Elena RÍos is an ANFT Certified Nature & Forest Therapy Guide, Nature Connection Mentor, Interdisciplinary Artist, and Cultural Practitioner. She draws inspiration from the stories of her late grandmother, a “curandera” and a “huesera,” who practiced these traditional healing ways. Elena’s journey toward deepening relationship with the healing power of trees, plants, herbs, and flowers has continued throughout her life. It has taken shape within the context of their use in Indigenous ceremony, dance, and song, including Danza Azteca Mexica.
Elena continues to participate in these circles of learning and ways of being. She currently guides Nature Immersion events at Taft Gardens and Nature Preserve, the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, and travels to destination locations upon special request.
As a young adult, Elena worked on such specialized wildland fire crews as Southern California USFS Interagency Hotshots. There, she experienced the kind of camaraderie found among operators who work on highly trained teams. As an employee of the Chumash Fire Department (Santa Ynez Band), she received training as a Cultural Specialist that has enhanced her perspective in relationship to land and place. She also holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the San Francisco Art Institute.
Elena was born on the ancestral lands of the Tongva and Acjachemen peoples, in Fullerton, CA. She spent many of her formative years on Tübatulabul/Yokut territory in the foothills of Sequoia NF. She is a descendant of Indigenous Xicana/Azteca, Chichimeca, and Chumash multi-ethnic ancestors. Currently, she makes her home on Chumash territory in Awha’y’ (Ojai) CA.