Community guided by our elders, mentors, and wisdom keepers weaving together knowledge, lived experience, and heart — guidance we believe belongs to everyone.

A physician, author, and compassionate guide who has spent over four decades illuminating the connection between childhood experiences and lifelong health. Through his work in family practice, palliative care, addiction, and trauma, Gabor has become a global voice on the impact of stress and disconnection on our bodies and our lives. He is the bestselling author of In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts, When the Body Says No, and The Myth of Normal, and co-author of Hold On to Your Kids. With a gift for weaving science, story, and soul, Gabor’s work invites us back to wholeness, connection, and healing.

A grandfather and lifelong student of human development who has spent four decades walking alongside parents and children. Through his own journey of raising his family while exploring child development, Gordon founded the Neufeld Institute, creating spaces where parents and professionals can learn together about nurturing the next generation.

Chief Rueben George is a Sundance Chief, ceremonial leader, author, and internationally respected voice for Indigenous rights, water protection, and human dignity. A grandson of the legendary Chief Dan George, Rueben carries forward a lineage of leadership rooted in spirit, culture, and the responsibility to protect the land and future generations. For more than thirty years, Rueben has led sweat lodge ceremonies and supported thousands of people in their healing journeys. As a family therapist and specialist in substance use and addiction, he has worked on the front lines of community healing — grounding his work in Indigenous teachings, relational responsibility, and the belief that wellness is created through connection to culture, land, and spirit. At the heart of his leadership is his role as Sundance Chief, a responsibility he carries with humility, devotion, and the guidance of his ancestors. His activism and leadership have been felt globally, particularly through his work defending the lands and waters of his people, and advocating for human rights and environmental stewardship. Rueben is also the author of It Stops Here, an award-winning book that weaves together personal story, cultural teachings, and the urgent call to protect Mother Earth. As a mentor with Thrive, Rueben shares Indigenous knowledge, ceremony, and teachings that help guide people back to the values of belonging, reciprocity, and collective care. His presence invites us to remember what it means to be in right relationship — with ourselves, with each other, and with the living world.

Merissa Turner is a therapist, filmmaker, and the co-founder of Thrive.one, a digital village devoted to healing, belonging, and the restoration of community. Her work is rooted in the understanding that healing happens through relationship — with ourselves, with each other, and with the living world. For more than five years, Merissa has been honoured to serve as part of the Sacred Circle Indigenous Wellness Mental Health team, working alongside community leaders to help shape a new model of healing grounded in culture, spirit, and collective care. Through this relationship, she has been welcomed into learning the ways, beliefs, and laws that guide and protect First Nations peoples — teachings that continue to inform her practice and deepen her commitment to community-led healing. Merissa’s path has also carried her into relationships with Indigenous communities across Turtle Island, Africa, Peru, and Indonesia, where she has learned about reciprocity, kinship, and the sacred responsibilities we hold toward one another. She has walked beside residential school survivors and their families, witnessing the strength, truth, and tenderness that emerge when stories are held with care. As a filmmaker, Merissa explores the landscapes where psychology, spirit, and culture meet. Her upcoming documentary, created in collaboration with Dr. Gabor Maté and Dr. Gordon Neufeld, examines the relational roots of resilience and the deep human need for attachment and connection. Through Thrive, she is dedicated to building accessible pathways to healing and uplifting the teachers, wisdom keepers, and mentors who are shaping a more relational world.

Working alongside her life partner Duane, Catherine brings her experience as both a parent and therapist to help families deepen their emotional intelligence and reconnect with what matters most. Her approach blends professional insight with real-world parenting wisdom, offering grounded, practical tools for personal and relational transformation. As an author, speaker, and psychotherapist with decades of experience in Transformational Group Process, Catherine is passionate about helping people return to a fuller sense of themselves and build meaningful, connected relationships in every part of their lives.

Together with his wife Catherine, Duane weaves his roles as a father, therapist, and lifelong learner to support others on their journey of growth, emotional intelligence, and self-discovery. His work is rooted in both professional expertise and profound personal transformation, bringing clarity, humility, and depth to the healing process. As an author, speaker, and psychotherapist with decades of experience specializing in Transformational Group Process, Duane is dedicated to helping individuals reclaim their authentic selves and cultivate deeper, more meaningful connections in all their relationships.

A therapist, comedian, and recovery advocate, Lizzie Allan has spent more than a decade blending therapeutic insight with the transformative power of humour. Drawing from her extensive training and lived experience, she created Hilarapy, a pioneering approach that uses comedy as a pathway to emotional healing and authentic self-expression. Lizzie’s work is deeply shaped by her own journey through mental health challenges and recovery, including a formative period of crisis in her early twenties that ignited her commitment to help others heal with honesty and heart. Through Hilarapy, she guides participants through a unique process that weaves together storytelling, vulnerability, and laughter, helping people transform personal pain into connection and catharsis. Her ability to create safe, compassionate spaces—while bringing levity to even the heaviest of topics—has made her a compelling voice in the world of therapeutic innovation. Lizzie’s work invites us to embrace our whole selves, release shame, and discover the profound healing that becomes possible when courage and comedy meet.

A parent and educator whose 30-year journey began in Harvard's halls but found its true purpose in creating safe spaces for students to thrive. His work in building trauma-informed schools comes from a deep understanding that every child deserves to feel seen, heard, and supported in their learning environment.

An elder of the Hopi, Tewa, and Havasupai nations, Mona Polacca is a spiritual leader, activist, and advocate for Indigenous rights and the sacredness of water. With a background in social work and justice studies, she has devoted her life to bridging traditional wisdom and contemporary global challenges. As a founding member of the International Council of 13 Indigenous Grandmothers and a leader in the Turtle Island Project, Mona carries forward ancestral teachings of balance, prayer, and care for all living beings. Through her voice and presence, she calls humanity to restore harmony with the Earth, one another, and the generations yet to come.

A vocalist, sound therapist, and author who has spent over a decade exploring the power of vibration to restore balance and harmony. Through his work blending ancient sound traditions, modern energy medicine, and heart-centered presence, Shervin has become an international voice in the field of holistic healing. Founder of Sound Healing Bali and co-director of the Bali Sound Healers Collective, he bridges art and spirit through his award-winning music and teachings, including The Three Zones of Sound. With a gift for weaving culture, science, and soul, Shervin’s work invites us to tune into our true resonance—where sound becomes a pathway to peace, connection, and wholeness.

A homeopath, health scientist, and transformational alchemist dedicated to bridging traditional wisdom and modern healing. With a Bachelor of Health Science and Advanced Diploma in Homeopathy, Tjok Gde has spent decades exploring the art and science of natural medicine. Creator of the Pranafas therapeutic method and founder of Tirta Usada, he weaves homeopathy, breathwork, and alchemical principles into a unified approach to self-healing. Known across Indonesia for his groundbreaking TV series Nature Life and bestselling book Sehat Alami Secara Holistic, Tjok Gde’s work invites us to rediscover vitality through balance, awareness, and the intelligence of nature itself.

A mind-body health specialist, meditation teacher, registered therapist and acclaimed author whose work spans more than two decades. With a PhD in Mind-Body Medicine, Michele blends rigorous clinical experience and contemplative practice to guide women, families and individuals toward deeper healing and resilience. She is the author of When Women Rise: Everyday Practices to Strengthen Your Mind, Body and Soul, and has been featured on major platforms including Goop, Huffington Post Live, Good Morning America and SiriusXM. Based in Vancouver, Canada, Michele leads a thriving therapy practice, offers meditation courses and speaks globally on the integration of psychology, somatic awareness and spiritual wellness. Her work invites us to turn inward, reclaim our vitality and step fully into the aliveness of body, mind and heart.

A naturopathic doctor and integrative health pioneer based in North Vancouver, BC, Dr. Jolene Kennett (BSc, ND) has dedicated more than a decade to guiding individuals toward whole-body wellness. With a foundational degree in Nutritional Sciences from the University of British Columbia and a Doctorate in Naturopathic Medicine from the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine, she blends evidence-informed functional medicine, botanical therapies, and IV nutrient systems to treat hormone imbalances, metabolic concerns, and skin health. As founder of CareMed Integrative Health Centre, Dr. Kennett leads a team committed to re-defining modern wellness through personalized, holistic care. Her work invites us to transcend mere symptom relief and embrace vibrant, resilient health from the inside out.

For over two decades, Jennifer Nagel has guided individuals, couples, families, and clinicians through the deep terrain of personal and relational change. A registered clinical counsellor, international trainer, and longtime mentor in the Satir Transformational Systemic Therapy model, she brings a warm, grounded, and experiential presence to every space she holds. Jennifer’s work integrates psychotherapy, somatic awareness, and embodied transformation. She helps people reconnect with their inner resources, shift and transform outdated patterns, and step into more authentic, aligned ways of living. In both her clinical practice and group facilitation, Jennifer creates environments of psychological safety, deep attunement, and honest self-reflection. She supports people in exploring the intersections of personal history, relational dynamics, and identity — the tender edges where true transformation becomes possible. Her approach invites clients and clinicians alike to listen inward, expand emotional capacity, and find clarity within life’s inevitable chaos. As a mentor and supervisor, Jennifer draws on extensive international teaching across the globe. She helps therapists strengthen clinical presence, widen their systemic lens, and cultivate congruence between who they are and how they practice. At the heart of her work is the belief that there is magic in the muck — a wisdom that emerges through courageous self-exploration and through the relational field we heal within: the people, places, and communities that hold and shape us.

Richard was born in the Guyanese rainforest. As a systemic practitioner, musician, and composer, his work moves between sound, stillness, and the natural world. Raised in Northern Saskatchewan and now based in the UK, Richard spent over thirty years touring internationally as a musician and later as a Musical Director. Richard’s systemic practice provides a framework for large social projects, film, and contributions in the UK Parliament. Rooted in Taoist philosophy and a lifelong exploration of the quiet thresholds of nature, he was mentored by renowned practitioner Judith Hemming and serves internationally as an assistant to Mark Wolynn. As a systemic facilitator for over twenty years, and executive coach Richard bridges worlds, integrating systemic wisdom, music, and lived experience to create spaces of clarity, depth, and gentle transformation.

A somatic trauma therapist, Somatic Experiencing practitioner, CranioSacral therapist, and nervous system educator who has come from academia with a PhD in physics, the corporate world, and almost a decade of recovering from chronic fatigue syndrome, migraines, insomnia, IBS, and fibromyalgia. She now combines the embodiment of healing trauma and disrupting transgenerational patterns with her analytical mind to help high-functioning people reconnect with their bodies to experience emotional and physical well-being.

Johanna is a mom, systemic therapist, writer, and founder of The Family Imprint Institute. For twenty years she has worked with the body and nervous system to uncover the unseen emotional patterns that keep repeating the same hurts in their closest relationships. Her approach is grounded in science and compassion and goes well beyond talk therapy. Johanna has become a trusted voice on the impact of unresolved family dynamics on relationships and the tender territory of divorce, separation, and co-parenting. Johanna's approach feels like finally seeing the blueprint underneath your patterns. It puts language to what has never quite made sense and offers a clear path to resolution. She meets you where love feels hard and gently follows the thread back to its source, so you can tend to what has been hurt and feel closer to the people you love.

A shadow-work coach and trauma practitioner with more than a decade of experience, John Antony Samuelsen brings a grounded, compassionate approach to helping individuals understand the unconscious patterns that shape their lives. His work began with his own search for clarity through a transformative Shadow Process workshop led by Debbie Ford, later leading to his training as a breakthrough shadow coach at the Ford Institute and to assisting more than 15 workshops in the United States and Denmark. Influenced by teachers such as Gabor Maté, Peter Levine, Bessel van der Kolk, and Mark Wolynn, John integrates shadow-work with early and generational trauma exploration, supporting clients in identifying what is truly theirs and what has been inherited. Drawing from his multicultural upbringing in Tanzania, Denmark, and Sweden, he brings a sensitive, attuned perspective to the complexities of personal and ancestral healing. John emphasises safety, self-awareness, and the courage required to meet both light and darkness within. Guided by Jung’s insight that “one does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious,” his work helps individuals reconnect fragmented parts of themselves and move toward psychological integration, authenticity, and a more cohesive inner life.