Board and Staff

Board Chair, Danielle McFarlin

Danielle grew up in a small community on the U.S.- Mexico Border and is committed to bridging resources to her home town and other underserved communities. She spent 20 years working in the Diagnostic Imaging field, has witnessed a heart beating for the first time and has held space for many taking their last breaths, she is currently focused on supporting the healing journey of every moment in between. Danielle spoke at the 2017 TEDxTucson Imagine conference where she was inspired to use her own journey through abuse and disempowerment to create a new framework for viewing the effects on both men and women in our present day "rape culture". She shares her story in hopes of serving as a beacon of hope for those who think their life is irreparable, showing them instead, how, with courageous and deep self-inquiry, they can shine their own light on the path to healing and wholeness. Her work aims to create a safe foundation for those who have kept their stories of abuse and shame buried in the shadows. Danielle is also a published author in Wake Up: A Woman's Guide to Transformation, Prosperity and Health!

Board Secretary, Viridiana Rubio
Viridiana is a Licensed Professional Counselor-Supervisor and a Registered Play Therapist in the
state of Texas. She received her masters in education from the University of Texas at El Paso in
guidance and counseling in 2011. She has experience working with children and adolescents &
their families and adult women and men. Viridiana has been trained in Child Centered Play
Therapy, Child/Parent Relationship Therapy, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy , Cognitive Behavioral
Therapy & Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing. Viridiana has experience working with
problems such as depression, anxiety, ADHD, attachment issues & trauma. She derives her
approaches from client centered theory and sees her clients as holistic beings that find themselves
with incongruence in their mind, body and/or spirit. She helps to implement techniques to help
awareness grow and also helps to discover and explore wounds and trauma to allow a person to
achieve healing within themselves. Currently, Viridiana is an apprentice with curandera Athena
Wolf where she is learning the ways of curanderismo.

Board member , Norma Santos

I have personally experienced the gentle healing of various plant medicines and Curanderismo practices that, along with a proper understanding of my body and my diet have cured my hypertension, depression and alcoholism.

Being a Registered Nurse in Texas for over 20 years, I have personally seen how Western Medicine treats symptoms alone for the most part. Any healing that is curative is usually quite taxing on the body whereas the approach of plant healing is gentle and involves all aspects of the client; physical, mental and Spiritual. With that being said, I can see how plant healing is much more inclusive and successful as the client is expected to become more responsible for their own healing. This sets the tone for an active responsibility for the client to heal themselves thus increasing the chances of cure exponentially.

This organization understands and appreciates the value of community, which in healing, is imperative for success.My goal is to continue to serve my community as an RN and as a 3rd generation Curandera.

Board member and Public Relations, Laszlo Sandor

Laszlo Sandor is a retired technology executive with 35 years experience. He was responsible for International supply chain management of multiple Biotech startup companies. He led teams responsible in building FDA compliant inventory systems, material supplier relationships, and international contract negotiations. All these duties included cross cultural sensitivity to the specific countries personnel and business practices. Upon retirement Laszlo became involved in volunteer work in civic and nonprofit corporations. He is currently a city commissioner for Silver City and volunteers for various causes he is passionate about.

Board member , Autumn Ward
I have lived in Silver City New Mexico for over 16 years and grew up partly in Tucson Arizona. Practicing and learning new religions has always been an interest to me since I was a child. I'm currently practicing the Escuela de Curanderismo with Athena Wolf. I love practicing, growing and healing with medicinal plants and giving them to people who need them. I am a healer and plant lover and a mother of three beautiful children.

Board Member, Jade Sawyer
Jade works with light, sound and frequency healing for chronically ill clients. She does medical intuitive channeling. This has given her knowledge and appreciation of natural healing methods, including herbs. She has been making plant medicine for 15 years and look forward to sharing her knowledge with the large community.

Director, Athena Wolf
Athena has been a Board member or Director of various non-profit organizations for 35 years. She also has a background in broadcast television and radio, as well as "narrow cast" community stations.
For the past 20 years Athena has been working full-time as a curandera and Ayurvedic physician. The goal of this non-profit is to share these healing traditions and the plant medicines used, with low-income people.