“Doing a Loving Kindness meditation makes us feel good, reduces stress, increases compassion and makes it more effective.  This is important because we are divided in a deep way right now. If we can figure out how to have more compassion and how to treat others like our family, like our brothers and sisters, then we can get through a lot of the problems we have to solve. ”

Erica is a scientist, a passionate environmentalist, and a lover of unfenced country. She earned a joint Ph.D. in cognitive psychology and cognitive science from the University of Colorado, Boulder, and has served as a Professor of Psychology at CSU, Northridge for the past 13 years and as the Interim Director for the Institute for Sustainability for two of those years. She teaches classes about food choices, best practices in sustainability, ecopsychology, and cognitive science. Erica’s research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Metropolitan Water District, CalFire, and other organizations. Her work has been published in peer-reviewed scientific journals as well as featured in Psychology Today and on the National Wildlife Federation website.

In addition to her formal training, Erica has spent a great deal of time learning from the wild.. In 2012, Erica deepened her knowledge of edible and medicinal plants and mushrooms when she took on the life of a contemporary nomadic hunter and gatherer. She traveled through the western U.S., living in the forest for 6 months, gathering food and medicine--she spent $0 on food for 6 months during that time. That fall, she competed against top chefs in the Telluride Mushroom Festival Celebrity Chef Cook-Off for the honor of Champion Chef--AND WON with her wild mushroom pate recipe that was served on acorn flour crackers. She loves sharing recipes and stories from life in the forest, and teaches in her home in Buena Vista, Colorado, Los Angeles, California, and at music and transformation festivals all over the world.