Mindful Makers Week

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.

She is an in-demand public speaker who frequently leads the conversation on inclusion and equity in the hospitality industry. Holland holds a Bachelor of Arts in Russian Language and Literature from the University of Virginia, and a Grande Diplôme from La Varenne École de Cuisine in Burgundy, France. Holland competed on the 15th season of Top Chef on Bravo; was the host/soul food expert on Food Network’s Melting Pot and has made numerous television appearances including The Today Show, The Talk, CBS This Morning, Iron Chef, Master Chef and Selena + Chef.  Holland a member of the prestigious Les Dames d’Escoffier Bay Area chapter, and was honored by the City of Oakland when June 5, 2012, was declared “Tanya Holland Day.” A year later she was awarded the Key to The City. Internationally, she served as a Culinary Diplomat for the US State Department in Kazakhstan and Mexico and taught classes in France for gastronomic travelers.

He has led instruction in a wide range of mediums, including ten years directing the art program for Big Sur’s summer children’s theater, StageKids. For over fifteen years, Tom has taught photography and drawing at Rancho La Puerta in Tecate, Mexico, where he and his wife, artist Erin Lee Gafill, have also led the Family Week programs since their inception. Together, they have conducted annual retreats in Italy focused on painting and sketching.

Tom’s contributions to Big Sur’s cultural life include serving as director of the Big Sur JazzFest, being a founding member of the Hidden Gardens Tour, and managing Studio One – Big Sur. He is also the founder of 26Letter Press, a small publishing company dedicated to printed materials that celebrate and inspire creative expression. In 2020, Tom designed the museum exhibition and companion book Color Duets – Kaffe Fassett | Erin Lee Gafill, which headlined for five months at the Monterey Museum of Art.

The unique combination of interval training and plyometrics mixed with some good old fashioned backyard boogie will give you a full body workout while you party like it’s 1999. Although it may be challenging at times, classes are moderation friendly.

Jeanine’s coaching style is warm, nurturing, playful, and draws on the principles of the CoActive Training Institute and emotional empowerment.

She lives in Nevada City, California, with her husband Bob and her two Yorkshire terriers, Milo and Eli, adopted from the Ranch, proving you really can take the Ranch home with you.

Born into a family of artists, she sees the world through a creative lens and is quick to incorporate and adapt new disciplines. Her aim is to share her expressions, through work that feels like play and interactive installation with a focus on connecting people through their creativity.

A familiar ear with the Costa Rican National Symphony, he has toured the Americas and Europe, and his CD War to Peace received favorable reviews. In academia, he is a Professor of Piano at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley and has taught at several prestigious universities. He also volunteers at international festivals and founded the La Frontera International Piano Conference in Brownsville, Texas, to foster musical exchange in the region.

She has performed at international festivals across Costa Rica, Italy, Aruba, Austria, Puerto Rico, and Lincoln Center, where she joined the Teaching Artist Program to inspire others. Currently the principal pianist of the Valley Symphony Orchestra, she founded the Brownsville Piano Studio, serving over 225 students weekly, and launched Ananda Music Experience, an online program for adult women learning music mindfully. Chávez continues to inspire and effect positive change through her music.

Kevin received his Bachelor of Music in Cello Performance from California State University of Fullerton and has toured, taught, and performed nation-wide and abroad in Denmark, Korea, Germany, Italy, Spain, France, and Hungary.

She was a sought-after teacher there at Yoga Works for a decade, under the tutelage of the late Maty Ezraty, until she left California to join the fitness staff at the Ranch in 2004. 

Sarah moved to New York City and taught more than 30 teacher-training courses for Yoga Works there, across the country, and internationally.  

She continued to refine her teaching skills at the Iyengar Yoga Institute of New York, where she assisted James Murphy in his beginner classes. 

Sarah moved to Grand Junction, Colorado, in 2018 and continues to teach privately and online. She mentors teachers in communication, methodology, and philosophy. 

 Her love of the ever-evolving practice of Yoga and her joy in sharing the wisdom of its principles with new and seasoned students alike keep her classes fresh, instructive, light, and intuitive. Sarah invites students of every level to be curious about how their minds work to create trouble, and guide them to cultivate a sense of humor so they can take the reins themselves and discover sustainable inner peace. 

Today, Mark coaches founders and executives to align their decisions with their values and to build lives that feel as successful as they look. His work is rooted in the belief that who we become tomorrow is shaped by how we live today.

He is honored to return to Rancho La Puerta to share Today Matters