Favor Ellis was raised off the grid in rural Maine, deep in the forest, two miles from her nearest neighbor. “We relied solely on solar and wind power, and grew, harvested and put up most of our own food,” she recalls. “I was a girl with pigtail braids, scraped knees and dirty hands, always reading a book, always asking the world for answers. I fell in love early with the place right there, where the tops of trees touch the bottom of the sky. Look up, look up. I learned to be curious, compassionate and creative in the face of rural isolation and I continue to apply these values to all my choices and relationships.” Ellis’s appreciation for the natural world runs deep; Ecopsychology and Ecofeminism were cornerstones of her graduate work at Goddard College, where she studied Transformative Language Arts and Embodiment Studies. “It is important to me that I am able to find meaningful connection with place, life, and spirit, and that I hold space for the people around me to find connection for (and within) themselves,” she says. “I am deeply invested in supporting communities that prioritize social justice, love, empathy, diversity and equity, in conjunction with a deep reverence for the natural world.” Connection, authenticity and trust matter; passion, empathy and vision matter. “I am a counselor, a doula, an Auntie, a writer, an explorer of liminal spaces,” Ellis says. “I am interested in moments of choice and transition, and am particularly invested in the use of story as a tool for transformation and connection. I have rested my hands and feet on the soil of every state in the Continental U.S., and Vermont has always called me back. I have great faith in the resilience, potential and vision of young people, and believe it is my privilege and responsibility to support the depth of exploration, community and opportunity that is nurtured at Sterling. I am so grateful to tend to the soul of this place as we embody our vision of empathy, generosity, social justice, accountability, abundance and intergenerational connection.”