Our Practitioners
LeAnn D Jenkins
SHE/HER
ABOUT
As a child of the Southern black church in the United States, I ground myself in the embodied focus on moving in the Spirit that comes from my lineage. I connect to the Spirit most through singing, dancing, nature, and mystery. I am committed to participating in our collective liberation by creating spaces of exploration, healing, and collaboration.
approach
I engage in spiritual direction as personal and collective, formal and informal, mystic-positive, and oriented toward liberation. As a mystic with a dynamic and constantly explorative spirituality, my practice involves moving with, sensing, and listening for where the Spirit is active and responding authentically with our whole selves. I value sifting, integrating, and expanding, the ways in which our upbringings have packaged our understanding of Spirit, ourselves, and our sense of what is and can be real.
EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE
Though significant parts of my development as a spiritual director came from informal mentors, I hold a Master’s in Spiritual Direction from Loyola University where I centered my studies on the use of spiritual practice in communities actively working toward equity and liberation. Some of my other areas of study and experience are: paying attention to the body, authentic communication, decolonizing/ re-imaging faith, embracing paradox and wildness, and integration of divergent spiritual experience.
what brings her joy
Most things that are living bring me joy if I pay attention long enough. I feel joy most easily when I catch a “flow” while singing, dancing, or creating, when I watch squirrels and birds, when I support artists that I love and find new artists to love, when I touch soil and plants, when I have meaningful time with friends, and when I eat and sleep well.
Cindy S. Lee
Director of Liberated Together Spiritual Direction School
SHE/HER
ABOUT
I am a Taiwanese-American spiritual director and aspiring mystic. My spirituality honors the traditions of my family which includes the Christian tradition in a Taiwanese immigrant church as well as Taiwanese ancestral, Daoist, and Buddhist traditions. Daoists believe that the divine is unnameable and simply call her the Dao, the way. Therefore my spirituality is a way of life that embraces divine mystery and honors the sacredness in all beings and in all nature.
approach
I experience spiritual direction as a sacred communal practice in which I have the honor of entering into the soul space of another human being. Together we compassionately and slowly nurture a deeper attunement to our sacred self, to divine presence, and to the longings of our communities. I meet with BIPOC and/or Queer directees. As asexual, aromantic, and genderless my body was created to be an open and expansive space for others. I often use guided meditations and imagination practices that help to open up our supernatural and mystical awareness.
EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE
I completed a PhD in Practical Theology in the area of Spirituality from Claremont School of Theology and was trained in spiritual direction through Stillpoint in Southern California. As an adjunct professor I teach and write in the areas of spiritual direction, mysticism, and BIPOC-centered spirituality. I am the author of Our Unforming: De-westernizing Spiritual Formation (Fortress Press, 2022).
what brings her joy
I love wandering around cities. I get a thrill out of finding street art or exploring a sacred space. A good day is sitting in a coffee shop and just allowing my mind and spirit to imagine.
Puanani Poti-Calvillo
SHE/HER
ABOUT
A proud Samoan Pilipina from southern California, my story is woven together by a collective of lived experiences, relationships, spirituality, roles, ancestral wisdom & education. I feel the most connected to the Divine & to my body when in movement, whether it be dancing in the kitchen with my children, swimming in the ocean, or swinging kettlebells.
approach
I approach spiritual direction as a companion, holding space for BIPOC seekers to listen contemplatively and mutually to the movement of the sacred in & around their story. I integrate embodiment, thoughtful reflections, encouragement, imagination, rituals, remembering, and breath work to support meaning-making and exploration.
EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE
I am a graduate of Still Harbor Spiritual Direction Practicum Program, received a masters in Teaching, and currently enrolled in a program to be certified as a personal trainer. With the hope of expanding my practice to provide trauma-informed, spiritually centered exercise training through weight lifting, primal flow & accompaniment for seekers exploring their ancestral movements. Formerly, I worked as an elementary school teacher and co-led El Puente Community Church with my partner in Santa Ana, CA. As a faith leader, my roles included but was not limited to (IYKYK) mentoring Santaneras, administration, accompanying families, teaching youth & facilitating women’s support groups.
what brings her joy
I chase sun rays and waterways. I enjoy loud knee-slapping belly laughs while talking stories with my family & friends over good food. Most days you can catch me dancing in my kitchen to Selena or chillin to Reggae music. I adore watching my children explore new places, staying present when I’m told “I love you mommy”, & taking spontaneous dates downtown on the train with my husband.
Christina Quintanilla
SHE/HER
ABOUT
I am an Indigenous Xicana with ancestors on both sides of the US-Mexico border. After nearly a decade of justice ministry, I left my role to embark on a journey of decolonizing my spirituality, reclaiming my Indigenous roots, and calling my spirit back. I found deep intergenerational medicine in communing with ancestral land (Oklahoma and Mexico), experiencing Creator Jesus in ceremony, and awakening to the love of matriarchs and antepasados (ancestors). Through ancestral paradigms, we open to the expansive love of Creator and the limitless possibilities of liberation!
approach
Drawing from my Indigenous Xicana roots and background in trauma-informed spiritual care, together we will: experience Creator through decolonial spiritual practices, build relationship with madre tierra (mother earth), connect with your great cloud of ancestors (Hebrews 12), reclaim the womb wisdom of matriarchs, and awaken to the Spirit of God at work in the whole of creation. It would be my joy to accompany you on the spiritual journey through spiritual care groups, one-on-one sessions, and retreat facilitation.
EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE
I hold a Bachelor of Sociology from UCLA and a Master of Divinity from NAIITS (North American Institute for Indigenous Theological Studies): An Indigenous Learning Community. My Masters of Divinity includes specialization in: Trauma-informed spiritual care, Indigenous spirituality and wellness, Asset-based Theology, and Indigenous understandings of scripture. I had the honor of learning from some of the most recognized Indigenous scholars, practitioners, pastors, and elders.
what brings her joy
Spontaneous travel, scenic hikes, the sound of moving water, matcha everything, delicious eats and deep conversation, harmonizing to my favorite songs, hugging trees, belly laughs, breathtaking sunsets, and bailando (salsa, bachata, reggeton, etc).
Erna Kim Hackett
Founder Liberated Together
SHE/HER
ABOUT
I am a biracial Korean American, raised in the Korean immigrant church, with an extensive stay in white evangelical college ministry. In 2015, my value for racial justice made it untenable for me to stay. Liberation, community, and laughter. I’m on a journey to reclaim my ancestral practices, and do what I can to help WOC/ Queer WOC/ and Non-binary folks heal and thrive.
approach
I am not primarily a spiritual director. I would say my role is to create the space that allows the school to exist and flourish. My strength is my belief that we, as women of color and folks of color, can create a new way forward. We can co-create the communities that we actually want to be a part. of.
EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE
I graduated from Scripps College, having written my thesis on Anti-Chinese sentiment that led to the Chinese Exclusion Act. In my 30’s I did the vocal program atLos Angeles College of music. It was so much fun! I spent the next few year working part time leading programs for college students who wanted learn about the intersection of faith and justice, and being a gigging singer. I received my Masters in Intercultural Studies from the Institute for Indigenous Theological Studies, a program taught by Indigenous and First Nations professors. After 18 years in College ministry I moved to the Bay Area to serve as Executive Pastor at a historically Black Church. And I started Liberated Together in 2019.
what brings her joy
Being with my friends and eating good food together. Seeing women of color, queer woc, and non-binary folks heal and thrive. I love hiking on the trails near my house . I love cheese and my dogs. After 17 years, my husband is still my favorite person.