Board 2025

To contact the Board, email board@veriditas.org .

Chair:
Patty Kohler, Ed.D.

Patty recently retired from the University of Central Arkansas where she served as a Professor in the College of Education. Patty is an Advanced Labyrinth Facilitator through Veriditas and a newly elected member to the Veriditas Board of Directors. In 2023, Patty was on sabbatical from UCA in order to travel the state and collect stories about the individuals who built or inspired the addition of a labyrinth in their community. She also created a documentary along with Dr. Wayne Chapman about the UCA labyrinth, its use, and history. The documentary can be found on the UCA website. She has contributed articles on labyrinth walking to Labyrinth Pathways and Faculty Focus. Patty is an end of life doula and is exploring ways to introduce the labyrinth to individuals close to the end of their lives.

Council Liaison & Secretary: Leslie Wright

Stratford, Ontario, Canada

In 1999 Leslie Wright walked her first labyrinth in a church basement in her native Toronto and it sparked something in her. She received her Facilitator Certification in 2014 and Advanced training in 2020. She participated in a Chartres Pilgrimage in 2018. That same year she was part of a team of people who presented the labyrinth at the Parliament of World Religions in Toronto. Leslie enjoys sharing the labyrinth with her community in a variety of settings including churches, seniors’ homes, and on her backyard labyrinth.

Leslie has been described as a passionate and welcoming facilitator. Leslie finds it exciting that the labyrinth can be used in so many ways. When she isn’t exploring the labyrinth, she loves experiencing the various arts, especially photography and theatre. She looks forward to helping labyrinth facilitators connect to find ways to support each other.

Brighid Fitzgibbon

California

Brighid has been a teacher for over 20 years working with students of all ages in a wide variety of instructional settings. She currently teaches English and History at Credo High, a public Waldorf high school in Sonoma County, where she lives with her family. She has shared her knowledge of and appreciation for the labyrinth as a tool for contemplation and connection with high school and university students, as well as helping to develop a community labyrinth initiative in Sonoma County.

During the summer of 2018, Brighid worked in the Veriditas office as an intern as part of her graduate studies in Humanities at Dominican University of California. She has served as a small-group leader in Chartres and at the Women’s Dream Quest. She recently completed Advanced Facilitator Training.

Christine Wiles

Christine Wiles brings a wealth of experience and a passion for holistic well-being to her role as a Veriditas board member. With a successful 25+ year career in Human Resources spanning diverse industries, Christine has seamlessly transitioned her leadership skills into the healing arts. She is a licensed Reflexologist and the Co-owner of InnateCreations, a family business that highlights the creative synergy of Christine and her husband, Nathan, through labyrinth building, workshops, nature crafting and wellness programs.

Christine’s journey in labyrinth work has been deeply transformative since walking her first labyrinth in 2014. Trained under the esteemed Dr. Lauren Artress and other Veriditas luminaries, she is an Advanced Accredited Labyrinth Facilitator and workshop leader. Her expertise extends beyond labyrinth facilitation, including certifications as a Reflexologist, SoulCollage® Facilitator, and Nature Therapy Guide accredited by the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy (ANFT).

Her commitment to fostering wellness and community is reflected in her service on the board of WindHorse Healing Arts Center based in Wytheville, Virginia. and as a member of the nominating committee for The Labyrinth Society. Joining the Veriditas board is a profound honor for Christine, as it allows her to further her dedication to global labyrinth education and outreach.

With a curious and creative spirit guiding her, Christine finds fulfillment in leading wellness workshops, engaging in non-profit initiatives, and connecting with others on a journey toward holistic well-being. She embraces life’s adventures with enthusiasm and is eager to share her gifts in ways that inspire and empower others.

Beth Burnham Mace

Beth Burnham Mace walked her first labyrinth in 1999 and immediately knew that she had to integrate the labyrinth into her life. Trained by Veriditas in 2000 as a facilitator, she accompanied Veriditas on several trips to Chartres Cathedral, and attended many Veriditas workshops and events led by Lauren Artress and others spiritual leaders. In 2002, she was a cofounder and President of the Labyrinth Guild of New England (no longer active). She has facilitated labyrinth walks in many settings including prisons, hospitals, schools, churches, outdoor parks, beaches and backyards. She loves the idea that we are all on the same human and spiritual path, but at different points according to our life path. In 2025, Beth became an advanced Veriditas labyrinth facilitator. Residing in Wellfleet, Massachusetts, Beth has several canvas labyrinths and leads labyrinth walks in her community.

Vice Chair:
Kristi Archuleta, Ed.D.

she, her, ella

Kristi has been teaching in higher education for 23 years and is a Professor of Organizational Leadership at the University of Central Oklahoma. She often works in roles aimed at leading and supporting faculty and students. Some of her most meaningful work includes the co-creation of the Hispanic Success Initiative and co-leading global service study tours to Guatemala and Uganda. Much of her time at UCO has been focused on connecting ideas, people, and resources and giving a voice to those who are not always heard.

Kristi found a love for labyrinths on campus in 2013, went on her first Chartres pilgrimage in 2022, and returned as a small group leader in 2024. Kristi is an Advanced Labyrinth Facilitator and also recently completed her 500hr yoga teacher training. She is currently in a Clinical Mental Health Counseling program to learn how to more deeply support others through life transitions, and is specifically interested in assisting with trauma, loss, grief, and renewal.

Beyond a place of grounding and centering, many ideas of how to serve others have emerged through daily, disciplined walking. Kristi is grateful to have the opportunity to be on the board and help Veriditas continue to grow and thrive!

Marilyn Zimmerman

Marilyn, an Advanced Certified Veriditas Facilitator, first walked a labyrinth on a northern Michigan farm on World Labyrinth Day, 2012. Intrigued, the retired attorney and former elementary school teacher spent time during the coming years studying Lauren Artress’ Walking a Sacred Path, which had been gifted to her by a friend. By 2019, she felt called to train as a facilitator and attended sessions with Lauren at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco. Thereafter, Marilyn began facilitating walks in northern Michigan, and introduced the labyrinth as part of a series of online retreats she offered during the pandemic. She also began facilitating walks in Southern California, where she winters. In 2022 Marilyn made a pilgrimage to Chartres with Veriditas. She continues to be amazed at the transformative experiences she both experiences and witnesses on the labyrinth and remains eager to share the benefits of this ancient archetype with others.

Susan Page Tillett

Susan Page Tillett recently retired from a 50-year career in the arts, having worked in museums for 25 years (the National Portrait Gallery, the Chicago History Museum and the Art Institute of Chicago), then leading artist communities for the next 25 years, first the Ragdale Foundation in Chicago, then the Mesa Refuge, in Point Reyes Station, California.

Since retiring three years ago, Susan has particularly enjoyed teaching workshops, online at the 92^nd Street Y in New York City and in person at Ghost Ranch and Commonweal. She will be teaching a class on the labyrinth as a metaphor for our spiritual journey at the Chautauqua Institution in August of 2025.

She walked her first labyrinth “by accident” in Hawaii in 1997 and never looked back! After reading Walking a Sacred Path, she went to Chartres with Veriditas in 1999, then built four labyrinths. When she moved to Northern California, she became a certified labyrinth facilitator in 2014 and did pro bono consulting in fundraising for Veriditas for several years.

Maggie Oman Shannon, M.A.

The Reverend Maggie Oman Shannon, M.A., is an ordained Unity minister, workshop and retreat facilitator, artist, and the author of nine books, including The Way We Pray (2001), which featured a chapter on labyrinths as a prayer practice. Maggie had integrated walking the outdoor labyrinth at San Francisco’s Grace Cathedral as part of her wedding ceremony there in 1999 and has been interested in labyrinths ever since. She became a labyrinth facilitator in January 2025, attending the virtual training facilitated by Lauren Artress.

The former editor of three national magazines, including The Saturday Evening Post, Maggie also served as Director of Marketing for the Institute of Noetic Sciences. In 2000, she founded The New Story, a coaching and consulting business focused on helping people to create purposeful lives. Her work has been featured in periodicals ranging from the San Francisco Chronicle to Spirituality and Health; and she has taught workshops at venues including California Pacific Medical Center’s Institute for Health and Healing and Chautauqua Institution.

A graduate of Smith College, Maggie also holds a master’s degree in Culture and Spirituality from Holy Names University. A 2010 graduate of Manhattan’s One Spirit Interfaith Seminary, she was ordained as a Unity minister in 2014. She served as the senior minister of Unity Spiritual Center of San Francisco for 12 years, and was named Minister Emeritus upon retiring. She enjoys a full “rewirement” through continuing with writing projects, teaching art-as-a-spiritual-practice workshops, and Board work (she is also a member of the Board of Directors for SpiritualityandPractice.com). She and her husband have a daughter, Chloe, a recent college graduate, and live in San Francisco.

The Board is responsible for the oversight of the non-profit, Veriditas with a focus on

fiscal management, fundraising and policy issues.

If you are interested in the Veriditas Board of Directors, contact board@veriditas.org or
dawn@veriditas.org for more information.

When there are vacancies on the Board, the process of applying begins with a conversation with the Executive Director followed by the submission of an application and resume.The Board Development Committee will review your application and if you are selected,you may then be invited to a phone interview. The Committee would then make a recommendation to the Board. Three year Board terms are subject to approval by a vote of the Board.

101 H Street, Suite D, Petaluma, CA 94952 | Phone 707-283-0373 | contact@veriditas.org

Vision Statement: We envision a world of greater mindfulness, connection, and peace
through experiences with the labyrinth.

Mission Statement: Veriditas trains and supports labyrinth facilitators globally and offers programs and events to introduce and engage people with labyrinth walking as a pathway to personal and community enrichment,
healing, and growth.

Veriditas is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and donations made are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. EIN 94-3229902

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