About Maren
Hey y’all, My name is
Ma(ah)ren Jo(yo)hanna Miller.
Maren, I am named after my Great Great Grandmother.
M(ah)-ren. Derived from Mary and Maria. Of the Sea. Rebellion, Wished for child, Lady or star of the sea.
Johanna, I am named after my Great Grandmother.
(Yo)-han-na. Grace of God. God is gracious.
I use she/her/hers pronouns. I have been raced as white. I am in my 43rd year and a very proud Xennial. A Pisces Sun and Aries rising, and Capricorn moon. An Enneagram 2 with a 3 wing. And a Generator.
I am a perfectly imperfect and complex soul in a human body. A bridge builder. A listener and question asker. A facilitator of depth and authenticity. I value awareness, growth, contribution, and the power of story — and what lives below the surface of it.
I am Anti-racist. Anti-oppressive. Body positive. Sex positive. I am an aunt to 2 niblings. I have chosen not to have children. I am healing my lineage and changing its course.
I am a Scandinavian, Celtic, and Germanic descendant of Europe. I was born and raised near Bdote, in Mni Sota — on the ancestral lands of the Dakota and Ojibwe — where my ancestors took advantage of cheap and stolen land to farm. I currently live and work on the occupied and stolen lands of the Ute, Arapaho, Cheyenne, and Sioux, in what is being called Colorado.
I am an artist, early childhood and art educator, holistic leadership coach, DEI facilitator, and Reiki practitioner. For over 15 years, I've guided women and conscious leaders on journeys of self-discovery, healing, and authentic expression.
I work at the intersection of three things most people are taught to keep separate:
Everything is energy. Everything is about race. Everything is spiritual.
If you know, you know.
I integrate creativity, intuition, anti-racism, and energy alignment to help people return to themselves — with more clarity, more compassion, and more courage to lead from that place. My work lives at the juncture of inner healing and outer accountability, because I believe you can't sustainably do one without the other.
I am on a mission to empower conscious, reflective change-makers — individuals and groups ready to step fully into their potential, cultivate self-awareness, and lead in ways that create ripple effects of positive change in themselves, their communities, and the world.
From Art Teacher to Nonprofits to Energy Healer — Coach — Facilitator — Consultant. And Back.
After ten years in the classroom, I stepped out — not away from education, but toward a deeper version of it. I left hoping to influence adults the way I had always needed to be influenced myself.
To be my full authentic self — the one who speaks truth, names identity, talks about race and the isms, shows up when mistakes are made, owns and repairs harm, and influences rather than forces power over others — I had to go find the spaces where that was not only possible, but required.
That path led me through nonprofit work, DEI facilitation, restorative practices, energy healing, and coaching. I became a Reiki practitioner, intuitive energy reader, and healer. A Reiki Master Teacher and Reverend of the Inner Light. A Diversity, Equity and Inclusion training facilitator, restorative practices circle keeper, and systems change culture consultant.
And then — the return. Not back to who I was, but back to what I always knew mattered: early childhood, creative practice, the places where we first learn how to be in the world with others. Back to myself, and back to the work that started it all.
It is the bridging of these two worlds — anti-racism and energy healing — that sits at the heart of everything I do now. I am a coach for people who want support in being a less oppressive person. Who want to reflect, and take action, on how the world will be different because they were in it. Who need help closing the gap between their values and their actions — in the most authentic, embodied way they can, in the moment they're actually in.
Whether in classrooms, coaching sessions, organizational settings, or creative spaces, I bring a calm, grounded presence and work as a loving accountability thought partner — responsive, customized, and attuned to both people and context. My approach draws from Reggio-inspired and play-based pedagogy, popular education, trauma-informed practice, restorative justice, relational leadership, and somatic abolitionism.
People I work with often leave feeling more connected, more self-aware, and more equipped to keep building inclusive, human-centered cultures long after our work together ends.
It is these two worlds
— anti-racism & energy healing —
I wish to bridge together.
What People Are Saying
“
Maren is an amazing healer. I went to her for help with my back pain and with a concern about my receiving space. I laid on her table and immediately felt surrounded by so much peace and love. It was like a warm blanket, safe and protected. During the session I felt like I was floating. I also remember feeling little pulses of energy in her healing hands. When it was over, I felt strongly rooted in my OWN spiritual power. It was incredible. The experience was awesome. Maren you are the real deal. Thank you for sharing your gift with me.
”
— Janice Pisarski
“
I knew that if I were to try out reiki it would have to be with someone I could trust and feel safe with. As soon as I met Maren, I knew she was that person. My first reiki experience was profound as I was able to tap into some deep insights about my past. Maren was patient in working with me, and I left the session feeling clear, focused, and uplifted. On that same day, I was able to speak my truth so clearly to a group of people that I had to have a hard conversation with!
”
— Jenny Medrano
“
What an amazing experience. During my session with Maren I felt so much tension, heaviness and stuck emotion leave my body. Walked into the session just wanting to cry and honestly sleep for days. After my reiki session I literally smiled the whole way home and was able to tackle my todos for my day. I highly recommend Reiki and energy work sessions from Maren. I’m currently signing up my 3 teenagers!
“
— Kim Gifford
“
Maren is a gifted soul. She is wise, kind, full of light and laughter. Working with her is something I cherish! Don’t think twice, sign up for a session with Maren!
”
— Becca Nunziato
Training & Lineage
My Institutional journey started at St Olaf College in Northfield, MN where I studied art and graduated with a BA in Studio Art. I then went on to pursue a teaching career and graduated with a Visual Art LIcense, Reading Endorsement and Masters in Education from Augsburg College (Minneapolis, MN). I went on to teach art from 2007 - 2017 at 5 different Schools.
In August of 2009, I moved to Stavanger, Norway (with 2 weeks to pack) to work at the International School of Stavanger. I would end up extending my two year contract, twice, for a total of four years, in one of the greatest countries (and happiest) in the world. I taught middle and high school art, and a high school yearbook class. And is where I created LoveRockResidue and where I started to see that not everyone stays in Minnesota and gets the job, gets married and has a family. There are families out and about traveling and working in different countries. There are way more single folk out here just living their best life. There can be a beautiful work/life balance. That Cross Country skiing, a hot drink in a thermos and a Reindeer hide to sit on, is the best. As well as brunost and bike commuting. That a group of strangers can become family. That spirit and the universe has bigger plans, and is truly at work in every step along the way.
In 2014, I started a job at North View Middle School in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. It was here as a new teacher in the district that I participated in a mandatory training called Beyond Diversity. A 2 day training through Glenn Singleton (Pacific Educational Group) and Courageous Conversations About Race. And is what started my understanding of what it meant to be a racialized being in this world. Also as a new teacher in the district I went on to be trained in ENVoY (Educational Non Verbal Yardsticks, now call the Catalyst Approach) with Nancy Burns. Which gave me permission and concrete ways to be the teacher I had always envisioned myself, but hadn’t been trained properly. Eventually, with my newly forming critical race lens, was also trained and given language for what I believed deeply in my soul, Restorative Practices & Justice. And is where I rooted in the belief that there should be more room for *Bubbles in the Hallway. And that our humanity and inherent dignity and worth matter.
I am primarily trained in my anti-racist analysis through…
Glenn Singleton, Pacific Educational Groups, Courageous Conversations About Race Protocol
Heather Hackman, West Metro Education Program (WMEP)
Lee Mun Wah, Cross Cultural Facilitation Skills and Mindful Inquiry
National Urban Alliance, Summer Academy
Dare 2 Be Real Training (Anti-racist youth leadership program)
Resmaa Menakem, Somatic Abolitionism
Kelly Germain, Energetic Justice
More about my journey here
My analysis of race deepened as I pursued more education and had ample opportunities to face, reflect, practice and own what it means to be a white person in education and in the United States. I decided to step away from teaching, and pursue spaces and organizations that aligned with my growing desire to remain rooted in my personal racial equity purpose and coach, consult and facilitate professional development and personal racial equity development with adults.
Today, I've come full circle in the most unexpected way — teaching preschool and leading art pop-up events, while continuing to coach, consult, and facilitate professional development with adults across education, nonprofits, and organizational settings. The classroom never really left me; it just evolved.
*Philosophy: Love. Bubbles. Heal
I wish to encourage and facilitate methods and practices for the betterment of self, but also for the greater good of all.
Chat with me
Interested in working together? Let’s connect.