PIER Support Team
Process, Integrate, Express, Reconnect
The Festival of What Works PIER Support Team is here to support you in having a positive experience at our event. We are a group of your peers, not licensed therapists or counselors. With this in mind, we can offer you deep listening and resources to find additional help and not any professional treatment or guidance.
Why might I contact the PIER Support Team?
There are many reasons. A non-exhaustive list includes:
- You want to process or integrate something you learned in a session
- You want to feel connected & heard
- An incident has occurred that has left you activated and you need a friendly ear.
- Community agreements are not being followed and you need someone to be aware and perhaps intervene.
- You have urgent feedback for festival organizers.
- There is an accessibility need or concern
How can I contact the PIER support team?
- Email pier@festivalofwhat.works with a brief description of the kind of support you are looking for, who you would like to connect with (if you have a preference), and when you are available.
- Directly book a 15 minute, 30 minute, or 45 minute call with one of our PIER support team members by scrolling down and clicking on the calendly link below the team member you want to work with. Note that different team members have different designated availability, so if someone you want to talk to is not available as soon as you would like, try booking with a different team member, or email the PIER support email.
What happens after I send the email?
- One of our PIER Support Team members will read your email. If you have requested a response from a specific member, we will forward it as appropriate.
- We will respond within 24 hours.
- A member of the PIER team can meet with you for a zoom conversation (if desired). Note that not all of us are available every day. If you request to speak with a specific member of the team this may need to be a couple of days out.
- If further action is needed after the conversation, we commit to following up with you about next steps within 24 hours of the initial conversation. All emails and conversations will be kept confidential within the PIER Team with the exception of incidents that impact the safety and well-being of our community members. In this case, we will share information on a need-to-know basis to take the appropriate action.
You may also book a session directly with one of the team members using the links in their bios below.
Other Resources for Self and Community Care to support us this week:
- Box Breathing
- Go outside and walk around the neighborhood
- Play with your animals or children
- Join one of the Healing Sessions (found daily in the Full Schedule)
- Go on a virtual hike in British Columbia or around the Snoqualmie River area
- Make a playlist that reflects how you are feeling, send it to a friend
- Take breaks from the screen to rest your eyes
- Stretch your body in ways that feel good
- Pace yourself- many of the sessions are recorded and can be enjoyed at a later time
Meet the Team
Candis Fox
Any Pronoun
Candis Fox (any pronoun) is a Defiance Exchange LCA Co-founder, Systems Artist, Mediator, Visionary, Facilitator, Personal Coach, Business Consultant, Cognition Coach, & Storyteller
Demographic Information
Queer, disabled, white, neurodivergent, polyamorous, married, middle income (very poor until age 30), current age: mid-30's, college educated with Master's degree, family in American south and PNW, spiritual/pagan, US citizen.
Miik (“mike”) Wells
He/Him
I facilitate experiential explorations of inner and outer relational dynamics to cultivate healthier social ecosystems.
I will be present with whoever and whatever of you shows up, then respond to the moment we are sharing. My way and work are dynamic, unconventional, and true to my unpolished, collaborative being, while holding reverence for your trust in choosing me to be with you.
Lux Gypsum
They/Them
Lux is a non-binary being of European descent who is now living on the ancestral lands of the Duwamish people, a place also known as Seattle, Washington. I am committed to my own ongoing process of peeling back the layers of my socialization as a "white" person in a white-supremacist, colonizing society, and am happy to support other white people in their own journeys with this work. Whether you are looking to process or integrate an experience you had, or simply reconnect with yourself or someone else, I am available to support you in a confidential, non-judgmental, and empathetic space. You can read more about me and what I do at hearthrevival.com.
Rhys-Thorvald Hansen
They/Them
Rhys-Thorvald Hansen is a non-binary artist and facilitator living and working on the northwest coast of the Salish Sea.They are immersed within the landscapes of local food, just land transition, community care, art for cultural transformation, and deep relationships with place. You can find more from them at terracognita.studio
I like awkward conversations, speaking truth to power, and am looking forward to supporting meeting you to support however I can.
Olivia Leigh-Nowak
She/Her/Elle
Olivia Leigh Nowak is a storyteller, artist, and activist. Through her work she aims to connect people, build community, and nurturing creative collaborations that uplift diverse voices working to address some of society’s most critical issues. Recently, her work has included directing and producing documentary content focused on building awareness and catalyzing transformation around racial and gender inequality, climate and environmental change, and building sustainable local communities. Two of these projects, Black Rock and Pandemic Elementary have been featured as CBC short docs. In addition to film, she has spent time working, and learning in Indigenous communities in South America and BC. These experiences and relationships have shaped her values, priorities, and vision for how we can live well in place, and work collectively to heal Mother Earth.
She has spent several years learning from the Indigenous Shipibo people in the jungle of Peru. She is grateful for her time there and healing with the community. She’s also a certified trauma informed facilitator.