Rainforest Journeys

Journey Leaders: Pat and Dave Usner

Pat and Dave Usner first traveled to the rainforest of Ecuador in 1989, and experienced a deep and profound connection with the rainforest and the people who call it home. That trip began a 15-year journey to find an organization making an impact in this part of the world. In 2004 they uprooted their lives on the East Coast to move to San Francisco so that Pat could join the staff of the Pachamama Alliance.

Pat has served in many roles with Pachamama Alliance as it has grown over the years, and is currently Director of Development. Working here is the fulfillment of her passion for the Amazon rainforest and the indigenous people who live there.

Dave is an actor, scriptwriter, and filmmaker. He also founded a promotional product business that he’s run for 30+ years. He loves leading trips into the rainforest because it fulfills his dream of bringing transformation to the world. Pushing boundaries to open up new possibilities is a key element in his life. Dave and Pat have jumped out of airplanes more than 500 times each and Dave says that going to the jungle is like that… a fish-out-of-water experience with the sense of coming home.

Journey Leader: Steve Torneten

Steve Torneten is a speaker, healer, coach, and adventurer. He is highly committed to the work and vision of the Pachamama Alliance and deeply involved in every program of the organization. His diverse background ranges from piloting helicopters in the Marine Corps after college, to flying jets commercially, to real estate, and being a facilitator and trainer of healing and transformational experiences.

Steve is an experienced meditator—having spent significant time practicing in India—and is a certified Yoga instructor. He is married, has one daughter (who went on a Pachamama Journey when she was ten) and several 4-legged children.

Steve’s own personal experiences have led him to believe that no matter what has happened in your life, you can be healed, find joy, and experience peace. His true passion is the exploration of emotional freedom.

Journey Leaders: Anita Sanchez and Kit Tennis

Anita Sanchez

Anita is one of Pachamama Alliance’s newest board members. Drawing on her Mexican and indigenous ancestral learnings as well as modern science, Anita supports leaders and their teams in Fortune 500 companies and global non-profits, creating benchmarked diversity and engagement strategies, organizational culture change initiatives, and leadership development. Acknowledging her passion and work for positive change in the world, Anita is honored to be a member of the Transformational Leadership Council.

Anita’s latest book, “The Four Sacred Gifts: Indigenous Wisdom for Modern Times” will be published by Simon & Schuster in September 2017. Anita is also the co-author of two “Success University for Women” books, “Discovering Your Positive Core – A Personal Guide”, and “The Strategic Matrix for Selecting Diversity Initiatives. Since 2005, Anita has been an active volunteer supporter of Pachamama Alliance: training more than 300 Facilitators in the Awakening the Dreamer, Changing the Dream Symposium and the Getting Into Action Workshop; facilitated more than 40 Symposiums in Thailand, Canada, the U.S., and Mexico, member of Social Justice core team, and a joyful Pachamama Journey leader.

Kit Tennis

Kit is a multifaceted volunteer for Pachamama Alliance: He facilitates Awakening the Dreamer Symposiums, trains Awakening the Dreamer Symposium Facilitators, mentors Facilitator Trainers in North America, provides communication skills training, and advises on social justice issues and program design and implementation, as well as leading Pachamama Journeys.

Known for his work as a “Conscious Organizational Evolution” consultant, facilitator, trainer and coach, Kit has consulted to, taught in, and managed business, government, academic and nonprofit organizations since 1973. His most contemporary work concentrates on global diversity + inclusion + engagement, appreciative inquiry, seamless new team start-ups, dynamic team building, and human-centric organizational cultural renewal. He is co-author of “Discovering Your Positive Core – A Personal Guide”, and “The Strategic Matrix for Selecting Diversity Initiatives”. He lives in the mountains outside Boulder, Colorado with his life and business partner, Anita Sanchez and their two sons.

Journey Leader: Rebecca Rogers

Rebecca manages the Journeys Program for the Pachamama Alliance and is also a popular yoga instructor in San Francisco who has been leading local and international retreats for more than a decade.

Journey Leader: Ya’Acov Darling Khan

From a young age, Ya’Acov has been drawn to the down-to-earth connection with the spirit world that shamanism invites. He has pursued this yearning throughout his adult life, studying and practicing with many gifted teachers around the world. He has been recognised as a practicing shaman (*) by Elder Shamans from the Sami (European tradition), and Achuar and Sápara peoples of the Amazon. His Movement Medicine workshops are inspiring, empowering, contemporary and practical and are attended by people from all walks of life.

Journey Leader: Susannah Darling Khan

Susannah has been in love with life on earth since she was a small girl. She is a clear and compassionate teacher and human being. Her passion, love and commitment for life is infectious and is reflected in her care for each dancer and for the planet we call home. She is a dancer, singer, writer and teacher whose integration of physical, emotional and conceptual awareness creates a fertile field of possibility. Her background is in Anthropology, Gestalt Psychotherapy, and Family Constellations.

Journey Leader: David Tucker

David is responsible for Pachamama Journeys, a transformational program that powerfully connects people to the Earth, their fellow humans and deepest self through direct experience with wild nature, indigenous cultures and shared group experience.

“Having facilitated Pachamama Journeys for 15 years, I’ve come to trust the Journey implicitly. The same spirit and call that came from the rainforest and through our indigenous partners nearly two decades ago, which gave rise to the Pachamama Alliance, still guides us every step of the way on the Journey. We honor that spirit, listen and tend to it, and Journeys full of magic, splendor and transformation are the outcome.”

David has spent considerable time with our indigenous partners in the Amazon and Andes and has studied earth-based wisdom and practices for over 20 years. Prior to his current role, he held several positions at the Pachamama Alliance going back to 1999, including Executive Director for 7 years. David also managed a successful state senate campaign in Massachusetts, facilitated wilderness and solo experiences for at-risk youth in the Arizona desert, and was a Peace Corps volunteer in Latin America.