Family Week

Aakansha Maheshwari

Los Angeles-based choreographer and instructor Aakansha Maheshwari created BollyPop with the intention to spread happiness through dance. Growing up in India, Aakansha trained in various Indian dance forms – from ancient classical dance from the temples to gypsy folk dance of the snake charmer community. Aakansha has spent years training with the masters and brings different styles together in her program, BollyPop, which is currently offered in California, Utah and India! She has choreographed for The Academy Museum, Clippers games, LA Kings games, and her business was recently selected as one of the six Asian businesses in Los Angeles to be featured in a Google commercial. Aakansha works with a few non-profit organizations in India and spends time with children in the underprivileged communities, teaching dance and music. Her devotion towards her art is solely for the purpose of spreading happiness.

Tamara Duker Freuman, MS, RDN, CDN

Tamara Duker Freuman, MS, RDN, CDN is a New York-based registered dietitian, author and America’s Trusted Digestive Nutrition Expert. A nationally-known authority on nutrition therapy for digestive diseases, Tamara is a member of New York Gastroenterology Associates, a private Manhattan-based practice. She earned a Master of Science degree in Clinical Nutrition from New York University and completed her training at Mount Sinai Medical Center. In addition to her clinical work, Tamara is a high-profile nutrition writer whose advice on healthy living and dietary management of digestive disease is read by hundreds of thousands of people each month via leading online media platforms. She has been featured in leading TV, print and radio/podcast media, including TV’s Good Morning America, Live with Kelly & Ryan, Inside Edition, National Public Radio, The Washington Post, Reader’s Digest, Prevention, Women’s Health, The Huffington Post, CNN.com, SELF.com, and Business Insider. She is the author of the acclaimed book, The Bloated Belly Whisperer(St. Martin’s Press, 2018).

Marcela Valladolid

Marcela Valladolid is an Emmy-nominated celebrity chef, television personality. designer, author, mother, and businesswoman. She is the founder and CEO of the artisanal Mexican housewares brand Casa Marcela, Inc., and the author of Familia, Mexican Made Easy, Fiestas, Fresh Mexico, and Casa Marcela. She grew up around expert and traditional cooks in Tijuana, Mexico, and now resides in Chula Vista, California.

River Morgan

River Morgan is a third-generation mindfulness instructor. A lifelong study of movement and the body has guided her over 25 years of teaching. River has been featured in many publications for her yoga classes and retreats, including Yoga Journal, Forbes magazine, Elephant Journal, Aspen Peak Magazine and as a model for the Gaiam and Jade Catalogs and products. She authored a wellness column for The Aspen Daily News and her classes are featured on Deepak Chopra’s Jiyo app as well as Golf Forever, Healthy Backs Forever, Aspen82, and The Healthy Life channels.

River has presented at conferences such as The American Renewable Energy Summit, the Aspen Idea Festival, The Aspen Security Forum, and The Aspen Environmental Forum. She also taught Yoga for Cyclists workshops and retreats at the Carmichael Training Center in Santa Barbara and the Snowmass Wellness Conference, and has been a guest presenter at Rancho La Puerta over 30 times, as well as at the Golden Door, and on the “The World” ship.

River is a certified yoga, meditation & Gyrotonic instructor, and holds the credentials to lead teacher trainings for yoga and meditation through Yoga Alliance. She holds a BFA in Dance & toured internationally with two professional dance companies. River has also served as assistant director of TheFarmCollabortive.org for the past 14 years.

River’s classes encourage you to be fully in the moment and dive into your body, mind & spirit as they truly are.

Eden Vardy

Eden Vardy is dedicated to doing his part in solving climate challenges so that future generations can thrive. With that goal, in 2008 he founded The Farm Collaborative (www.farmco.org), “a collaboration for regeneration” that focuses on regenerating the local food system, one community at a time.

Under Vardy’s leadership, the organization made 0% interest loans to over 50 burgeoning farmers and food entrepreneurs through a pioneering “gift- circle investment club” model, launched a multi- stakeholder support ecosystem to grow new farmers, took ownership of the award winning edibleAspen magazine (where Vardy served as publisher), and hosted a program focused on innovating in crop production and stewarding regenerative agriculture regionally. The Farm Collaborative is now building a first of its kind learning campus in Aspen that will showcase integrated agriculture while pioneering a farmer”renaissance” of young leaders dedicated to a better future.

In 2019 Colorado Governor Jared Polis appointed and the senate confirmed Vardy to the state’s Parks and Wildlife Commission to represent agriculture. Vardy was appointed for a second term in July 2022, and confirmed with rare bi-partisan support unanimously by Colorado’s congress. In 2021, Vardy was selected as the Eisenhower Agricultural Fellow and met with policy makers, farmers, and community leaders in the EU and Brazil to exchange ideas for best practices to support the next generation of small holder farmers. In 2022, Vardy was selected as a “Food Leaders Fellow” as part of the inaugural cohort by the Aspen Institute. Vardy has presented at over 30 conferences and consulted community organizations across the globe, including in Israel, Uganda, France, Brazil, Mexico, and around the United States. Vardy is an avid percussionist and a proud father.

Brent Hedstrom

Brent Hedstrom resume ranges from theatrical stage makeup for Broadway shows such as Lion King, Romeo and Juliet and Medea to being a salon owner and colorist and an “Art Junkie”.  In his art studio the mediums currently used are acrylics and oil on wood panels with resin finishes, metal and paper weaving, and paper — specifically marbling all kinds of paper!   Brent currently resides in Denver, Colorado, with his partner and their 10-year-old twins.

Alex Freuman

Alex Freuman, MS, BA, is a high school STEM teacher who holds a BA in mathematics from Oberlin College and an MS in mathematics education from Hunter College in New York City.   At Oberlin, Alex was a founding member of the Juggling Club, where he honed many circus skills, including fire juggling, fire eating and balancing tricks. Also, a long-time chess and puzzle enthusiast, Alex coaches the chess team at Nyack Highschool (Nyack, NY), is faculty advisor for the Nyack Highschool Puzzle Club, is the founder and President of the Rockland County Chess Club, and is a certified US Chess Tournament Director.  His current United States Chess Federation (UCSF) rating is 1900, and he hopes to break 2000 before his children beat him to it. Alex is passionate about creating community and fostering multi-generational connections through the joy of chess.

Matt Roben

Matt Roben spent 25 years traveling the world as a professional circus artist working on land and at sea, and has performed in venues ranging from the Joffrey Ballet and the Grand Ole’ Opry to a Chicago Bulls halftime show. He then spent four years working as a police officer for the Chicago Police Department and became a bagpiper with the Bagpipes and Drums of the Emerald Society in both Chicago and San Jose. Matt and his wife Emily run a 12-acre farm animal sanctuary, Rancho Roben Rescues, the forever home to more than 200 animals. Now known as the Kilted Auctioneer, Matt helps to raise millions of dollars annually for charities.

www.iammatt.com
www.thekiltedauctioneer.com www.ranchorobenrescues.org

David Williams

David Williams (aka Super Dave) has studied martial arts for over 30 years, starting with Tae Kwon Do. In the 90’s, he met Grand Master André Salvage, who opened his eyes to the Master’s path of Kung Fu San Soo. Dave received his Master’s Degree (8th-degree black belt) 16 years ago and continues to work on his art as he teaches Kung Fu San Soo and Assault Prevention. Teaching self-defense to all ages is a passion of his, and he strives to empower all with his knowledge. As a business owner since 2000 of Super Dave Dog, Inc. in San Francisco, he walks and trains dogs through exercise, discipline, and affection. Another passion is pickleball, which he picked up nine years ago at the Ranch and now plays almost daily and in amateur tournaments. His routine of fitness and meditation keeps him grounded and enables him to be a loving husband and father of two sons, Malyk Williams (21) and Kekoa Williams (18), both of whom are assisting him at the Ranch this week.

Erin Gafill

An award-winning painter and author, Erin Gafill has inspired people around the world with her inspirational art, heartfelt stories, and uniquely engaging teaching methods. Her work bridges art, craft, and community, weaving observation, intuition, and imagination into her painting, writing, teaching, and public speaking. A fifth-generation California artist, she was born in Big Sur, California in 1963, the daughter of a beatnik and a flower child. She is the great-great-granddaughter of Carmel’s first artist-in-residence. Growing up at her grandparents’ legendary restaurant, Nepenthe, a mecca for poets, bohemians and dreamers, she drew inspiration from its ever-changing cast of characters as well as the stunning and mystical beauty of the coast. Erin is the founder of the nonprofit Big Sur Arts Initiative, and a founding member of the Monterey Bay Plein Air Painters Association (MBPAPA). In 2001 Erin was honored to serve as the first American Artist-in-Residence at the Hamada International Children’s Museum, Hamada, Japan. In 2009, she and her husband Tom Birmingham were named Champions of the Arts by the Arts Council of Monterey County and were honored by the United States Congress for their service to the community through the arts. Her exhibit Color Duets was the featured 2021 Spring/Summer show for the Monterey Museum of Art, Monterey, California, followed the next summer by a solo exhibit, California Atmosphere at the Morris Graves Museum of Art, Eureka, California. She is the author of a coffee-table art book, Color Duets, with Kaffe Fassett, and a memoir about life/work balance, Drinking from a Cold Spring, a Little Book of Hope.

Tom Birmingham

Tom Birmingham is an artist and teacher with a vast experience leading family enrichment programs. As a founding director of the Big Sur Arts Initiative, Tom has provided instruction and enrichment in the creative arts in a variety of mediums. For ten years he led the art department in the summer children’s theater program, StageKids in Big Sur. For over fifteen years Tom has taught photography and drawing at Rancho La Puerta. Along with his wife, Erin Lee Gafill, he’s been a part of The Ranch’s Family Week since its start. Tom was the director of the Big Sur JazzFest, founding member of Big Sur’s Hidden Garden’s Tour, and currently manages Studio One – Big Sur. Tom is the founder of 26Letter Press, a small press dedicated to printed materials celebrating and inspiring creative expression.

Abe Liebhaber

Abe Liebhaber from Santa Barbara, California, has performed frequently with the San Diego Symphony, the Santa Barbara Symphony, Camarada San Diego, as well as in chamber settings domestic and abroad. He holds a tenured position in the Arizona Opera and has performed for nine seasons with the Sarasota Opera in Florida. He received his degrees in music performance from University of California Los Angeles and California State University Sacramento. Abe is a trained violin bowmaker and restorer of fine bows, and enjoys teaching the craft at his workshop on Adams Avenue “Antiques Row” in San Diego.

Abe Liebhaber: I made my first bow with Lynn Hannings in 2011 at the University of New Hampshire Bowmaking Program founded by Bill Salchow, and continued my study of bowmaking with George Rubino, Matt Cooker, and Steve Beckley. Each of my bows is a handmade original from the preparation of the bow blanks from rough-sawn boards of pernambuco to the first application of hair before the final finish, wrapping and branding of the stick. Since 2016 I have participated in the Violin Society of America’s Bowmaking Workshop in Oberlin, Ohio, where I contribute to the group reproduction of interesting bows for great clients. This workshop has given me the opportunity to meet, work with, and learn from fellow bowmakers from the USA, North and South America, Europe, and Asia.

I love the materials of bowmaking and try to keep them in their natural, primary states as much a I can in the finished bow: Pernambuco, Snake, Ipe, and Katalox woods, ebony of many colors, abalone and mother-of-pearl seashells, and traditional as well as novel tip materials. I enjoy combining them to make bows that feel good in the hand of the musician with an emphasis on recreating models by makers known for bows with superior playability.

In addition to making bows, I continue to work as a professional cellist with a positions in the Arizona Opera and Camarada San Diego.

Pei-Chun Tsai

Violinist Pei-Chun Tsai received her Doctorate in Musical Arts from City University of New York with the publication of her dissertation on the violin writing of Richard Strauss. She also holds bachelor’s and master’s Degrees in violin performance from The Juilliard School. She is the founding director of the Campanile Music Festival at San Diego State University and has been a member of the San Diego Symphony since 2006 in addition to being violin lecturer at SDSU. She released an album of solo violin works entitled “Chaconne” in 2021 highlighting Baroque and contemporary masterpieces of this form. Pei-Chun performs on 2020 violin by Boston luthier Charline Dequincy and a bow by Abe Liebhaber in San Diego. Pei-Chun is certified Suzuki violin teacher. She has taught at School for Strings and Lucy Moses School in New York City.