Meet Your Guides
Katie Norwood
Katie Norwood is an ANFT Certified Forest Therapy Guide and Trail Certification Consultant. Her work centers around guiding people in direct forest therapy experiences and partnering with land managers to support intentional development and certification of forest therapy trails.
Raised in a variety of rural environments throughout her childhood and adolescence, Katie has always had a deep connection to her natural environment and the beings that she shares it with. Her relationship with the natural world has centered her and provided balance throughout her life. She is devoted to this relationship and incorporates it into her career as a social work practitioner to guide her practice.
As a Trail Certification Consultant, Katie collaborates with parks, land managers, and organizations to assess trails intended for forest therapy experiences, combining her expertise of guiding, emphasis on sensory experiences, and considerations for ecological integrity and long-term stewardship.
A clinical social worker by profession, she has utilized her passion, creativity, and resourcefulness to guide her practice through a trauma-informed lens. She possesses over 19 years of post-graduate experience in both clinical direct care, supervision, administrative experience, and academic instruction. In the next phase of her journey, she plans to combine her love of nature and social change as she pursues her doctoral degree in Urban Affairs and Public Policy with a focus on city planning and environmental social work.
Shay Hudson
Shay Hudson is an ANFT Certified Forest Therapy Guide and Trail Certification Consultant. Her work includes guiding participants in direct forest therapy experiences and collaborating with land managers to support the thoughtful development and certification of forest therapy trails.
Raised on a farm, Shay developed an early and enduring relationship with the land and the rhythms of the natural world. With some of her earliest attachments rooted in animals, plants and trees, she learned how being with other living beings could offer steadiness and a sense of belonging. That lived connection, along with her background in mental health practice, has shaped how she attends to presence, pacing, and relationship in both her guiding and consulting work.
As a guide, she works with individuals and groups, including day-long retreats, and is particularly drawn to accompanying people who are moving through grief and transition. As a Trail Certification Consultant, Shay partners with parks, land stewards, and organizations to assess trails intended for forest therapy practice, bringing together her experience of guiding, attention to sensory experience, and care for ecological integrity and long-term stewardship.
She holds a graduate degree in social work and is both a Licensed Master Social Worker and Licensed School Social Worker, informing her sensitivity to context, systems, and the ways people and places are shaped by what they carry over time