I hate to feed FOMO, but if you missed it, you missed out! The Visible Figures Retreat Lodge Experience in Big Sky, Montana last month was all the things: great rest, respite, company, and conversation.
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Location, Location, Location – Why Big Sky?
Our first Visible Figures Retreat in 2022 (sponsored by UBS) was hosted in the beautiful hills of Sebastopol, CA. #wineCountry 🍷 Big thank you to Melinda Hightower and team for making it possible!
We ate, drank, breathed, participated in CBD-infused yoga 🧘🏾♀️, indulged in 30-minute professional massages, and shared off-the-record tips on wealth planning with Tammy Haygood and mental health and wellness with Bea Arthur.
This year, we chose the snowcapped mountains of Big Sky, Montana 🗻 for 2 reasons:
Montana is home to the Yellowstone National Park (and billionaire hangout Yellowstone Club) with some of the most beautiful natural landscapes, spas, retreats, and wellness centers in the world! Add to that an expanding arts and culture scene (did you know art curator and President Emerita of Spelman College, Mary Schmidt Campbell, is a Big Sky resident?), there are boundless ways to connect with the Earth and your soul in Big Sky.
The Annual Black Ski Summit (hosted by the NBS) was hosted by Big Sky Mountain Resort alongside the Visible Figures Retreat Lodge Experience this year. The NBS Ski Summit, now in its 52nd year, is by far the largest convening of (700+) Black professionals and outdoor enthusiasts in the world! Even if winter sports are not your jam, the summit is ALWAYS a great event to meet like-minded people in a relaxed, fun, and intimate setting.
Day One – A Dreamy Intro
Several of us arrived a day or two early to explore, ski, work remotely, or visit the Bozeman Spa and Hot Springs, but our first day together was dreamy. Our 5,500 sq ft ”Beehive Basin” log cabin-lodge perched atop a hill was absolutely breathtaking.
For dinner, some of us enjoyed the ‘elevated dining’ experience of Everett’s 8800 which required a 10-minute, covered lift ride up the mountain. One of the treasures we found at the top of the lift was Big Sky Resort’s beautiful Enchanted Forest. Between the lights, the bright starlit sky, and floating through the night air in a bubble-covered chairlift—it felt like a dream!
Day Two – The Retreat Lodge Experience
We kicked off the official Visible Figures Retreat Lodge experience with breakfast, introductions, and intention setting. Stephanie Van Putten shared her ‘why’ for stepping into the role of Visible Figures Executive Director full time and planning a series of events focused on wellness, culture, media, and activism:
We cannot win battles without rest. My intention is to create spaces in places that draw in like-minded people, a natural selection of sorts, that are cosmically aligned in work, rest, and play.
My greatest hope is that the spaces we create enable you to be open, authentic, and vulnerable enough to connect on a human-to-human level with people who can genuinely support you and the work you are committed to.
Later in the morning, Ian Davis, Mindfulness Expert and Creative Strategist led us through a guided meditation, journaling, sound immersion, and mindfulness exercise.
Ian specializes in helping innovators, executives, and creatives tap into a higher frequency through focus, ‘lovingkindess’, rest, and grace. He has a series of products and services enabling creativity: 90- or 365-Day Journal, Mindful Coloring Book, and a Sonic Meditation track on Spotify.
Awareness has the power to heal and transform us. Choose what you give your awareness, attention, and power to and how you respond. Continue to help yourself. May you stay aware and may your day and week unfold with peace and ease.
After a delightful homemade lunch with plenty of vegan and omnivore options, we broke for naps, reflection, and chill.
Bringing us back together at dusk was the illustrious Imani Shanklin Roberts, artist, art therapist, and mental health practitioner. Imani kicked things off by allowing us as a group to define conditions for psychological safety and walking us through the exercise of utilizing an array of artistic tools to depict our four most common emotions. It got deep. It got real. We will definitely work with Imani again; she offers an assortment of group art therapy options for anyone interested.
As an Art Therapist, I desire to guide your artistic process as you come to your means of liberation, grounding, self-awareness, and inner peace. I have a person-centered approach that is grounded in Humanism, Social Justice Competencies, Feminist Therapy, and Gestalt Therapy. I want to create a therapeutic relationship led by you, where I serve as a guide in the cultivation of your self-development, healing, and liberation. I look forward to supporting your fruitful journey!
Opening up definitely stokes the appetite! In perfect timing, Chef Josie and Chef Emily of Mountain Provisions came through with a beautiful assortment of hors d'oeuvres…
…and served a 3-course meal inspired by locally grown, organic Montana ingredients, Southern US, Creole, and West Indian flavors.
It was a fab-u-lous dinner party in the mountains! We were joined for dinner by several guests in town for the Black Ski Summit visiting Big Sky from all over the world.
This is a ‘High Cotton’ experience!
-Anonymous Dinner Guest
We ended the night with karaoke, strobe lights, belly laughs, and great spirits!
Day Three – Net-flow & Chill
In our final day of the Visible Figures Retreat Lodge Experience some slept in, skied, sledded, journaled, played in the snow, soaked in the hot tub, watched movies…one guest even finished her taxes! 💸There are productivity benefits of rest and play!
Visible Figures will always be intentional in creating an experience, from start to finish, that enables powerful Black women to be: be present, be seen, be heard, and be validated by respected peers.
We love to showcase and support Black women owned brands along the way! A special shot out to Denise Woodard, Founder & CEO of Partake Foods and Fawn Weaver, Founder & CEO of Uncle Nearest.
Please contact hello@visiblefigures.com if you would like your brand(s) featured at an upcoming Visible Figures event.
Up Next: Europe, Essence, Barbados…and more!
Check out our website for a list of the nine upcoming, in-person, members-only Visible Figures events for 2024. Applications for Visible Figures membership will be open from 4/4 – 4/26/2024. Subscribe today to join upcoming virtual AMAs (next one 4/11 @ 4PM ET)!
Visible Figures events are attended by well-known CEOs, artists, entrepreneurs, and politicians centering and serving Black women in wellness, social justice, health, education, climate, finance, art, culture, and media. Notable members and advisors include:
Stacy Brown-Philpot – Founder & GP of Cherryrock Capital, Fortune 100 Director (Nordstrom, HP,..)
Shellye Archambeau – frmr CEO of MetricStream, Author of Unapologetically Ambitious, Fortune 500 Director
Tiffany Dufu – President of Tory Burch Foundation, frmr Founder & CEO of The Cru
Julia Collins – Founder & CEO of Planet FWD and Moonshot Snacks (acquired by Patagonia)
Jessica O. Matthews – Founder & CEO of Uncharted
Kellee James – Founder & CEO of Mercaris (acquired by Argus Media)
Marla Blow – President of Skoll Foundation, frmr Founder & CEO of FS Card (acquired by VISA)
Jean Brownhill - Founder & CEO Sweeten, Board Director
Etosha Cave - Co-Founder & Chief Scientific Officer of Twelve
Asha Collins - SVP, DNAnexus, Board Director, Trustee
Lisa Dyson - Founder & CEO of Air Protein
KJ Miller - Co-Founder & CEO of Mented Cosmetics
Kendra Bracken-Ferguson - Founder & CEO of BrainTrust
Courtney Caldwell - Co-Founder & CEO of ShearShare
Mandy Bynum - Advisor, LP, all around badass
La Keisha Landrum Pierre - Co-Founder & General Partner at Emmeline Ventures
Monica Dean - Managing Director, Lloyd Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies
Robin Powell Mandjes – Principal at Powell Mandjes Associates, Board Director, and Trustee
Cheryl Contee – frmr Founder & CEO of Attentive.ly (acquired by Blackbaud), CEO of Impact Seat Foundation, Author of Mechanical Bull
Erica ‘Sister Scientist’ Douglas – Founder & CEO of mSEED Group
Kishau Rogers – Founder & CEO of Time Study
Stacie Whisonant - Founder & CEO of Pay Your Tuition
Yemi Adewunmi - Co-Founder & COO of Plural
Sheena Allen - Founder & CEO of CapWay
Jasmine Jones - Founder & CEO of Myya
Debbie Dickinson - Co-Founder & CEO of Thermaband
Candice Matthews Brackeen – GP at Lightship Capital, CEO of Lightship Foundation and Black Tech Week
Dee Poku Spalding – Founder & CEO of The WIE Suite
Lisa Skeete Tatum – Founder & CEO of Landit
Sevetri Wilson Taylor – frmr Founder & CEO of Resilia, Owner of Solid Ground Innovations
Morgan DeBaun – Founder & CEO of Blavity, Advisory Board Member
Jewel Burks Solomon – MP at Collab Capital, frmr Founder & CEO of Partpic (acquired by Amazon), Board Director
Valerie Mosley – Founder & CEO of BrightUp, Board Director, frmr SVP at Wellington Management
Mignon Clyburn – frmr FCC Commissioner, Principal at MLC Strategies
Yasmin Cruz Ferrine - Co-Founder & GP at Visible Hands
Mercedes Bent – Partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners
Sydney Sykes - Partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners, Co-Founder of BLCK VC
Megan Holston Alexander – Partner (Cultural Leadership Fund) at Andressen Horowitz
Joy McElveen - actress, model, producer, Founder & CEO of Joy is Everywhere
Arlan Hamilton – Founder & Managing Partner at Backstage Capital, Author of Your First Million
Nathalie Walton – frmr Co-Founder & CEO of Expectful (acquired by Babylist)
Helen Adeosun – Founder & CEO of CareAcademy, Board Director
Jasmine Crowe-Houston – Founder & CEO of Goodr
Elise Smith - Co-Founder & CEO of Praxis Labs
Iman Abuzeid - Co-Founder & CEO of Incredible Health
Julia Alexander - Co-Founder & Chief Product Officer at ExecOnline
Nichol Bradford - Founder & Managing Partner at NIREMIA Collective
Window Snyder - Founder & CEO of Thistle Technologies
Monique Woodard - Founder & MP at Cake Ventures
Definitely feeling the FOMO here!
wowww this looks incredible! well done, stephanie!!