Meet Our Founders
Paula and John Reed
Paula Linda Ierna Reed, a visionary and the founder of COOA, has a degree in Addictions Counseling as well as an art degree from Connecticut College. For twenty years Linda has been traveling, vision questing, and studying medicines and healing techniques with elder medicine people of both North and South America. Trained in the Condor/Eagle tradition, Linda leads medicine ceremonies, sweat lodges, pipe ceremonies and women’s circles, and offers private counseling.
Linda has been connected with and guided by Creator all her life. In her early years she had visions of this time in the world and was told that she would be a part of those who would help the people by reminding them that they were children of the Divine Light. This necessitates a radical shift in thinking and relating to life and living. While it has never been easy, witnessing people’s healing and tranformation has been her motivation to continue this work, and nothing could be more satisfying.
John H. Reed, co-founder of COOA, is a licensed therapist, consultant, and educator with more than thirty-five years’ experience in the mental health and addictions field. He is a Professor Emeritus and a former program director, retired from the Connecticut Community College System.
From the age of eight, John traveled with his family to the Rocky Mountain West, meeting Blackfoot and Flathead people in Montana and the Shoshone/Bannock in Idaho. Through these relationships, he began to understand the histories and the world viewpoints of the First Nations people. He has immersed himself in North and South American indigenous culture and spiritual practices, has traveled to Columbia and Peru for vision quests and ceremonial training in medicine ways, and has been trained in the Condor/Eagle tradition.
John leads pipe ceremonies and sweat lodges and is an experienced fire keeper and ceremony guardian. He also offers private sessions for those who want to learn practices that will help them achieve their goals and lifestyle changes.
Board of Directors
Sheldon Gibson
Sheldon A. Gibson was raised in a traditional Indigenous household on the Onondaga Territory just south of Syracuse NY, where he was taught the spiritual side of existence. He attended the Onondaga Nation school to the 6th grade and then attended the Lafayette Central school in Lafayette, New York, graduating in 1971. He attended the S.U.N.Y. College at Oswego from 1971 to 1974, majoring in Sociology without graduating. He then entered the construction industry as a Quality Control Inspector working for Pittsburgh Testing Laboratory. Sheldon worked in areas of Soils, Concrete, Structural, HVAC, Roofing, Small and Large Bore Piping, with a focus on Welding of all types. He attended the Lincoln Electric Welding School in Cleveland Ohio and completed the Courses in the winter of 1975. He worked in many states to both Federal and State regulations at Customers requirements.
Sheldon returned to school in 1989 and attended the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico, completing a degree in 3 Dimensional Arts in Metals and Jewelry. Returning to the community where he grew up working and promoting the Arts. Sheldon Started working with several other Indigenous people to create a not for profit 501C3, the Hiawatha Institute for Indigenous Knowledge, and has served on that board to present.
While working with HIIK, Sheldon helped to create an Educators directory and assisted in the return of a sacred site in Cohoes/ Waterford, New York. Sheldon continues to assert his teachings of the Great Law of Peace in the spiritual sense and shared his knowledge of the Spirit.
Donald Curtiss
For over 10 years, I have been involved in medicine work and the practice of indigenous traditions, with the past 7 years dedicated as an active member of this community. As a fire keeper, I support lodge and ceremony, ensuring that these sacred traditions are honored and upheld.
In addition to my role as a fire keeper, I have served on the board of Church of Our Ancestors for the past 3 years, contributing to its mission and maintaining the facilities through land stewardship, firewood preparation, and carpentry projects. Last year, I completed my first vision quest, a transformative experience, and I look forward to undertaking another in the coming year.
My journey has also taken me to Peru, where I have deepened my connection with medicine work, gaining insights that continue to shape my path. The profound healing I’ve undergone in this community has inspired me to cultivate a dedicated daily spiritual practice of prayer, yoga, and meditation, which forms the foundation for everything that I do in my life.
I am deeply committed to walking a path of integrity and take great pride in helping preserve and share these sacred traditions, believing they offer powerful healing and a deeper understanding for ourselves and the world around us.
Aho.
MaryAnn Eddowes
30 years ago, MaryAnn began studying and recreating rituals based on Traditional Medicine from the Andean and Amazonian regions in Peru, and also from North America. She performs shamanic ceremonies with Wachuma, as well as Sound Healing, Offerings to Mother Earth, Flower Baths, and other rituals for the spiritual healing of humanity and the planet. She offers spiritual counseling.
She has traveled to the US since 2009 to offer healing ceremonies and rituals, where she has a growing spiritual community. She leads Spiritual Journeys, Healing Retreats, and Teachings in both Peru and the United States.
