Cami is the Program Director for Eagle Rock’s Fellowship Program. They manage the fellow program administratively but also serve as a mentor and coach to fellows through their Eagle Rock experience. Cami comes to us with over 5 years of experience with Public Allies programming. They are an alum of Public Allies Milwaukee where they also served as the Training and Learning Director. Cami has a variety of experiences that makes them uniquely qualified to cultivate a robust and effective Fellowship Program here at Eagle Rock. They earned their BA in Africology and their MA in African and African Diaspora Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Cami is dedicated to the liberation of Black people. Cami has served the academic and non-profit sectors in Milwaukee in program management, youth development, racial equity, and reproductive justice for over 10 years. Initially focused on economic development and financial independence, Cami served on many boards of cooperative businesses/organizations along with facilitating grassroots workshops and programs around supporting Black businesses. After serving in Public Allies and having a child, they shifted their focus to understanding and implementing healing justice for Black and queer communities. In 2016, Cami co-founded the reproductive justice organization Maroon Calabash where they served as the Policy and Advocacy Director. Through their experiences as a parent, healing justice and beloved community have become the frameworks for how Cami executes their work focusing on relationship building and community care. Cami believes in the words of Fannie Lou Hamer “Nobody’s free until everybody’s free.”

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I am really moved by young people discovering their own power.

My rock is my spiritual practice which keeps me grounded and grateful.

Mackensi is an Instructional Fellow hailing from Columbus, Ohio. Though young, Mackensi has gained a wealth of experience working with youth and adults in traditional and non-traditional educational spaces. She earned her BS in K-12 Special Education and 6-12 English Language Arts at Eastern Michigan University in 2019. She holds a teaching secondary teaching license in the state of Michigan. While in her program she developed an interest in progressive education and critical pedagogy. Continuing her studies, she then attended The University of Illinois at Urabana-Champaign to earn her M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction, focusing on the literacy practices of youth of color. While at Illinois, Mackensi was an instructor for two undergraduate courses, Language, Culture and Learning, and Social Justice, Schools, and Society. She also served as a Writing Consultant in the Illinois Writers’s Workshop, supporting students in their research, writing, and English language development. In addition to schooling, Mackensi has worked at youth camps throughout the Midwest and East Coast. Most recently she was the Assistant Camp Director at Camp Wyandot Inc. in southeastern Ohio and an Activities Manager at Brown University’s summer programs in 2021. Mackensi is excited to bring her skills, experience, and training to Eagle Rock. She is even more excited to learn, play, and grow with students!

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Students inspire me when they embrace the unknown and uncomfortable.

I really love my vinyl collection and vintage paperbacks.

Lilli Manso was born and raised in Richmond, Virginia. She is proud to serve Eagle Rock as the Art Instructional Fellow. Lilli received her Bachelors of Fine Arts from Virginia Commonwealth University with a focus on the integration of technology, nature and spirituality with art. She was inspired to study art after volunteering with the elementary schoolers at the Visual Arts Center of Richmond. While in University, Lilli enjoyed working with the 1708 and Anderson Galleries to bring art to the Richmond community. She aspires to embolden students to expand their consciousness and to blur the lines between art and life.

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Students inspire me when they are of service to themselves and others through creativity.

Dana is an avid nature lover, yogi, and aspiring psychotherapist from the Tri-State area. She is humbled to be joining the Eagle Rock Team as a Health and Wellness Fellow. After graduating from Barnard College with a degree in psychology and working a soul-crushing job in advertising, she embarked on a ten-month solo backpacking trip through Asia and Central America where her interest in mind-body healing came to fruition. Her professional experiences are varied but connected by a thread of desire to serve others in a meaningful way. She has worked as a yoga and meditation instructor across five different public schools in Brooklyn, a Forest School Teacher for toddlers in Manhattan’s Central Park, and as an exercise coordinator for adolescents with autism at a rehabilitation clinic in New Jersey. Dana is currently pursuing her Master’s degree in Clinical Social Work at Smith College in Massachusetts. She dreams of eventually working as a somatic psychotherapist with a holistic approach to address how trauma and healing manifest in both the mind and body. During her free time she can be found experimenting with different chili oils in the kitchen, reading Eckhart Tolle, or dancing her heart out.

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I really love exploring different cuisines, especially when they involve spiciness!

Students inspire me when they leave their comfort zones and try something new.

Aubrie is the Societies & Cultures Fellow from Minnesota. After graduating from Hamline University with a concentration in Sociology, she joined AmeriCorps NCCC where she served with different non-profit organizations in the Southwest USA. Her highlights include building affordable housing lodging for lower-income communities in Colorado with Habitat For Humanity, working in Colorado Bend State Park to restore trails in Texas, and facilitating equestrian therapy for youth with visual impairments with the Right Path organization in Oklahoma. One of the main reasons she decided to join Americorps stemmed from her personal struggles with affordable housing while growing up. Her interests include traveling to new places, meeting new people, and hiking in the mountains. She is excited to work with the students at Eagle Rock.

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My rock is my mother. She is always the person I go to when I need life advice.

Alexa Owen is a health and wellness fellow here at Eagle Rock and a current master’s student in clinical social work at Smith College. She has bachelor’s degrees in English and psychology from Penn State University and Western Connecticut State University, respectively. Passionate about mental health and well-being, Alexa spent a decade studying and teaching yoga therapy, meditation, and holistic health across various countries before landing here at Eagle Rock. She graduated from the Contemplative Psychotherapy Program at Nalanda Institute for Contemplative Science, where she also completed her teacher training in Compassion-Based Resilience Training and continues studies in compassion, mindfulness, and social justice through courses, affinity group work, and guiding meditation.

She has delivered workshops and talks on wellness and contemplative science at libraries, high schools, and community organizations; created mindfulness training content for Vail Resorts; and guided meditation through her work with the Anti-Racism Planning Group at Smith College School for Social Work. Her passion for working with youth began as a student at Penn State, where she worked as a teaching assistant and TA mentor. Since then, Alexa has taken opportunities to support adolescent well-being and agency in a variety of settings—including ski instructing at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, teaching mindfulness and global human rights at Summer Institute for the Gifted, and guiding yoga and meditation at Center for Discovery, a premiere residential program that supports eating disorder recovery for youth and young adults. In 2017 and 2019, Alexa was invited to guest lecture at her alma mater, where she spoke on identity and living life creatively to 600 undergraduate students. She was elated when, both times, the talks ended in a class-wide dance party in the largest lecture hall at Penn State. When she’s not contemplating life or queering academic spaces, Alexa enjoys travel, dance, connecting with friends, and being in nature.

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My favorite thing about Eagle Rock is the commitment to community.