Intentional change starts with
longing and imagination.
I help innovators everywhere
turn their longing and imagination into
awareness and adaptation.
Welcome! I´m Maya.
Storytelling futurist. Inquiry activist.
Post-grief optimist. Adaptation specialist.
I help collapse-aware innovators move from dissonance and anxiety about the future to a deeper understanding that inspires them to choose adaptation and craft resilience.
The good news: despite the losses we face, collapse can actually move us toward what we are longing for:
Nature connection, deep community, and meaningful living.
We walk this wild path together using the process of Active Inquiry.
In addition to the list of longings above,
you will find new levels of clarity, energy, and a surprising sense of relief.
Oh - and it all happens in two weeks.
¨Maya guided me almost daily for two weeks. Our conversations (some using back-and-forth voice messages) gave me a chance to explore ideas and settle into this new way of being. Now, I am fully engaged in choosing adaptation practices that give me more focus and optimism.
She helped me find my balance in uncertainty without feeling helpless. I am grateful to not just fear or face my future, but actively create it! I have new tools for building resilience that energize me daily."
N. - owner of a community-building consultancy in the U.S.
Debilitating despair harms people and our planet.
¨Despairalysis¨ is a combination of anxiety and unprocessed grief that can lead to hopelessness and inaction.
It´s preventing us from facing our metacrisis and building our individual and collective efforts to adapt.
We must:
◻️recognize the looming risks and process our own grief about what we are losing
◻️move forward with full awareness and inspired engagement
How can we serve emergence rather than attempt to deny, ignore, or prevent it?
Now is the time to accept our reality. We must shift our mindset and actively engage in aligned practices that support our Earth and each other.
Whether you are experiencing eco-anxiety or simply recognizing that our future requires us to proceed in new ways, I can help you.
I offer a 1:1 transformational conversation series called Choosing Adaptation.
"I was ready to close up my non-profit at the end of 2024. I felt like I was facing an uphill battle with the leadership change in the country and in my state.
I felt guilt and shame for giving up right when we need to do so much more.
Talking to Maya changed everything for me. She helped me see that I was overwhelmed and fearful rather than hopeless.
We worked on ways to build resilience for myself and my organization. I am already seeing results and momentum!
I am so thankful for this new sense of resonance, and for feeling re-inspired to do this work."
R. - founder of a non-profit in the U.S.
Choosing Adaptation is a journey from grief to gratitude.
I am good at grappling with grief.
I have been wracked by grief,
walloped by grief,
and yes, I have wallowed in grief.
Each time, I walked back into the world more wide-eyed and full of wonder.
And I help others find their way there, too.
How did I learn so much about grief?
VOLUME....and a very early start.
¨After COP29, I spent days in bed, unable to function. For the first time, I realized that collapse is already happening.
Maya responded immediately to my request. She helped me reach a level of acceptance that could work for me - more savvy wisdom than doom and gloom.
And by the end of our two weeks, I felt like a new person! I can recognize my triggers and reflect on my reactions without sinking into despair.
Grief and anger? Still there when I read the news.
But I embrace each day with a real but upbeat sense of what is possible. I focus on building resilience in myself and those I lead. Weaving my new guideposts with my mission goals feels aligned and inspiring."
L. - executive director of a climate-related organization in the U.K.
Recognizing collapse can be a lonely experience.
Most people are reluctant to share their stories about collapse awareness publicly.
In fact, the majority of my clients find it hard to discuss it with even their closest friends, family members, and colleagues.
I understand, because I struggle with this, too.
So, I fiercely protect their privacy as they navigate this process.
I'll protect yours, too.
"I was basically the class clown in our small company, but everyone knew I took my work seriously. I think that's why what I said caused such an uproar. They didn't see it coming, and certainly not from me.
So when we had that meeting where I explained that we needed to dramatically ramp up our efforts like 10x or not bother, they thought I was joking. But as the risk analyst, I brought the graphics. They could see the truth.
At the end of the day, the CEO tapped on my door. He closed it behind him, sat down, and sighed.
He said, I understand what you're saying. But we can't move forward with that mindset.
In this work, positivity is everything.
I went home and cried. I knew I had changed the course of my life in that one meeting.
Thankfully, I had seen Maya on LinkedIn. I reached out to her, and honestly, it was the best thing I have done for myself in years.
Now, I know I´m not alone. Maya has given me tools to see the future in a realistic way that still gets me excited about what I can do.
She also introduced me to a couple of her clients. It feels amazing to have this new community who gets it! We are cooking up some good projects.
I cannot overstate what a life-changing experience this has been.¨
S. - former climate risk analyst for a U.S. company
¨To be honest, I have been dissing the doomers. I thought they were just negative people casting doubt on our efforts.
But now that I am talking with actual collapse-aware folks, I realize that we all long to feel optimistic, but in a REALISTIC way.
I'd rather know than NOT know. Honestly, knowing is a huge f#$*ing RELIEF.
How many days did I sit at my desk, head in hands, beating myself up? Walking around with that pit in my stomach. Dreading the meetings of back-slapping about tiny goals met. Keeping it all to myself. Who could I ever talk to?
But the sooner we start talking about this, the sooner we can work together using this new knowledge to build something different.
I thought accepting collapse might change my personality. I'm a positive guy. Now, my positivity is more balanced. It's based on the truth.
Knowledge is power. I want to be among those who choose to use it wisely and share it for the sake of the world.
Who WOULDN´T want that?¨
T. - sustainability lead for a U.S. company
My work is a rich blend of my:
◻️grief work from my own life experience and helping others around the world face their losses
◻️specialized training (trauma-informed facilitation and creative breakthrough coaching)
◻️great gigs (author, artist, educator, mindfulness trainer, mediator, non-profit leader, business owner)
◻️diverse interests (ecology, regeneration, psychology, art, culture, & tech)
◻️playful approach to disruption as a powerful path to systems change
◻️global view from living in six countries and exploring many others
◻️love for localization to deepen community resilience
◻️future focus as the grandmother of five little ones
Curious about how I started doing this work?
Well, it was not exactly planned.
And, like so many things, it was sparked by the pandemic.