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| Nick Maricich, President
Nick was born in the Sun Valley Lodge and has maintained a residence in the Wood River Valley for over 50 years. He has made a living as both a professional Skier and Ice Skater, traveling much of the world doing both. His life of spiritual practice began, when at the age of 12, he learned transcendental meditation. In 1980 while ski racing for the University of Utah he began a lifelong study of yoga. He has traveled extensively in the US, Peru, Brazil, India, Italy and France to seek spiritual teachers and experience. Nick has been adopted into the Crow Indian Tribe and is a recognized tribal Sundancer. He is a trained blessing giver, holy whisperer, Dahnhak level 2 trained and a guide to Casa de Dom Inacio. Today he continues to explore spiritual practice and mental growth combined with an outdoor life style. Nick is the Wellness Institute board President, sits on the board of the SVSEF and is a founding board member of the Sun Club. Nick makes a living in real estate and as a Ski School director. As a single parent he has raised an environmentally and spiritually conscious daughter in Sun Valley. Nick is dedicated to the Institute and exposing his community to as many different life enhancing experiences as possible.
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| Cheryl Welch Thomas, Vice President & Fundraising Co-Chair
Cheryl has worked at Chapter One bookstore for over 30 years. She moved to Ketchum 36 years ago to teach at Hemingway School. After working part time at Chapter One, she never returned to teaching. She helped organize the Sun Valley Wellness Festival 15 years ago to help bring spiritual opportunities to the community as well as to promote business in Ketchum over spring slack. |  | Michael Cortese, Treasurer
Michael Cortese started his professional career as a real estate and business attorney in California. Upon phasing out his legal practice he began and ran various business ventures, including in cable, film, restaurant, real estate development and currently, digital media. Michael has also served on various non-profit boards in both Idaho and California. He has served as CFO and/or President for the Sun Valley Spiritual Film Festival, YMCA, and Sawtooth United FC. Michael has traveled to many locals around the US and the world studying with masters of various spiritual practices. He finds that Sun Valley, with its wide array of spiritual teachings and enhanced health choices, may be the most advantageous place in the world to learn and gain knowledge of these practices for a more complete life. Michael has lived in the Wood River Valley for fifteen years and has raised his four children here. | 
| Pam Jonas, Secretary & Volunteer Chair
Pam is a retired Alaskan School teacher who is living full time in the Wood River Valley with her husband John. She enjoys many of the outdoor activities that the valley offers. She loves to travel and experience different cultures and connecting with people from many parts of the world.
| | Cathie Caccia, Movement Chair
Cathie’s sincere interest in the healing arts began in 1980 when she stumbled across a Macrobiotic restaurant in Portsmouth NH. This led to classes in Shiatsu massage and Tai Chi. That initial exploration has turned into 30 years of study in Shiatsu, massage, acupuncture and yoga, yoga, yoga. Cathie has been a professional massage therapist since 1982 and a Hatha Yoga instructor since 1987. She is registered with Yoga Alliance as E-RYT 500. Living in the Wood River Valley since 1988, Cathie owns the Hailey Yoga Center and teaches yoga classes and workshops in Hailey, Ketchum, Boise and McCall. She has two teenage sons and two Boxer dogs. |  | Marcia Duff, Speaker Chair
Marcia grew up in Honolulu, Hawaii and feels her move to Sun Valley 12 years ago was going from one paradise to another. She is a photographer with images in several galleries in Hawaii, a home stager/redesigner, and a grandmother. She is also a swimmer, an ukulele player, and a networker, which is why she is on the Sun Valley Wellness Institute Board. She is the chairman of the Speaker’s Committee and enjoys searching for and finding the best speakers with new and innovative ideas. | 
| Dolora Deal
Dolora has been on a healing spiritual path all of her life. She is Co-author of Incidents Beyond Coincidence. She is certified in Reconnective Healing, Matrix Energetics and many other modalities including additional study with Dr. Joyce Hawkes of Cell Level Healing. A session with Dolora will give you the opportunity to shift your energy in all areas of emotional, physical, spiritual and mental disease. Her intent is to always move you to a place of peace and self love.. | 
| John Sofro, Music Chair
John Sofro has lived and worked in the Wood River Valley since 1993. He is currently the broker principal of John Alan Partners, a full service residential and commercial real estate brokerage firm. John is actively involved in the community and sits on the boards of the following organizations: The Wood River Economic Partnership, The Sun Valley Wellness Festival, The NexStage Theatre and the Environmental Resource Center. John is also the proud parent of three sons, Carson, Jordan and Evan.
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| Chrissy Gove, Next Generation Wellness Chair
Chrissy Gove has made her home in Europe, California and Hawai’i before moving to Sun Valley in 1992. She currently lives in Ketchum with her two beautiful daughters Makena and Olivia. When taking time away from her career as a Realtor with McCann Daech Fenton Realtors, she enjoys spending her time running or riding the trails, hiking, skiing and swimming/racing with the Zen Master swim club. Chrissy has served on the board of the Pioneer Montessori School for the last three years and plans to serve for one more year. In addition, she was instrumental in the creation of this years newest addition to the Next Generation track of the Wellness Festival which was created specifically for children and is designed to sow the seeds of wellness in the hearts and minds for upcoming generations.
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| Pirie Grossman, Fundraising Co-Chair
Pirie Grossman has been a longtime supporter of the Sun Valley Wellness Festival and brings a diverse background in entertainment, event planning and fundraising to the SVWI board. She was living and working in Los Angeles in the entertainment industry as a television host of E! Entertainment Television, interviewing actors, directors and producers on movie sets all around the world. Her career shifted when she moved to Sun Valley to take a year off, met her husband, Jim Grossman, and had her son, Buey, now 9, and daughter Saba, now 7. After going through intense spiritual lessons from some difficult pregnancy issues, she wanted to give back in gratitude for her miracle children, and the opportunity presented itself when she met Kiril Sokoloff, organizer of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s visit to Sun Valley in 2005. She was inspired to produce a special event where 10,000 children came to meet and hear His Holiness speak on compassion. Soon after she and her husband were inspired to bid to hold the Special Olympics World Winter Games in Idaho, and much work and faith led to a successful outcome. Three thousand athletes from 100 countries came to Idaho to compete for two weeks in February of 2009.
Pirie is very excited about being a new member on the SVWI board. Her desire is to help expand and create more life enriching events as well as build a more permanent legacy of the Sun Valley Wellness Institute for our community. | 
| Elisabeth Grabher, Fundraising Committee, Programs Committee
Elisabeth Grabher was born in Sun Valley, Idaho and raised in Ketchum. After graduating college from the University of Utah and University of Osaka, Japan she moved back to the valley to start her family and learn the family business. In 1992, Elisabeth started working at Grabher Construction working from the bottom up to become President in 2004. In 2005, she was asked to join YPO (Young Presidents Organization), Idaho chapter, and became the first woman in Idaho to Join. In 2008, Elisabeth’s mother Rigmor Grabher was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer. Elisabeth spent 14 months traveling the United States with her mother to find the best options to treat her mother’s cancer. It was meeting Michael Broffman at The Pine Street Clinic in San Anselmo, CA, that changed Elisabeth’s path. His use of Eastern medicine helped Rigmor to have 12 good months of active living, far exceeding the western doctor’s time frame of two months. In the fall of 2009, Elisabeth joined the St. Lukes Foundation board in hopes of helping to create and develop a wellness program at St. Lukes. She is very excited to have joined the Sun Valley Wellness Institute board because she has seen the many different aspects of Wellness and how they can benefit everyone. Elisabeth has two children Trent who is fifteen, and a ten year old daughter Antonia.
|  | SUN VALLEY WELLNESS INSTITUTE STAFF Carol Waller, SVWI Executive Director, Marketing/PR Chair Contact: carol@sunvalleywellness.orgCarol Waller is co-founder of the Sun Valley Wellness Festival and has been actively involved in its growth and development over the past 15 years. As the Sun Valley Wellness Institute's new Executive Director she is spearheading the SVWI's future expansion into creating and supporting year-round programs, education, and events. Carol has a 30 year career in travel & tourism management/marketing/PR; she was Executive Director of the Sun Valley/Ketchum Chamber & Visitors Bureau for 13 years and is currently also working as Director of Fly Sun Valley Alliance and consulting on marketing, PR and event projects for a variety of organizations and businesses. She lives in Hailey with her husband and teenager daughter, with a son away in college. She loves the beautiful "tribe" of people involved in wellness and is constantly inspired by what she has yet to learn. |
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SUN VALLEY WELLNESS FESTIVAL EVENT STAFF | | Sun Valley Events, Festival Directors Ellen Gillespie, Director Heather LaMonica Deckard, Director telephone: 208-726-2777
fax: 208-726-2778
Sun Valley Events provides professional event coordination with great attention to detail. Founded by two veteran event professionals, Sun Valley Events handles a variety of Sun Valley and Ketchum area events, from the largest event in the area, Wagon Days, to small corporate conferences. Heather and Ellen have been the Festival Directors for the Sun Valley Wellness Festival since 2007 and it is one of the highlights of their year to see such happy attendees and to work with such a professional and talented board of directors. Heather LaMonica Deckard successfully coordinated the largest Sun Valley area annual event, Wagon Days, for 7 years before co-founding Sun Valley Events. She is a native of the Wood River Valley and holds a B.A. from Boise State University. Ellen Gillespie worked for three years at the Sun Valley Ketchum Chamber and Visitors Bureau before co-founding Sun Valley Events. She also worked for Time Life in London and Washington DC. She holds a B.A. from Duke University. |
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