Lena Nicodemus  (Former Apprentice)

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Lena at GW monthly workshop February 2017
Lena is a writer/therapist/human who works with children, adults, and families as a private practice therapist and as a director for a company that provides behavioral therapy to children and young adults on the autism spectrum. She discovered Green Windows in 2014 when she met a regular workshop participant at a coloring club. In a Master's program for Expressive Arts Therapy at the time, Lena was drawn to the process-oriented approach of the AWA method, which focuses more on the experience of writing than the final product. The approach, the diversity of writers who were regulars of the workshop, and the welcoming feeling of community in the room kept Lena coming back. 

Lena decided to talk to Peggy about an apprenticeship to be able to learn from her about how she created the magic that is Green Windows and how she has kept that magic flowing. Lena brings her experience as an art therapist leading groups of young people in the creative writing process and her desire to learn and give back to the community that has fed her soul.

Lena became a Green Windows apprentice in October 2018. 

Jenna Frisch - Creative Writing Workshop Facilitator

Jenna has been studying Chinese medicine since 2013, and practicing massage therapy and mindful movement for just as long. She sees private clients at a company in San Francisco, is a practitioner at Berkeley Community Acupuncture (BCA), sees private clients in Oakland, and teaches Shiatsu and Acupressure at McKinnon Body Therapy Center in Oakland. 

Jenna first experienced the AWA method and Peggy was at a local art collective. She was struck by the similarities between the guiding principles of the AWA method and her bodywork studies. Each practice insisted upon looking for the harmony, for what was working well. This common thread, the diversity of folks that Peggy drew, and the creativity that came alive in the room, inspired Jenna to commit herself to attending monthly workshops as often as she could. 

This dedication turned into an opportunity to apprentice with Peggy early in 2016. Jenna continues learning from Peggy’s extensive experience as she hosts own workshops at a local homeless shelter and at BCA. Jenna has also begun weaving some of the writing prompts into her bodywork practice to help others achieve their fullest self-expression.

Jenna was Green Windows' first apprentice. She become a Green Windows Facilitator in April 2017.
Learning from Peggy is such a gift. I have grown tremendously from watching how she creates a space where all are welcome, to seeing how she unleashes each person's creative potential. But beyond her skill as facilitator, she has also been an amazing mentor who is just as invested in my growth as I am. With her support, I have felt confident in making this work my own. 

Jenna Frisch, former Apprentice, current Facilitator at Green Windows: Art of Interchange