat Facilitator. As a spiritual and grief counselor both in a Seattle hospital and through her own practice, she empowers clients to access their own healing wisdom. In both her individual and group work she integrates poetry, guided imagery, body-based focusing, ritual and the creative arts. Her work is informed by over six years of practice as a hospital chaplain. A Reiki Master Teacher and Practitioner, she teaches this gentle healing art through the Tree of Life Reiki Training Institute which she created to help bring the healing energy of Reiki into healthcare settings. She feels very grateful to journey with all those who come to Harmony Hill.

Mukti Khanna, PhD, is a cancer retreat facilitator. She is a clinical psychologist and expressive arts therapist focusing on cultural and community health. Her work in behavioral medicine includes energy psychology, medical qigong, somatic experiencing and mindfulness practices to cultivate well being. She is on the faculty of The Evergreen State College and has been co-creating transformational learning communities. She is working as a psychotherapist through the Heart of Wellness in Tumwater, Washington.

Vivian Folsom MSS, LICSW, cancer retreat facilitator, is a clinical social worker and has been a psychotherapist for the past 22 years. She practices and teaches mind and body techniques such as Somatic Experiencing, EMDR, guided imagery, and mindfulness based stress reduction. She assists patients who face the challenge of cancer or chronic ill providing healing tools to aid with the emotional, physical and spiritual changes that cancer treatment imposes on life and well being.

Cathy Rogers, ND, is a Cancer Retreat facilitator. Dr. Rogers, a naturopathic physician for 26 years and former dean at Bastyr University, combines psychotherapy, hydrotherapy, spiritual awareness, and food-based cleansing in healing programs at Chico Water Cure Spa, her tranquil retreat on Puget Sound near Silverdale. The intention of her work is to offer people access to sensory experiences of well being, no matter what their state of health, and to foster caring for themselves in a spirit of lovingkindness. She teaches naturopathic medical students to listen deeply to their patients and be present in a way that supports a person's inherent self-healing power.

Lynne Walters, RN, LMP, AHN-C, Cancer Retreat facilitator, is a holistic nurse and massage therapist. She has worked in a variety of nursing fields, including 8 years in hospice nursing, and has had her own private practice in holistic massage therapy for 19 years. She has led many workshops and retreats and focuses on helping people become kinder to themselves. Her decades of nursing practice along with her personal journey with chronic pain have taught her that blessings and gifts can emerge alongside the challenges and difficulties of chronic and life-threatening illnesses. She is the author of KindTouch Massage, Self-Massage for Healing and Wellbeing, an experiential book/CD.

Judith Frost, LiCSW, is a Cancer Retreat facilitator. A clinical social worker and coach in her private practice in Tacoma called The Cancer Coach, Judith helps people with cancer, and their families, take their lives back. She teaches coping skills and creating options as ways to combat the helplessness that often accompanies cancer. She weaves interactive guided imagery, energy therapies, journal writing and empowerment coaching techniques together to help people heal.

Chris Adams, MD, Cancer Retreat facilitator, has practiced family medicine for 16 years and is an assistant clinical faculty member at the University of Washington Medical School. She is a devoted student and practitioner of natural and cross-cultural medicine, interactive guided imagery, and journeywork. She is an integral team member of One Sky Medicine, a nonprofit holistic healthcare organization dedicated to transforming the culture of medicine by providing integrative and collaborative medical services, education and research that respect the wisdom of the individual, nature, and the healing power of relationship.

Karen Gorrin, MA, LMHC, Cancer Retreat facilitator, is a Seattle-area licensed psychotherapist. She specializes working with people living with cancer and other chronic and life-threatening illness, their caregivers, and people grieving the loss of a loved one. Karen’s holistic approach integrates expressive arts methods, cognitive-behavioral techniques, guided imagery and visualization, and spirituality. She facilitates support groups and healing retreats that acknowledge the wisdom and resilience in each of us. Karen also facilitates groups for corporate and nonprofit organizations. For more information, visit www.karengorrin.com

Phil Prudhomme, MS, MDiv, Cancer Retreat facilitator, blends his background in pastoral counseling and counseling psychology in promoting positive ways to cope with illness, loss, life changes, encouraging simplicity and depth in the human journey. He has facilitated groups for men, couples exploring relationship enhancement, as well as groups providing support for serious emotional difficulties. A cancer survivor himself, Phil maintains a private practice as a licensed mental health counselor in Tacoma.

Denise Carrico, BFA, teaches yoga for our Cancer Retreats. She has taught yoga nationally and is a certified yoga instructor and member of the Integral Yoga Teachers Association. Denise is the yoga teacher for Cancer LifeLine in Seattle, and teaches publicly for all populations throughout the city. Her first instructional yoga CD was released in December 2002. She also has produced, with Cancer Lifeline, a CD entitled The Joy of Yoga: the Fine Art of Being, Of Breathing, of Healing, released in 2003.

Melode Brewer, RYT, CES, Cancer Retreat yoga facilitator and Weekly Yoga facilitator, has been a dedicated yoga practitioner for years. She continues to expand her knowledge in the Viniyoga tradition, and brings these skills to movement classes she facilitates at Harmony Hill. She also offers private sessions and group workshops.

Joanna Cashman, RN, RYT, MFA, Cancer Retreat Facilitator, is a mental health nurse who also teaches therapeutic yoga and creative dance for our cancer retreats and Moving in Harmony Programs. She is a certified teacher of Radiant Health Yoga®, founder of Wild Grace Arts/Center for Yoga and Dance, and an adjunct faculty member of The Evergreen State College. Committed to promoting holistic health, she blends ancient and contemporary self care practices with humor and warmth to empower healing resources for the body, mind and spirit. Joanna produced a guided relaxation CD entitled "Lullaby for the Soul: A sacred Journey into Deep Relaxation" in 2007. For more information visit www.WildGraceArts.com

Ronnie Hacken, M.A, LMFT, is a psychotherapist in private practice in Olympia and is a Cancer Retreat facilitator. For over 25 years Ronnie has been co-creating nurturing environments for people to heal, to nourish their innate resilience, to develop and strengthen their emotional resources to cope with life and find joy in being alive in the moment.

Karin Olsen, BA LMP, Cancer Retreat massage therapist, graduated from Seattle Massage School in 1995. Karin and her staff teach hand and foot massage classes at the cancer retreats, and also provide massage for other programs and group retreats. She is the owner and operator of Kaleidoscope Massage Therapy Clinic in Shelton, WA and Radiance Herbs & Massage in Olympia, and has been a member of the Washington State Massage Board since 2000.

Karen Kirsch teaches movement for our Cancer Retreats. She is a certified Laban Bartenieff Movement Analyst, and a Registered Movement Therapist (ISMETA). She has also studied Authentic Movement, Body/Mind Centering, experiential anatomy and developmental movement. Karen has been working in the field of movement for over twenty years and her passion is to help others explore their bodies and their unique sense of self through movement, play and sensation. Her approach is playful, supportive, anatomically sound and enlivening.

Sage Hopkins, Cancer Retreat yoga facilitator and Weekly Yoga facilitator, has worked as a massage therapist since 1996 and began teaching yoga in 2001. He spent 4 weeks at Sivananda ashram in California in and trained under Godfrey Devereux (originator of the Dynamic Yoga teaching method) for 7 weeks in Ibiza, Spain. Sage has been a yoga teacher for the YMCA and the Bremerton Parks & Recreation. Sage's focus in teaching is to create a safe environment for students to discover and awaken the body’s inherent healing capability and intelligence. Sage's Dynamic Yoga teaching method is fun, safe and enlivening!

Faculty ( For Moving in Harmony Retreats)

Ann Lovejoy is known as The Mother Theresa of organic gardening. As one of America's most well-known and widely respected gardening gurus, Ann has been featured on HGTV, National Public Radio and is a regular garden and food columnist for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and the Bremerton Sun. Ann has written dozens of books on food and gardening, including Ann Lovejoy's Organic Garden Design School; Fresh from the Garden Cookbook; The Ann Lovejoy Handbook of Northwest Gardening: Natural-Sustainable-Organic; The Year in Bloom; and many more gardening classics. Her public volunteer gardening project (The Town in Bloom) turns neglected public spaces into thriving gardens entirely maintained by volunteers. This program recently won a national award and is the model for projects being developed in other communities. Ann is also on the Harmony Hill Board of Directors and donates many volunteer hours through teaching classes and providing consultation.

Melissa West, MS, has used guided imagery and art in teaching and psychotherapy with clients and workshop participants for the past two decades, and has served as adjunct faculty at Bastyr University and Antioch University. Ms. West gives workshops nationally on the labyrinth and other psychospiritual subjects. She is the author of Exploring the Labyrinth: A Guide for Healing and Spiritual Growth (Random House), and Silver Linings: The Power of Trauma to Transform your Life (Fair Winds Press).

Denise Carrico, BFA, has taught yoga nationally and is a certified yoga instructor and member of the Integral Yoga Teachers Association. Denise is the yoga teacher for Cancer LifeLine in Seattle, and teaches publicly for all populations throughout the city. Her first instructional yoga CD was released in December 2002. She also has produced, with Cancer Lifeline, a CD entitled The Joy of Yoga: the Fine Art of Being, Of Breathing, of Healing, released in 2003.

Melode Brewer, RYT, CES, has been a dedicated yoga practitioner for years. She continues to expand her knowledge in the Viniyoga tradition, and brings these skills to movement classes she facilitates at Harmony Hill. She also offers private sessions and group workshops. In addition to her yoga workshops that are part of Harmony Hill's "Moving in Harmony" workshops, Melode facilitates yoga for our cancer retreats.

Joanna Cashman, RN, RYT, MFA, Cancer Retreat Facilitator, is a mental health nurse who also teaches therapeutic yoga and creative dance for our cancer retreats and Moving in Harmony Programs. She is a certified teacher of Radiant Health Yoga®, founder of Wild Grace Arts/Center for Yoga and Dance, and an adjunct faculty member of The Evergreen State College. Committed to promoting holistic health, she blends ancient and contemporary self care practices with humor and warmth to empower healing resources for the body, mind and spirit. Joanna produced a guided relaxation CD entitled "Lullaby for the Soul: A sacred Journey into Deep Relaxation" in 2007. For more information visit www.WildGraceArts.com

Harmony Hill Leadership Team

Gretchen Schodde, ARNP, MN, is the founder and Executive Director of Harmony Hill. Gretchen is a family nurse practitioner, a former UW Assistant Professor, and one of the first nurse practitioners in the State of Washington, with a lifelong commitment to community health and wellness.

Margo Fleshman, BA, is Deputy Director. A former director of two human service agencies, university administrator, and teacher, Margo brings to Harmony Hill her extensive management and organizational background. Her love of Harmony Hill grew from her own personal experience as a retreatant and volunteer.

Eric Blegen, BA, is Business & Finance Director. Eric brings over 15 years of financial and personnel management experience, both in the for-profit and nonprofit sectors. With degrees in Political Science and German, Eric comes to the Hill with a wide variety of life experiences.

Jill Rose, BA, is Director of Development & Marketing. She brings over 18 years of experience in the nonprofit arena, including the YMCA, Stonewall Youth, and the Pierce County AIDS Foundation. Jill has a degree in Community Development with an emphasis on Diversity and Multiculturalism.