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You will find an amazing
blend of pragmatic reason, spiritual aspiration, upbeat attitude
and occasional goofiness among the Laurel Springs Retreat staff.
They are a multi-disciplinary group, and in addition to their individual
responsibilities, each of them helps with meal preparation and most
of them can be found lending a hand in the garden as well. All of
them are available to assist with any aspect of your stay.
Kabir Cardenas arrived at Laurel Springs in 2001,
and acts as the retreat manager. He schedules and coordinates with
all of the groups that visit the ranch. Born in Mexico, Kabir is
a world traveler, diver, surfer and paraglider whose hobbies happen
to match perfectly his location and his love of the ocean and mountains.
Previously, he spent six years in meditation ashrams in Ganeshpuri,
India and upstate New York, studying and serving in various leadership
positions.
Corey Cardenas oversees the lodge ambience and
is our resident horse trainer. A California native, Corey graduated
from UCSB with an Environmental Studies degree and spent several
years at a meditation ashram in Ganeshpuri, India where she served
with the kitchen staff, feeding hundreds of people a day, and steeped
in ancient yogic tradition. In 2001 she found herself back in Santa
Barbara at Laurel Springs Ranch, where she now makes visitors feel
like family and regularly creates otherworldly Indian cuisine.
Talulah Cardenas joined the staff in January 2005.
She has no known responsibilities at this time, but she's so darn
cute, we don't even care!
Nikole Paulos is our kitchen goddess and garden
fairy. She has formally studied cooking in New York's Natural
Gourmet Institute for Food and Health, although it all really started
in her mom's kitchen at a young age. Nikole also facilitates
the LSR work exchange program. When Nikole is not in the kitchen
or garden, she spends her time working with local pregnant women
and their families as a doula or midwife.
Marco Gabrielli brings 15 years of professional
culinary experience to our kitchen. Born in Forte dei Marmi, Italy,
Marco has an unreasonable passion for soccer and fine Italian cooking,
the latter of which is very good news for us! Having worked in numerous
Italian restaurants in Los Angeles, Marco was the owner and chef
at Michelangelo Ristorante in Salt Lake City for ten years. When
he’s not in the kitchen you will find him on the trails with
his four legged friends, who have adopted him as the top dog of
the ranch.
John Bair is the ranch facility manager and is
looking forward to 30 years at Laurel Springs! Hired as a gardener
in 1977, John now oversees everything from landscaping to unusual
maintenance requests, to the complete overview of how every single
thing runs here! He is responsible for the beauty of our gorgeous
grounds, having planted almost every flower, each lawn and a number
of the trees. Don't let the cowboy hat and big tractor fool you,
John is an avid surfer whose wife owns a popular downtown restaurant,
and is always ready to lend a hand or spin a story for the staff
and visitors alike.
Melissa Keeler and Michael Morris joined
together as partners in 1998 with the arduous and blessed task of
transforming an abandoned children's camp into the currently goreous
retreat site we enjoy today. Through much sweat, many tears and lots
of love and experimentation, the lodge was revamped, the landscaping
restored and the spirit of the site renewed. Their dedication and
vision have allowed a new generation to partake of the beauty that is
Laurel Springs...
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