Conservation
I began work as a biologist with the US Fish and Wildlife Service in 1996 - studying the impacts of the Exxon Valdez oil spill on seabirds nesting in Prince William Sound, Alaska. Over the years, projects have come to include work on Peregrine Falcon, Golden Eagle, Black-legged Kittiwake, Pigeon Guillemot, Gray Wolf, and more recently Desert Tortoise. These have ranged from assessments of reproductive success and population dynamics to studies of foraging habits and behavior, and included translocations, nesting bird surveys, as well as construction monitoring and regulatory compliance consulting for major construction projects - mainly in renewable energy generation (solar, wind) and transmission.
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Nature Awareness & Connection
Since my early days roaming the woods surrounding my home town in Germany, I have been fascinated by nature and wildness, and called deeply into myself and my passions by cultivating vibrant contact and connection with life. Through self-directed and academic nature studies, as well as training with the Tracker School and Wilderness Awareness School, I have developed a strong sense of place and strong ropes with the natural world. I believe we are beings of nature, and most true, alive, and in service when we are well-connected to the web of life.
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Travel & Adventure
The joy of deep nature connection has brought me to many beautiful places around the world. As an avid climber, mountaineer, bicyclist, and lover of wide open spaces, I have been touched deeply by the people and places I have been privileged to visit. Some of my favorites include Alaska, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, as well as the central coast, Mojave Desert, and Sierra Nevada mountains of California.
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Music
Growing up in a musical family, I have been singing and playing instruments since before I could talk. But it has only been in more recent years that I am carving out more significant time to cultivate this passion. Having studied with Bobby McFerrin, Dave Worm, and other talented vocalists, I now have two vocal ensemble projects - Spirit's Edge and The Elements, which released its first Improvisational A Capella album in May 2017.
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The Ocean
I started drawing ocean scenes and boats before I was in Kindergarten. Since then, I have continued to explore water in many ways over the years - surfing, rafting, boating, snorkeling, scuba and freediving, and many other pursuits. Most recently, freediving has captured my heart and has opened up a beautiful journey in deeply immersive, meditative ventures into the sea.
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Family
My wife, Katia Sol, and I met at the annual Bioneers Conference in 2010 It has been an indescribable gift to become step-father to her two sons, Jalen (17), and Mateo (14), and then bringing our son, Kolea, into the world in 2018. Katia and I co-directed Ecology of Leadership Programs together for 7 years and currently live in the San Francisco Bay Area. She teaches at Stanford University and provides her own experience design, coaching, and consulting services.
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Ceremony
At age 12, I spent my first night alone in the desert on a 24 hour solo and walked across a threshold of hot coals into a new life of wonder and desire for attunement with forces seen and unseen. Over the decades since, I have had the honor and privilege to sit, learn from, and pray with many indigenous elders and spiritual teachers - all of whom have enriched and guided my path in indescribable ways. Ceremony has become more and more a way of life, and I am forever grateful and indebted to those who have welcomed me in and brought me along - especially my now ancestors, the late Gilbert Walking Bull, Jeannie Kerrigan, and Dedan Gills - and the living Basil Braveheart and Arkan Lushwala.
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