Fulfillament Stories

May Erlewine is a Michigan based singer songwriter and a member of the Earthwork Music Collective. She plays guitar, fiddle, viola, piano and a few other instruments, but mostly she sings. Her songs are treasured by people of all faiths and politics. May’s songs are sung (and recorded) by other artists, both great and small. May comes from a family of artists and musicians.

May Erlewine is a Michigan based singer songwriter and a member of the Earthwork Music Collective. She plays guitar, fiddle, viola, piano and a few other instruments, but mostly she sings. Her songs are treasured by people of all faiths and politics. May’s songs are sung (and recorded) by other artists, both great and small. May comes from a family of artists and musicians. Early on she was exposed to music (and people) of all kinds. May was home-educated, came up singing and while still just a teenager hitchhiked all across North America playing in small and large towns, riding freight trains with her little dog, and busking on the streets. In her travels May Erlewine came to know the land and the pulse of the people. Her songs show a very real connection and concern with everyday folk.

Holly Wren Spaulding is a passionate writer, collaborator, teacher, editor and creative consultant who lives in Williamsburg, Massachusetts where she founded Poetry Forge, an incubator for writers and their work, mentors clients through LIFE/form, and co-directs STORYhouse Partners, a communications consultancy. Because Leelanau County remains her home, she returns often to teach at Interlochen College of […]

Holly Wren Spaulding is a passionate writer, collaborator, teacher, editor and creative consultant who lives in Williamsburg, Massachusetts where she founded Poetry Forge, an incubator for writers and their work, mentors clients through LIFE/form, and co-directs STORYhouse Partners, a communications consultancy. Because Leelanau County remains her home, she returns often to teach at Interlochen College of Creative Arts and elsewhere in the region. She has been awarded residencies at The Millay Colony for the Arts, The Mesa Refuge, Blue Mountain Center, The Hill House and The Jean Noble Parsons Center for the Study of Art & Science, and her writing has appeared in The Nation, Michigan Quarterly Review, Witness, The Ecologist, New Internationalist and in the book We Are Everywhere: The Irresistible Rise of Global Anti-Capitalism (Verso, 2003). Her most recent collection of poems is Pilgrim (Alice Greene & Co., 2014)

“To live well and feel whole, most of us need to solve the riddle of how to engage our particular genius in service of something meaningful—even beautiful. Whatever hat I may be wearing, and regardless of the project, I help others unfetter their imagination and give form to their ideas by providing alternative pathways, sane strategies and solidarity in the creative process.”

–Holly Wren Spaulding –  September 2015 Fulfillament speaker in Traverse City, MI

A Canadian import, Ty grew up in small town Manitoba. After receiving his Masters degree in Physical Therapy from The University of North Dakota and an 7 year stint in Tucson, Ty moved to Traverse City in 2006. He is married to the lovely Johanna, a Leelanau County girl, and is currently a part time […]

A Canadian import, Ty grew up in small town Manitoba. After receiving his Masters degree in Physical Therapy from The University of North Dakota and an 7 year stint in Tucson, Ty moved to Traverse City in 2006. He is married to the lovely Johanna, a Leelanau County girl, and is currently a part time physical therapist (he job shares with Johanna) at Munson. Ty started Carter’s Compost, a bike-powered community composting business, with his two boys, Carter and Jameson, in 2012 and then co-founded Norte!, a bike-centric, youth-focused nonprofit, with Johanna in 2013.

“With a supportive wife to job share with and prioritizing work/life/family balance, I’ve been able to enjoy a successful and meaningful career as a physical therapist while also having the luxury of time to focus on my passions: Traverse City, compost and bicycles.” 

– Ty Schmidt – Physical Therapist, Carter’s Compost and Norte! Youth Cycling and  September 2015 Fulfillament speaker in Traverse City, MI

Margaret was born and raised in the Detroit area and is married and has three beautiful (adult) children.   She earned her bachelor’s degree in Food Systems Economic and Management at Michigan State University and enjoys spending time with her family, cooking, playing Frisbee and practicing yoga.   Margaret is a proud member of the Grand Traverse […]

Margaret was born and raised in the Detroit area and is married and has three beautiful (adult) children.   She earned her bachelor’s degree in Food Systems Economic and Management at Michigan State University and enjoys spending time with her family, cooking, playing Frisbee and practicing yoga.   Margaret is a proud member of the Grand Traverse Pie family and is honored to be challenged by out of the box thinkers who believe in the positive affects we can have on each other as human beings on this earth.

“My mission in life is to define my mission at this point in my life.  My goal is to break through the norms I have lived under and to develop a compassionate heart while dealing with the vagaries of life.  I want to feel sustained from the inside as I give the world the best I have. ” 

This talk was from September 2015 Fulfillament. in Traverse City, MI

Jody is the co-owner of Grocer’s Daughter Chocolate along with her husband, DC Hayden. GDC: Handcrafted chocolates with many organic, naturally grown and local michigan ingredients. Jody is also the co-founder of Higher Grounds Trading Company, and has extensive experience working with indigenous and fair trade farmers all around the world. “My greatest loves are my […]

Timothy Fitzgerald Young is founder, President and Chef of Food For Thought, Inc., creators of organic and wild-harvested gourmet specialty foods. An extensive background in travel and human relief work in the developing world inspired Timothy’s creation of Food For Thought in 1995 with the mission of creating and raising awareness around just and sustainable […]