Beyond Survival Mode
An Inclusive Leadership Retreat for Women of Color
April 29-May 4, 2026 | Vieques, Puerto Rico
What does it mean to thrive in a world that feels like it's falling apart?
You know that feeling when you finally exhale after holding your breath for too long?
That’s what we’re creating here.
Leadership like yours is under scrutiny, pressure, and attack. You deserve a space where the people who hold everyone else finally get to be held.
*All images shared here & below are ACTUAL photos of our retreat space.You Already Know
You're tired of operating in survival mode.
You've been the most reliable person in the room for so long, you've forgotten what it feels like to not be holding everything together.
You want practical tools and real community.
You're doing important work. Work that matters. Work that's changing systems. And you're running on empty.
This retreat is for you.
Before you keep reading, take a moment of pause with us.
This is what we mean by creating space. Let’s start now.
The Experience
Let’s be honest: there are a lot of retreats out there. Here’s why this one hits different.
We Build Safety Intentionally
Bringing women of color leaders together doesn’t automatically create safety. We design for it, through community agreements, structured truth-telling, and facilitation that names what’s often left unsaid.
The Holders Get Held
Most leadership spaces expect you to show up as the expert, the caregiver, the fixer.
In this space, you rest. You get to receive. You get to just be.
Authenticity as a Leadership Practice
Your “soft skills” are business essentials. Your values are strategy. Your authenticity shapes culture.
The outcome? Reconnection with your purpose and your why.
Nervous System Recalibration
From the moment you arrive, we create conditions for a deep exhale—lower heart rate, fewer racing thoughts, permission to fully disengage.
This is strategic rest in real time.
Evidence-Based Meets Ancestral Wisdom
This isn’t just vibes. Our frameworks are grounded in organizational change, learning sciences, and trauma-informed leadership development.
Data + lived experience + wisdom.
Rest as Resistance
Inspired by Tricia Hersey’s work, rest isn’t just self-care—it’s a radical act of reclaiming your humanity in systems designed to extract from you.
Sustainability as Strategy
Sustainability is how you lead, what you build, and how you show up for the long haul. We explore what this means for your body, your ancestry, and your organization.
Sustained Support
Pre-Retreat: Leadership Archetype assessment with group preparation session
During: Core workshops + individual and small-group coaching
After: Group integration session one month later to sustain the shifts
A Day in Retreat
Morning: Grounded movement to ease into the day
Core Session: Two-hour deep dive into one theme (not back-to-back workshops, actual learning with space to breathe)
Meals: Nourishing ayurvedic food and connection
Afternoons: Beach walks, naps by the pool, reflection, spontaneous conversations
Built-In Upgrades: 1:1 coaching, small-group conversations, optional spa services
We’re resisting the 8am–8pm programming model and designing for real rest and deep transformation.
Who This Is For
You’re a woman in leadership who identifies as Black, Indigenous, Latina, Asian, Pacific Islander, or part of the global majority diaspora—an executive, director, founder, or senior leader across any sector (corporate, nonprofit, education, government, social impact).
Our definition of “woman” is expansive—it includes trans women, non-binary femmes, masculine-presenting women, and all who experience the world through this lens.
You’ll feel at home here if:
You’re tired of survival mode and ready to lead differently
You want practical, evidence-based tools—not just inspiration
You’re seeking authentic community with other women of color leaders
You’re committed to transforming not only yourself but your team and organization
You’re learning to lead from wholeness—honoring your body, mind, and nervous system as sources of wisdom
You’re anywhere on the burnout spectrum and ready to recalibrate
This space especially centers leaders engaged in equity and justice work.
If you’re carrying the weight of change-making, you don’t have to hold it alone.
Meet your facilitators
LaVoya “V” Woods
Lead Facilitator | Chief of Strategy, Co-Creating Inclusion
LaVoya (ve/ver) is a trauma-informed facilitator and strategist working at the intersection of equity, learning sciences, and organizational transformation. With over 18 years of cross-sector experience, ve helps leaders integrate healing, neuroscience, and equity into sustainable organizational practice.
Alethea Cheng Fitzpatrick
Founder, Chief of Vision, Co-Creating Inclusion
Alethea (she/her) is the Founder and Chief of Vision at Co-Creating Inclusion, guiding leaders and organizations in building cultures of belonging and authenticity. With a background in architecture and design, she brings systems-level insight and creative business strategy to every engagement.
Investment
$12,500 per participant
paid in full up front
or four monthly payments of $3,125 if you apply by December 31st, 2025
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Pre-retreat assessments + group prep session
Five-night accommodations at Finca Victoria resort (meals, private lodging with king/queen-sized bed, private bathroom and outdoor shower, shared kitchen and daily housekeeping and amenities, workshops, coaching)
Ground transportation to & from the airport or ferry
Post-retreat integration session (30 days later)
Access to CCI’s Sustainable Leadership Framework
Alumni network for continued support
Portion of proceeds donated to a local Puerto Rican-based community organization
Not Included: Travel to/from Puerto Rico; optional spa services
Payment Plans Available. We can split payment across fiscal years if needed.
Early Registration Bonus: Register by November 26 for a special Giving Tuesday incentive, a $1000 donation in your name to the nonprofit of your choice.
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Leaders who engage in trauma-informed, inclusive, and data-driven development experience:
+37% higher innovation in their teams
+42% improvement in employee retention
+21% increase in organizational performance
(Sources: IJFMR, WorldatWork, GenevaPoint, NIH/PMC Meta-Analysis)
Within our programs, participants report:
Greater clarity of purpose and confidence in leadership
Improved ability to regulate stress and sustain focus under pressure
Stronger alignment between personal values and organizational mission
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Many participants receive employer support through leadership coaching, wellness, or professional development budgets.
We provide a sponsorship template, ROI language, and guidance to help you secure funding.
How We Compare
This retreat sits at the intersection of executive leadership development and nervous-system-based performance coaching.
Other programs range from $7,000–$18,000, depending on duration, location, and level of support.
Our price reflects luxury and exclusivity as an integration of depth of care, measurable impact, and continuity, including pre-retreat coaching, a five-day immersive experience, and post-retreat integration to sustain outcomes.
Next Steps
We’re thrilled you’d like to join us!
Here are the next steps:
1. Complete the Application Answer a few questions so we can ensure a balanced, aligned group.
2. Submit Payment Your payment is processed at the end of the application and confirms your participation.
3. We'll Review & Confirm You'll hear from us within one week with your acceptance and welcome email.
4. Receive Your Welcome Packet Once confirmed, you'll get access to our participant portal with pre-retreat surveys for accessibility needs, dietary preferences, room selection, and all travel logistics.
Payment & Refund Policy
Your payment confirms your spot and is non-refundable to protect the intimate size and commitments we've made to facilitate this experience.
Exception: If your application is not accepted, you'll receive a full refund within 5 business days.
Need an invoice instead of credit card payment? No problem, after submitting your application and payment let us know and we'll set this up for you.
Space is limited to 11 participants.
The Space: Finca Victoria
Finca Victoria is an Ayurvedic retreat center in Vieques, Puerto Rico—a small, protected island known for its bioluminescent bay and intimate community.
The retreat center sits atop a hill on one of the highest points in Vieques, surrounded by lush tropical vegetation and the soothing sounds of native Coquí frogs. With hardly any light pollution, the island offers stunning views of the stars, on the clearest nights, even the Milky Way becomes visible.
What Makes This Place Special
Unique Accommodations From treehouses designed with Bauhaus, to a pristine 1973 vintage Airstream, to traditional Caribbean "Casonas"—each space is lovingly designed and unique. All feature organic mattresses, air conditioning, fully equipped kitchens, and private outdoor showers with personal decks and hammocks.
Lodging will be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis based on accessibility needs and preferences.
Curious about where you'll stay? Browse the unique accommodations—from treehouses to the vintage Airstream—on Finca Victoria's website under "Stays."
The Pavilion & Sweet-Water Pool The heart of the property overlooks a sweet-water pool and tropical gardens, with lounging areas and complimentary homemade teas and coffee available 24/7.
The Maloka A floating deck with stunning ocean views, dedicated to yoga, meditation, and gathering space.
Wellness Center Nestled between bamboo trees, offering Ayurvedic therapies and specialty treatments using organic products made in-house.
The Food Fresh vegan Ayurvedic breakfast, lunch and dinner prepared by an incredible chef throughout your stay.
FAQs
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Our price reflects the depth of care and measurable impact you can expect from this experience and is benchmarked against retreats we have done for our clients, as well as other experiences that are available.
We understand it can be hard to advocate for funding from your employer but firmly believe that investing in women of color leaders offers extensive benefits to an organization.
If you’d like help with securing funds, reach out to schedule a call and we’ll coach you through it as well as explore options, or ask for our template that can be used to outline the business case to your organization - you might be surprised at how compelling a case there is.
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Yes, you could, and you absolutely should - we do, at least annually.
This retreat gives you some of the same benefits as a solo retreat… but also meets some different needs, such as the need to be in community with peers who are not all your co-workers, friends or family.
Or the need for some light support, facilitation and structure to move you into a dream space and help you turn those dreams into strategy.
Or the need to not just be white knuckling it alone, but to allow yourself to feel reconnected not just to yourself but to others who hold similar responsibilities and face similar systemic pressures and challenges.
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We get it. When you’re the most reliable person in the room, holding it all together, taking time off - real time off where you’re not jumping on calls or checking email all the time - doesn’t seem feasible or even practical. The stress of all the extra work you have to do before leaving, and all the extra work you have to do to catch up when you come back, just doesn’t feel worth it. Plus you need to save any time off you can get for time with your family.
What if this wasn’t “time off” though? What if resting, recovering, reflecting, reconnecting were part of your job? What if it made your work more sustainable and more impactful?
And not just your work but your life?
We’ll help you make the business case - to yourself, your family, your company, whoever needs to know - that this is not a vacation but a critical investment into not just you but your organization and all the people around you who will benefit.
We’ll also help you leverage your time away as a leadership development opportunity for your team - you stepping away gives them the opportunity to step up. You, and they, might be surprised at the untapped potential that gets revealed. This is part of how you build trust on your team AND develop a longer term plan for sustainability!
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Here’s the thing - when the world is on fire, it is more critical than ever that we figure out how to sustain ourselves if we are to lead the change that we want to see.
Further more, we believe rest, recovery, reflection and reconnection ARE the change that we need to see, or at least what makes that change possible.
As women of color, we have been GROOMED to overwork, overdeliver, overperform and take care of everyone else. We have a responsibility to stop being complicit with our own oppression, and we have a responsibility to model that for those around us.
Oh and by the way, this is NOT a luxury vacation. This is not about indulgence - it’s about the reality of what it takes to sustain inclusive leadership.
Why Now?
The work isn’t getting easier. The systems aren’t getting less extractive. And you can’t keep leading from depletion.
This retreat is an investment in your leadership, your health, and your ability to sustain the work that matters—for yourself, your teams, and your communities.
Ready to move beyond survival mode?