How It All Began
I had just left federal service after 23 years. We had moved from the home we had lived in for 11 years. I was, if I am being honest, feeling a little lost.
I decided the answer was to get off the couch and start showing up. My friend Katrina Fotovat — former Acting Ambassador for Global Women's Issues and founder of PeacePays.ai — was speaking at a Vital Voices event in early March 2025, and I wanted to be there to support her. I went not really knowing what I was looking for.
That night, a woman named Rebecca Ferguson-Ondrey one of the founders of WellFed said something that stopped me cold. She talked about community — about how in this time of change, we need to find our community, and if we do not have one, we need to build one. I had just left a career that had been my community for over two decades. I had moved away from the neighborhood where I had raised my family. I did not have a community. Not one I could put my hands on, anyway.
That was a Friday night.
Sunday morning I woke up with an epiphany. I love where I have moved. I love Warren County — the mountains, the river, the farms, the vineyards, the people. And I realized that the community I thought I had left behind in DC was still mine. I just needed to bring them here. Show them what I had found. Let this place do what it does.
By midnight that Sunday I had a 12-page business plan, a pricing structure, and the first flyers. Headwaters — The Passage LLC was born.
The journey since has been anything but slow. Ace came on as co-founder and creative director, bringing the brand to life with artwork drawn entirely by hand. We incorporated, launched headwatersretreats.com, and began building the vendor network that will make every retreat possible. I also began volunteer advocate training with the Phoenix Project in Front Royal — because building community here means showing up for the people who need it most, not just the ones who can afford a retreat.
This is where we are. This is where we are going. And we are just getting started.
