about
how we came to this work
dana's way into systems work began as a youth community development officer in the adelaide hills and the murray lands, working with young people, many of them at risk, to create better environments for them in their own communities. as her work carried on through health, families and child protection, across the public sector and into social innovation, she began to see the same patterns again and again in how systems operate, and to ask what was really needed. those years across systems converged with becoming a meditation teacher and growing into her Ngarrindjeri heritage, history and language.
seanna's way into systems work began with water. growing up in the great lakes region of canada, in the years when bulk water exports were being debated, she found herself asking who gets a say in decisions about freshwater, what rights do you assume when you're born beside a lake, and how boundaries can inherently determine all of those without question. Issues of access, equity, and engagement carried with her through years of systemic change work, beyond the environment into health and social wellbeing and toward a belief that the agency of individuals is the greatest leverage point for change.
we met through a program run by the systems sanctuary, when we were both looking to deepen our practice, but also connect with peers travelling the same journey. we became part of a small collective of practitioners that kept meeting long after the program itself had ended. for several years we shared and worked through our practice together, and a friendship grew alongside it.
just as dana was finishing her meditation teacher training, seanna was building a new program on systems practice, and invited her to contribute to the course. our first design work together looked to find and share where mindfulness meets systems practice, and how they are symbiotic.
the systems leadership program grew out of this first iteration, and is what we have built together since. ever growing, iterating and deepening, the program is both work and nourishment. we’re grateful for the practice, and the community who’ve arrived to it.
"dana and seanna work seamlessly together to provide a grounded, safe and authentic learning environment and over time a community of people who looked forward to learning about themselves at a deeper level - anchoring themselves in a mindful presence, opening up to learning, sharing ideas, concepts, framework about systems thinking and the personal and professional struggles and successes in maximising impact for the betterment of society across various complex systems."
~ steph mudie, dhs south australia, senior project officer
2024 systems leadership participant
meet seanna
seanna has more than 15 years experience as a systems practitioner, process designer, and educator in systems thinking and systemic change. her work draws on several areas of practice including human geography, art of hosting and theoryU, process work, and developmental evaluation and design.
feedback from past participants:
"joyful, playful and optimistic in practice and sharing, with an eye for seeing what can be done across the tapestry of space and time - please don't change - thank you for sharing your light it has been invaluable in my journey."
"seanna has been a facilitation queen, I've learned so much from her transparent practice. the way seanna holds space for different perspectives and the feelings in the room are amazing. seanna's backpack of tools and examples and deep thinking about systems helped me feel equipped to try things myself."
learn more about seanna
meet dana
dana has over 20 years’ experience working across the public and not for profit sectors in the areas of health, families and child protection. dana has completed a two-year mindfulness meditation teacher’s course with jack kornfield and tara brach and brings a strong First Nations and Ngarrindjeri lens to mindfulness practice.
feedback from past participants:
"dana's teaching is extraordinary. I am well practised in meditation, and yet have new ways of approaching it with some of the instruction - making a cup of tea as metta is something that will stay with me, as will the connecting to all beings. bringing her deep experience in systems has also been wonderful."
"brilliance & mastery - dana brings a depth of practice and knowing to every session and creates an anchor of stability throughout the reflective and practice journey - I can't see any ways to improve this - thank you for sharing so much of your wisdom."