About Oriane Lee

The foundation of Oriane Lee Johnston’s current lifework arises from her tenure as Program Director for Hollyhock Centre, spanning sixteen formative years, 1990 to 2005. Canada’s Leading Educational Retreat Centre, on Cortes Island, B.C. Canada, evolved from “a holiday that heals” retreat to become an internationally significant gathering place serving nearly 3000 guests in a season. Oriane Lee supported five Executive Directors/CEO’s in succession, resolutely holding the vision and program mandate, in times of change, and herself served on the Board of Directors for several years. The Hollyhock Leadership Institute: A School for Social Change was also born during this time.

For a number of years Oriane Lee co-convened the International Gathering of Holistic Centers. These provided a broad and unifying context for the emergent cultural consciousness which is now visible in the wave of sustainability ethic in action. These meetings, in what she calls an “equitable field of endeavour” modeled a way of collaboration, reciprocity and leadership that reflects the values of the most successful social change organizations.

In the early ‘90’s Oriane Lee was presenter coordinator for the Hollyhock/ Simon Fraser University Healing & The Creative Arts conferences in Vancouver. And later for the Hollyhock/New Age Journal Body & Soul conferences in Seattle, Portland and San Francisco. Oriane Lee also forged strategic partnerships with other values-aligned enterprises for specific projects along the way: Shambhala Sun magazine, Spirituality and Health magazine, Sounds True Recordings, Simon Fraser University Writing & Publishing Dept., University of British Columbia Continuing Studies, Coast Mountain Expeditions. On behalf of Hollyhock she formed relationships with luminaries of our time; Eckhart Tolle, Andrew Weil, Natalie Goldberg, Ram Das and others. And always mindful of “Canadian content”, included Canadian arts & culture icons Ann Mortifee, Sharon Butala, Margie Gillis, Nick Bantok, Tony Onley and business innovator Lance Secretan. Supporting and launching new program presenters remains an important value. Her own participation in many of these programs in personal sustainability and professional development formed a new era graduate degree of an unprecedented kind.

Co-managing meditation retreats at Kyaswa Monastery in the Sagain Hills of Burma brought back a deeper sense of how to hold North American centres as sanctuaries of insight, wisdom and transformation, both personal and cultural. Co-producing the Compassion in Action conferences marked a shift in Oriane Lee’s professional focus. She initiated and participated in the first North American two year Spiritual Guidance Training Program, with Thomas Atum O’Kane, followed in 2006-2007 by the graduate program Alchemy: Guiding Individuals through Change.

Her mission of empowering people to bring out the best in themselves began as Training Coordinator for Job Entry and Re-Entry programs, supporting young people and single parents to find their place in the workforce. With a degree in Psychology and Fine Arts, the quest for more creative and innovative forms of education ensued. She was a founding parent of Linnaea Alternative School on Cortes Island and involved in the inception of the Ecological Gardening Apprenticeship Program at Linnaea Farm.

A trail ride in Ecuador in mid-life initiated a compelling draw to horses. Oriane Lee began studying and practicing Natural Horsemanship in 2002, finding inspiration in the hands-on teaching of Jonathan Field, one of Canada’s premier horsemen today. The trails of Cortes Island and the natural horsemanship of Frances Guthrie provided the map for learning. In 2004 she received the book Tao of Equus by Linda Kohanov, and then began training in Equine Experiential Learning with Epona Advanced Instructor Deborah Marshall of Generation Farms in Nanaimo, B.C. Canada. In 2006 Oriane Lee brought Linda to present Way of the Horse at Hollyhock. Now engaged in an internship with Deborah Marshall, Oriane Lee continues her education in this field with Barbara Rector and others and is a member of EGEA.  Equine Guided Education Association.

Oriane Lee’s life/work continues to weave creative vision, deeply grounded values, and enthusiastic service in support of her colleagues and clients.