Hi! I’m Seneca (she/her).
I work with educators, families, and communities who care about the young children in their lives.
My Story
I am an aspiring abolitionist educator and pleasure activist dedicated to embodied emancipation and creative collective liberation.
My blood ancestors are mostly western Europeans who migrated here as part of the ongoing project of settler-colonialism. I was socialized as a middle-class, English-speaking, White, girl (who played a lot of sports) in the suburbs of what is colonially called Arizona, near the Gila, Salt, and Verde Rivers. Among many other things, I identify as a queer artist-activist facilitator. Twenty years ago I walked into the Maricopa County Jail in Phoenix, Arizona, and my life was forever transformed. For almost three years I facilitated a weekly workshop inside the jail (on both the women and men’s sides) and simultaneously worked one-on-one with folks upon their release, attempting to support their “re-entry” into society after being incarcerated in a jail known for it’s human rights abuses and constitutional violation.
This experience turned me into an abolitionist before I even knew that word existed, and set me on a wonderfully winding path which led me back to the Sonoran Desert, freedom dreaming about a future in which all bodies and their cultures are respected, protected, supported and celebrated.
I call this lifelong process “Becoming JustBodies.”
To strengthen my role in this process, I am currently pursuing an Ph.D. in Education at the University of Arizona from the Teaching, Learning, and Sociocultural Studies Department (TLS) under the advisement of Dr. Cindy Cruz, after earning my MA in Education from San Francisco State University.
I have over two decades experience in facilitation grounded in embodied/somatic practices, the power of play, and experiential learning, with an emphasis on equity, justice, and the body.
My life and facilitation approach has been especially influenced by my experience as a: youth participant and then Cabin Leader at Anytown Leadership Camp; facilitator at The Mosaic Project; community of practice member of Fierce Allies; social media and outreach coordinator at End of Isolation; preschool teacher at the play- and inquiry-based Carquinez Garden School, as well as my training and work as a doula, somatic sex educator, and decades as a nanny, auntie, and caregiver. I have worked with all age groups, ranging from toddles to teens to elders, and now focus on early childhood (ages 0-8) and the adults who spend time with little ones in this age group.
Testimonials
“Seneca is one of the most deeply embodied, conscious and meticulously caring people and facilitators I have ever met. She brings true grace, hope, and possibility to the messy work of mapping and navigating dynamics of power, privilege, race, gender, consent, trauma, unconventional identities and relationships.”
“Seneca brings fierce love into a room unlike anyone else I know. Her ability to hold people in their unfolding and crumbling is part of her superpower… that, and her true powers of co-creation. I would teach with her anytime and anywhere.”
“Seneca made it easy to confront something really hard happening in my life. I was amazed by how powerful the experience was, even though we were just role playing — I felt like my relationship with my mom and the situation actually shifted, even though she wasn’t even there.”
Why Abolition?
“To realize justice in abolitionist terms thus entails a holistic engagement with the structural conditions that give rise to suffering, as well as the interpersonal dynamics involved in violence.” ~ Alegra McLeod, in ‘Prison abolition and grounded justice’ (2018)
For me, it is essential to approach education and life with a lens of abolition because abolition offers strategies and perspectives for the possibility of a future in which everyone has what they need. There are so many systems of violence and oppression (often influenced by carceral/punitive logic) that impact our lives and the lives of children that it can be easy to take for granted that these systems will always exist…abolition says otherwise. Abolition feminism invites us to imagine beyond what we think is possible and take action towards these visions becoming a reality. Abolition feminism also asks us to look inside ourselves for ways that oppressive systems and perspectives influence our own actions and relationships and strive for healing within ourselves and with each other…
Offerings
I am available for the following and am also open to new opportunities beyond the list below. I facilitate solo or with James-Amutabi, a phenomenal artist and facilitator whose work draws on their background with mindfulness and Theater of the Oppressed.
Workshop Facilitation
Community Gathering Facilitation
Weekend Intensives
Caregiver & Educator Coaching
Email me if you are interested in working with me and we can discuss your visions and desires! Rates vary, and are usually offered on a sliding scale.
Check back for sample workshop and curricula coming later this fall (2024)!
Contact Me
