Hope Springs retreat center women's collaborative, retreats for women, meditation, yoga and leadership retreats.

Make a $400 non-refundable deposit

Pay Remaining $600 Tuition + $463 Room & Board for Session#1

Pay $7900 Tuition in Full (10% discount)

Suzanne Stevens and Patricia Williams invite you to join us for our second Hope Springs Women's Leadership Collaborative. Ours will be a three year journey of exploration, where you can come to know better your deepest yearnings, your gifts and how to use them, and who you are alone and in relation to others. Whether you are new to this kind of work, already deeply committed, or somewhere in between, you are welcome.

We come to this work from our hearts and souls, from the strength of our friendship, and with great excitement about our vision for this adventure. In 1993, we joined the first Women's Leadership Collaborative started by Joyce Weir and Alexandra Merrill. Since then, several members have started collaboratives in the US, India and Europe. The common thread is the transformational work of bringing women to their full competence and female authority in their personal lives and their work in the world.

We will meet twice a year for three years at Hope Springs Retreat Center in Ohio. Our first meeting will be March 25 -29, 2009. We commit to building a strong container safe enough to hold us in our differences. We will face squarely those forces that undermine community - forces such as misogyny, racism, homophobia, ableism, ageism and classism - and learn as much as we can about how to bring peace and healing to ourselves and the planet. We will explore what it means to be true to ourselves and authentic with one another.

Bring our visions, wants and desired outcomes to the first meeting and weave them with yours to create a vision for our three years together.
Design experiences that ignite our spirits and balance our lives. Our journeying will include music, dance, yoga, astrology, art, dreams and other imaginable work, learning from the land, and whatever other doors open to us. We will eat well, experience the joy of being in our bodies, challenge our minds, follow our hearts and open to spirit.
Live in relationship with the Moon and her cycles, explore her mystery, share her secrets, and listen to the wisdom of the eternal Feminine.
Explore the meaning of being female at the individual, group and societal levels.
Offer and build on a wide array of models that draw from women's group process, systems theory, cognitive and other psychologies, and different spiritual traditions.
Build a foundation for each to continue her soul's journey.

Any woman ready to commit to herself and open to the exploration of what it means to be alive. We commit to creating a community diverse in race, sexual orientation, class, age, cultural background, and whatever diversity you bring.

You Will Gain
In addition to your specific learning goals:

Increased self-awareness and strategies for living more consciously.
Mind, body and spirit practices that support living from your core.
Insight into whatever blocks you from being your true self, including beliefs and structures that no longer serve you.
Experience with your power and competence, and with conflict, healthy competition and collaboration.
Awareness of your own internalized misogyny and other "isms".
A community of diverse women to support you.
Experience in coming into relationship with the land and the sky, your ancestors and yourself.
Appreciation for the deep wisdom of a variety of different traditions.
Experience of shared leadership and awareness of your own leadership gifts and traps.
Increased personal presence and the ability to speak and be heard.

Hope Springs Collaborative Leadership Team:
We are white women committed to looking at our own racism and to joining with others to create a community that can hold racial and other differences. Suzanne has been part of a biracial family for almost 40 years and is increasingly aware of her white privilege. Patricia lived with heterosexual privilege for many years prior to partnering with a woman.

Suzanne Rae Stevens: I have walked many paths in these 65 years - Mother, Daughter, Sister, Grandmother, Life Partner, Teacher, Group Home Director, Corporate Executive, International Business Consultant, Founder and Resident Director of Hope Springs Institute. My passion is to continue my own spiritual healing and to support others on this path.

Patricia Day Williams: 55 years old...teacher, group facilitator, organizational consultant...counselor and coach...leads workshops in chakra psychology...yoga teacher in training...former midwife and family physician...mother of sons...song leader...international folk dance teacher...writer...lover of wilderness...seeking to make a difference...

Your Investment of Time and Money:
We will meet twice each year for three years, from 3pm Wednesday to 2pm on Sunday:

March 25-29, 2009 & October 14-18, 2009
March 24-28, 2010 & October 17-21, 2010
March 23-27, 2011 & October 12-16, 2011

Tuition is $1000 per session. Room, board and facility use are $463 per person per session. As a community we will offer tuition assistance and creative payment plans when needed. For more information about payment plans, contact Suzanne Stevens. For those wishing to pay the entire amount up from, the total is $7900 (10% discount).

Hope Springs is noted for its hospitality, spaciousness and beauty, both inside and out. There are accommodations for thirty participants. We have the place to ourselves and will enjoy superb food as well as a wonderful meeting space, peaceful Spirit House, labyrinth, hot tub, meadows and woodland trails. We hope you join us.

Please contact either of us for more information.
Patricia Day Williams: 703-535-3333
Suzanne R. Stevens: 937-587-2602

Application for Hope Springs Women's Leadership Collaborative (pdf doc)

This Employer Reimbursement Letter is downloadable for those of you working for organizations that may pay for this leadership training: Employer Reimbursement Letter (pdf doc)