The place where two ecosystems meet is called an ecotone. It’s comprised of the two individual ecosystems but includes something entirely new as well, something greater than the sum of its parts. By bringing the ecosystems of Work and Nature together, a new ecotone is created - one rich in diversity, renewal, and potential. We call it “A Wild New Work.”

A Wild New Work was unofficially born in 2016 as a four-part class focused on how to realign your work with your inner truth. Since then, it’s been a webinar, a podcast, a coaching program, and now it’s entering a new stage of evolution: life as a container for all of this work. Life as a business.

Since 2014, Megan Leatherman operated her coaching business under her name, and that worked for a time. But as the work grew, it became clear that it wanted to have its own presence in the world, so on April 4, 2019, it was officially shepherded into being.

A Wild New Work is a business with particular services and offerings, but it’s also a new model for professional growth. To work in a wild new way is to take one’s place in “the family of things,” as Mary Oliver put it. To work in this way is to learn how to trust one’s inner knowing, stay present with what is, deepen resiliency, and be a part of the rich network of Life. To work in this way has the potential to transmute the harmful norms of patriarchy, white supremacy, and capitalism.

A Wild New Work embodies the following values:

1. Trust. In oneself, in one another, and in the rhythms and laws of Nature.

2. Presence. Releasing preoccupation with the past and the future, we can be attentive to what opportunities are directly in front of us and take one aligned step at a time.

3. Care. Tending to the body and the earth is foundational to doing good work in the world.

4. Connection. Our work serves to deepen our connection to self, others, and the world around us.

A Wild New Work is here to contribute to a new paradigm of work and career development. It is informed by fields such as biomimicry, permaculture, forest therapy, mindfulness, and ecology. The industrial era of work is obsolete, and so too are its mechanical approaches to employee relations and productivity. We now have an opportunity to step out of the strictures of this model and into something much more relevant to our times.

Our climate is in crisis, and so are we. The pollution, pressure and decay that the Earth experiences is mirrored in our own burnout and overwhelm. This is particularly true for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), who have and continue to bear the brunt of our extractive economy. Now is a time for radical change within and outside of us, and our careers can be a source of healing and support for humans and all of the life forms that we share this planet with. You don’t have to work in the field of conservation in order to give your gifts to the Earth. By returning to your own wildness, you will remember how best to contribute to the re-balancing of our planet.

This work is for everyone because Nature is for everyone. This statement has taken on deeper layers of meaning in the context of George Floyd’s murder and the Movement for Black Lives. We believe that every person has a right to dignified work that supports their well-being and that of their community, and we are doing the personal work to learn about and dismantle white supremacy within ourselves and this business. On a concrete level, this has meant:

• Supporting Black small business owners and contractors

• Promoting and sharing a more diverse mix of information, art, wisdom with our online communities and our clients

• Creating a channel for financial generosity to flow from the business to Indigenous-led climate justice efforts

• Unpacking the oppression at the root of Work and the field of Human Resources in particular

• Continuing to learn and devoting work time to social justice efforts (signing petitions, making calls, holding others accountable)

You are invited to hold us accountable in this work. You are welcome here. May we walk into a new, more equitable future together.

About Megan:

Megan Leatherman, MS, PHR

Founder & Director

Megan has served as a career coach, Human Resources consultant, podcaster, writer, speaker and Tarot reader since 2014. She has helped thousands of thoughtful professionals remember their strengths and leverage them in order to become more resilient and successful at work.

She has a Master’s degree in Conflict and Dispute Resolution from the University of Oregon School of Law and a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Seattle Pacific University. She is also a certified Professional in Human Resources (PHR) and has completed Lindsay Mack’s 8-week Soul Tarot School.

She aspires to build a business that is ultimately a source of healing for all those who pass through it. This requires the long-term work of dismantling white supremacy and patriarchy on the personal level and as this business grows. As a white woman of Western European descent, she draws from her Irish and Scandinavian spiritual roots and believes Nature is our greatest teacher. She regularly spends time outside, learning about what it means to be in right relationship with ourselves and with the Earth. She currently lives on unceded Clackamas and Cowlitz tribal territory, what is now known as Portland, Oregon. She has a loving partner named Chris who works as a Mental Health professional, and together they have two beautiful young children, Wyette and Kylan. You can follow Megan on LinkedIn and Instagram (@awildnewwork).