Meet The Team
Tessa Magill
Director and Lead Facilitator
Tessa is a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist and has been providing therapeutic supports for kids, teenagers and adults since 2013. Tessa utilizes her therapeutic experience and education to create a supportive outdoor experience. In her free time, you can often find Tessa out hiking or walking with her dog, Charlie, or spending time with friends and family in the community.
Brittany Holden
Lead facilitator & Backpacking Specialist
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Brittany is a Marriage and Family Therapist Associate working with local kids and community members. She is an experienced outdoor youth educator and backpacking leader. Brittany is an avid runner, hiker, and painter!
Cody Norris
Lead Facilitator and LGBTQ+ Specialist
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Cody is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who works with teens and adults in Ventura and teaches future therapists as adjunct faculty at Cal Lutheran. Cody loves to be outdoors, whether it's camping, hiking, backpacking, hanging at the beach, or running Spartan races.
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Emily Redfield
Lead Facilitator
Emily is an avid hiker and backpacker and is an Associate Marriage and Family Therapist. Emily has experience as an outdoor instructor and enjoys the therapeutic benefits of spending time in nature and can be found frequently trail running, surfing, and climbing.
Sarah Fraza
Co-facilitator
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Sarah has facilitated countless workshops and retreats with Thrive and brings in her kind and passionate nature to all events she is a part of. She has experience supporting underserved communities, working in the nonprofit sector and as a previous firefighter
Charlie
Group Companion & Protector
Charlie is Tessa's lab-mix who is sweet, well-mannered and has a calming presence. She has a rattlesnake avoidance certification and she helps us out on the trails as an added layer of protection. She loves being out hiking and is an inspiration for all of us to let loose and play.
Training & Qualifications
Lead Facilitators
All Lead Facilitators have education in and experience in the mental health field. Their capacity in each offering is not as a therapist or clinician to event participants, but instead as an experienced and knowledgable guide in group discussions, beneficial social connection and healthy coping skills.
Each Lead Facilitator is additionally trained in CPR, first aid and safe trail guiding.
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Co-Facilitators
Each Co-Facilitator brings their own unique and supportive skills to the offerings. All are outdoor enthusiasts who have experience with the outdoors, guiding groups or caring for nature. In addition, Co-Facilitators bring in outside perspectives and strengths on many topics like mindfulness, native plants, camp cooking, fire safety, etc.
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All facilitators at Thrive have up-to-date livescan and background screening
Thank you to our support team!
Each of these supporters and contributors have allowed Thrive Wellness Workshop to exist and persist
