New Mexico Balloon Fiesta with The Wayfaring Band

My company The Wayfaring Band offers road trips and social programs for young adults who experience special needs and emerging thought leaders. Our mission is to use travel as a means to equip all our members with the social tools to impact the global community. This past week, we had a fabulous opportunity to put our ideals into practice as we embarked on the adventure of a lifetime, traveling over 1,500 miles from Denver to Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Roswell, Chimayo, and Madrid, New Mexico.

On Sunday, October 6th, the band boarded a big blue and white school bus and rambled south on I-25 toward the Land of Enchantment. We were joined by 12 young adults experiencing special needs as diverse as autism, Down syndrome, bipolar disorder, and developmental delays. Some members of our group communicated verbally, and some did not, and all members experienced varying degrees of mobility. We also welcomed 2 thought leaders, 1 artist-in-residence, 4 tour managers, and our beloved bus driver Mike for a total of 20 band members. It was The Wayfaring Band’s first out-of-state tour, and we had a boundary-breaking itinerary in place that included site-specific activities during the day and a thought leadership curriculum for some of our members during the evenings. We climbed higher, traveled further, and banded together to achieve astonishing milestones, including visitations with alien beings, sifting holy dirt with our hands, blues dancing at a biker bar, and soaring in a hot air balloon. Get the full scoop by visiting our Wayfaring website!

Pecha Kucha: How Did You Put Yourself On the Map?

At the recent Colorado Creative Industries Summit in Pueblo, I was asked to create a Pecha Kucha-style presentation answering the question "How did you put yourself on the map?" The 20x20 Pecha Kucha format allows for 20 seconds each to discuss 20 slides in a PowerPoint presentation. This short presentation is a blitz approach to my history as a creative activist, artist, and human being. Enjoy the ride!

Performance & Talk - Greeley Creative District

I was honored to be invited to perform and speak for a group of community members in Greeley some weeks ago in celebration of the city's creative district. I began with a performance of Slum Story, a spoken word piece and photo slideshow that questions the ethics of aid work in the Kisenyi slum in Kampala, Uganda. 

Slum Story

I then gave a talk that expands on the themes outlined in the poem. When working as a guest in a marginalized community, how can we stay fluid in the face of uncertainty? How can we redefine success to allow us to rebound from our perceived mistakes? How can use our critical thinking as a springboard to take some critical action?

Critical Action: Staying Fluid in the Face of Uncertainty

Thank you to the wonderful and gracious staff of the City of Greeley for your help organizing this inspiring event and for recording the content so professionally. I wish you luck with your growing creative district, and I hope to return to Greeley soon!

TEDx Talk - Inside the Raft

Here it is: my TEDx Talk from the recent TEDxMileHigh Women conference here in Denver. Thank you to everyone who helped make this possible!

TED Talk Time!

I will be giving a TED Talk at the upcoming inaugural event TEDxMileHigh Women in Denver on December 1st. I am honored that I have been invited to participate in this event, and I am excited to share the stage with so many fabulous people. The event itself is sold out, but I will post the video once it becomes available. Thank you to the extraordinary people in my community who nominated me and to everyone who helped make this dream possible. I am grateful!