Who is the Sacred Fire Community?

The Sacred Fire Community is made up of thousands of individuals across the world.

Many of them are also part of local communities in their regions called “hamlets.” The Sacred Fire Community has many leaders. Our Firekeepers are the local leaders of their hamlet communities, and many of those hamlets have other leadership within them. But the international community often works together to get things done — like offering events, Lifeways programs, Firekeeper trainings — and to learn together what deep community is all about on a global level.

Our Sacred Fire Community organization is charged with the leadership and guidance for the movements and identity of our international community.

Sacred Fire Community Organization Executive Committee

	Bill Sutton, Executive Director Bill was a piano performance major at Rhodes College before studying with Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche and earning his B.A. in Buddhist Studies at Naropa University. He has participated deeply in the Shambhala Buddhist tradition for over thirty years as a meditation instructor, teacher and in various leadership positions. He is a passionate student of enlightened leadership, seeing it as essential to helping our imbalanced world. He has started a variety of web-based businesses and projects. Bill is completing his training as a Firekeeper, and has been a student of the Huichol spiritual tradition since 2009. He works as a web development and ebusiness consultant in Denver, Colorado, USA. Contact Bill [contact-form-7 id=”6876″ title=”Contact Bill Sutton”] //
	Susan Skinner, Leadership Team Susan has lived in an intentional community in Summertown Tennessee for over 30 years was on their Foundation board of directors. She is president and owner of S.E. International, Inc. which has grown from a small electronics startup to a multi-million dollar international firm. Susan has worked with nonprofits including Greenpeace, Plenty International and the Sacred Fire Foundation. She is an initiated weatherworker in the Nahua indigenous tradition of Mexico and has been participating in pilgrimages in the Huichol tradition, also of Mexico, since 2005. She also serves her community as a Sacred Fire Community Firekeeper. Contact Susan [contact-form-7 id=”6039″ title=”Contact Susan Skinner”] //
	Timothy Simon, Firekeeper Support Tim worked in the nuclear submarine business, in injection molding of plastics, and was an electronics and microwave engineer in defense electronics before he began “retirement”. Then he began a different kind of work in the world – so much for retirement. He began as a Plant Spirit Medicine practitioner, then became an apprentice in the Huichol healing tradition and also a Firekeeper under the umbrella of the Sacred Fire Community. He was a veteran of the Vietnam-era war and now is taking a different direction as he moves into being a community builder, a healer and a participant in a world of increasing Heart and Connection. Contact Tim [contact-form-7 id=”6956″ title=”Contact Tim Simon”] //

Department Managers

	Annie King, Fire Chief Healing, stress management, movement and meditation have been Annie’s work for over 35 years, both in Australia and the US. She has worked for major hospitals in the US in wellness and cardiac rehabilitation programs, facilitating support groups for healing. She currently has a healing practice in Florence, SC, offers classes and retreats, and teaches in the Florence Darlington Technical College. She is an initiated granicera (weatherworker) in the Nahua tradition of Mexico and an initiated Firekeeper for the Sacred Fire Community and in her role as Fire Chief oversees the Community Fires held around the world. Contact Annie [contact-form-7 id=”6043″ title=”Contact Annie King”] //
	Sherry Boatright, Lifeways Manager Sherry graduated from Emory University and received a Master’s degree in Psychology from West Georgia College. She has been a practicing psychotherapist since 1986. She has worked in public agencies and in private practice and has had extensive experience working with women’s groups. She serves her community as a Firekeeper and has been called and initiated in the Nahua weatherworking tradition of Mexico. Sherry co-facilitates the Sacred Fire Community Lifeways Women’s Retreat, Ukalai. Contact Sherry [contact-form-7 id=”6044″ title=”Contact Sherry Boatright”] //
	Kathy Reid, Database Manager Kathy and her family are co-founders and co-developers of the Mesa Life Project, a living village community in western Colorado. With a BA in Business Administration, Kathy brings her skills in database development and computer software systems to the Sacred Fire Community. Kathy is also a co-facilitator of our Lifeways Heart of Birth program and has served on our Neikame Birthing Council since 2005. Kathy’s gift for birthing shines through in her offerings as a doula, student midwife, and Placenta Encapsulation Specialist. She also works at IntelliTec Colleges as a Massage Instructor. Contact Kathy [contact-form-7 id=”6045″ title=”Contact Kathy Reid”] //
	Jane Wollack, Event Finance Manager Jane received her MBA from the University of Connecticut in 1980. She worked for many years in the insurance industry before opening up a healing arts practice. A long-time resident of Connecticut, Jane recently relocated to Leiper’s Fork, Tennessee where she practices Plant Spirit Medicine, Massage Therapy and Zen Shiatsu and grows Red Selu heirloom corn among other produce in her garden. Jane has been a long time volunteer for the Sacred Fire Community, first as the Marketplace Manager and now in Event Finance. Contact Jane [contact-form-7 id=”6046″ title=”Contact Jane Wollack”] //
	Joanne Rothstein, Welcoming and Gratitude Manager Joanne received a BA in Biology from the College of New Rochelle in NY and worked for 25 years in microbiology medical research at Tufts Medical Center, Boston. She holds a Master’s in Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine from the New England School of Acupuncture and currently maintains an acupuncture practice in the Boston area. Joanne is an Educator Council member for the Center for Education, Imagination and the Natural World, a non-profit organization based in North Carolina, which is devoted to restoring a sense of the natural world as a sacred presence in the lives of children. Contact Joanne [contact-form-7 id=”6047″ title=”Contact Joanne Rothstein”] //
	Jennifer Weise, Finance Manager Jennifer holds a Master’s in Transpersonal Counseling Psychology from Naropa University and a Master’s in French from Northwestern University. She worked for many years as a language teacher of French, Spanish, and English as a Second Language. A licensed professional counselor in the state of Colorado, she has a specialty in grief counseling, and she currently works as a therapist supporting elementary school children and their families. Dedicated to her role since January 2010, she is passionate about the work of the Sacred Fire Community and deeply committed to the organization’s finances. Contact Jennifer [contact-form-7 id=”6048″ title=”Contact Jennifer Weise”] //
	Erin Everett, Speaker For twenty years, Erin has been helping individuals and groups define their identities and speak their hearts. After receiving a BA in English Literature and a minor in Intercultural Studies, for nine years she published New Life Journal, a monthly publication with 90,000 readers in the southeastern US. She currently runs Spice Up the World, where she helps businesses and organizations to express their purpose boldly. She is also an initiated Nahua traditional weatherworker. One of her favorite things is igniting personal and cultural change by sharing the Sacred Fire Community’s benefits: sacredness, fire and deep community. Contact Erin [contact-form-7 id=”6049″ title=”Contact Erin Everett”] //
	David H. Wiley, Communications Manager David comes to the Sacred Fire Community with over seven years of experience in marketing strategy and analytics for global consumer goods companies where he has worked to help companies understand the needs of their customers and provide products and services accordingly. For the Community, David’s focus is on hearing the needs of the community and helping to communicate our offering back out to the world. Contact David [contact-form-7 id=”6050″ title=”Contact David H Wiley”] //
	SkyFox, FireWork Manager SkyFox has a Bachelor’s Degree in Anthropology from U.C.L.A (1973) and a Masters Degree in Social Work from the University of Denver (1981). She has worked in a variety of public social service agencies and provided home healthcare. For the past 18 years, she has had a full time private practice where she serves a broad range of client needs. She is an initiated granicera (weatherworker) in the Nahua tradition of Mexico. She has held a broad variety of volunteer positions both in her local community in Yuma, Arizona and in the Sacred Fire Community. Contact SkyFox [contact-form-7 id=”6228″ title=”Contact SkyFox”] //
	Madeline Merritt, Secretary and Social Media Manager Madeline graduated from Northwestern University in 2007 with a double major in Political Science and Theatre. A life-long peaceful activist, she works towards change through collaboration and connection. Part of the first group to go through Women’s Initiation (now called Sacred Emergence), she credits the experience with bringing deep connection and balance to her life, as well as the desire to give back to her community and people. She is currently pursuing a career in acting and writing in Los Angeles, California and considers her service with the Sacred Fire Community an important part of her life’s work. Contact Madeline [contact-form-7 id=”6051″ title=”Contact Madeline Merritt”] //