Svälja Community Conference

Keynote

Alexandera Houchin is an ultra-endurance athlete, artist, and citizen of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa based in Duluth, Minnesota. Known for racing some of the world’s toughest bikepacking routes, often on a single-speed mountain bike, she holds multiple women’s records across the sport’s most demanding ultra-distance races.

Beyond racing, Houchin is committed to building opportunities for Indigenous youth in outdoor and endurance sports. She is currently writing a book with Dutton (Penguin Random House), and developing programming for an Indigenous youth bike camp in partnership with the Indigefit Kids Campaign, funded by the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community.

Organizer : Art and Poetry Exhibit

Savannah Ottillia is a descendant of the Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe. She grew up here in Duluth and is deeply connected to the land and water. 

She works in advocacy and is a lover of nature, poetry, music, dancing, laughing, writing, reading, cooking, eating, traveling, learning, and being an auntie. 

Trauma conscious yoga has played a significant role in her own healing, and it is a deep honor to share this practice with others. She earned her 250hr RYT at Svalja's Yoga Teacher Training in 2023.

Session : Thriving Horizons Storytelling Circle

Movement Practice : Resonant Breath & Meditation

Co-Organizer : Svalja Community Conference

At his core, Ed is a storyteller, spirit doula, and healer, guided by curiosity, love, joyful learning, and his own journey of healing and spiritual reconnection. With a background in violence prevention and peacemaking, his work centers on nurturing individual and community connections to spirit, healing, and wholeness as a path to thriving—now and for future generations.

Ordained in 2022 as a Rinzai Zen Priest at Anko-in by Norma Ryuko Kawelokū Wong Roshi, Ed (Koshin) Heisler is passionate about sharing spirit and wholeness practices. His core practices include Zazen, Kado, Ten Step Tai Ji, Okyo, Shodo, Reiki, and everyday storytelling that links us to ancestral and spiritual wisdom.  

Music : Friday Night

Hannah Rey (They/She) is a Minnesota born and raised musician currently living in Duluth and playing venues up and down the shores of Lake Superior. They are a triple threat with their strong voice, gift for songwriting, and skillful ability to interpret classic songs in their own style.

HannahReyMusic.com

Session : Friday Evening Welcome + Host, Musician

Owner : Svälja Whole-Being

Creator & Co-Organizer : Svälja Community Conference

Rebecca James Alsum is the owner of Svälja Whole-Being, the creator and organizer of the Community Conference, and a storyteller and visionary. She is on a path of creating spaces where healing and deep inner wisdom can blossom through connection of one’s heart. Through many years working in advocacy and community support, Rebecca has been devoted to empowering people to find healing centered within themselves, through the re-discovery of their own deep wells of wisdom and love. She seeks to nurture deep relationships, holistic listening, meaningful communication, and connection to Spirit.

Rebecca holds a BA in Sociology, is a Certified Sexologist and Sexual Wellness Coach, a Certified Qigong Trainer, and an RYT 200 yoga teacher.

Workshop : Place and Body

Robin is a physical therapist that specializes in nervous system regulation, vestibular rehabilitation, craniosacral therapy and is a yoga therapist.

Sara is an occupational therapist that specializes in sensory processing, nervous system regulation, craniosacral therapy, and myofascial release.

Sara and Robin met working at Essentia Health. They discovered a common passion for supporting people in the regulation of their nervous system. They enjoy presenting together because they have very different experiences of living in their own bodies and this allows them to present in a way that enables people to find their own unique way of finding safety and ease. They do this through experiential learning. They believe that the only way to learn what your body needs is through experimenting and paying close attention to changes. This is vitally important because the body is the place where we live.

Sara and Robin enjoy finding “glimmers” in the world through their families, pets, community and nature.

Halcyon House Wellness Center

Co-Organizer: Svalja Community Conference

Seth holds a MA in Spiritual Formation & Leadership and a BA in Philosophy & Religion. He is currently in Svalja’s 300 hour YTT with anticipated graduation in 2026. He is a Certified Qigong Practice Group Leader through Spring Forest Qigong. Seth is also a Rule 114 Facilitative Mediator through the Conflict Resolution Center.

Seth is the Executive Director of Damiano Center and works with people experiencing housing insecurity, poverty and all that comes with these realities.

Movement Practice : Embodiment Flow Yoga

Kate brings 20+ years of yoga and fitness experience to her classes. A professional actor, singer, director, and educator, she now counsels executives on career strategy for a boutique firm in Duluth, MN. Kate’s enthusiasm for mindfullness, health, and wellness ranges from studying kettlebells with a former KGB trainee in NYC to Keening, the vocal art, and practice, of mourning the dead. She has studied yoga around the world and once “whirled with dervishes.”

Kate teaches with energy and athleticism. She is also passionate about the benefits of a Yin Practice for all movers and shakers. You can expect an encouraging and inclusive class, creating a connected practice at every experience level. She is also an avid runner, community builder, and bonafide Shakespeare nerd.

Music: Friday

Climes is a musical project led by Minnesota artist, Drew Anderson, whose songwriting merges folkish sensibility with genre-jumping guitar and lute dulcimer. Climes is a collaborative project and often joined by fellow musicians.

https://www.climesmusic.com

Movement Practice : Qigong

Krista loves creating opportunities for children to connect with their own true, beautiful essence and providing tools for the expression of self.  Through her years of working in education, she has witnessed the power and life that young people will harness for positive interaction with themselves and their communities, creating a ripple of life and love.

Krista has found Qigong as a powerful practice for healing and spiritual development within her own life journey.  Krista’s relationship with nature in all its forms has also been an integral part of her life path and has provided her with experiences of grounding, healing, peace and love that are essential to her daily life. 

Krista  holds a MA in Education/Culturally Responsive Pedagogy, is a certified Qigong practice group leader through Spring Forest Qigong, and is certified in Trauma Conscious Yoga.

Co-Organizer : Svalja Community Conference

Since joining the Svälja Whole-Being community in 2021, Sam has been on a transformational journey that has deepened her connection to both her inner landscape and the world around her.

Now serving as the Administrative Director of Svälja, she is the steady hand and foundational anchor behind the studio’s day-to-day operations. As a co-organizer of the Flourish Community Conference, Sam brings her gift for organizational logistics and heart-centered support to ensure a seamless experience for every attendee.

When she isn't weaving together the inner workings of the studio, she can be found experimenting in her kitchen or enjoying life up the shore with her husband Paul, their daughter Solvei, and their beloved pup and cat.

Movement Practice : Yoga

Miriam is a lead teacher at the Yoga School and a trauma-conscious guide who believes in yoga’s profound power to transform stress into awareness. A dedicated Yin practitioner since 2002 and a certified Yin Teacher Trainer under Bernie Clark, she pairs deep technical expertise with a lifelong global practice. With advanced RYT500 training focused on the Yoga Sutras and specialized certifications in adaptive and trauma-sensitive yoga, Miriam creates a soft, inclusive space where breath and movement serve as a pathway to wholeness.

Music : Friday

Ponyfolk is the collaborative project of multi-instrumentalists Clifton Nesseth and Paul Sauey. Weaving together interests in folk, rock, jazz and orchestral music, the band is known for intricate arrangements, vocal harmonies and layers of strings and keyboards. Initially formed as a duo in 2014, the group consists of a revolving cast of bandmates, including Aaron Hays on drums, Mikey Marget on cello, Lewis Franti on percussion, and Alex Nelson on keyboards. Ponyfolk performs in a variety of configurations, deftly transitioning between a traditional Nordic group and a folk-rock band depending on the occasion.

https://www.ponyfolk.com

Workshop : Place and Spirit - The power of your soul is the power to know

Emily Christenson is a North Shore-based artist and naturalist whose work bridges the contemporary art world and spiritual healing. A graduate of the Minneapolis College of Art and Design (BFA, 2002), Emily has exhibited her paintings and photography internationally and managed professional galleries before shifting her focus toward spiritual service.

Her path was reshaped by profound life transitions and a powerful near-death experience in 2020, which deeply informs her understanding of trauma and mediumship. Emily has undergone extensive mentorship with tutors from the Arthur Findlay College in England and advanced training with the Foundation for Shamanic Studies.

Today, Emily maintains a studio in the boreal forests along Lake Superior, where she integrates healing energy into her artwork, creates handmade natural hide drums, and authors oracle decks. As an evidential medium and shamanic practitioner, she teaches workshops on creative power and soul-to-soul work, helping others incorporate vibration and spirit into their daily lives. Emily lives in northern Minnesota with her husband, two sons, and their husky.