The Kalapa Team
Alan Rafael Seid
Alan Rafael Seid, sometimes affectionately called Rafa by his friends, is known globally as an engaging speaker, presenter, facilitator, and coach — with clients and subscribers on every continent except Antarctica. Alan works as a Breakthrough Coach and a Leadership Coach, teaching workshops and trainings; and as a facilitator and mediator. He holds a certificate in Permaculture Design; is a Certified Trainer in Nonviolent Communication (NVC); and was given permission by one of his mentors, Jon Young, to teach the 8-Shields Model to others.
Alan founded the Kalapa school, which offers Best Practices for Positive Change Agents — defined as people with two core commitments: (1) personal and professional growth and development; (2) being part of the solution rather than the problem.
Alan has taught in Chile, Mexico, Brazil, Spain, United States, and conducts online courses with participants worldwide. He is currently teaching an advanced NVC course for trainers, in Spanish, with participants from 14 countries. Alan has worked with individuals, couples, and families, as well as with clients in the academic, nonprofit, government, and business sectors. Alan’s former clients include Antioch University Seattle, the University of Washington Business School (Foster School of Business), and the US Environmental Protection Agency.
Alan grew up in Mexico City, Mexico, and attended school in the US, with a self-designed major in Whole Systems Sustainability.
In 1987 he discovered the Big Why that gave rise to the work he does today (presented in this video as an IF-THEN thought process: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tamHyY2hGh8). That year he committed himself to finding, learning, integrating, and teaching Best Practices for living in harmony within ourselves; with each other, and with the planet.
In 2019 Alan was invited to speak in New York at the United Nations conference “Unlocking your Emotions to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals” alongside Emotional Intelligence author Daniel Goleman. You can see Alan’s speech here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IuV0-wE81o.
Alan currently resides in the Foothills of Washington State’s North Cascades, in a small intentional community.
Alan is currently writing two books—one of which he sent to a publisher and received a contract that he refused to sign because they wanted to own all his intellectual property. The other book in the rough draft stage is titled “My Great-Grandfather Escaped Prison Dressed as a Woman,” which is a true story about his Ukrainian great-grandfather who refused to join the Russo-Japanese War.
Joshua Hale
Joshua supports Kalapa in strategic planning, operations, community tending, and marketing.
Joshua is a modern homesteader and entrepreneur, community builder, and technology integrator. His approach is influenced by his journey from city chaos to peaceful homesteading.
Joshua empowers entrepreneurs & individuals to thrive by embracing holistic lifestyles, cultivating income streams, and fortifying community bonds through mutual aid groups.
You can learn more about Joshua and his work at https://joshuahale.io/
Dawn Harju
About Dawn (her, she, they)
Dawn has a contagious way of inviting people to be their best self and is deeply committed to strengthening the fabric of goodwill around the globe.
In order to live into that commitment, Dawn volunteers with Kalapa and Excellence Northwest, a local non-profit. She works as a service rep for Excellence Seminars International, leading their Volunteer Leadership Workshop, helping grads learn the tools to be in service. She gives her time to these agencies (beyond her full time work at WCR Publications Inc) because she believes of these agencies are spreading excellence & goodwill in the world. What does that mean? For Dawn, excellence means being Engaged; Curious; and Telling Your Truth. As for spreading goodwill – there are too many ways to count.
Dawn has a delightful way of embracing the world where it’s at, while saying, “it’s all good!” Her enthusiasm for life is contagious through her prioritization of play.
She has a passion for children, animals, the environment, and being in constant creation of a life she loves.
Quotes to live by:
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed individuals can change the world. In fact, it’s the only thing that ever has.” – Margaret Mead
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness That most frightens us.” – Marianne Williamson
Connect with Dawn at:
https://www.facebook.com/dawn.harju
Excellence Seminars International
Excellence Northwest
Meetup.com/Bellinghams-Best
Bob Paltrow
One word to describe Bob: creative. Moving seamlessly between the visual arts (design, photography, painting, illustration, and sculpture); the aural arts (music composition, engineering, and performance); and the written word (poetry, short stories, and prose), Paltrow has turned a lifelong infatuation with all things creative into a career – and lifestyle – he loves. Creating intentional, educational, inspirational, and lasting transformational experiences through media; events & experiential design, and community.
Bob’s informal arts education began by freehand copying entire comic books as a child. His formal art education culminated in a Bachelor of Arts and Sciences degree from the University of Arizona, with a focus in graphic design and illustration.
Paltrow is a classically trained pianist and singer-songwriter with 50 years of experience performing and having written over 300 original songs. Bob performs solo, and with many groups and genres including folk, jazz, rock, hip-hop, reggae, funk, soul, blues, and country.
Bob’s accomplishments include producing and performing an award-winning radio spot featuring a rap extolling the virtues of public transportation for the Whatcom Transportation Authority; illustrating and designing several published books; producing fund-raising events for a variety of local causes and charities; and recording and producing three albums of original music.
https://bobpaltrow.com/
https://www.facebook.com/bobpaltrow
https://www.facebook.com/BobPaltrowDesign
https://www.facebook.com/BobPaltrowMusic
Ariana Seid
Ariana (Ari) Seid works behind the scenes at Kalapa, adding her creative touch and attention to detail to every project she contributes to. Some of these include building landing pages and constructing emails. Outside of work, she enjoys hiking with her puppy, Sky, doing yoga, reading books, and tarot/oracle cards. Ari’s dream is to one day start her own business using the tools and skills she is learning at Kalapa.
Tess Burke
Tess was instrumental in helping Kalapa launch from 2019-2023. As Co-Director at Kalapa, Tess brought her high-level interpersonal skills, financial chops, technical expertise, and UX experience to our courses and web presence.
Tess coaches leaders who recognize that their communication skills are limiting them, and teaches them how to consistently access collaboration and facilitate mutually beneficial outcomes with others.
She specializes in working with Changemakers and leaders who want to improve their English-language skills.
Tess holds a Certificate in Permaculture Design, is a Certified Trainer with the Center for Nonviolent Communication.
You can also find Tess at https://enjoy-life-consulting.com