About Bernie
Bernie is the founder of Awakened Minds Academy Network (AMAN), a family-centered educational and healing platform inspired by her own journey of conscious parenting, relocation, and creating emotional and spiritual safety for her children through nervous-system regulation, emotional literacy, and grounding practices.
Seven years ago, Bernie attended her first transformational retreat in Costa Rica. The experience was so profound that she left her corporate career in California and committed fully to the healing arts. She went on to commute internationally for three years to work at Rythmia Life Advancement Center, supporting guests from around the world in trauma healing, somatic awareness, and integration.
For 44 years, I was caught in a cycle of suppressed emotional trauma, stuck in survival mode and disconnected from my true self. Raised by my great grandparents after being abandoned by my parents, I struggled to find a sense of identity, security, and love. As a young adult, I became an overachiever, seeking external validation and recognition. I spent nearly two decades as a Finance Director, but the demands of my career and being a single mother took a toll on me—physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
My path shifted when I discovered plant medicine, opening the gateway to my deep healing journey. I began with inner child work, confronting the pain of my childhood and learning to nurture my wounded self. From there, I dived into shadow work, feminine empowerment, soul retrieval, and generational trauma healing, reclaiming the parts of myself I had lost. With years of personal experience and training in these transformative healing modalities, and having worked at the world’s largest plant medicine retreat center for three years, I’ve had the honor of guiding others through their own healing journeys.
Five years ago, Bernie expanded her retreat work into Tulum, deepening her understanding of family healing through community connection, land-based practices, and lineage reconnection.
In the United States, she led the Successful Women’s Entrepreneurship Program and taught Financial Wellness at Casa Esperanza, empowering mothers rebuilding their lives after trauma and instability. She also served as a Creative Arts facilitator within California charter schools in the same year, gaining valuable insight into childhood development, learning styles, and the emotional needs of today’s youth.
After relocating her own family to Mexico to create a more conscious, grounded environment for her children, Bernie saw a global gap: Families need tools, rituals, emotional support, and spiritual protection, together.