ABOUT HELENE

Helene Van Manen is a Master Certified Coach and a member of the International Coaching Federation. Her training began at Coach U in 1998; she graduated with the Certified Coach U Graduate status. Currently on the Faculty of Coach U, Helene is a Professional Mentor Coach and a student at the Graduate School of Coaching. Helene specializes in training Coaches to lead retreats and has created a Certification Program for Retreat Coaches. www.retreatcoaches.com

Helene's practice is a tapestry of clients, business owners, creative entrepreneurs, couples who want alive relationships, women who are finding their voice, and Coaches who wish to build strong sustainable practices. She describes her practice as creative and fun, profitable and smart! Helene leads a wide spectrum of retreats each year: for the professional woman, for executive teams, as well as for couples. It's not unusual to find Helene bringing retreatants into the backcountry on a river trip in August... or inviting couples to journey into deep conversations on intimacy at a New Mexico Hot Springs.

Before coaching, Helene was a Clinical Music Therapist working with psychiatric patients. Additionally, she performed internationally with her partner/husband, Dave Van Manen, as an Environmental Children's Storyteller and Musician and recorded albums used by educators and families. Her work also included public speaking and workshop facilitation on the healing power of music.

Helene is the recipient of the Parent's Choice Gold Award for Best Children's Album in 1991 for the album, We Recycle and Other Songs for Earthkeepers. Helene released 4 albums and a video during her performance years...and then...in 2004, Helene released a CD entitled Earth Songs Earth Chants. This CD is of special interest to Coaches who lead retreats as it contains songs that can be sung in groups of women!

Helene lives in the small hamlet of Beulah, Colorado in Southern Colorado. Her husband Dave is the Director of the Mountain Park Environmental Center

(www.hikeandlearn.org), a not-for-profit environmental center that creates opportunities for people to learn about and connect with the natural world.

Helene and Dave raised their two children, Sierra and Sequoia, on a south facing mountainside in a solar-heated cabin. They home-schooled, public schooled and private-schooled their children during the course of their parenting experience. The Van Manens traveled nationally as a family to performing engagements; in the early years, both children performed on stage with them on occasion. Most recently Helene became a young Grandmother to Jude and now Scarlett... both born at home.

Helene brings a wide range of experiences to her work as a Coach. Her background as a small business owner, entrepreneur, parent, music therapist and performing artist offers her clients a Coach who is flexible, compassionate, and professional. Some of her personal interests include walking mountain paths outside her house, building community through local service work, slow food cooking, collecting songs, writing poetry and more.