I was born in the hottest province of Spain, Almería. Over the years I lived in the UK, China and now I live with my husband and two children in a great co-housing community in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.

Due to the early death of my father, my mother raised her five children by running small family business from home where she made clothes and taught young girls the art of sewing. I worked there too from an early age but by the end of the summer I looked forward to September for a break!

As a child I loved reading and learning and not miss an opportunity to meet foreigners and practice other languages. It was a great chance to open my mind and meet with adventure! Never shy, making mistakes did not worry me since I was making friends too!

I went to University in Murcia and studied Spanish Language and Literature, while doing French and English and selling clothes to pay for my education. I did not go into teaching then since I could not face the lack of interest for learning in teenagers.

So, I followed my passion for color and creativity and went to study Fashion Design and Pattern making in Barcelona, a great centre of where I had started my sales career when I was only 8 years old! But that is another story…

A few years later I taught in Madrid before leaving for the UK in 1994. My objective was to improve my English, become a translator and help children, but the six-month trip extended to 14 years, simply because I felt at home in London.

This cosmopolitan city had everything I wanted: plenty of learning opportunities -Master in Applied Linguistics at the University of London-; spiritual search and growth -volunteer for Share International-; great mixture of cultures -translated Education in Human Values for an India based charity- ; volunteered for UNICEF, and taught in middle schools and colleges; Spanish teacher and translator at the University of Westminster and put voice over of the documentary Water of Life…

For more adventure, I joined Voluntary Service Overseas, VSO, as an English teacher and went to Anshun Teachers College, Guizhou (China) in 1999. As soon as I arrived by depressed students inspired me to start the project CHILD TO CHILD. The idea was to donate English reading books to children in poor schools in the countryside. This would not only teach our kids to share with others, but hopefully would keep the enthusiasm to learn English in my students´s pupils. Poverty forces dropping off school after just six months.

I ended up importing more than 6000 books, setting up 11 mini-libraries in poor villages, and sponsoring 65 students by paying for their school fees. I am grateful to all the Chinese friends I made and the warmth of the culture that would later on bring to our lives my lovely daughter Gui Xian, Cassia

Two years later, I was to embark in motherhood and had to take up an activity that allow me to homeschool my children. So, as a committed environmentalist and member of Women and Environmental Network (WEN), I could not help but to set up Bebés Ecológicos S.L. in Spain in order to educate the public about the dangers for the planet and our health when using conventional disposable products such as diapers and pads.

After almost 14 years and many articles and interviews in the media, I can now say that most people in Spain have heard of washable products as an alternative to one-use ones. My encouragement to parents to approach a natural way of bringing up their kids and set up work around their education, all has resulted in many small business selling similar products and saving a lot of trees for the planet!! I am proud to see that I got them thinking and moving!!

After living in USA for the last five years, my life comes back to teaching Celebration Day for Girls!! It has always fascinated me the face and eyes of young girls and women when I show Orethic pads and talk with them about the power that we all share as women and how much we benefit from a conscious femininity. That longing in their eyes meet my desire to help in their journey.

I have always being fascinated by the color red. I identified it with passion, life and visibility!

I firmly believe that all women are sisters and could do with support from one another, our daughters will be the mothers of future men who will hopefully understand women better and will respect them without having to think about it. By doing this work we are contributing to a better future for everyone, this is why I join the team with passion and enthusiasm!!

Soy Deisy Lorena Avellaneda, de nacionalidad colombiana, actualmente vivo en Florida, EEUU. Apasionada por el arte, me dedico a
crear obras de arte que inspiran y transmiten parte de mí. Trabajo como profesora de preescolar, dando cuidado, cariño y
enseñanza a los niños. También soy madre de una niña, la cual me ha motivado a aprender, a tener una relación positiva y un
vínculo fuerte madre e hija, acompañarla y guiarla a llevar un proceso de crecimiento y desarrollo saludable. Deseo poder compartir
y explorar con madres y niñas este maravilloso universo que somos, el ser mujer.

I graduated from Simpson College with a degree in Multimedia Journalism and minored in English and Women and Gender Studies (I minored in the latter simply because there wasn’t an option to major in it).

Journalism helped feed my hunger for knowledge – you’re taught to dig and find the truth, not just what’s handed to you. A value I realize I had already grew up with thanks to my mother.

English was a natural choice as well, being that anytime I want to learn something new I turn to books and gobble up as many on the subject as I can get my hands on. I also knew that someday I want to put my knowledge and experiences in writing to share with others.

My journey towards my passion surrounding the menstrual cycle didn’t just happen with an a-ha moment.

It was a slow process at first, beginning with two years before I really took any steps forward. There was a time when I came to a realization there was something off between my body and my mind. I didn’t feel like myself, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it.

However, I innately knew the direction to head.

I started heavily researching the effects hormonal birth control had had on my body. What I discovered was that I knew almost nothing about my body or how it worked. I knew I wasn’t alone. The deeper I got into my research the more I wanted to share this knowledge with the women around me, young and old, as well as the young girls who hadn’t reached puberty yet.

My desire to share was met with the question, “Well, what do I do with this information? How am I going to connect with these women and young girls?”

It was around this time that I reached out to Jane Bennett and Alexandra Pope, authors of “The Pill: Are You Sure It’s Right For You?” While talking to them I learned that Jane had created Celebration Day for Girls nearly 15 years ago. My first thought was, “This should be in the U.S.” and so I made it my goal to bring it here.

I am from small-town Iowa and currently live in the amazing downtown of Des Moines, Iowa. I, however, have a serious itch to scratch when it comes to traveling, and so when the opportunity to travel to England to meet Jane and to be trained to facilitate this program came about I jumped.

I look forward to hearing from you and meeting you and your daughter.

I am passionate about offering support and mentorship through facilitating Celebration Day for Girls and other programs specifically designed for young women to connect with themselves and each other, learn about their menstrual cycle and embrace the changes they are going through on their journey into becoming a young woman. I know from my own experience growing up that this can be a challenging and confusing time in a young girls life. As a dedicated facilitator, mentor, friend and confidant I believe that with guidance and mentorship, these pivotal years can be very enriching and empowering for girls. By being empowered, each young woman will have the ability to make wise choices based on her internal guidance system and live a joyful and meaningful life, loving herself just the way she is!

I studied Psychology at the University of Colorado and have studied Western and Eastern health modalities, with a focus and passion for nutrition and women’s health. I have been dancing all of my life and am a certified yoga teacher for kids and teens and have taught yoga in India at an orphanage. Along with being a certified facilitator of Celebration Day for Girls, I have completed the Fundamentals Teen Girl Life Coach Training with Teen Wisdom and am a certified mentor with Journey of a Young Woman. It is my intention to support and empower young women to be comfortable in their own bodies, be educated about their menstrual cycle and well being, and to live a fulfilling, impactful and meaningful life.

I am a teacher from New York, holding a Bachelor degree in Literature and a Masters in TESOL Education K-12. I have taught English to students aged 7 to18 in New York, Florida, Colombia, Israel, Australia, and India before shifting my focus to menstrual cycle awareness and sex education. I am a recent graduate of the UK based Red School’s Menstrual Cycle Leadership Program and, of course, the Celebration Day for Girls Facilitator Training with the Chalice Foundation. I hold international workshops supporting and guiding menstruators to understand and connect with their inner cyclical rhythms and wisdom through lectures, visuals, and somatic movement experiences. I am committed to supporting people of all ages in their processes of feminine embodiment, self healing, rights of passage, and intimacy. I am especially delighted to support girls and their mothers/female carers with the Celebration Day for Girls program.
My bio photo was taken by the talented Charlotte J. Ward
( https://www.charlottejward.com )