Disrupting the Stories That Shape Us:
Transforming Leadership by Confronting Race, Power, and the Narratives We Carry
A Collaborative Retreat Experience by Conscious Revolution, Riverbird Clinic, and Good Medicine Collective
Date: October 27-29, 2025
Location: Portland, Maine
Conscious Revolution: 10 Cottage Road, South Portland, Maine
Good Medicine Collective: 231 York Street, Portland, Maine
Lodging:
Lodging is not included in the cost of this retreat. We are happy to help you find the perfect location to stay if you are visiting the area.
Program Description:
This three-day retreat, brought to you in collaboration by Conscious Revolution, Riverbird Clinic and Good Medicine Collective, invites leaders, visionaries, and change-makers ready to engage in the deep inner work required to lead in more inclusive, courageous, and heart-centered ways. This experience invites participants to look inward—not only to expand self-awareness and empathy, but to challenge and disrupt the stories we’ve inherited about leadership, power, identity, and equity.
Too often, conversations about equity remain at the surface—focused on external systems or polarizing stories while leaving internalized patterns untouched. This retreat offers a different path: one where inner transformation becomes the foundation for dismantling harmful narratives, and where leadership becomes a practice of ongoing self-inquiry, connection, and conscious disruption.
Through reflective exercises, somatic practices, group dialogue, and ketamine-assisted therapy, participants will explore how social conditioning, personal identity, and systemic inequities live within the body and mind. Together, we will uncover how these internalized stories shape how we lead, relate, and either uphold or interrupt dominant systems.
This retreat is not about getting it “right”—it’s about becoming more whole. By making space for curiosity, compassion, and discomfort, we create the conditions for lasting transformation—both personally and collectively.
Journey Within – Ketamine-Assisted Therapy at Riverbird
On day 2 of the retreat is a full-day, ketamine-assisted therapy session facilitated by Riverbird, part of the Good Medicine Collective in Portland. This experience is a powerful tool for personal and narrative disruption—helping participants move beyond rigid identity structures, conditioned beliefs, and deeply held emotional patterns.
Ketamine works by quieting the Default Mode Network—the part of the brain responsible for maintaining our sense of self and narrative continuity. When this network is quieted, it becomes possible to experience ourselves beyond the limiting stories we’ve inherited or internalized—stories shaped by systems of race, gender, class, and more.
In this expanded state of consciousness, participants can confront and soften long-held patterns of separation, protection, and control—opening space for healing, insight, and reintegration. This is the inner work that makes outer equity work authentic and potentially transformative.
Riverbird’s team will provide individualized clinical assessments, support throughout the session, and guided integration to help participants translate their experiences into conscious understanding and relational change.
What to Expect
Facilitated dialogue on equity, identity, and the inner stories we carry
Self-reflective and somatic practices to uncover and shift unconscious patterns
A full-day, professionally guided ketamine-assisted therapy session
Group integration sessions to translate personal insight into collective impact
Relational work around power, privilege, and leading with vulnerability
A supportive environment for deep work and authentic connection
Retreat Objectives
Participants will:
Explore how internalized narratives and identities influence leadership and connection
Use ketamine-assisted therapy as a tool to disrupt ingrained patterns and stories
Reflect on how systems of inequity shape both personal identity and leadership practice
Cultivate the emotional resilience and awareness needed for equity-centered leadership
Practice new ways of leading that prioritize healing, empathy, and relational integrity
Leave with a clearer sense of purpose, possibility, and the leadership legacy participants want to shape
General Schedule
September - Early October (Zoom): Individual intake session with one of the Riverbird clinicians. Once registered we will contact you with further details and to schedule the intake
Monday October 6 at 7-830pm (Zoom): Group zoom orientation call with all Retreat facilitators and group members
Monday October 27 at Conscious Revolution (beginning at 9am): Confronting the Narratives we Carry - Orienting Day, Group Lunch, and Group Dinner
Tuesday October 28 at Good Medicine Collective: Journey Within -Ketamine Assisted Therapy session and optional evening reflection space with light food
Wednesday October 29 at Good Medicine Collective (ending by 1pm): Overall retreat integration and closing lunch
Group Size
Up to 10 people
Cost:
$1,975 per person, scholarships and tiered pricing available
Includes:
3 full retreat days:
Monday: Orienting to the Stories that Shape Us
Tuesday: Ketamine-Assisted Therapy Experience
Wednesday: Integration of the retreat experience
Meals:
Monday: Lunch & dinner
Tuesday: Light dinner only (due to fasting requirements for Ketamine session)
Wednesday: Lunch
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Conscious Revolution is a Benefit Corporation and a Certified B Corp. Your financial support is making an impact.
Most programs have a set fee. No one will be turned away for lack of funds. In the case of tiered pricing programs, you will see the below options when you go to purchase.
Full sponsor: I have the ability to pay 100% of cost for of the facilitator and course fees and sponsor 100% for someone else
Partial sponsor: I have the ability to pay 100% of cost for of the facilitator and course fees and sponsor 50% for someone else
Full payment: I have the ability to pay 100% of cost for of the facilitator and course fees
Partially supported payment: I have a financial hardship and I am the ability to pay 50% of cost for of the facilitator and course fees
Fully supported payment: I have a financial hardship and I am unable to contribute financially.
We ask you to consider: What is the right amount for you? What are your financial means? Can you offer more so another person can join offerings in the Conscious Leadership Community? The majority of the program fee goes to paying facilitators to compensate for their contributions. Excess funds, if any, support making our future programs and events accessible to all those who would like to attend regardless of their ability to pay.
We do not want anyone to be turned away due to lack of resources and we intend for our offerings to be accessible to all leaders. We are also committed to fostering a community that is diverse and balanced. Need-based scholarships are typically reserved for BIPOC, LGBTQ+ folks and applicants from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.
We do our best to find agreeable solutions for all, and though we cannot accommodate every request, we will always do our best, so please let us know what you may need.
Facilitators
We’re excited to offer this new and timely experience for our community—one that feels deeply needed at this moment. This retreat is guided by a team of facilitators with a wide range of experience, coming together from Conscious Revolution, Riverbird Clinic, and the Good Medicine Collective. We’re united by a shared commitment to transforming ourselves, our organizations, and the systems we live within.
Tara Jenkins (she/her), Principal Consultant & Founder Conscious Revolution
I’ve got a couple of things I’m doing that I’d call my life’s joy (formerly called life’s work). Being a mom to my two kids gives me a chance to directly influence two people that will do great things in this beautiful, chaotic, wild world. Yes!
My life’s joy is also helping leaders build inspiring organizations that they love. There’s no better way to spend precious life time! The unique organizations we create together impact so many people for the better.
I have been told I’m a catalyst for transformation. To do this work I have a commitment to be awake in every aspect of my life, a commitment to equity and abundance, and a vow to be content in being both polished and a messy work in progress.
Witty things make me laugh. Kindred spirits fill me up. I love the sky, trees and water. Ask me to travel, sing, dance, hike, or see live music and I’m immediately in. Skiing and camping are a blast once you’ve started but the prep almost makes me not want to go. Someday I’ll be deeply settled in my body and soul and helping others to do the same.
And yeah, I have all those credentials one typically needs to be declared legit. Twenty-five plus wisdom-building years grinding it out as a global HR leader; Undergrad in Human Resources, Masters in Organizational Development & Leadership, Certifications galore. In 2019, I became one of the world’s first Certified Conscious Capitalism Consultants*.
Our work together will fill everyone, including us, with joy and inspiration. Yes, we can do that! Yes, that’s what we are doing! Join us!
Tessy Seward, LCPC (she/her), Therapist & Guide
I grew up on the shores of a small town in eastern Maine. My early memories are full of the sensory experiences of running barefoot through the woods, climbing trees and swaying with the wind, wading in streams and tide pools, and gathering the harvest from our family garden. These experiences would have been familiar to my ancestors and to people throughout most of human history. They represent a belonging to and intimacy with the earth that was once the birthright of each of us. I have come to know and deeply appreciate the healing power of that relationship, as it continues to sustain me despite life’s inevitable confusion and pain.
My work as healer is closely connected with this primary relationship with the earth, and in particular, with the wise and gentle guidance of the plants. I’m a trained psychotherapist with a focus on nature-based healing and I’ve deepened my personal healing practice over the years with kundalini yoga, dreamwork, and the study and practice of herbalism.
I bring the gifts of my own time in the wilds of both nature and the psyche. You can expect me to help weave a sacred container, to welcome whatever shows up with curiosity, kindness and trust, and to share what I’ve learned about the importance of tending reciprocity in relationship.
Selma Holden, MD (she/they) Medical Director, Therapist, Co-Owner Riverbird Clinic
Selma is a family doctor who went into conventional medical training with a passion for harm reduction and holistic health promotion. Selma incorporates her broad background in integrative medicine modalities including yoga, mindfulness, herbalism, and psychological alchemy into her skills as a psychedelic therapist. She is trained in Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy, MDMA-Assisted Psychotherapy, Psychedelic Somatic Interactional Therapy and is informed in Internal Family Systems. She’s an amateur musician who thankfully lives with a family that tolerates her developing skills.
Margot Fine, LCSW (she/her) Partner Consultant & Conscious Leadership Community Lead
I’m Margot, a community weaver, advocate for radical transformation, and lifelong learner. My roots stretch from a third-generation New York lineage with Russian and Polish ancestry to the place we now call Portland, Maine—where I’ve spent over 20 years building connections and nurturing community. I find joy in walking by the ocean with my partner, learning alongside my kids, playing in the garden, creating art, and making soup without recipes.
Throughout my career, I’ve worked within organizations and systems, fostering change on issues such as food sovereignty, incarceration, youth resiliency, and alternatives to exclusionary practices. My experience includes working on large-scale political campaigns and alongside government systems, advocating for inclusivity and responsiveness at every level. I have been deeply shaped by my work as a co-founder and Co-Executive Director of Maine Inside Out, an organization I helped bring to life that uses theater as a tool for social change, centering people most directly impacted by incarceration. In my role as Co-Executive Director, I worked collaboratively across different identities, guiding the organization’s vision, strategic planning, and operational growth. I also nurtured MIO’s sustainability framework, focusing on non-traditional governance and shared decision-making processes.
In addition to my organizational work, I am passionate about facilitating groups and curating transformative experiences that empower individuals and communities. I aim to bring people together in meaningful ways, creating spaces where people can learn, be heard, be held, and grow—whether in a workshop, a retreat, or a collective action.
While my journey has been influenced by hands-on, organizational experience, I also graduated from Bates College, received a Master of Social Work (MSW) from the University of Southern Maine and have a Clinical Social Work License. These academic experiences have provided me with useful tools that complement my practical work and deepen my understanding of collective healing and change.
My approach focuses on trust, collaboration, and growth, and I am committed to fostering spaces where people can evolve individually and collectively. My work continues to be driven by a desire to support lasting change and ongoing evolution, whether that’s with individuals, organizations, communities, or systems.
When I’m not working, you can find me outside, connecting with the natural world and finding joy in the simple acts of creating, collaborating, and being as present as possible in the moment.
Liz Strawbridge, MD (she/her), Riverbird Clinic Therapist & Founder Good Medicine Collective
Liz Strawbridge is an integrative family physician who believes the path to health starts by connecting to our bodies and our truth. In her practice, she uses tools she has collected from training in conventional medicine, integrative medicine, manual medicine, plants and various wisdom traditions including Ayurveda and Chinese medicine. She is a graduate of the CIIS training program for Psychedelic-Assisted Psychotherapies, and has been trained in MAPS MDMA-Assisted Psychotherapy program, as well as Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy. She believes the opportunity to feel whole and healthy is a universal right.