Our Collective Board of Directors
We bring different perspectives to the table, but we’re united by a love for purposeful work, thoughtful design, and real connection.
Sarah Stepans, RN BSN
Sarah Stepans, RN BSN
Executive Director, The Collective
Sarah Stepans is a holistic nurse, facilitator, and organizational leader whose work sits at the intersection of nervous system science, experiential practice, and community‑centered growth. As Executive Director of The Collective, she guides the vision and development of a space dedicated to intentional connection, personal transformation, and grounded, evidence‑informed wellbeing.
With more than twenty years in healthcare, Sarah brings a deep understanding of how the body holds stress, emotion, and lived experience. Her approach blends clinical insight with somatic and experiential modalities, creating environments where people can access clarity, regulation, and meaningful inner reconnection.
Sarah’s leadership is shaped by her work as a facilitator and educator. She serves as faculty with the Breath Liberation Society and is a member of the Global Professional Breathwork Alliance. Her training spans breathwork, trance‑based movement, energy work, and guided inner journey practices—modalities she weaves into programs that are both expansive and grounded.
Under her direction, The Collective has become a trusted space for individuals seeking depth beyond surface‑level wellness. Her retreats and community offerings are known for their safety, authenticity, and transformative impact, inviting people not only to rest, but to return to what feels true, clear, and alive within themselves.
Founder/Executive Director
Theresa Chavez
Theresa Chavez serves as President of The Collective: Center for the Healing Arts. Theresa is deeply committed to cultivating spaces where people feel safe, seen, and supported. She believes healing is not meant to happen in isolation, but in community, where shared experiences strengthen our sense of belonging and collective resilience.
With a heart for collaboration and a vision for a more connected world, Theresa helps guide The Collective as both a center for personal growth and a community hub, supporting holistic practices that enrich individuals and uplift the broader community.
Her work is grounded in the belief that when people feel at home in their bodies and in community, meaningful transformation naturally unfolds.
President
SECRETARY
Amy M. Rieser, RYT 200
Amy received her 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training from Blossom Yoga in 2014. She continued her education in trauma-informed yoga, play-based yoga for children, and trauma-informed yoga for youth. Amy has mentored yoga teacher trainees, taught paddleboard yoga, and, from 2014 to 2018, taught yoga to youth, including neurodivergent youth, in both educational and community settings. Yoga was a profound tool in her healing journey, and she works to integrate the eight limbs of yoga into her work.
Amy is a voracious learner. She is a 300-hour Ayurvedic Wellness Coach, certified in Aerial Yoga, and a Level 2 Reiki practitioner. She is a women’s circle facilitator and is delving deep into understanding how to work with the nervous system. Paired with her professional background, Amy enjoys working with neurodivergent individuals, including children and adults.
The collective board MemberAnita Curtis, MSW, RYT-200, Reiki I & II
Anita Curtis, MSW, RYT-200, Reiki I & II
Anita Curtis is a Case Manager and recent Master of Social Work graduate from the University of Wyoming. Guided by a trauma-informed, person-centered approach, Anita is dedicated to promoting accessible, equitable healthcare for all. Anita believes that true wellness cannot exist in isolation from the conditions and systems that shape people’s lives. Her work is grounded in the belief that Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion are the heartbeat of humanity; that there is no justice without diversity, no healing without equity, and no community without inclusion. In addition to her social work training, Anita is a certified yoga teacher with over eight years of teaching experience, integrating mindfulness and somatic awareness into her professional practice. She holds deep respect for contemplative traditions that inform her path, including the wisdom and resistance of Indigenous peoples past and present, whose lands we live and learn upon and whose relational ways of being continue to shape her understanding of collective care, accountability, and belonging.