Meet The Team
Tessa Magill
Director and Lead Facilitator
Tessa is a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist and has been providing therapeutic supports for kids, teenagers and adults since 2013. Tessa utilizes her therapeutic experience and education to create a supportive outdoor experience. In her free time, you can often find Tessa out hiking or walking with her dog, Charlie, or spending time with friends and family in the community.
Brittany Holden
Lead facilitator & Backpacking Specialist
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Brittany is a Marriage and Family Therapist Associate working with local kids and community members. She is an experienced outdoor youth educator and backpacking leader. Brittany is an avid runner, hiker, and painter!
Holly Scala
C0-Facilitator and Ultrarunner
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Holly is an avid trail and ultrarunner based in Ventura. Her professional background is in youth education, human rights, and international development. Holly helps facilitate Thrive's "Run Wild" program. When not running, you can find her baking (or just eating) sweet treats, planning her next race, or road tripping with her husband and dog.
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Matty Stevenson
Men's Work Factilitator​
Matty has spent over a decade facilitating both men’s and community groups. He has a deep experience in men’s work, the concept of masculine and feminine “polarity”, and conscious leadership. In addition to group and men’s work, Matty is the founder of Conscious Ground, an organization which helps individuals and groups grow through building skills in connection, leadership, and solidarity; human skills desperately needed for the modern world.
Karsten Van Sander
Men's Work Factilitator​
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Karsten has been a hospice and hospital chaplain and mediator for over 10 years. He walks daily with people as they connect with their inner strength and find growth even in times of loss and letting go. Men’s work has been healing and transformative in his own life, and wants the Inner Compass community to be a safe and supportive place where men can do their own inner work. Karsten loves to run on the beach with his three dogs, swim in the ocean, or build a bonfire.
Ali Danch
Lead Facilitator
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Ali has spent 20 years working with kids, teens, and parents. She has training in clinical social work and as a public health researcher, and is a momma to three girls. She is the founder of Understory Wellness, which is a business specializing in counseling, coaching and consulting for businesses that are working to design their operations for human wellness. She loves to play volleyball, backpack, hike and make art.
Training & Qualifications
Lead Facilitators
All Lead Facilitators have education in and experience in the mental health field. Their capacity in each offering is not as a therapist or clinician to event participants, but instead as an experienced and knowledgable guide in group discussions, beneficial social connection and healthy coping skills.
Each Lead Facilitator is additionally trained in CPR, first aid and safe trail guiding.
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Co-Facilitators
Each Co-Facilitator brings their own unique and supportive skills to the offerings. All are outdoor enthusiasts who have experience with the outdoors, guiding groups or caring for nature. In addition, Co-Facilitators bring in outside perspectives and strengths on many topics like mindfulness, native plants, camp cooking, fire safety, etc.
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All facilitators at Thrive have up-to-date livescan and background screening
Thank you to our support team!
Each of these supporters and contributors have allowed Thrive Wellness Workshop to exist and persist
