Wisdom Tree Collective Staff
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Kasey brings more than 20 years of experience as a spiritual director to Wisdom Tree Collective.
Prior to moving to Mt. Juliet (near Nashville, TN) in 2008, Kasey spent five years in Washington State where she earned a Master of Divinity and Certificate in Spiritual Direction at The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology. She grew up in Ohio and was a youth pastor in the United Methodist Church for five years in Missouri before heading to the Seattle area.
Her way of spiritual direction can be described as offering hospitality to the soul by being present and listening to the whole of one's life—daytime, nighttime, body, mind, spirit, and relationships. She utilizes a variety of ancient and present-day tools to help her directees. These include lectio divina, dreamwork, breathwork, IFS (parts work), imaginative & guided prayer, and relaxation.
Kasey's own story of becoming a spiritual director began with mental, physical, and relational burnout as a youth pastor, so she is especially passionate about a healthy, authentic spirituality.
In addition to spiritual direction, Kasey also offers retreats, classes, supervision for spiritual directors, and is a Level III Reiki therapist. Thanks to directees asking to be trained by her over the years, she has developed and is offering a two-year Wisdom-based online program to train spiritual directors, which began fall 2021.
Kasey resides with her husband, Russ, daughter, Lainey, and son, Alex. She enjoys a cup of tea, reading, juggling, baking, taking art lessons, a walk through the woods, and quiet mornings with her Russian Blue cat, Birdie, on her lap.
Izzie Zimmerman
Project Manager
Izzie (she/her) has watched the unfolding of the Wisdom Tree Collective for years and is excited for the opportunity to be part of the Wisdom Tree Collective staff, supporting them with the skills she gained around organization, systems, and problem-solving during her most recent full-time job as an executive administrative assistant and program director. While she holds a master’s degree in Intercultural Studies with a background in Theological Studies, life has guided her to continue to expand her interests. Izzie recently has become a spiritual director through Liberated Together with a focus of companioning with women and non-binary folks of color.
Izzie will help create social media content, assist the staff, and connect with those who engage with WTC's resources, contributing to the Collective's mission.
In addition to her professional roles, Izzie focuses most of her energy on her little one and as a clergy spouse. She is on a journey to weave together her varied skills and passions, eagerly exploring how they can be used to expand her capacity for supporting others. Izzie is committed to witnessing and nurturing the unfolding of her gifts, and the gifts of those around her.
Katie's goal is to help others grow in their well-being and faith. She has always desired to help others and it is a humble privilege for her to be an engaged partner to others as they grow in their faith journeys.
Her professional training includes a M.A. in Religion and a B.A. in Journalism with a minor in English Writing and Composition. Katie also was part of Wisdom Tree Collective's first cohort to earn their Certificate in Spiritual Direction. For more than a decade, Katie's employment was social work in the healthcare industry and non-profit work with the unhoused and those going through recovery. The overlap of these two different fields had a commonality: helping people analyze their current situations and helping them realize healthier life choices were within their reach.
Katie believes we all have a sacred journey as we travel the twists and turns of life. The path we forge is unique to each of us; there is no universal approach.
Russ Hitt is a Nashville-based singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and composer of relaxing, ambient instrumental music and nostalgic holiday music whose fans describe as "healing," "uniquely inspirational," "haunting and soulful," and having "a depth of soul with special talent for expressing emotion."
His passion for writing and composing originates from the experience of music as a powerful agent of change, inspiration, healing, and hope as well as a catalyst and companion for celebration, nostalgia, and grief.
For more than a decade, he and his wife, Kasey, have offered the Longest Night service on or around the Winter Solstice, both inside and outside churches, in person, and online. Joining with laments from the Bible and Nature's winter invitation in the Northern Hemisphere to rest, Russ' music offers an opportunity to breathe and be while waiting for the light to return.
When not focusing on holiday music, Russ composes music for audio divina meditations, part of the Wisdom Tree Collective's School of Spiritual Direction training programs. He also edits all WTC media, including course videos. Currently, Russ is been experimenting with classical guitar as a way of healing.
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