Owner / Director
Jyoti Sharp, MA, has been a professional in the fields of elder care and mental health for two decades. After a successful career in finance and human resources in the private sector, a significant loss in 1991 changed the course of her life work. She learned to meditate at a Benedictine monastery in Oklahoma and moved to Boulder, CO in 1997 to attend graduate school at Naropa University. While completing a Master’s degree in Contemplative Psychotherapy she concurrently held the position of Assistant Controller. Jyoti had a strong desire to develop right livelihood and envisioned working with ordinary life transitions such as aging and dying within a contemplative framework of presence and mindfulness. She manifested this aspiration in 2000 when she founded Windhorse Elder Care, a conscious home care agency in Boulder, CO. She continues to dedicate her life to working with elders and families around aging and end-of-life issues by creating circles of mindful care.
Clinical Supervisors
Jodi Alieksaites, MA, LPC, has been working with Windhorse Elder Care since 2011 and is currently a Team Supervisor, Director of Education and oversees WEC’s one-on-one Psychotherapy offerings. Jodi also spear-headed the creation of the Windhorse Leader in Dementia Care training and The Dementia Experience. Jodi has her degree in Contemplative Psychotherapy from Naropa University and competed her internship in grief counseling with TRU Community Care Hospice. In addition, Jodi completed a year long externship in Attachment-based Play Therapy and utilizes her training to work with clients in advanced stages of Alzheimer’s-type Dementia.
Blake Baily, MA, LPC, has worked and volunteered in the mental health field since 1987. He earned his B.S. in Psychology from the University of Iowa, and was employed in the University Hospital’s acute care psychiatric facilities early in his career. After a three-year period of teaching and travel in Asia, Blake returned to study and earn a Master’s degree in Contemplative Psychotherapy from Naropa University, where he continued to teach for eight years. He has been a Basic Attender and Team Leader with Windhorse Community Services (2002) and Windhorse Elder Care (2005), and is a graduate of the Windhorse Intensive Psychotherapy training. He is currently an Intensive Psychotherapist, Team Leader, and Supervisor in both organizations. Blake lives in Boulder with his talented wife, Amy, and his two beautiful and courageous daughters, Azalea and Frieda.
Kathy Emery, MA, LPC, graduated in 1980 from the Naropa University’s Masters in East- West Psychology program and has been involved with the Windhorse approach to working with others since the beginning of the model in 1981. In addition, she has been an Adjunct Faculty member since 1982 at Naropa in several of the Psychology Departments as well as the Masters In Divinity program in recent years. She is committed to bringing the Contemplative view of care and therapy into her work with individuals and groups as well as through her teaching and writing.
Tammy McKaskle, MA, LPC, has been working with WEC since September of 2011, after graduating from the Contemplative Psychotherapy program at Naropa University. Since 2012 she has worked at Naropa University in both the Master and Bachelor programs of Contemplative Psychotherapy, supporting future therapists on their paths. Tammy’s primary focus in therapy is to help clients develop awareness of what is happening in the current moment as a means to fostering resilience, balance and support for the grieving process. She also offers extensive experience regarding how family dynamics impact an individual’s responses to grief. She is a compassionate and calm presence in sessions. Tammy believes that support for individuals and their loved ones during the later stages of life is a vital, nourishing offering.
Emily (Williams) Trevillian, MA, has worked and volunteered in the mental health and elder care fields since 2006. She holds BA degrees in Sociology and Photography from Purdue University, and her MA in Transpersonal Counseling Psychology from Naropa University. Emily has been with Windhorse Elder Care since 2011, in the roles of Basic Attender, Team Leader and Supervisor. She cares most about supporting elders and their families through the changes that arise with traumatic brain injury and strokes, with Alzheimer’s and other dementias, and end-of-life transitions.
Skye Kerr, MA has been working with WEC since July 2016 after she earned a Masters in Counseling Psychology with an Emphasis in Depth Psychology at Pacifica Graduate Institute. Skye works at WEC as a Team Leader and Supervisor and is delighted to work at an organization that values and supports the wisdom of elders. Her previous experience includes working with people with dementia and other age-related needs in both group and one-on-one settings as well as working as a psychotherapist for adults. Skye seeks to be a calm, caring, and creative presence for those she works with.
Michelle Pelc, MA, NLC, has been been with Windhorse Elder Care since May 2014. She earned her Masters degree in Transpersonal Counseling Psychology from Naropa University in 2010. She has 8+ years of professional and personal experience working in long term care, adhering to a holistic approach while attending to the emotional, mental, and physical wellbeing of her clients. Her varied experience working with seniors who have physical and mental disabilities, as well as end-of-life care needs, affords her insight into the complexity of the challenges for this population and how to approach them, as well as a solid knowledge base of community resources. As a Windhorse Team Leader, she is passionate about using her ability to build relationship and provide guidance, education, and therapeutic interventions to support and empower seniors, families, and care staff.
Team Leaders
Faith Halverson-Ramos, MA, LPC, MT-BC, is a Licensed Professional Counselor and board-certified music therapist with almost a decade of experience working in eldercare, including working with well-adults, those who have dementia, Parkinson’s, and those who are receiving palliative or end-of-life care. Faith received her Bachelor’s in Music with a focus on vocal performance and vocal pedagogy from Viterbo University in La Crosse, WI in 2002. After working in South Korea for a year, she moved to Colorado in 2004 to pursue graduate studies at Naropa University, from where she graduated in 2007 from the last Transpersonal Counseling Psychology Music Therapy program. As a musician and therapist, Faith brings to her work with older adults an ability to listen deeply that allows for meaningful communication and relationship to occur, regardless of physical ability or cognitive function. Faith has presented nationally and internationally on music and mindfulness, as well as topics related to positive aging.
Ali Hawes, MA, LPCC, earned her MA in Contemplative Psychotherapy & Buddhist Psychology from Naropa University in 2017. She has experience working in the mental health field with both elders and adults and currently works as a Team Leader at WEC and as a Mentor for young adults. Ali brings a mindful, holistic approach to working with elders and their families and seeks to provide compassionate, attuned care. She enjoys all things related to nature and camping and can be found seeking out new and adventurous activities in her spare time.
Katia Bushanski, BA, has been a caregiver with Windhorse Elder Care since November 2016. She earned her BA degree in Contemplative Psychology, concentration in Health and Healing from Naropa University in 2018. She has 2 years of professional and personal experience working in long term care, supporting seniors in their personal needs, daily activities, and emotional support. As a Team Leader and Caregiver, she brings with her a calm and nurturing presence to her clients and their families, and to their team members. She is deeply dedicated to her client’s well-being, both physically and emotionally, by providing dignity, support, companionship and respect.
Lisa Wallace, MA, NLC, is a Contemplative Psychotherapist with a passion for political theology, social justice and mindfulness practices, Lisa is committed to developing the skills and awareness needed to support individuals and foster healthy communities. Lisa graduated from Naropa University in 2017 with an MA in counseling and was trained in the Windhorse model. As a Registered Psychotherapist, Lisa’s belief is that healing happens in community and was drawn to working with elders through personal connections with friends and family. “My job is to help people realize their full potential. I am qualified to do so only to the extent to which I understand that to be true of myself.”
Annie Seidman, B.A./Certified End of Life Doula, has been with Windhorse Elder Care since January, 2018. Annie earned her B.A. degree in both Anthropology and Humanities from the University of Colorado, Boulder. She was certified as an End of Life Doula through the Conscious Dying Institute. As a Windhorse Team Leader and Basic Attender, Annie is passionate about offering comfort through a caring human connection. She is honored to serve her clients and hear their stories. Annie not only enjoys offering companion care, she is also deeply committed to helping clients and their families navigate the dying process. Those who have worked with Annie remark on her calm manner and empathetic spirit. Annie lives with her family in Boulder and enjoys hiking, camping and simply being in nature.