Navigating Transitions with guest faculty Quinlin Messenger & Linda Samuels
Stewarding Midlife & Beyond: Nature, Rituals, Creativity
Aug 26 - Aug 31, 2024 in Santa Fe, USA
Led by: Quinlin Messenger, Linda C. Samuels, Christine Sperber, Daniel 'DL' Landes
Financial aid is available. Apply Here.
Reconnect with your origins and your innate creativity – and find the path forward to your desired future
Modern life has left many of us feeling disconnected – from ourselves, from each other, and from the natural world around us. When you layer in the complicated relationships we may have with our origins, that sense of being isolated or separate from others only intensifies.
But when you don’t feel deeply rooted in the world or in community with others, it can be difficult to remain oriented to who you are and what you want in life. And that can make finding your path forward through the life-altering transitions that come with midlife all the more challenging.
In this Navigating Transitions workshop co-facilitated with JUST founder Quinlin Messenger and “Infrastructural Optimist” Linda C. Samuels, you will be invited to reconnect with your origins to illuminate your journey toward the future you want to experience.
What You’ll Gain
Through a combination of our MEA Navigating Transitions curriculum and Quinlin and Linda’s activities using collective rituals and nature-based creative play as tools for self-exploration and discovery, you will:
By the end of our five days together, you will feel more deeply connected to yourself and the world around you – and energized and empowered to step into the next exciting chapter of your life.
And to culminate our journey together, we will participate as a group in the mythical burning of the 100th Zozobra, a unique cultural ritual that has been practised in Santa Fe for a century.
The Zozobra – which in Spanish means “anguish, anxiety, or gloom” – is a 50-foot high marionette made of wood, wire, and cotton cloth and stuffed with shredded paper, which traditionally includes obsolete police records, paid-off mortgages, even divorce papers – all representations of the things we’re ready to let go of as we step into the next iteration of our lives.
Burning the Zozobra will be an exciting and fiery finale to the last days of summer – and a powerful opportunity to release what no longer serves you as you embrace the reality you dream of experiencing in your next stage of life.
Meet Your Faculty
Quinlin Messenger
Design Justice Steward
Founder & Director of JUST | Architectural and Social/Environmental Systems Design | Community Alliance 2023 Mentor Award recipient
Quinlin Messenger has a background in architecture, sociology, and environmental studies. His creative identity is rooted in his African American, Indigenous and Jewish heritage, and he channels and honors his dynamic background by redesigning unjust systems and working with communities and projects that have a focus on equity and wellbeing through empowerment, belonging, and legacy cultivation.
Quinlin is an inspirational leader who helps others to realize that they have the capacity and responsibility to create a just future that is accessible to all and respects the wellbeing of our planet.
If you’re seeking greater connection to the world and yearning to shape a life and future that prioritizes equity, sustainability, and positive change for all, you will love Quinlin’s contribution to this workshop.
What Quinlin’s workshop participants have to say...
“Quin is a deeply creative and engaging individual who understands that successful design is not rooted in a singular autocratic vision, but rather in a thoughtful and collaborative dialogue with the community served by the product of that design. His natural charisma, easy-going and charming demeanor, and collaborative spirit quickly earned him the confidence of our staff and stakeholders.”
Graham Boettcher
Director, Birmingham Museum of Art
“The purpose of Vitarel is to allow people who come, to connect with nature, connect with each other, and allow creativity to flourish… Quinlin's sensitivity to both the human experience and his restorative approach to architecture convinced me that he was the right architect to partner with.”
Max Burton
Client, Industrial Craft
“It takes a rare person to support others in finding their own voice while using their own creativity to inspire and excite… Quin is this person. He is passionate and adept in community engagement – but in a real and not superficial way – and his abilities as a facilitator effectively provide a safe space for multiple voices and perspectives to be heard.”
Deborah Frieden
Cultural Project Planner, DFA
“Quin’s ability to see design as a healing medium allowed me to include "growing produce" and "art therapy" to the Health and Wellness curriculum… He was deeply passionate about the well-being of the users that would eventually occupy the renovated building. Quin’s poise and care assured us - we were all part of a team to transform lives.”
Denise Adger
Client, Activist
“Quin Messenger brought vision, imagination, devotion, persistence, patience, goodwill, community-mindedness, holistic conscientiousness, creative problem-solving, sustainable thinking, and a steady hand to my uniquely complex and challenging project… The people living there tell me often how grateful they are to have such a thoughtful, unique, expansive, and supportive home.”
Claire Anna Baker
Client, Artist
Linda C. Samuels
Architect & Infrastructural Optimist
Author of Infrastructural Optimism | Professor & Chair of Urban Design
Linda C. Samuels teaches architecture and urban design at the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis.
As author of the 2023 book, Infrastructural Optimism, Linda believes that design can play a catalytic role in shifting the focus of urban infrastructure to environmental symbiosis and quality of life for all, creating a more beautiful, productive, and optimistic future.
Her desire to work on equity and sustainability-based initiatives is what led her to collaborate with Quinlin and the JUST team on regenerative agriculture projects at MEA’s ranch in Santa Fe.
Anyone searching for optimism and hope for a better future – both in their own lives and the larger world around them – will appreciate Linda’s contribution to this workshop.
What Linda’s workshop participants have to say...
“I can easily say that I've learned more in this studio than in any other I've been in… you've really inspired me to keep pursuing my goal of teaching someday myself. There are few times before Fair Share that I feel like a professor has really deeply invested themselves in supporting their students' projects but I (and the other students!) have felt the support all semester - I want to say a big big big thank you on everyone’s behalf!”
Eric Kim
Architecture Student
“I am a big fan, and am excited to see what you do in your new roles! Our beloved cities need your brain.”
Deborah Weintraub
Deputy Engineer
LA City Bureau of Engineering
“Transportation Alternatives hosted Dr. Linda Samuels at the Vision Zero Cities conference on our panel entitled "Repeal Robert Moses" where she emphasized the need for equitable urban planning… Samuels skillfully navigated the topic and facilitated meaningful dialogue between journalists, planners, and elected leaders.”
Transportation Alternatives Organization
"Years later, I still hear from Vision Zero Conference attendees about Dr. Samuels thought provoking panel discussion in which she challenges preconceived notions of power and the role of planners through an examination of Robert Moses' legacy in New York City and beyond."
Tom Klein
This workshop is for you if...
You’re going through a big life transition and feeling isolated and separate from the world around you
You feel disconnected from your origins and yearn for deeper kinship with the natural world and your fellow human beings
You’re searching for clarity into who you are, what your place in the universe is, and what you want your life to look like
You’re ready to tap into your innate creativity and connection to the landscape to gain insight into the legacy of your past and future
You’re searching for renewed optimism and belief in humanity’s ability to create a better world for everyone (including Mother Nature)
You’re ready to step up and play a bigger role in helping to build a more just and equitable world
Santa Fe, USA
Rising Circle Ranch
An upscale regenerative ranch featuring traditional Pueblo architecture and spanning nearly 2,600 acres of wildlife, hiking trails in the arroyo, with ancient petroglyphs, and awe-inspiring beauty. Close to historic Santa Fe, an artisan’s mecca.
Meet Your MEA Facilitators
In addition to the powerful sessions conducted by Quinlin and Linda, you will be guided through the core MEA Navigating Transitions curriculum by our seasoned faculty members:
Christine Sperber
MEA Co-Founder and Chief Experience Office (CXO)
View Bio
Christine Sperber is a former professional snowboarder and seasoned entrepreneur who has launched and operated hotels, managed pro athletes, and worn the hats of writer, restauranteur, and more.
She has been with MEA since the beginning and is a devoted team builder whose authenticity, values-based leadership skills, and empathetic engagement create community wherever she focuses her attention.
Christine is an ardent activist and igniter of new ideas. You’re going to love her boundless energy and dedication to creating transformative experiences that change people’s lives. “I had the sheer pleasure of working with Christine in a number of capacities over 10 years. I have met very few people as passionate, open, personable, and dedicated as she is in any line of work she was engaged in. I look forward to any opportunity I might have to work with her in the future.” – Scott Owen, Executive Sales Management & Strategy
Daniel 'DL' Landes
Experience Facilitator
View Bio
Before joining MEA, Daniel “DL” Landes spent decades as a restauranteur, author, and publisher. As the owner of multiple restaurants in Denver, CO – and then a hostel in Mexico – he dedicated himself to creating environments where people could work out their humanity while eating and drinking (which is why he fits in so well at MEA).
Now relocated to Santa Fe, DL says that “living in the Galisteo Basin impresses a unique and humbling perspective. Under the expansive, enchanted New Mexican sky I can feel so small and so big. I made a career of kicking up dust; living in the storm until the storm lived in me. When the dust settled two guideposts appeared: Spend more nights under the stars; provide a service.”
You will appreciate his dedication to creating memorable experiences during your time in Santa Fe.
Chip Conley
Founder
A three-time TED speaker on the big stage, Chip Conley is one of the world’s leading experts at the intersection of business innovation, psychology and spirituality.
As one of the creators of the boutique hotel movement and the “modern elder” to the young Airbnb founders, Chip’s been a disruptor and expert on entrepreneurship and business leadership. He’s a globally-recognized thought leader on the future of work and the competitive advantages of a multi-generational workplace.
Inspired by his experience of intergenerational mentoring as a “modern elder” at Airbnb, where his guidance was instrumental to the company’s extraordinary success, Chip founded MEA and has since dedicated his midlife years to reframing the concept of aging and supporting people in navigating midlife with a renewed sense of purpose and possibility.
Your relationships have been scientifically proven to increase their longevity and overall quality of life.
When you have fulfilling relationships with other people and with nature, you are happier and healthier, and will feel more confident and supported when you’re forced to step outside your comfort zone and navigation unfamiliar situations.
This workshop will help you strengthen the relationships you have with yourself and others as well as with Mother Earth so you can return to your life feeling inspired, connected, and whole – and well-equipped with new tools and practices to shape your own journey forward in a healthy and effective way.
