VOL. 21 SURRENDER

Meet Our Presenters

Catherine Allport  |  Facing Fear In Gandhi's House

In her presentation Facing Fear in Gandhi’s House, Photojournalist Catherine Allport unveils a previously untold story from the day before Gandhi’s house was destroyed.

Bio

Catherine Allport is a longtime artist, photographer, adventurer, spiritual seeker, and general rabble rouser. She took the bodhisattva vow in 1979 and has been exploring what that means ever since. She has taught art and yoga in every prison in New York City, and walked 900 miles with buddhist monks and nuns for world peace carrying images of the dead in the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and organizing along the way for the UN Special Session on Disarmament in 1982. She has been arrested for protecting Redwood trees and protesting nuclear weapons. As an independent photojournalist and as an activist she has covered and been engaged in many of the issues and campaigns of our time over the past half century, with special emphasis on women and peace. She worked in South Africa during the end times of Apartheid in that country. Her work is now archived at the Schlesinger Library at Harvard, and in numerous other collections.

Summary

In her presentation Facing Fear in Gandhi’s House, photojournalist Catherine Allport shares a personal, untold story of the day in 1985 before Gandhi’s house in South Africa was violently destroyed. It is a story about what it means not to flee, but to face into death, and to surrender to a stronger force than fear. Through the lens of her decades of work in and for South Africa, honoring her bodhisattva vow, she glimpses liberation and peace beneath the rubble. Catherine invites us to reimagine how sustained change can arise.

Kim Brown  |  Empowering Tomorrow: Shaping the World for the Future

Experience Kim Brown’s Empowering Tomorrow: Shaping the Future as she navigates new leadership territories, challenges norms, and empowers youth to thrive.

Bio

Kim Brown’s leadership journey is a testament to the transformative power of vulnerability, authenticity, and a focus on strengths. With a B.A. in Psychology and a minor in Women’s Studies from the University of Southern Illinois, Kim brings a nuanced understanding of human behavior and gender dynamics to her role as CEO of Girls Inc. of Santa Fe. From her early days as a residential counselor for children with learning differences to her current leadership position, Kim has centered her approach on fostering growth, authenticity, and collaboration.

Kim’s leadership style is characterized by dynamic communication that honors diverse lived experiences and embraces feedback from varied perspectives. She is passionate about empowering others and believes leadership is about caring for those in her charge. Kim’s dedication to empowering women and girls stems from her journey of self-discovery and her belief in the collective power of uplifting one another. Her hands-on experience on a farm, where she enjoys living with her wife and daughter, has instilled in her a sense of vision and resourcefulness that enriches her leadership approach.

Summary

Embark on a transformative journey of leadership evolution with our speaker, Kim Brown, as she challenges traditional paradigms and urges leaders to redefine the leadership landscape. Discover captivating insights that empower leaders to navigate uncharted territories, emphasizing resilience and the importance of discerning when to relinquish control. Join Kim in exploring the untapped potential of redefined leadership and empower a new generation to lead beyond conventional boundaries, reshaping the future with vision and resilience.

Rei Chou  |  How The Art Of Surrender Might Just Change The World

Innovator & healer Rei Chou delves into How The Art Of Surrender Might Just Change The World with surrendering her life’s work to the divine and how the art of slowing down enough to feel what fulfills us might just be the key to a more beautiful world.

Bio

Rei Chou is an innovator, leadership facilitator, dancer, and healer. For over 15 years she has designed breakthrough experiences, convenings, and modalities of research, innovation, and leadership that unlock human flourishing and potential.

As Founder of The Feast, she has worked with major organizations ranging from NASA to Intel on strategies for innovation that benefit humanity and has enabled over 600 dinners around the world, inviting innovators and creatives around the world to support each other in living their fullest lives.

As a healer practicing over 4 lineages of enlightenment-based energy work, she creates immersive spaces through participatory art, leadership retreats, and 1:1 work with leading organizations that bring about the world we want to see by aligning us to our highest calling and expression.

Summary

Want the life of your dreams? Or maybe world peace? What if all of this rested on our capacity to surrender? Reformed Change-maker and spiritual channel Rei Chou shares her misadventures from a life of impact work and how letting go of everything helped her receive more than she could have asked for.

We often think we need to “get” what we want. But just as we can give a breath first to receive one, there is a completely reversed way of living our lives that is full of joy, fulfillment, and balance. Rei Chou has worked with hundreds of leaders on social impact programs – from NASA’s CTOs, to Intel and Rockefeller’s innovation teams – before becoming a spiritual healer. Now she focused on helping people attune to their deeper wisdom through all their senses. Why? Because what we need is not “more, bigger, shinier,” but deeper, more fulfilling, and true. We get this when we let go, and listen.

In How The Art Of Surrender Might Just Change The World, Rei shares a bit of her journey going from innovation all-star to healer and artist and why she chose the path of surrender above all else. She’ll also share some insight into how this whole surrender thing works and how it might be the key to letting go of striving, for actually just being happy.

Headshot of Roger Montoya in Black and White

Roger Montoya  |  Revival

In Revival, Visionary Leader Roger Montoya shares his surprising journey from expecting death to revitalizing the Española Valley through the power of the art and the love of community.

Bio

Roger Montoya is an American humanitarian, painter, former professional dancer and gymnast, and a former New Mexico House of Representatives from the 40th district. He is the co-founder of several organizations, including Moving Arts Española, La Tierra Montessori School for the Arts and Sciences, and Española Pathways Shelter.

Among many accolades and awards Roger holds, he was named 2019 CNN Hero for his transformation work at Moving Arts.

Willamarie Moore  |  Collaborating with the Universe: The Art of Surrender

Consider how the art of surrender leads a high-performing professional from a relentless ‘more-better-faster’ mindset to embrace the profound wisdom of astrology in Collaborating with the Universe, where Willamarie Moore reveals the magnificent language of the stars.

Bio

Willamarie Moore is an Evolutionary Astrologer who incorporates the arts and mindfulness practices in her offerings.

Building on decades of experience as an award-winning educator in classrooms, museums, and yoga studios, and rigorous training in the techniques of Evolutionary Astrology, it is her passion to facilitate the weaving of left- and right-brain activity with her clients and students, allowing them to deeply connect to the universal truths of Astrology on an intuitive, emotional, and soul level. She revels in the joy and privilege of witnessing people discovering the beauty of their own unique soul’s “song” as mapped on their Birth Chart. 

Willamarie offers Astrology Readings and small-group workshops and classes, online and in-person in Santa Fe.

Summary

Have you ever considered that the stars might have more to say about our lives than we give them credit for? Willamarie Moore’s transition from being caught up with conventional metrics of “success” and trapped in a “more-better-faster” mindset to expanding to an embrace of the wisdom of astrology, is a testament to the wondrous ways the universe speaks to us.

What prompts a high-achieving, left-brain dominated intellectual — a lifelong A+ student, Phi Beta Kappa graduate, and award-winning museum professional — to surrender to her right-brained creativity and intuition, shifting to the practice of Birth Chart readings and astrological counseling? Willamarie shares her journey in Collaborating with the Universe: The Art of Surrender through Evolutionary Astrology.

Cristina Ramirez  |  Empowered by Discomfort

In Empowered by Discomfort, Entrepreneur Cristina M. Ramirez weaves her personal story of love and loss with practical tips to help you overcome challenges with confidence.

Bio

Cristina M. Ramirez is a best-selling author, award-winning coach, and serial entrepreneur bringing her empowerment curricula to audiences everywhere – from children to corporations. 

A graduate of Wellesley College, and a veteran of both Wall Street and Silicon Valley, Cristina is skilled at challenging limitations and finding possibilities. She has made it her personal mission to empower others to face their challenges with confidence. She moves audiences with her wisdom and engaging storytelling and leaves them empowered and inspired. 

Cristina is a widowed single mom of two teenage sons living in Santa Fe, New Mexico. In her free time you are likely to find her snowboarding with her boys, hiking with the dogs, or cleaning the cat litter.

Summary

When you argue with reality you lose 100% of the time. Things happen in our lives that we don’t like, that aren’t fair, and yet they happen. Losing her husband to Cancer in just 7 weeks, showed Cristina once again the need to surrender to things outside of your control. It wasn’t the first time she found herself kicking and screaming at the world. In Empowered by Discomfort, Cristina shares her story of love and loss, and empowers the audience to not just to embrace discomfort but to harness it’s power.

Kimi Switzer  |  Frenemy

In her presentation Frenemy, Kimi Switzer reflects on how she feels about losing her uterus and how it impacts her sense of self and her womanhood.

Bio

Born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Kimi Switzer graduated from UW-Milwaukee and Columbia College-Chicago with bachelor degrees. Kimi lived in Los Angeles for a few years working in film/tv production. In her early 30’s she moved to NYC to continue working in film/tv production while also hustling through city life by working at restaurants, teaching yoga and renting apartments. For the past several years Kimi has found stability as a Recruiter for Accenture. For the time being she has surrendered her love for a big city to peace and solitude in the high desert. She lives in Santa Fe with her husband Charles and dog Pecola.

Summary

In Frenemy, Kimi Switzer goes to battle with an unruly uterus that has decided to repurpose itself. She also comes to the realization that no longer having the ability to give birth may force her to redefine her identity as a woman. Saying goodbye to something that had been a part of her for 41 years takes her on an emotional and enlightening journey.