Kallie is a rites of passage guide and licensed psychotherapist. Perhaps more important than titles or accolades Kallie is a woman in recovery. It is through her own dark night of the soul, navigating addiction and recovery, that Kallie found herself being called to this work and her medicine as a wounded healer.

Devoting her life’s work to guiding and supporting others carrying this sacred wound, Kallie’s work has included working in a wilderness therapy program for struggling adolescents, working in residential addiction treatment settings with men and women, developing a rites of passage program for young adult women graduating residential treatment and re-entering their lives, working in rural Appalachia providing support to those grappling with addictions, and now, offering individual, couples, and group work at her private practice in Asheville, NC. Her passion for blending addiction recovery, rites of passage work, and earth-based healing comes from her own lived experience. It continues to be her intention to offer back what has been offered to her, tending to the stream of gratitude and reciprocity. To learn more about Kallie visit her website at https://www.kalliebrown.com/ or read about her here at https://www.ritesofpassagecouncil.org/fireside-inspirations/2021/meet-your-guide-kallie-brown.

LeAnne Feliciano

I stand as a beacon of transformation, a Certified Holistic Practitioner in the Healing Arts, weaving together the ancient wisdom of shamanic practices, the healing power of plant medicine, and the profound depths of hypnosis.After 12 years of navigating my own journey of recovery, I encountered a pivotal moment 2 ½ years ago—a moment where I felt the stirring of my spirit, a longing for something undefined yet essential.

In the enigmatic dance of the Universe, sincere inquiries are met with profound revelations. My quest led me to the Rites of Passage Council, where I unearthed profound insights into the indispensable interplay between recovery, ritual, and the Natural world. This journey not only fortified my own recovery but unearthed a deeper connection to Source and self, furnishing me with invaluable tools to harmonize my mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual realms.

This transformative work has become my wellspring of empowerment and resilience, igniting a renewed fervor within me. It has propelled me to share this journey with others, guiding them towards their own renaissance in recovery. The impact is profound, breathing new life into souls and reigniting the flames of hope and healing.

Rio Sawhill

Rio is following the thread of his life; journeying through holy places in Jordan and Israel, Southeast Asia and island nations of the Pacific Ocean. In all these places and here at home in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina, he finds Spirit and strives to listen to the whispers. The natural world calls him out of the comforts of buildings and bed to walk forest trails and mountain passes towards rivers and waterfalls in the lowlands and to the summits and cliff edges in the clouds. The year 2011 marked the beginning of his conscious awareness of nature’s therapeutic role in the healing of humans; he stepped into wilderness therapy for youth and almost simultaneously began work with The Joshua Project mentoring boys as they move towards manhood. The thread so often brings him into the company of teachers and mentors who are connected, and for the past two years he has studied and worked with Rites of Passage Council.

“There’s a thread you follow. It goes among things that change. But it doesn’t change.” --William Stafford

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