Aimee Arendsee is the founder of Indivara Sound and Healing Arts, where she combines her expertise in sound healing and energy work to offer transformative healing experiences. Her goal is to help individuals connect with their higher selves and achieve emotional, mental, and energetic balance.

Background and Journey: Aimee’s journey into sound healing began with a powerful personal experience with crystal and Tibetan singing bowls. She found that playing these instruments brought her a deep sense of peace and calm, which sparked her curiosity about sound’s impact on the body. As she explored this field, Aimee realized that sound could profoundly affect the energetic and emotional bodies, inspiring her to pursue sound healing and energy modalities further.

Specialization or Focus: Aimee specializes in therapeutic sound healing using a wide array of instruments, including crystal and Tibetan singing bowls, planetary tuned gongs, Native American flutes and drums, tuning forks, and more. Her sound healing approach is enriched with energy healing practices like Usui Reiki and Theta Healing, offering a holistic experience for every client.

Certifications and Qualifications: Aimee is a certified Level 2 Usui Reiki practitioner and holds an Advanced Theta Healing certification. Additionally, she has received advanced training in therapeutic gong playing and Gong Yoga Nidra under the guidance of her respected mentors and teachers such as Wayne Marto, Mehtab Benton, and Roger Tjoelker. Her qualifications allow her to offer a deep, multifaceted healing experience tailored to the individual needs of her clients. Aimee currently serves as the Education Director of the Holistic Healing Alliance which focuses on connecting the community with holistic practitioners and educating them in regards to alternative and holistic modalities to assist them on their path to wellness.

Location and Personal Connection: Based in the South Puget Sound area of Washington State for over 20 years, Aimee feels deeply connected to the natural beauty of the region. Whether it’s the grandeur of Mount Rainier, the peaceful expanse of the Olympic Mountains, or the vastness of the Pacific Ocean, she often facilitates healing sessions outdoors, using nature’s vibrational energy to amplify the healing process.

Current Work and Services: Currently, Aimee offers private and group sound healing sessions in the greater Seattle area and serves Pierce county. She incorporates a blend of sound and energy healing, bringing a transformative experience for both mind and body. You can learn more or schedule a session through her website: https://www.indivarasoundhealing.square.site/

Facebook page:https://facebook.com/indivarasoundhealing

Instagram: @indivarasoundhealing

Aimee Khuu is the Executive Director of Tacoma Community House, a position she began on January 31, 2023. She has over 15 years of national and international nonprofit leadership experience, including her current role as Chief of Health Equity for Providence Home and Community Care.

Khuu is fluent in Spanish and has served  as an English Language Acquisition (ELA) teacher in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. She is also an advocate for  immigrant and human rights, serving on the Board of Directors for Southwest Youth & Family Services. Her passion for social justice and her understanding of her Vietnamese American roots have been integral to her  professional and personal life. 

Leah F. Cassorla, Ph.D., MFA, is the Religious Education Director and Cantorial Intern at Temple Beth El in Tacoma. She is also a student at Academy for Jewish Religion in Yonkers, NY, where she is working toward a dual ordination as Rabbi and Cantor. Her musical studies have included opera, jazz, liturgical, and popular music. She comes from a long line of Sephardic Rabbis on her father’s side, and has a special interest in the music of the post-expulsion communities of the Ottoman Empire and North Africa.

With a passion for education that spans both science and spirit, Ashvi brings dedication and warmth to every learning environment. A Chemistry Instructor at local community colleges, she also serves as a Substitute Teacher within the local school district, meeting students where they are and inspiring curiosity at every level. Beyond the classroom, she nurtures the next generation's connection to their cultural roots as a Keertan instructor at Khalsa Gurmat School, where she helps young learners embrace the beauty of Sikh devotional music. A devoted mother herself, she understands firsthand the importance of raising children with both knowledge and values. Whether explaining molecular bonds or guiding students through the sacred art of Keertan, her love for learning — and for the young lives she shapes — is at the heart of all she does.

Lyndee Escalante is a member of a Tacoma family with deep ties to the city’s spiritual and social history. She is the granddaughter of Curtis and Elinor Montgomery, the founders of the Greater Christ Temple Church and the Oasis of Hope Center.  Her career is defined by a commitment to public service and community building. She has held leadership roles such as Board Member and Secretary for the New Tacoma Neighborhood Council, where she advocated for local residents. Lyndee loves music and performed recently in honor of the Giving Machines with her two grandsons.  

Rhea Goodrum guides communities toward resilience, awareness, and authentic expression through yoga, mindfulness, and trauma-informed practices. Rooted in love, compassion, and curiosity, she invites participants to connect deeply with body, breath, and heart, cultivating balance, belonging, and inner wisdom. A 500-hour RYT, Reiki master, and student training to become a yoga therapist, Rhea is also a devoted student of Thich Nhat Hanh, spiritual activist, and wife and mother of two—bringing grounded, loving presence to every space she shares.

"Rhea Goodrum believes in embracing our full potential and living with joy—trusting that the world holds great wonders, and knowing that within each of us lives a unique gift, a wonder, meant to be shared through our authentic expression."

🌿 ARHEA Pillars 

Awareness – Listening deeply to the body and heart, cultivating presence, and opening to inner wisdom.
Resilience – Rooted in breath and rhythm, strengthening our capacity to meet life with courage and grace.
Harmonizing – Integrating the intelligence of the body, the heart’s wisdom, and the sacred spirit.
Expression – Bringing inner wisdom outward through movement, words, breath, or creativity as spiritual practice.
Aligned – Attuning to what nourishes the spirit and fosters connection within self and community.

Prachi grew up chanting mantras to ease anxiety, celebrate milestones, and stay connected to the spiritual traditions that shaped her. Those early practices sparked a lifelong curiosity about how people across faiths find grounding, meaning, and joy. She went on to study Hinduism in college and later completed a graduate thesis on cultural capital within the Indian diaspora, deepening her understanding of identity, heritage, and belonging.

She now serves as a Learning Facilitator for the Washington State Department of Health, where she focuses on equity and inclusion and supports teams in building culturally responsive, community‑centered practices. Alongside this work, she teaches Bollywood dance classes rooted in body neutrality, joy, and confidence‑building, creating spaces where people of all backgrounds can move freely and reconnect with their bodies without judgment.

Across her professional, academic, and creative paths, she is committed to honoring cultural roots while building bridges between communities. She believes that when women gather across traditions and experiences, they create powerful possibilities for healing, celebration, and collective growth.

Rev. Melanie Grassi is a dedicated public servant currently serving as a member of the City Council for University Place, Washington. Deeply rooted in her community, she was officially onboarded to the council in December 2023, following a commitment to continue her family’s legacy of service after the passing of her father. Her leadership is characterized by a strong sense of faith and a personal mission to foster "greater days" for her city. Beyond her political role, Grassi has shared her personal journey through widowhood, using her platform to speak on resilience and the belief that positive growth can emerge even from life's most challenging seasons.

Dr. Qudsia Khan is a double board-certified physician practicing in Pierce County for the last 15 years. Her practice focuses on treatment of substance use disorders. She is a member of Islamic Center of Tacoma and serves as their Interfaith Liaison. She strongly believes in the power of co-existence. Her involvement in the Interfaith work is an extension of her lifelong mission, which is to help people recognize that our similarities are far greater than our differences. She is a lifelong educator, involved in teaching medical students at Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences and medical residents at St. Joseph Hospital’s Internal Medicine residency program. She is a member of Pierce County Opioid Task Force. She is a proud mom of two humans and one fur girl. She loves to hike and explore the beauty of Pacific NW.

Dr. Sarab Kochhar leads communications for South and Southeast Asia at the Gates Foundation. Based in Seattle as part of the Global Comms team, she leads integrated communications strategy across South and Southeast Asia, advising senior leadership on executive positioning, enterprise narrative, and reputational risk while aligning regional priorities with the foundation’s global health and innovation agenda.

With a Ph.D. in communications and business strategy, Sarab brings a wealth of expertise in reputation management, strategic communications, and thought leadership. Before joining the foundation, she worked extensively with state governments across India and private sector entities across Southeast Asia, leading communications efforts in diverse sectors such as sports, finance, technology, health, and culture. Her global career includes roles at leading consulting firms in Bangalore, New York, and Washington, D.C., as well as at Kaiser Permanente in California, where she focused on corporate reputation, behavioral science in communications, and public affairs.

Sarab is an active thought leader in the communications field, serving on the Institute for Public Relations’ Behavioral Science Research Center board and the University of Oregon’s Strategic Communication Leadership Network. She has contributed to advancing the profession through book chapters, academic conference papers, and co-authoring a book on Global and Multicultural Public Relations, published by Wiley Blackwell.

Beyond her professional commitments, Sarab is deeply involved in community service in the Pacific Northwest, working with nonprofit organizations to support social impact initiatives.

Presenter: Darcey Kesner Hawkins, Somatic Healing Weaver & Founder, I Choose Me!®

I help people move from self-abandonment to embodied self-leadership by restoring trust in the body as the primary source of wisdom, regulation, and direction. My work begins where insight alone is no longer enough.

I work with people who are intelligent, capable, and deeply self-aware—yet still feel friction after trying mindset work, planning, and motivation. They don’t need more information. They need embodiment.

I am not a general life coach or strategist. I work inside the moment of integration—where people either embody change or abandon themselves again—helping the nervous system stabilize so change can last.

Website: choosemethod.me
Email: info@DarceyKesnerHawkins.com

Abi McLane is the Chief Executive Officer of YWCA Pierce County, stepping into the role on November 5, 2025. She brings extensive experience in organizational leadership, operations, partnership building, and program evaluation, along with a strong foundation in direct service to survivors of domestic violence.

Abi began her career as an advocate at Our Sisters’ House, supporting survivors through crisis and recovery. She later oversaw victim service programs at the Crystal Judson Family Justice Center, deepening her knowledge of the complex realities facing domestic violence survivors in Pierce County.

Recognized for her commitment to equity and survivor-centered care, Abi leads the YWCA with a dedication to advancing its mission to eliminate racism and empower women. She is honored to guide the organization into its next chapter, working collaboratively with staff, partner agencies, and the broader community to strengthen its life‑changing impact.

Yuni Medlin is community advocate who is passionate about lifting up community voices and empowering others. Since 2017, she has focused her career in helping others become self-sufficient by removing barriers to housing and economic stability. She is currently managing an eviction prevention program at Multicultural Child and Family Hope Center.

Yuni has always had a love for helping people who have felt like “nobody ever thought or cared about them” and volunteers time to develop solutions for improving overall well-being for people. She currently serves on the boards of Associated Ministries, Elevate Health, AWLD (Adults With Learning Disabilities) Foundation, and Caring for Kids.

Keynote 2026

Carol Mitchell is an attorney, a mother, a grandmother.  She is also the founder of the Institute for Black Justice, which fosters a commitment to peace through the pursuit of social justice, racial equity and defense of human rights.

Her strong family values and connections are an integral part of Mitchell’s life and work. Raised in a large family of nine children, with five boys and four girls, she learned the importance of community, support, and advocacy from an early age. These values continue to manifest in her life, notably in her dedication to her grandchildren, demonstrating an emphasis on intergenerational peace-building and the importance of nurturing the next generation.

The Tacoma Peace Prize was awarded to Carol for her impactful work, her holistic approach to peace-building, and her unwavering advocacy for a more just world. Her leadership, vision, and tireless efforts make her a most deserving recipient of this honor.

Originally from the DC area, Stacey Soltoff moved to Tacoma in 2017. As she has reconnected with her ancestral Jewish faith in recent years, she has found a deep well of inspiration. She has become equally involved in her Jewish community, running a community Queer Torah study group, joining Temple Beth El’s choir, Sisterhood, a chapter of the Women of Reform Judaism, Keshet Q, TBE’s LGBTQ group, and TBE’s Daiyenu Green Team, part of a national organization helping the Jewish community respond to climate change. At any event at the Temple, she can often be found serving behind the scenes in the kitchen. Repeated themes in Torah of care for the marginalized (summarized in Torah as the poor, the widow, the orphan, & the stranger), and the exhortation to love one’s neighbor as oneself shape her work. “Tzedek, tzedek tirdof - Justice, justice you shall pursue!”

Michelle Wilson is a wife, mom, and popular inspirational author and speaker. She loves family, faith, and food. This workshop will explore Christ’s relationship with women, and how we can access his grace and strength throughout our life chapters.   It is a glimpse into the most painful and most joyful times of our lives and how the Savior can help us through all of them. You will hear from one another what Christ means to us, how we access his grace and love, and what being a joyful woman can really look like. Be prepared to laugh, cry, and maybe even eat chocolate!

p/c Liesbeth Powers, Tacoma News Tribune

Victoria Woodards is the daughter of an Air Force Officer who moved often during her childhood. Her family settled in Tacoma, and she attended Lincoln High School. She was stationed at Fort Lewis, and attended classes at Pierce College.

One life changing career choice was the opportunity to work as assistant to Harold Moss at the Tacoma Urban League. Victoria credits Moss as her political mentor. She was elected to Parks Commissioner in 2004, then on to the Tacoma City Council in 2009. In 2011, she became president of the Tacoma Urban League.

As mayor, she advocated tirelessly for racial equity and finding common grounds between people and organizations. She worked toward increased Public Safety, increasing the safety net for unhoused and those with mental health issues. She served two terms as mayor of Tacoma, instituting many programs to lift her city and its residents.