We are excited to share our final episode of our 2025 season of The Rosewood Sessions. Delight in this deep and soulful conversation between spiritual teachers, systems thinkers, and community leaders, Hadar Cohen and Sheryl Petty!
Hadar Cohen is an Arab Jewish scholar, mystic and artist whose work focuses on multi-religious spirituality, politics, social issues, and community building. She is the founder of Malchut, a spiritual skill-building school teaching Jewish mysticism and direct experience of God. She teaches and consults in a variety of settings and formats, from one-on-one coaching to online group classes and in-person retreats. Her podcast, Hadar’s Web, features community conversations on spirituality, healing, justice, and art. Hadar is a 10th-generation Jerusalemite with lineage roots also in Syria, Kurdistan, Iraq and Iran. Subscribe to her Substack for access to her latest writings, offerings, and media appearances. More at: hadarcohen.me or malchut.one. // @hadarcohen32
Sheryl Petty, Ed.D., is the CEO & Founder of Movement Tapestries, which supports the efforts of practitioners, organizations and community members to heal ourselves and our social systems, unleash our joy and creativity, and improve our collective life. Sheryl has worked in systems change, education, equity, network weaving, field building, and organizational development for 30 years, supporting individuals, nonprofits, philanthropic organizations, districts, government agencies, colleges and universities. For nearly 30 years, she has also been a priest in an indigenous African-based tradition (from the Yoruba people), has practiced and is ordained in yogic (non-monastic) Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhism, and is also authorized to share practices based in Bön Buddhist Dzogchen (the Indigenous tradition of Tibet). She has a BA in Mathematics, an MA in Systematic & Philosophical Theology, and a Doctorate in Leadership & Change. Sheryl teaches and shares practices from all of these systems, and is also a certified yoga asana teacher. Sheryl is also the founder and spiritual director of Ocha Dharma.
About The Rosewood Sessions
The Rosewood Sessions are an intimate, curated event series which brings together two local NYC-based healers, organizers, activists, artists, and the like—who don’t already know one another—for an evening of meaningful exchange. Guests are paired on themes and because we sense a potential connection.
In this time of fracturing, polarization, state violence, we have found that we need the resonant vibrance of deep relational connections. Our power lies in resonance, not in the sharp spiked energy of fracture.
It felt important to us to not try to force collaboration, or a project, or a “deliverable” out of these gatherings, but rather to create the conditions that support authentic, mutual encounters.
Our first season was so incredibly beautiful. The connections between our guests continue to emerge and deepen.
If you’d like to support season two of the Rosewood Session, please consider making an offering via Venmo @courageofcare or Paypal brooke@courageofcare.org. Thank you in advance for your support!
2025 Sessions
Session One: Witnessing
Our first session, on the theme of witnessing, brought together a seasoned human-rights documentarian, Ryan Kautz, and a Zen Chaplain, psychologist, and embodied justice facilitator, Monika Son, for an exploration of how we can show up, turn towards one another, and be with the fullness and complexity of what is going on in our world today.
Listen in to our first episode!
Session Two: On Play and Collective Dreaming
Our second session, above, brought together organizers, activists, and facilitators, Deena Ismail and Alyssa Smaldino, for dialogue, practice, and storytelling on the themes of joy, collective dreaming, and building alternative, liberatory futures.
Listen to this episode.
Session Three: On the Regenerative Power of Public Space
Urban planners, landscape architects, and artists Rae Ishee and Aurash Khawarzad joined us in July to discuss the regenerative and community-building power of well-designed public space. This conversation was incredible.
Listen to this episode.
Session Four: Group Dynamics, Family Constellations, and Transformative Conflict
We enjoyed an awesome night of dialogue, practice, and storytelling on themes of group dynamics, family constellations, and transformative conflict with third-degree Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, Paloma Schultz, and award-winning coach and facilitator, Mies de Koning.
Listen to this episode.
Session Five: Lineage, Identity, Multiplicity, and Rootedness with Tenzin Lama and Kendra Danowski
Tenzin Lama and Kendra Danowski joined us for a moving conversation on themes of lineage, identity, multiplicity, and rootedness. We all left feeling even more in love with NYC.
Listen to this episode.
Session Six: Spirituality and Systems Change with Hadar Cohen and Sheryl Petty
Our final session of the year was on the themes of spirituality, lineage, and systems change with multi-religious spiritual teachers, systems thinkers, and community leaders, Hadar Cohen and Sheryl Petty.
Listen to the episode above.
Your hosts,
OB MacDougall and Brooke Lavelle
