Erica’s Bio

My path into this work began with a deep sense of loneliness and dissatisfaction. I felt like I didn’t quite fit the path society wanted for me, and often felt disconnected from many of my peers. As a young person, I was curious, imaginative, driven, and smart, but I also struggled with anxiety, ADHD, self-confidence, body image, social anxiety, and the pressure to perform and fit in. I genuinely wanted to do well, but I had a hard time with traditional schooling, which often felt disconnected from the authentic meaning, curiosity, and passion I craved. I learned how to perform being a “good student” and look like I was doing well on the outside, while internally I often felt overwhelmed and deeply disconnected from myself. I was in total survival mode.

As I got older, I began questioning the stories I had inherited about who I was supposed to be and what a meaningful life could look like. I took a gap year to travel the world with a camera in hand, catalyzing a deeper exploration of creativity, storytelling, and their power to transform how we see ourselves and the world around us. I went on to study at Quest University Canada, where I created my own interdisciplinary degree drawing from Eco-Psychology, Documentary Filmmaking, and Indigenous Studies, exploring how story can help us heal our relationships with ourselves, each other, and the natural world.

That inquiry has remained at the heart of my work with young people. At Creative Visions in Los Angeles, I mentored teens through a documentary filmmaking program, and with Open Roads, I facilitated wilderness experiences combining nature immersion with filmmaking, photography, and creative writing. I love teaching young people creative skills, but even more, I love helping them find their voice and tell their own stories in ways that reflect their inherent beauty and potential.

About three years ago, I discovered Wilderness Rites of Passage work, which brought many of these threads together. Since then, I have facilitated numerous rites-of-passage journeys with teens, guiding them through backcountry experiences that create intentional space for the profound transitions of adolescence. My work has also expanded into embodiment and nervous-system awareness. Learning to reconnect with my body and understand how our experiences shape the way we move through the world has transformed how I relate to myself and how I mentor others. I have spent the past several years assisting in somatic and embodiment-based work, and I’m currently training to become a certified Mind-Body Maturation Coach, a modality that helps uncover the root patterns and protective adaptations that keep us stuck and uncover new ways of being that are more aligned and expansive with who we want to be.

Together, these experiences shape what I uniquely bring to mentorship: a combination of relational presence, creativity, nature, embodiment, and practical support. I can meet a young person through conversation and reflection, but also through filmmaking, photography, writing, art, crafts, wilderness experiences, somatic practices, music, or simply being alongside them while they navigate their life. I can also offer practical support with executive functioning, ADHD-related challenges, routines and follow-through, as well as navigating anxiety, confidence, body image, self-love, identity, and belonging.

At the heart of my philosophy as a mentor is the belief that the journey from adolescence into adulthood is not solely about becoming more independent, but also about discovering our inherent interdependence. It is a time when we learn how deeply connected we are and how much we need one another, as well as how to recognize and take ownership of our unique gifts and contributions to the world. We are not meant to navigate this transition alone, and young people need mentors who can see beyond the version of themselves they currently know.

I know what it is like to struggle with confidence, overwhelm and anxiety, feel like you don’t quite fit, and believe the stories that tell you that you aren’t enough. I also know what becomes possible when someone comes along who sees your beauty and gifts before you can see them fully yourself. I often wish I could send a mentor back to little Erica, someone who could have truly seen me and helped me trust and love myself much sooner. I feel incredibly honored that I now get to offer that kind of gift to young people.