Cari is a mother of three children, ages 23, 21, and 15. Her lived experience of parenting across stages of development deeply informs her commitment to rites of passage and community-supported transitions.

She lives on and stewards a 3-acre farm on the lands of the Quw’utsun people in the Cowichan Valley, where her family tends land, grows food, and cultivates community. Her relationship to place is central to her work.

Her ceremonial path began nine years ago with her first 10-night solo Nature Quest — an experience that profoundly deepened her relationship with the natural world, the mystery of darkness, and the transformative power of intentional solitude. That initiation opened a doorway into ongoing study, questing, and mentorship.

When the COVID pandemic brought her music teaching and singing work to an abrupt halt, Cari and her family made a bold choice. They traveled back and forth between Cowichan and Salt Spring Island for a full year so her son could attend the WOLF nature immersion program through Wisdom of the Earth. During that same year, Cari committed fully to the year-long Immersion program herself, studying with Arnaud Gagné, Jean-Claude Catry, and Ingrid Bauer.

That first immersion year became a crucible of transformation. Cari undertook multiple overnight wilderness quests and ceremonial journeys that further anchored her dedication to nature-based mentoring and rites of passage work.

What began as a single year deepened into a second year of intensive study and practice — all while mothering three children, running a full music school, and holding community leadership. During this time, she was invited to begin mentoring within the nature connection programs, and she has continued mentoring ever since.
This includes mentoring within adult rite-of-passage weekends for five to six years and designing and supporting multiple Fire Quest experiences each year within programs I have been part of and now lead in the school here at Lila. 

Cari has been studying with Sal Gencarelle through the Helpers Mentoring Society for five years under consistent supervision and guidance. In 2026, she is participating in advanced Ceremony Training and is preparing to build her own Inipi (sweat lodge) to serve women in her community.

She has traveled to South Dakota for her first lineage quest and received her Chanupa within supervised ceremonial relationship. She has also been in service at Sundance ceremony and continues to approach this path with humility, devotion, and openness to the mystery that surrounds and guides her work.

For 17 years, Cari has lived in the Cowichan Valley in relationship with Quw’utsun Elders and community members. She has been invited into local lodges and has participated respectfully in Quw’utsun traditions through long-standing relationships in the valley.

Most recently, she co-created a Reconciliaction Music Ceremony — bringing together Quw’utsun Elders, children, and settler families in shared song and prayer, creating space for connection and healing through music.

Cari is the Director of the Lila Music & Nature Centre, a vibrant community hub that houses nature-based youth programs, music lessons, community choir, vocal improvisation gatherings, guest workshops, elder programs, and more. Her work bridges music, mentorship, ceremony, and intergenerational community building.

She has been training in the Ojai Foundation Way of Council for over 19 years, completing Levels 1, 2, 3, and Couples Council trainings multiple times. Council practice deeply informs how she facilitates group process, listening, and witnessing within rites of passage.

Her additional long-term trainings include:

• 17 years of in-depth study in pre- and perinatal trauma work with Myrna Martin
• 20 years of Family Constellation work
• 30 years of practice in Rhiannon’s Vocal Improvisation work
• Nature and the Human Soul training through Animas Valley Institute with Brian Stafford and Bill Plotkin
• Study with Joanna Macy in The Work That Reconnects
• 14 years directing, leading, and singing at palliative bedsides with the Threshold Singers in partnership with Hospice and Palliative Care
• 14 years as a Waldorf Music Teacher, teaching Kindergarten through Grade 12 in the Cowichan Valley
• 14 years directing, creating, and leading a thriving Parent and Child Music program
• 3 years working with adults with special needs in Sweden and 2 years at Glenora Camphill in the Cowichan Valley
• Ongoing music appreciation teaching for adults and children with special needs, autism, neurodivergence, and diverse learning profiles
• Completion of a year-long Priestess Training with Ambe Ray
• 17 years studying ceremony, herbalism, and medicine making with Seraphina Capranos
• 3 years of study with Gordon Neufeld
• 3 years of study with Kim John Payne
• Extensive training since 2002 with Par Ahlbom and Sinnika Mikola in Järna, Sweden, in Intuitive Pedagogy and therapeutic Werbeck Singing

Cari also wrote her Master’s thesis in Music, from the Royal Academy of Music, London, England,  on the healthy benefits of music, movement, and play for children and adults.

These diverse streams of study converge in her work with youth and families — blending music, nature connection, trauma awareness, council practice, pedagogy, and ceremonial container-building.

At the heart of Cari’s work is a devotion to meaningful transition, community cohesion, and creating spaces where youth and families feel deeply witnessed, supported, and connected to something larger than themselves — while remaining a lifelong student of the mystery.