I have lived in Santa Barbara most of my life. I also lived in Mexico for about three years with my husband and his family. We built a cob home there and enjoy returning to visit. We have three children. While one is grown, the other two are homeschooling. My youngest, Sitlali, has been participating in True North since last fall. I studied Spanish and Early Childhood Education at SBCC. I also graduated from the Barbara Brennan School of Healing. I have a life long interest in nature, natural health and natural living. I love reading and writing. While I went through public education, I found that it wasn't what I wanted for my children. I have always wanted to foster freedom, respect, and a love of learning. I am excited to support that in our True North Community.

I am a fourth generation Santa Barbaran and grown unschooler with a passion for supporting families and children in following their own unique way in life. Growing up I spent my days reading and writing stories and poetry, cooking, filming mini movies, playing in nature and lots of dancing. At ten I began assistant teaching dance with my studio’s director and by sixteen I was a professional teacher and choreographer with my own amazing students. The same year I began facilitating for True North. Ever since, True North has had an incredibly special place in my heart and the people I met through this community have become like extended family. The last year I traveled abroad extensively in Europe and held a position Au-Pairing full-time for a family on a small farm in the French Alps with two baby boys for three months. I also started my own Youtube channel and newsletter to share my path with the world, my biggest goal being to inspire others to follow their own. Now I am back in SB, rejoining my True North family and participating in the Santa Barbara City College Dance Company.

Growing up with the freedom to follow my own inner compass and be supported in choosing joy over productivity and conformity everyday, has led me to be a passionate advocate that every child and family together should have the support they need to feel empowered to do the same.

I am an actor, singer/songwriter, and poet (I play piano as well). Some of my hobbies include rock climbing, fitness, reading, clay sculpting, hiking, dancing, and holistic health.

I have experience teaching music and Shakespeare to children.

I recently received my Master’s Degree in Acting from East 15 Acting School in London, England. My degree focused on creating our own work and connecting with ourselves as people first, in order to fully inhabit characters in our acting.

I was unschooled from age four learning through field trips, nature play, playdates, watching theatre, etc. Some of the many classes I took included: gardening, Lego, Improv, Shakespeare, TaeKwon Do, nature class, clay work, beading, dance, zoo class, and I participated in science fairs.

I'm the eldest of four children, with the youngest being nine, so I grew up playing with kids of all ages, and I think intergenerational/multi-age learning is so important for development and also for becoming confident communicators.

Shannon is a Mama, a Marine and an avid Horsewoman who loves sharing her passion for horses and the outdoors with her True North family!

After practicing law for 12 years in the United States Marine Corps as a Staff Judge Advocate and specializing in Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law, Shannon feels blessed to be back home in her native Santa Barbara.

Shannon is the Veteran Program Manager at Hearts Therapeutic Equestrian Center and loves her role guiding the True North family in Horseback-riding, Horsemanship, and the Horse/Human Connection at her family property, Halcon Ranch.

Shannon's favorite title is being Mama to her 12 year old son, Peyton, three horses, two ponies, one miniature horse, two food obsessed ranch dogs, and six ducks!

Karen Myers is a business strategy coach, marketing consultant and the founder of First Steps Strategies, LLC, a creative marketing agency in Santa Barbara.

Karen provides business development and marketing support for True North SB. She loves dreaming, scheming and executing vision and welcomes any ideas, feedback or questions from members of the TN community.

Karen has more than a decade of experience working with nonprofit and for-profit organizations supporting them in crafting their brand stories, building collaborative volunteer teams, managing their digital marketing and communication and special event fundraising. She is excited and grateful for the opportunity for so many of her gifts and her passion for self-directed education to align as she supports the vision and mission of True North Santa Barbara.

I have been living in Santa Barbara for about 9 years now. I live here with my husband Joshua and my son Malakai. Currently, I am obtaining my Master's in Education while being a SAHM. I have a multiple subject teaching credential and my BA in Liberal Studies. I have been working in various educational settings for about 16 years. I have worked in public schools for most of that time, wearing many hats. I've also worked in pre-schools and after-school programs. Before rooting ourselves in SB we went abroad to teach English in China as well. My main passion in life is learning, education, and advocating for children. While taking classes to obtain my teaching credential I read about unschooling, deschooling, Sudbury schools, and alternative forms of education. After rigorously studying the history of education in the US, these methods spoke to me and what I believed education could be, even before I entered the classroom. I am an advocate for equity in education. I have learned much about myself and how I was "educated". When I became a parent (and even before then) I was immediately attracted to attachment parenting, peaceful parenting and overall just being respectful to this new life that I have the privilege of caring for. This is a long journey for me to be here with True North. I feel beyond blessed to find a community that understands and values what education can be for ourselves and our children!

I am a third generation Santa Barbaran who, after having enjoyed living in a variety of beautiful places including rural Sonoma County, the Bay Area, the heart of Paris, France and SE Portland, Oregon, felt drawn back to the Santa Barbara area by the nourishing connection I feel with the landscape of my birthplace. For the first 15 years of my work life I worked with children in an assortment of settings including preschools, elementary schools, after-school and summer art programs. After earning undergraduate degrees in education and dance and a master's degree in consciousness studies (with a focus on Deep Ecology and expressive arts), I became certified as a yoga therapist, Pilates instructor and Wellsprings Continuum practitioner, and opened my own somatic arts studio in 2000. For the last 20 years, I have been on an extensive learning journey in the field of somatics, which has included working with developmental trauma and transgenerational healing. In addition to my somatic work, I have created and facilitated art enrichment programs for children since 2007. As a mother, I embraced the unusual path of raising my daughter as an unschooler, and have received a profound education through that continuing adventure. I have spent decades engaged in various ways with alternative education, nature connection, pathways into deeper embodiment, expressive arts, conscious parenting, personal and collective healing. I consider myself a life-long learner; always interested in, alongside the children and adults I am engaging with, continuing to learn and grow.