MEET THE RETREAT FACILITATORS

For 13 years Nonie was part of a religious order, the Society of Jesus. As a member of the Jesuit religious order, he was trained and groomed to handle educational institutions aside from his training as a priest. Today, as an independent Trainer, he runs training programs, facilitates retreats for corporate groups, schools, government agencies, students, teachers and master trainers. His focus is on character and values formation, personality development, spiritual health and education. He also provides non-denominational spiritual direction and psycho-spiritual counseling to groups, couples and individuals.
 

Past clients and organizations include include Shell Philippines, Victoria Court Group of Properties (including Best Western Hotel La Corona, Manila and Hotel La Coronade Lipa, Sohotel Malate), St. Patrick School QC, Department of Social Welfare and Development, Department of Education, TESDA, and Gawad Kalinga.

PAST PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCES:

• CAREER ACADEMY ASIA (CAA), Headmaster

The school is part of PHINMA Education that offers interest driven and industry-based learning that leads to an international degree. As Headmaster, my task was to conceptualize, operationalize, and then oversee the execution of a comprehensive and cohesive program that effectively translated the school’s vision into reality. 

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• PHILIPPINE CENTER FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP (PCE-GONEGOSYO), Consultant/Director for the “Negosyo Mo, Bukas Ko” Program

The program helped to empower out of school youths by preparing and then helping deploy them for initial suitable employment.

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• ENTREPRENEURS SCHOOL OF ASIA (ESA), Director for Student Formation and Values Development

The mission of the school (formerly, the Thames International Business School) is to produce Novus Ordus – a new breed of business professionals. Managed the formation program of the school as well as design, implement, and conduct new ones that support and promote the school’s mission, thereby contributing to the viability of the school, and its profitability, as well. 

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• INSTITUTE FOR SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION (I4SEE), Acting Director

Oversaw the integrated community development programs in the advocacy of the Institute to use business as a tool for development, mounted its annual flagship programs, the Teenpreneur Challenge and the Social Entrepreneurship Experience for International AISEC Volunteers. Conceptualize, design and implement two new micro-enterprise projects: Dory and Bio-Diesel projects, which have served to benefit members of the current communities of the organization.

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• GMA KAPUSO FOUNDATION, INC., Executive Director

The Foundation serves as the corporate social responsibility arm and NGO of the media conglomerate, GMA Network, Inc.  Managed operations of the foundation that has an average yearly budget of US$1 Million and has served millions of Filipinos through various projects in health, education, housing, and community development. 

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• THAMES INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS SCHOOL Director, Student Formation Program

Designed, implemented and supervised the activities and experiences that made-up the formation program of the school. Two highly innovative experiences I created, conducted, and manage for the school were the Basic Values Orientation and Conscientization (BVOAC) Weekend Experience and the Days with the Lord Spiritual Retreat.

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ENTREPRENEURIAL EXPERIENCE:

• LEARNING BY EXPERIENCE TRAINING RESOURCES, INC. PHILIPPINES (LExTR)President/Chief Trainor/Founder

A training and formation agency that provides highly specialized and customized training programs and modules that address the need of groups, organizations, and companies to go beyond and do out-of-the box human development trainings and work improvement modules that result to even more balanced, motivated, and effective individuals or a work force moving towards achieving a common goal. 

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• CLARION SCHOOL INTERNATIONAL Co-Founde

An innovative Christian school committed to providing excellent primary education in order to promote social transformation and leadership.

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RELIGIOUS BACKGROUND
For thirteen (13) years (from 1988 to 2001), Nonie was part of a religious order, the Society of Jesus, a major ministry of which was running some of the oldest and most accomplished educational institutions in the Philippines. As a member of the Jesuit order, he was trained and groomed to fully participate in the running of its schools, besides his training for the priesthood. As a Religious Scholastic of the Society of Jesus, I did work in the schools that the Jesuits ran in the Philippines (i.e. Ateneo de Manila, Xavier School, Ateneo de Naga, Ateneo de Davao, Xavier University, Ateneo de Iloilo - Santa Maria Catholic, and Ateneo de Zamboanga), serving in various capacities ranging from assisting my more senior Jesuit brethren then in the managing thereof to teaching English, Literature, Christian Life Education, Philosophy, and Theology to giving numerous retreats, leadership workshops, and personal development and character building seminars and programs to even coaching the varsity tennis teams.

Lee Grane is a singer-songwriter who relates to music as a way to express and connect to the divinity that exists within and all around us. She journeyed to the Himalayan Foothills of Rishikesh in Northern India, to study classical Indian Music, Bhajans, Sanskrit Mantras under the tutelage of Indian Master Teachers. She completed her training at the Nada Yoga Traditional Yoga School studying the Yoga of Sound.

 

Lee is the Creative Visionary and Co-Founder of Roots of Wisdom, a series of Women's Retreats, seeking balance of the Feminine/ Masculine energy principles remembering the ways of the Divine Feminine. She is also the Co-Founder of Yoga Sadhana Journeys that runs retreats enabling the deepening of yoga. Lee offers readings using the Mayan calendar and healing sessions as part of the Four Winds Society lineage trained in Shamanic Energy Medicine.

Jojo Isorena  is a highly skilled and experienced certified canine training and behavior specialist based in Manila, Philippines. With over 16 years of hands-on experience in dogtraining and behavior modification, Jojo has developed a reputation for excellence in his field.

 

Jojo's passion for animals started at a young age, and he has since honed his skills through continuous education and training. In 2006 he attended the Triple Crown Academy for Professional Dog Trainers in Austin, Texas where he has completed advanced coursework in canine behavior and training. In his practice, Jojo uses a science-based approach to training and behavior modification. He believes in creating personalized training plans for each dog and their owner, taking into account their individual needs and circumstances.

 

In 2009, Jojo established BetterDog Canine Behavior Center, the first professional training facility in the Philippines that offered formal obedience training classes that taught owners to build better relationships through training. His methods are positive, humane, and effective, and he has helped countless dogs and their owners achieve their training goals.

 

Jojo is a founding member and former president of the Philippine Dog Athletics Association (PDAA), the national organization of dog training clubs that pioneered the sport of dog agility the Philippines. As president he introduced other competitive canine sports including SkyhoundzTM Disc Dog, Dock Diving, Canine Nosework, and Rally Obedience.

 

In addition to his work with individual clients, Jojo is also involved in community outreach and education. He has conducted seminars and workshops on dog behavior and training for pet owners, animal shelters, and rescue organizations.

 

Jojo is known for his professionalism, integrity, and dedication to his clients and their dogs. He is committed to staying up-to-date on the latest advances in canine behavior science and using that knowledge to improve the lives of dogs and their owners.

Jeannie’s workshops integrate practical spirituality tools. She has moved through various physical-meditative disciplines such as Sheng Zhen chi-gong, under Chinese Master Li Jun Feng and free movement meditation under the style of Indonesian teacher Prapto. She started Shivananda Yoga in 1998 under Bela Lipat and has since 2002, chosen Yoga. She is a certified yoga teacher from Centered Yoga Institute in Thailand in Ashtanga VInyasa and Pranayama and has studied under many teachers such as Paul Dallaghan, O.P Tiwari, John Scott and Richard Freeman to name a few. From 2008-2014, she ran ECHOyoga Shala in Makati City. Jeannie has been a regular meditator, as well as a life counselor since the 1990s. She continues to counsel people through Soul Destiny Readings using the astrological birth chart. She uses current cycles and chart analysis to help clarify conflicts, traumas, addictive behavior, and negative pre-natal patterns. Her sessions develop clarity and awareness of one’s unique life patterns and purpose for conscious soul evolvement. Jeannie is a self-taught psychic sensitive astrologer-reader with an international clientele. 

 

Since 2001, Jeannie has also given talks and facilitated corporate workshops on Wellness, Yoga, Mindfulness Meditation, Astrology of Personality and the Enneagram with groups such as SGS Philippines, EON Group, Wells Fargo, PJS Law RCBC Bank (privates); at the Chakra Center and ECHOyoga Shala; and in workshops in Singapore and Shanghai. Since Covid, Jeannie has moved her astrology classes and webinars online. The Banahaw Astrology Circle is her new format of teaching astrology in a storytelling style. She continues to do one-on-one soul destiny readings.
 

Jeannie is an advocate for holistic wellness, the green sustainable lifestyle, culture and women issues. She has integrated her life work under the guiding phrase of  “Inner Change, Outer Impact”. Aside from being an awarded artist with 20 one-woman shows to her name, an author and writer with books and publications, she is also an awarded social entrepreneur in the country –2012 as Finalist for Asia-Pacific to the Cartier Women’s Initiative Awards, the 2018 Go Negosyo Outstanding Women Entrepreneur Award, and the 2018 Outstanding ASEAN Women Entrepreneur Award from Bangkok; For GREAT Women, she won the 2020 UN WEPs Philippine Champion Awards for two categories and 2nd Runner-up in the Asia Pacific Regional Awards. 

 

She co-founded inclusive award-winning social businesses ECHOstore Sustainable Lifestyle and GREAT Women, and has recently opened Banahaw Circle Nature Retreat, a sustainable bed & breakfast destination place in Mount Banahaw, Dolores, Quezon. She is a Director for the Yuchengco Museum, and sits in the board of The EON Group, a multi-awarded communications agency. 

Tonia Fajardo-Santos is a Kindergarten teacher who has recently completed her masters degree in Ateneo De Manila University. Her line of work specializes in programs and activities for children. She grew up exploring the water springs and pwestos of Mt. Banahaw, Kinabuhayan and Bangkong Kahoy. She would love to share her love, expertise and experience with the visitors of the mountain.

 

Tonia is the youngest daughter of Boy Fajardo, and together they managed Nature Villa Bed and Breakfast (what BCNR was formerly known as). They hosted events and facilitated small and big group activities that highlighted Mt. Banahaw (clean up drives, hospitality training and hilot seminars). With their previous community works, she was included in the top 16 finalists for the Quest For Love-- a nationwide search that aims to help communities launch their own sustainable businesses. The quest was hosted by the iLOVE Foundation by Gina Lopez.

 

Tonia is an advocate of sustainability and inner healing which she believes can be enriched deeply with nature. Her hope is that her teaching capacities can encourage young children to spark up inquiries and ideas for a more sustainable future. 

Vicky Ortega is an associate professional dog trainer.  She has ten years of study and practical application of dog training skills under the tutelage of Jojo Isorena and Elsie Pfleider.  She now applies her experience to teaching people the skills they need to handle their own dogs.

 

Katara and Mayumi, her labradors are her real teachers.  Both are smart and demanding, requiring that she gain professional skills to handle both of them.  Vicky and her two labradors completed every course in the curriculum of Better Dog—-Family Dog, Behavior Modification, Advanced Obedience, Competitive Agility, Canine Life and Social Skills, Nosework, Handling Reactive Dogs, and Trick Dog Training.  They continue to hone their skills and knowledge by training daily and taking additional training courses.

 

Katara is a three-time Dock Diving Champion, Expert Trick Dog and has a Level 1 Certification in Advanced Obedience. Mayumi  has a Level 1 Certification in Advanced Obedience and is working towards a Level 2 Certification.  Their training makes it easy for Vicky to bring them both to the mall for breakfast and coffee.  They enjoy outdoor adventures at the beach and in the mountains.  They have climbed to the peaks of Mt. Yangbew in Benguet and Mt. Balakbak in Pangasinan, have swum in the Bokod river in Benguet, and enjoy summers in Laiya, Batangas.  They are frequent visitors to the Banahaw Nature Circle Villa and enjoy playing in the gardens of Bangkong Kahoy, located on the lower slopes of Mt. Banahaw.

 

Vicky’s dogs are also her therapists, helping her overcome a 15-year struggle with trigeminal neuralgia, a chronic pain disorder that involves sudden, severe facial pain.  They are wonderful caregivers, never leaving her side when she is unwell.  Katara and Mayumi, together with Vicky’s two other dogs, a Great Dane named Sam and an aspin named Isidro are the reasons she and Jos, her husband, retain a happy, positive outlook in life. 

 

Vicky would like to see a world where humans and their dogs are able to enjoy life as the very best of friends.

 

Vicky is working towards getting her certification as a professional dog trainer and a Trick Dog Instructor.

Elsie is a professional dog trainer, assessed and certified at the knowledge and skills level by the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers of the US. She was the Director for Training and Senior Instructor at BetterDog Canine Behavior Center, until it closed in 2020. She continues to teach group and private classes in obedience, canine manners and social skills, tricks, agility, nosework, and canine fitness. She also consults and counsels on canine behavior issues, and designs and delivers specialty workshops for dogs.

 

Elsie has judged national competitions in agility and rally obedience, and has actively competed at a national level in various canine sports. She and her Border Collies, Rio and Swyft, have won canine agility awards and completed clean runs. They have also earned top points in canine frisbee competitions. She has five trick dogs, including two Champion Trick Dogs - Rio and her heart dog, Sheba. Sheba was the National Champion for Nosework in Cebu in 2019.

 

When Elsie was a Director of the Philippine Animal Welfare Society in 2009, she sponsored the Society's Rehabilitation and Basic Obedience Training Program For Shelter Dogs. This is where her love for teaching dogs began. She has since been training dogs, and teaching people how to train and guide their own dogs. She adheres to the Least Intrusive and Minimally Aversive (LIMA) principles and the Humane Hierarchy of procedures. Elsie’s vision for society is one where canine companions are well mannered, live enriched and enriching lives with their humans, and are welcome members of society.

 

She now lives in Silang, Cavite, with her 3 Border Collies, 1 Australian Cattle Dog, and 11 Aspins.

Todd is a licensed professional Counselor from the United States.  He has over eight years experience as a civilian therapist for the US military overseas. He has consulted with businesses as an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) provider and Critical Incident Specialist. 

 

Todd mentored under the Jungian authors Robert Johnson (He, We, Balancing Heaven and Earth), indigenous clinical psychologist Dr. Eduardo Duran (Cultural Imperialism, Buddha in Redface), and Catholic priest, Zurich trained Jungian analyst, Father Gregory Santos.

 

Todd transitioned to Thailand in 2009 to study comparative religion, and periodically ordained over a period of seven years as a Buddhist monk at Kyiatisaung monastery in Thaton, Myanmar.  He is currently in a training program to teach Pranayama breathwork and Kundalini yoga. 

Francesca is a Wellness Practitioner, Consultant and Yoga Teacher with 25 Years of experience and has been teaching yoga as an integrative path to wellness through breath, movement, yoga philosophy, and meditation for the past 18 years. 

 

As the Co-Founder of both Roots of Wisdom and Yoga Sadhana Journeys, she teaches classes, workshops, teacher trainings, and leads wellness retreats in sacred and exotic sites and eco-travel yoga adventures in the Philippines and  the Asian region. It is her hope that these experiences provide the platforms for deeper learning and the opportunity for students to embrace the fullness of their life's journey- journeys into the inner realms of the Self that help support each seeker to connect with the inherent intuition and wisdom they hold within. 

 

Francesca graduated from Boston University with a degree in International Relations and Development focusing on Asia and Latin America. She offers over 20 years of experience in the areas of project and event management, public relations and marketing, administrative and operational management, client relations, and as a community liaison. She has traversed the corporate, government, and non-profit realms and has been exposed to the fields of financial services, hospitality and tourism, government service, non-profit organizations, and the field of health and wellness. 

Francesca completed her yoga teacher training at Yoga Kula in Berkeley, California and began teaching Anusara-Inspired yoga in the San Francisco Bay Area 18 years ago. Through the years she has been fortunate enough to study with a breadth of amazing teachers in the San Francisco Bay area and beyond such as Jim and Ruthie Bernaert, John Friend, Desiree Rumbaugh, Sianna Sherman, Noah Maze, Carlos Pomeda, Sally Kempton, Jayne Hillman, Ishwari Gonnot, Anodea Judith, Bo Srey, Ellen Saltonstall, and Katchie Ananda. She is deeply grateful for the teachings of the Siddha Yoga lineage and the spiritual wisdom of Gurumayi Chidvilasananda.

 

Her influences and teachings draw upon many traditions ranging from Tantric, Buddhist, Taoist, Native American, and other holistic modalities that celebrate the path of yoga as a complete system of health and wellness that heals, transforms, awakens, empowers and is inspired to share its alchemy and its magic with others. 

 

Francesca has taught at The Farm in San Benito, the Philippines’ top medical and wellness resort for 4 years, and was a Visiting Practitioner for the Aman Group where she has taught at Amansara in Cambodia, Amanpulo in the Philippines, and Amanoi in Vietnam. 

 

Francesca was the Co-Founder of Templa Wellness, a company that offered a wealth of services that ranged from consultancy and counseling services, alternative and holistic healing modalities, as well as wellness retreats and eco travel adventures. 

 

Francesca shares her love for yoga in the hopes that we all awaken to our own divine nature and that we each live our lives fully and gracefully, aligning with our heart's purpose and connecting with our own Divine nature as we walk consciously on this Earth. Having moved back to the Philippines in 2009 after living in the United States, Francesca continues to focus her life’s work on promoting sustainable development, ecotourism, health and wellness, holistic living, education, and community development.