My name is Marla (they/them or she/her). I was born and raised in the midwest by a white cis woman and Black cis man both born in the early 50s and by my maternal grandmother who was born in the mid-1930s. I'm a Black, biracial, light skinned, genderqueer, queer femme in my 30s. I’m small-bodied and neurodivergent. I’m a US citizen who was raised with English as my first language in a home with mixed dialects. I come from a mixed class of peoples — farmers, veterans, teachers, care-takers, and so on. Each of these things I’ve named impacts how I move through the world. They shape my perspective, my privilege, my marginalization, and I work everyday to unlearn what has been passed down to me from family & culture that is rooted in colonization.

 

In 2018, after participating in Michelle Cassandra Johnson’s Skill in Action Yoga Teacher Training 200hr program, I committed to a continued education that centers antiracism within different healing modalities, such as decolonizing herbalism with Root Work Herbals: People’s Medicine School and Hood Herbalism, or learning about somatic abolitionism with Resmaa Menakem.

 

At 18 Springs, the work is expansive and includes generating clear & growth-inspiring ideas, editing, consulting, caring, amateur tech wizardry, coordinating systems, and managing communications with teachers, partners, and the public. I am grateful to be a part of building a foundation for something that will last lifetimes.

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