Godfather, uncle, brother, son, writer, filmmaker, and playful lover of forests, fútbol,

 macaws, mandrills, hammocks, hiking, flame, and starlight.

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Born in the rolling hills of Middle Tennessee, my story of becoming is the story of multiple kinds of ethnic mixing over many centuries in the United States. My people—who come from West Africa (Benin, Togo, Nigeria, Cameroon, Ghana), and Western Europe—were teachers, farmers, ministers, doctors, embalmers, and much more; this offering is an extension, a kind of culmination (albeit temporary) of their work.

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In 2014 I left the US and spent many years living as a nomadic artist to explore cultural memory and Earth-based spirituality, which brought me to spend time among, and learn from, various Earth-honoring communities throughout the American continents. After four years, I became severely chronically ill and was ushered into an intense, years-long process of healing and recovery. These experiences of cultural immersion and illness (combined with a formal background in anthropology) have gifted me an ability to gently offer perspective, guidance, and support for folks moving through the complex, layered processes of healing, initiation, and consciousness-expansion. My passion lies in living intimately, and part of that is creating the conditions and containers for others to connect more deeply with themselves, the Earth, the elements, and the more-than-visible world, and to engage safely and ethically with the endless healing properties of the natural environment and our innate inner wisdom.

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The study of Amazonian plant medicine in the Shipibo-Konibo tradition has been, and continues to be, an enormous part of my life. For over seven years I have been working with a beloved Shipibo-Konibo curandera in the Ucayali region of Peru, beginning to take part in the traditional practice of samá (dieta) in 2018. The relationships and blessings that have emerged from this work have healed, grounded, and inspired me, and continue to inform my practice daily.

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