Staff Retreat 2025
by Hope Radford
When I started working with TWP a year ago, I knew it was a special organization.
I knew we did good work, in a good way. And I knew it felt right to walk in the door every morning.
Now, after my first TWP staff retreat, I have a much better sense of why.
Our staff spent last week together in Southwestern Colorado, where we visited project sites, toured the Ute Mountain Ute Tribal Park, and discussed our team’s successes and challenges – both professional and personal.
It’s been a hard year for most of us, and for much of the world. Many of us are doing our best to care for our families, both near and far, as we navigate an increasingly more complex environment for our work.
At TWP, though, those aren’t so different. Work, and life.
I remember Sebastian saying, it’s not so much about balancing the two – it’s about integrating them. And I think that’s at least part of what makes TWP such an exceptional place to be.
It’s not just about what we do. It’s about who we are.
Our work takes intention, strategy, planning. But everything behind that is heart. It’s our grief, our anger, our love for the land, our joy in dancing and eating and being around each other.
We don’t have to leave our humanness at the door when we come in every day – really, we couldn’t do the work we do without it. The versions of ourselves that fight for the wellbeing of our families are the same versions that fight for the wellbeing of the planet.
I see that in every person I work with, and I saw it every day of our trip.
There was laughing at (excellent) karaoke, mourning our losses, and everything in between. But after 3 days of talking, having gathered in a circle to share our gratitude and commitments, we ended the retreat with a pause, in silence.
After a few minutes, when I looked up, most of us had tears in our eyes.
I’m not sure there are words for why.
But I think we all know.
