The Earth Leadership Cohort is a program designed to support emerging adults (in their 20s and early 30s) in their leadership in this time of complex ecological and social crises.
ELC offers:
Immersive experiences in the Work That Reconnects (WTR)– a groundbreaking group work methodology that transformations despair into empowered action. In addition to sharing classic WTR theory and practices, ELC weaves in complementary modalities and evolving approaches
Opportunities to tell the truth about what is happening to our world and feel whatever feelings arise about present circumstances
Resourcing and resilience building
A commitment to collective liberation and undoing oppression
Eco-centered time on the land, restoration, creativity, imagination
Intentional community created by cohort members and facilitators
Support to bring this kind of transformational work into the communities people are a part of
Read on for full description and how to apply
About the Earth Leadership Cohort
The Earth Leadership Cohort (ELC) is a program designed to support emerging adults (in their 20s and early 30s) in their leadership in this time of great ecological and social crisis and complexity. The quality and possibility of life for current and future generations depend in great part on the choices humans are making now. These critical times call for some particular leadership capacities including being able to face the truth of what is happening, the willingness to feel, the ability to support others in their emotions, and the capacity to act boldly and in a resourced way for justice and healing on many scales.
To support these kinds of leadership, ELC offers an immersive experience in the Work That Reconnects (WTR)– a groundbreaking group work methodology that has been a transformational support helping countless people move from despair into empowered action. The ELC program offers resourcing and resilience building opportunities for members of the cohort and also offers a foundation for being able to bring this kind of transformative work into the communities people are a part of.
There have been six cohorts since 2014 when the program began. A seventh cohort will convene summer/fall 2026 and includes a full week immersion in the Work That Reconnects (July 31-August 7 in Savoy, MA); two online meetings for further learning, integration and application (August 30 and September 27); and a final in-person retreat that includes joining a larger intergenerational weekend workshop facilitated by Deborah Eden Tull (October 15-18 in Springfield, NH).
Key Program Pillars
Immersive experience in the theory and practice of the Work That Reconnects and complementary modalities
While the Earth Leadership Cohort draws on a number of bodies of work, the principal modality is the Work That Reconnects (WTR). In addition to providing a foundational introduction to the theory and practices of the Work That Reconnects, the ELC facilitation team weaves in other complementary disciplines and modalities including: ecopsychology, trauma informed approaches, neuroscience, contemplative and council practices, music, structured and unstructured time in nature, transformative justice, and the importance of play!
The program offers an immersive experience in a broad array of the practices of the Work That Reconnects, as well as some of its core theory. In-person program times will emphasize practices, while online sessions and time in-between sessions will emphasize theory with some required prep work and reading in advance of program sessions.
The Work That Reconnects is known worldwide for helping to renew and empower activists and changemakers in social and ecological justice. Developed by the late ecophilosopher and activist Joanna Macy and colleagues, this dynamic, interactive body of work has inspired many thousands of people worldwide to engage wholeheartedly in a transition, a “Great Turning” as Joanna has called it, to a life-sustaining society.
One of the main reasons Joanna said she created this work was so that as things fall apart, people would turn towards each other, rather than on one another. In this time of polycrisis, this work helps with building connection and solidarity for facing and meeting today’s interlocking crises with courage and creativity.
The Work That Reconnects offers deeply rooted support for building strength and resilience for these times we are living in. Originally called Despair and Empowerment Work, this Work invites us to reconnect with a broad range of feelings in response to what is happening in our world–grief, anger, outrage, fear, numbness, overwhelm, gratitude, inspiration–in the supportive company of others, and get in touch with our deep love and caring for this world which is our bridge to others and a great source of strength.
Growing out of Joanna Macy’s scholarship, the Work has historically drawn on three main wells–deep ecology, systems thinking, and engaged Buddhism. Its approaches invite a way of seeing the world as our larger living body, freeing us from the assumptions and attitudes that now threaten all life on Earth.
This Work always follows a spiral, beginning with grounding ourselves in gratitude for the gifts and miracles of life itself. From this resourced place, we turn together to face and acknowledge the pains of this world. There are so few places in dominant society where we can honestly bring the depths of our grief, outrage, and terror at what is happening on and to this beloved planet and to each other as humans including ourselves. Being honest and authentic with our heartache for this world often opens us to our interconnectedness, to fresh insights, and to ways of seeing and being in the world that help us discover our unique contributions as we go forth in our work for the healing of the world.
While ELC is not a full WTR facilitation training, it offers a solid foundation and springboard for people to be able to bring the WTR and similar work into their communities.
Commitment to collective liberation and undoing oppression
Since its inception in 2014, the Earth Leadership Cohort program has been a fertile ground for ongoing learning about how oppression shows up whenever people gather in groups, offering opportunities to consciously interrupt and transform oppression in its many manifestations. The ELC program invites cohort members to lean into the work of undoing oppression in our time together, recognizing that how we are together is an important part of what we do.
Intentional community
The experience of community has been a deeply important element for previous cohort members and the connections cohort members form among themselves, with the facilitation team, and with over 60 ELC alumni from previous cohorts have been an enduring support for many participants.
Ecopsychology and time with the more-than-human world
Ecopsychology, time with the more-than-human world and listening to the living land are an important part of the ELC program and will be a prominent part of the weeklong portion of ELC VII.
“We have received an inestimable gift. To be alive in this beautiful, self-organizing universe–to participate in the dance of life with senses to perceive it, lungs to breathe it, organs that draw nourishment from it–is a wonder beyond words… That our world is in crisis–to the point where survival of conscious life on Earth is in question–in no way diminishes the value of this gift. On the contrary, to us is granted the privilege of being on hand to take part, if we choose in the arising of a just and sustainable society. We can let life work through us, enlisting all our strength, wisdom, and courage, so that life itself can continue.”
– JOANNA MACY, World As Lover, World As Self
Program dates and details
The Cohort experience builds over time, and we ask participants to commit for the entirety of all program dates and times. Program dates and times include:
July 31-August 7 (Savoy, MA) The cohort first convenes in-person July 31-August 7 at Starseed Healing Sanctuary in western Massachusetts. This weeklong retreat will provide substantive time for the cohort to deepen in the Work That Reconnects and complementary modalities, build community, be introduced to the core ELC curriculum, cultivate some of the capacities needed in today’s leaders, spend time with the living land, and integrate ELC perspectives and approaches into personal and professional dreams. We will journey the spiral of the Work That Reconnects, including with an opportunity for cohort members to practice facilitation towards the end of the week.
August 30 3-6pm ET (Virtual on Zoom) This online session will offer opportunities to deepen in the theory of the Work That Reconnects and integrate and apply ELC core curriculum components.
September 27 3-6pm ET (Virtual on Zoom) This online session will offer opportunities to deepen in the theory of the Work That Reconnects and integrate and apply ELC core curriculum components.
October 15-18 (Springfield, NH)For the final meeting of ELC VII, cohort members will meet in person from the evening of October 15 through the afternoon of October in a retreat just for the cohort. On Friday evening (October 16), the cohort will then join a larger intergenerational Work That Reconnects weekend workshop–The Dharma of Interconnection–facilitated by Deborah Eden Tull. Every ELC program has included an opportunity for the cohort to join a larger intergenerational Work That Reconnects workshop. This offers a special opportunity to experience highly skilled Work That Reconnects facilitation blended with complementary modalities.
Select reading and prep work in advance of program sessions is another important part of the ELC program, so it is important to budget time for this in advance of program sessions. Required reading includes some articles and other resources and the following books:
– World As Lover, World As Self 30th Anniversary Edition–a book by Joanna Macy (2021) that covers some of her core teachings, updated for this decade: should be read before the first meeting on July 31st.
– Coming Back to Life: An Updated Guide to the Work That Reconnects – a book (2014) by Joanna Macy and Molly Brown that covers some of the essentials of Work That Reconnects framing and practices: select chapters should be read by the second program date August 30.
– Coming Together in the Great Turning: Collective Liberation and Work That Reconnects – a recent book (2025, Ananda, Brown and Kuhwald Eds) that offers updates to the Work that Reconnects framing and facilitation with a collective liberation approach: select chapters should be read by the third program date of September 27
If there is an interest in further peer support, the cohort may choose to continue meeting after the formal program has ended and also join the alumni network of the Earth Leadership Community. As a community, cohort members decide how they would like to keep in touch and support one another in realizing their short-term goals and long-term visions. Alumni from previous cohorts have organized reunions and co-facilitated Work That Reconnects workshops for the public.
What some alumni are saying about the program
“The Earth Leadership Cohort was a totally transformative experience for me. On the first weekend, I arrived burnt out from climate change organizing, barely able to hold myself together emotionally. After the first weekend, I already felt a bit lighter, a little but more able to deal with the deep pain I had been feeling for myself and the state of the world. By the end of the third weekend, I was fully recovered and newly excited and refreshed to not only continue my work, but to incorporate the Work That Reconnects into the future of whatever I do. If you are an activist, organizer, or anyone who feels pain for being in the world that we live in, I cannot recommend this program enough. You will leave not only feeling more able to emotionally and practically step into a place of peace while creating change, but you will also have an incredible new community of fellow change makers.” – Sophie, ELC I
“After 6 years of work as an environmental educator, the Work That Reconnects gave me a transformative and deeply needed shift. It helped me understand myself not as a single individual fighting a win/lose battle, but as an aspect of Life’s natural inclination to heal itself. The ELC facilitators are wise, skillful, loving, and humble. The fellow participants are inspirational. What happens when we connect with others over our shared love of life on this planet is nothing short of magical. We’ve created a space where we can breathe, dance, cry, give thanks, rage, sing, and gaze in wonder. The community we formed in ELC is still going strong, and growing, long after the program itself ended. We are in this for the long haul, and the Work That Reconnects is a deep piece of what can sustain us along the way.” – Daniel, ELC II
“Earth Leadership Cohort gave me a spiritual, communal, and practical foundation for weaving profound transformation into my organizing work. There is great empowerment in naming and claiming the full range of emotions we feel around the state of the world. Start here.” – Adin, ELC III
“Through ELC 4, I gained the most supportive community and friends, and a better understanding of how I can show up with intention and presence. I also learned how to facilitate that when building community, as well as a more nuanced approach to change. This has had a profound impact both in my everyday life and the activist movements I’ve been part of.” – Annabelle, ELC IV
“During our cohort sessions we learned, lost, hurt, and healed. Not one of us left the ELC V space the same as we entered it… Throughout our time with the Work That Reconnects and the Spiral, there was acknowledgment that there was a lot of work to be done. We confronted questions about the world, ourselves, and ourselves as part of this world. There were thanks given for the community we created and the ability of that community’s container to hold so much… We felt connection and community, and we also felt a lot of pain… Transformation and growth are encouraged and nurtured by learning in safe spaces, with communities that accept us and ask us to grow our understanding.” – Excerpts from Reflections from ELC V compiled by Erin, Rachel, Emma and Mary
The program helped me find community, direction, creative partners, and co-conspirators on behalf of life. It also allowed me to directly feel and experience the truth of Joanna Macy’s conceptual teachings about synergy and our inability to predict what will emerge from the interactions between open systems. This program is synergy embodied and made the concept undeniable for me. – An ELC VI participant
About the ELC VII facilitation team
The ELC core co-facilitation team has been working together since the development of the first Earth Leadership Cohort in 2014, the brainchild of former ELC facilitator, Kirstin Edelglass. Each facilitator brings a rich background of related experience and abundant ideas for keeping the work fresh for each unique group.
Aravinda Ananda (she/they) is a social ecologist whose life’s work is to support a Living rEvolution – a global movement of healing and transforming human relationships with life on Earth to be mutually enhancing. She has been facilitating the Work That Reconnects since 2011 and is one of the principal author/editors of the book Coming Together in the Great Turning: Collective Liberation and Work That Reconnects which offers guidance on collective liberation approaches to Work That Reconnects facilitation. Aravinda has been a part of many WTR co-facilitation teams and has been a lead convenor of the Anti-Oppression Resource Group, a peer support space for WTR facilitators to deepen their collective liberation practice. She is passionate about supporting transformational group work and each day increasingly live the rEvolution in her own life while supporting others to be the medicine needed in this planet time.
Markie Babbott (she/her) is a psychologist in Northampton, MA whose theory and practice continue to evolve; she integrates psychodynamic, feminist, and queer theory as well as neuroscience and trauma-informed approaches. Following her interests in mindfulness, creativity, Buddhism, and nature-based ritual, she pursued a master’s degree in Ecopsychology from Naropa University through the Transpersonal Psychology Department (2011). She was fortunate to have studied with Joanna Macy many times since 2007 and is grateful to have been a part of all six ELC programs. A published poet, she has volunteered with the Connecticut Watershed branch of River of Words, a place-based educational approach that integrates poetry and visual art for K-12 students. With Aravinda, she co-authored a chapter about ELC that is included in: Climate Change & Youth Mental Health: Multidisciplinary Perspectives, (Eds. Haase & Hudson, 2024, Cambridge University Press). In addition to spending time with her two adult children and fabulous canine, she loves tending her plot in the local community garden and hiking up mountains.
Joseph Rotella is a musician, small business owner, activist, and lover of life. As a small business owner, he has used this position in society to advocate for a better world. He has been vocal on various social justice and environmental issues and has had letters to the editor published, spoken on the radio, and testified at the MA state house. He has studied with Joanna Macy numerous times, is a member of the Interhelp Council and has been facilitating the Work that Reconnects since 2011. Over the last few years, he has delved into the study of how power, privilege and oppression show up in many systems of society, even well-intentioned progressive ones. He lives in Watertown, MA with his partner and child. When not parenting or running a business, he enjoys being in nature and listening to the world around him.
ELC Assistants are members of a previous cohort who join the facilitation team in a special bridging and support role.
Becoming a Member of the Earth Leadership Cohort
Application process: People ages 21 to 34, interested in participating in this program are encouraged to complete and submit an application by May 15, 2025. (Applications received after May 15th will be considered if there are still spaces available in the fifteen-member cohort.) Click here to apply.
After reviewing your application, we may request a phone interview as an opportunity for us to get to know you better and for you to learn more about the program.
If you apply by May 15th, you can expect to receive an email from us by June 1st letting you know if we are able to welcome you into this cohort and if requested, the amount of financial assistance we are able to offer.
Program dates, times and locations:
ELC is a cumulative learning experience over the course of the different meetings. For this reason, participants are asked to commit to attending the entirety of program sessions.
July 31 – August 7: In-person in Savoy, MA (western Massachusetts) – 2-3pm Arrival on Friday July 31, 2-3pm departure time on Friday August 7
August 30 (Virtual) 3-6pm ET
September 27 (Virtual) 3-6pm ET
October 15-18: In-person in Springfield, NH – 5pm arrival on Thursday October 15, 3pm departure on Sunday October 18
Financial contribution:
The program cost for ELC VI is $2400. This includes meals and lodging for all in-person components as well as program instruction and materials.
A $200 deposit is due by June 15, and the remainder of the program fee is due by July 31, unless you would like to set up an alternative payment schedule.
Financial assistance:
A central commitment of the program is that finances are not a barrier to participation for anyone whose application is accepted. All participants are asked to pay a minimum of $600 towards their cohort program fee, and a fundraising effort is underway to provide financial assistance for any portion of the remaining program fee for which assistance is needed. If $600 is still a barrier to your participation, reach out and we would be happy to brainstorm ideas for a personal fundraising plan to cover the minimum participant contribution.
Transportation:
Participants are responsible for arranging their own transportation to the locations where the in-person components of the program are held. Opportunities to self-organize ride sharing among cohort members will be available.
Accommodations and meals:
Accommodations for July 31-August 7 are in simple shared bedrooms, or participants are welcomed to bring their own tent if they would prefer to camp outside.
Accommodations for October 15-18 are also in shared bedrooms. Weather permitting, tenting can also be an option.
Vegetarian meals are provided during in-person program times and an effort is made to accommodate special dietary needs.
Accessibility:
The indoor facilities used for this program are NOT wheelchair accessible. One of our program facilitators has a long-term relationship with the land at Starseed Healing Sanctuary which is one of the reasons we are hosting the program at this venue. We offer sincere apologies and acknowledgements to anyone that this venue choice excludes.
Origins, History & Evolution of the Earth Leadership Cohort
Kirstin Edelglass had the visionary idea to create the Earth Leadership Cohort to provide an opportunity for young adults to experience the Work That Reconnects. In 2014, when Joanna Macy was still traveling to Massachusetts to teach and facilitate the Work That Reconnects, Kirsten envisioned bringing a group of young people to experience the work directly with Joanna, and then have a follow-up experience just for the cohort. Knowing that she did not want to do this alone, she reached out to Aravinda Ananda, Joseph Rotella and Markie Babbott to join the co-facilitation team. Kirstin was a part of the facilitation team for the first four cohorts, and Aravinda, Joseph and Markie have been on the team for all six cohorts.
The first cohort, ELC I, launched in the fall of 2014. Of the original 15 participants, only one person identified as a Person of Color. When this participant withdrew after the first meeting, it was a wake-up call for the ELC facilitation team. While the participant’s reasons for withdrawing were numerous, a significant factor was how white dominant the first retreat was, both in terms of demographics – who was in the room, and in terms of culture and content – e.g. one practice (Harvesting the Gifts of the Ancestors) which reflected on ancestral journeys was narrated primarily from the perspective of European descended peoples, and thus the participant felt written out of the Work. Since that first cohort, the Earth Leadership Cohort has been a cauldron of experimentation with expanding the Work That Reconnects to be more welcoming and respectful for all who are in the room, becoming more skillful with how to address oppressive dynamics as they arise in group spaces.
Four cohorts convened between 2014 and 2017. While the format for each cohort has varied, a common factor has involved meeting over time over the course of two or three in-person retreats and participation in a larger intergenerational workshop.
In 2018, the facilitation team took a break to reflect and learn, and a fifth cohort, ELC V, convened in fall 2019.
From 2020-2021, the ELC facilitation team didn’t offer anything during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. During this time, the team was working with expanding anti-oppressive facilitation approaches and Aravinda and Markie were invited to write a chapter on ELC for the book Climate Change and Youth Mental Health: Multidisciplinary Perspectives (Elizabeth Haase & Kelsey Hudson Eds., 2024, Cambridge University Press). Their chapter is entitled “Ecological and Intersectional Perspectives to Reduce Young Adults’ Climate Distress: Reflections from a Work That Reconnects Program.”
In the summers of 2022, 2023, and 2024, ELC co-facilitators Joseph, Aravinda and Markie offered a different program called an Interdependence JAM, for a small group of ELC alumni and other Work That Reconnects facilitators to explore anti-oppressive approaches.
In 2025, a sixth cohort convened, and we are looking forward to a seventh cohort in 2026!
Support for the ELC VII Financial Assistance Fund
Residential and educational programs of this length carry a cost that can be prohibitive for some. The ELC facilitation team has a commitment for money not being a barrier to participation. If you are in a position to do so, please support the financial assistance fund with a generous tax-deductible donation today, and share this with people in your networks who might like to support this work.
