Beyond Survival Mode
A 3-Day Leadership Retreat for Women of Color
October 16 - 18, 2026 | Wild Rose, Wisconsin
Co-designed with WOC leaders like you
A facilitated space for rest, truth-telling, and nervous system recalibration, designed to sustain you in your real, day-to-day life.
Not a productivity workshop. Not group therapy. Not a networking event.
A structured container for recalibration.
Before you keep reading, take a moment of pause with us.
This is what we mean by creating space. Let’s start now.
Who this is for
Wom[e/x]n* of color in senior leadership or entrepreneurship who are often holding:
A big mission to make a difference at work and in the world
Responsibilities to care for the people you love: kids, elders, communities
The physical and mental health weight of living inside systems not built for you
The emotional labor of being the most reliable person in the room
If you're running on hypervigilance and exhaustion, but the stakes are too high to let anything go, this space is for you.
*Our definition of "woman" is expansive and includes trans women, non-binary femmes, masculine-presenting women, and all who experience the world through this lens.
Investment & what you’ll leave with
$4,750
As experts in organizational culture with the data to back it, we recommend organizational funding as the standard path. Burnout among women of color leaders isn't just a wellness issue, it's a systemic retention and succession-planning risk. Investing in recovery is investing in the leadership pipeline your organization depends on. We provide full documentation so you can bring this to your employer or board: positioning you as the business asset you are, and this retreat as professional development with an ROI that far exceeds that conference you went to last quarter.
Sliding scale support
We facilitate on a sliding scale for those self-funding or coming from smaller organizations:
$4,750 — Standard rate, full large org support
$3,750 — Small org support
$2,750 — Self-funded
Payment plans available on any tier: Final payment due October 8th.
Cohort Size: 16 participants
After three days you’ll leave with:
Apersonal sustainable leadership plan — rest, boundaries, regulation, impact
3 micro-strategies you've already practiced and can use immediately
Acurated community of WOC leaders who see you, hear you, and get what you're navigating
The Container
A structured space to unmask, downregulate, and be held, without performance.
Discussion circles, somatic practice, clear agreements & skilled facilitation, and room to simply be. We’re resisting back-to-back programming. This is designed for depth and real rest, so no binder of tools to master by Monday.
We’ll share information for travel logistics and a carpool interest form for participants to ensure ease & shared safety.
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Our facilitation home base sits on Wild Rose, Wisconsin's quiet waters, a lakefront cottage with an indoor fireplace, an outdoor fire pit, and a gourmet kitchen built for the kind of cooking that root you in the experience. This is where we gather: for circle, for rest, for ping pong and shuffleboard when productivity is on pause. The sauna and hot tub are nearby, because your nervous system deserves more than a schedule of workshops.
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Each participant has their own private cabin. Set among the trees just a few minutes drive from the cottage, each cabin comes with its own en-suite bathroom, a queen bed, a kitchenette, and a private outdoor area with a fire pit of its own. Your downtime is your own and community is nearby when you’re ready for connection.
Wild Rose is about 1 hour 45 minutes (96 miles) from Madison, WI, a manageable drive, not a trek.
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Chef Elijah returns for round two of Beyond Survival Mode. And if you were there last time, you already know what that means. This isn't retreat food that leaves you hungry by 3pm. It's gourmet, it's filling, and it's cooked with the same care and attention Elijah brought to the pilot: considerate, professional, and exactly the vibe this space is built on.
Meet your facilitators
LaVoya “V” Woods
Lead Facilitator | Chief of Strategy, Co-Creating Inclusion
LaVoya is an informed facilitator and strategist working at the intersection of equity, learning sciences, mental health, and organizational transformation.
Read more about LaVoya.
Alethea Cheng Fitzpatrick
Founder | Chief of Vision, Co-Creating Inclusion;
Alethea guides leaders and organizations in building cultures of belonging and authenticity, bringing systems-level insight and creative business strategy to every engagement.
Read more about Alethea.
Our local community connector
This is a moment in history when organizations are called to be clear about their values. At CCI, we're intentional: our offerings are built on relationship, not extraction. Every Beyond Survival retreat is shaped by a local connector who holds real relationship with this place: its history, its people, its needs, so our presence here is accountable to the community we're gathering in.
Angela Russell
Founder & Principal | The UnderCurrent
Angela is the founder and principal of The Undercurrent, a consulting practice built on the belief that community, trust, and belonging are the infrastructure that makes everything else in an organization possible.
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An epidemiologist-turned-policy-advisor-turned-Chief-Diversity-Officer, she has spent two decades as the hidden connective tissue in institutions and communities — and is now bringing that systems intelligence to the surface through her own practice, her award-winning podcast Black Oxygen, and her newsletter Undercurrent Field Notes. Angela creates space for women in senior leadership to hear themselves think, to find their agency, and to remember that the most important currents are the ones running beneath.
Sign up for Angela’s newsletter here.
Meet your chef-on-site
Elijah Hipke is a Madison-based chef and entrepreneur known for his community-driven approach to food, hospitality, and creative dining experiences. Having worked in some of Madison’s top kitchens alongside chefs like Giovanni Novella and Yusuf Bin-Rella, as well as gaining experience in Los Angeles with Michael Twitty and in Pismo Beach with Jacob Town, Elijah has developed a style rooted in technique, bold flavor, and connection to local ingredients.
He is the founder of On The Pass Catering, a private dining and catering company focused on elevated in-home dinners, curated events, grazing tables, brunch experiences, and custom chef-driven menus. Through On The Pass, Elijah creates memorable experiences that bring restaurant-level food and hospitality directly to clients, with an emphasis on creativity, professionalism, and personal connection.
Elijah also serves as Chef Ambassador for REAP Food Group, where he supports local farmers, food businesses, and community food initiatives across Wisconsin. His work helps connect people to the local food system through events, partnerships, and education.
For Elijah, cooking is more than serving food, it’s about building experiences, supporting community, and growing something meaningful through food.
Ready?
Registration is open. Space is limited to keep this intimate.
Questions? Email hello@cocreatinginclusion.com
