When Michelle Q. Slavik takes her surfboard into the water, she does it for herself, she does it for her boys in honor of her late husband, and she does it for others who are grieving their loss.

Michelle is a surf therapy provider and a Director of Clinical Operations Excellence with a background in building infrastructure and integrating systems to deliver much needed medicine to underserved communities.  She has been facilitating Waves of Grief since participating in the National Geographic Series, Impact.  Michelle joined Kelsey extended Waves of Grief into the workplace and onto a virtual shore at her Biotech company - where her passion continues to drive awareness into cultures breaking down stigma surrounding mental health. 

Most recently Michelle supported Waves of Grief programming for US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy, the surf therapy community at ISTO (International Surf Therapy Organization), and expanded community in Ventura, CA with Anna Cho of Hydrotheory, where she currently serves as a board member.

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Michelle's professional and personal experiences have aligned with her passion for healing, rekindling a sacred relationship to nature, and creating communities supportive of loss and trauma in blue spaces, like the ocean's shore.

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"Growing safe spaces for this language of grief and loss is the honor I can pay back to those we love."

"Plus it's easier to tap in to your heart space when you are in nature." Michelle says.  "Nature mirrors and reweaves the space to heal."