Ann Linnea: Bio

Deep Water Passage: A Spiritual Journey at Mid-life (Pocketbook,1997)
Teaching Kids to Love the Earth (Pfeifer-Hamilton,1991)

Ann Linnea is a quiet and provocative educator who integrates the spiritual journey and the practical path in all her work. Whether she's presenting a workshop to business leaders, healthcare professionals, clergy and laity, a diverse group of students and faculty, or to people on a wilderness adventure, Ann embodies the stewardship of water and wild things which has characterized her life and work.

Ann has been a naturalist and teacher of outdoor skills for three and a half decades. As a high school student, she led grade school children on canoe trips in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. In her twenties, she took high school biology students and Youth Conservation Corps students into the mountains of Utah for environmental education. In her thirties, she developed Sense of Wonder Workshops taking teachers and families outdoors in a spirit of curiosity, exploration and discovery. In her forties, she led women into the wilderness on foot, in canoe, by kayak, and via dogsled. And in her fifties, she continues to guide adventure trips for people of all ages, while integrating earth stewardship, council practice, and wisdom into all of her teaching, consulting, and speaking.

Author of hiking and skiing guides during her years as US. Forest Service naturalist in the 1970's, Ann has also co-authored the award-winning Teaching Kids to Love the Earth (1991 Pfeifer-Hamilton). In 1992, she designed her own mid-life rite of passage and became the first woman to circumnavigate Lake Superior by sea kayak (an 1,800 mile journey). Deep Water Passage, A Spiritual Journey at Mid-Life, (Little, Brown, 1995; Pocketbook, 1997) portrays her extraordinary physical courage and even more extraordinary spiritual trial and transformation.

In 1994, Ann relocated to western Washington from her native Minnesota. Now living on an island near Seattle, she and author /educator Christina Baldwin co-founded their business PeerSpirit, Inc. Through PeerSpirit , the two women offer a variety of consulting seminars, practica, and wilderness programs that take advantage of their unique range of skills. She has recently keynoted at the University of Minnesota, "Bonds between Women and Water," conference, the University of Wisconsin, opening convocation, worked with the Race and Gender Institute at the University of North Carolina, and consulted with the Center for Nursing Leadership and other health care clients. When replenishing herself at home she adores kayaking, gardening, and bicycling.