FOUNDER

Michael Sullivan's journey in mental health began in 2004 after graduating from Central Michigan University and working at Ferris State University’s counseling department. Growing up in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, he was influenced by his parents, who ran a hospital for patients with severe mental illness.

He has opened three private practices, worked in street outreach, and led Assertive Community Treatment. At Bear River Health, he developed a substance misuse residential program for the Native American population. In 2021, Michael joined Open Sky Wilderness Therapy in Durango, Colorado, to lead family quests, which deepened his passion for nature-based therapy.

Currently, Michael offers online aftercare and therapeutic family retreats in nature with former colleagues Sam Newberry and Zofia Lemise. He is committed to helping families slow down, reconnect, and heal through a holistic, nature-centric approach.

Co-facilitator

Childhood curiosity, sparked by endless exploration beneath rocks, blossomed into Zofia's lifelong pursuit of uncovering the hidden, both within and around us. After graduating with a degree in Biomedical Engineering and establishing a successful career in strategy consulting, Zofia explored mindfulness practices, rekindling a passion for exploration. This journey led her to earn her Master's Degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling with a concentration in Transpersonal Wilderness Therapy from Naropa University and her Wilderness First Responder Certification.

As a nature-based therapist, Zofia guides clients to self-awareness using a compassionate, holistic, and insightful approach. The wilderness becomes both refuge and mirror, revealing hidden depths and shedding light on behaviors, relationships, and thoughts that obscure authenticity. At Open Sky Wilderness Therapy, Zofia harnessed this power to empower families to connect and thrive. We are, after all, relational beings, and healing our connections heals us all. Zofia is thrilled to continue this transformative work at Willder Sage.

Co-facilitator

I have had the privilege of supporting families and individuals in reconnecting and rejuvenating relationships with themselves, with each other and with wild places. Born and raised near Anchorage, Alaska, I watched on a daily basis how the wild impacted relationships around me. This was the precursor to 20 years of work in the wilderness therapy field, the last 10 of those years focusing on family work specifically. I also have worked in facilitating expeditionary teamwork environments for 20 years with a host of clients ranging from NASA astronaut teams to MBA programs. The gift of time together, being offline, living simply, living with interdependence, all while supported by skillful facilitation, is one of the best thing we can do for our relationships; relationships which often tend to define our lives.