About RUPI

The Right Use of Power Institute (RUPI) is a global force, guiding people to utilize their power with awareness, wisdom, compassion and skill.

Founded in 2011, RUPI is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

RUPI was formed to further the reach of the Right Use of Power™ mission. We serve the general public, professionals, and members of the Right Use of Power™ Teacher’s Guild.

Learn about RUP Core Concepts

Our Vision

We inspire and support people in using their power ethically, with accountability, strength and heart.

Our Founder

Dr. Cedar Barstow

Founder & Executive Director Emerita of the Right Use of Power Institute

Learn more about Cedar’s additional contributions to the world on her website, www.CedarBarstow.com.

Cedar (she/her) is a consultant and teacher on ethics and ethical issues. She has been designing, developing, and teaching this approach since 1994. Cedar’s background includes 30 years as a psychotherapist and 25 years as a teacher.

She is the author of books and articles on ethics, counseling with elders, women and independence, and psychotherapy and spirituality. Cedar is also a Hakomi Experiential Psychology Trainer and a member of the Naropa University Adjunct Faculty.

She maintains a private psychotherapy and ethics consulting practice in Boulder/Denver and teaches both Right Use of Power™ and Hakomi nationally and internationally.

The Right Use of Power™ educational materials and exercises were developed by Cedar over a period of 20 years and dozens of trainings.

These teachings have been influenced by many sources in Cedar’s background. She is particularly grateful for her extensive experiences as an administrator, therapist, and trainer of the the Hakomi Method of Experiential Psychotherapy, chair of both the Hakomi Institute International Ethics Committee (HIEC) and the United States Association of Body Psychotherapy (USABP) Ethics Committee, ethics expert contributor to GoodTherapy.org, consultant to numerous organizations, and ceremonialist with the Earth Song Ceremonial Dance Community.

Our Team

We are a small and mighty team of humans, woman-founded and gender-expanisve-led. We are aware that our history is rooted in a white-cis-woman identity that was focused on personal and role power. It is our intention and our vision to create a collaborative organization of many identities dedicated to the exploration of all types of power including status, collective and systemic power.

Many of our staff and contractors are white or white-presenting and we acknowledge the disparity of perspective this creates. We acknowledge we are not immune to identity supremacy, particularly white supremacy, as many of our staff are from the United States and have been socialized within that context.

We are actively pursuing a power-conscious and diverse staff - that is not only racially diverse but is also as internationally diverse as our community. Our focus is to continually give and receive feedback and grow individually and collectively into right relationship.

Dr. Amanda Aguilera

Director of Vision & Abundance

About Amanda

Amanda is a consultant and facilitator in the area of power-and-equity consciousness and conflict resolution. Driven by her core values of curiosity, courage, and connection, Amanda is adept at putting things together in new ways, creating visuals that help make learning more accessible, and communicating complex ideas in simple ways.

Amanda has a commitment to be courageous in the service of reducing and repairing harm in relationship and promoting the cultural shift toward power-and-equity consciousness, conflict positivity and conflict competency.

At the core of her academic and personal passion is the advancement in understanding social power dynamics and deepening the personal and collective uses of power in the world with wisdom and compassion.

Her doctoral dissertation focused on the dynamics of shame and power in the justice system and she continues to develop theoretical models in the intrapersonal and interpersonal experiences of power dynamics, including the integration of neurobiology, contemplative practices and restorative practices as they relate to power differentials.

Veronica Borgonovi

Director of Client Services

About Veronica

Veronica Borgonovi (Bore-go-no-vee; she/her) is a member of the core faculty at the Right Use of Power Institute and has facilitated RUPI’s Basics, Core, and Power and Equity Challenge programs. She has also been a student in RUPI’s Power-Conscious Authentic Leadership and Power-Conscious Restorative Integration programs. Veronica is an experienced project leader, manager, mentor, and coach and has supported over 40 client projects in management and social sector consulting across several countries. As an internal organizational leader, she guided a multi-year effort to transform organizational culture around equity and inclusion across multiple teams and geographies.

Veronica is guided by her values of wholeheartedness, interdependence, curiosity, connection, and adventure. As the first in her family born in the United States and a daughter of immigrants from different racial, class, and national backgrounds she is on a continual exploration around identity and authenticity. Veronica loves the outdoors and finds peace, joy, and unfortunately sometimes injuries in nature, on both land and water. One of Veronica’s most prized possessions is a peer-voted award for “Most Supportive” from her high school speech and debate team, which hangs on her wall as a continual reminder to be in right relationship with others.

Ana Shoemaker

Executive Operations & Training Coordinator

About Ana

As a Purépecha-American social artist, Ana is dedicated to personal and transformational health, wellness, and relational healing through conscious movement, art, dialogue, and dance. She serves on the advisory team for the Dallas Movement Collective and coordinates BIPOC Ecstatic Dances. Ana is the Communications and Digital Marketing Director at the Dallas Meditation Center. Previously, she was a personal caregiver for a loved one with Alzheimer’s for ten years and a volunteer in the Dallas County Jail with female inmates for a decade, where she offered creative dance and movement. Sarah Lawrence College is where she received her bachelor’s in Sociology/Anthropology.

Marcia Leftwich

Training Support Coordinator

About Marcia

Marcia Leftwich (she/her) is a passionate mentor, advocate, and healer committed to helping others find their light in the midst of darkness. As the founder of Inspired to Victory, LLC, she empowers individuals to overcome adversity and reclaim their voice. With a heart for holistic living, Marcia is a powerful advocate for wellness and a bold voice in destigmatizing mental health, especially within minority and underserved communities.

A motivational speaker and author, Marcia draws from her own journey to help others find victory through life, even during challenges. She is a dedicated advocate for domestic abuse and breast cancer, offering guidance, empathy, and hope to those navigating these deeply personal battles. Her calling led her to become a pastoral counselor, where she supports individuals and families through grief, trauma, spiritual development, and life’s many transitions.

Marcia’s approach to healing is integrative and soul-centered. She is a 500-hour certified yoga instructor, a 50-hour certified meditation guide, and a Reiki Master Healer. Through yoga, meditation, and self-care, she teaches others how to reduce stress and create space for healing from the inside out.

A proud graduate of Spelman College with a B.S. in Biology, Marcia earned her M.A. in Pastoral Counseling with a concentration in Crisis Response and Trauma from Liberty University. She is currently pursuing her doctorate in Community Care & Counseling with a focus on Marriage and Family Therapy.

At the core of Marcia’s work is providing the inspiration to learn from the valleys in life and climb the mountain and stake the victory flag. She lives this truth daily, inspired by her two pillars, Myles and Adin, who have taught her the true meaning of unconditional love, perseverance and resilience.

Our Board of Directors

Agata "Aggie" Chydzinski

She/Her

About Aggie

Agata “Aggie” Chydzinski is a business advisor and co-founder of Athena Advisory Collective. She helps mission-driven organizations identify and resolve financial problems, strengthen internal systems, and build sustainable growth strategies rooted in their values. With 20 years of experience, Aggie works closely with Women-Owned, LGBTQ+ Owned, and BIPOC-Owned businesses across mental health, healthcare, the trades, and professional services.

Aggie is known for turning financial chaos into clarity. She partners with founders and leadership teams to clean up operations, align business models, and support decision-making that leads to long-term stability. Her approach is strategic, relational, and unapologetically grounded in results.

As a board member of the Right Use of Power Institute, Aggie brings practical expertise in financial repair and organizational sustainability. She is committed to helping RUPI grow its impact while staying aligned with its mission of fostering ethical and embodied power.

Sarah Buino

She/Her

About Sarah

Sarah Buino is a speaker, educator, therapist and the founder of the therapy practice Head/Heart Therapy, Inc and consulting organization Head/Heart Business Therapy. She’s a member of the adjunct faculty at Loyola University Chicago and a podcast host. Her podcast called Conversations With a Wounded Healer examines the role of one’s own healing while being a care-giving professional.

She lives just outside Chicago, Illinois with her husband and their two pups, Batman and Cilantro.

Dr. Cedar Barstow

She/Her

About Cedar

Cedar Barstow is a consultant and teacher on ethics and ethical issues. She has been designing, developing, and teaching this approach since 1994. Cedar’s background includes 30 years as a psychotherapist and 25 years as a teacher.

She maintains a private psychotherapy and ethics consulting practice in Boulder/Denver and teaches both Right Use of Power™ and Hakomi nationally and internationally.

The Right Use of Power™ educational materials and exercises were developed by Cedar over a period of 20 years and dozens of trainings.

Sari Ajanko

She/Her

About Sari

Sari Ajanko

Leadership Coach | RUPI Faculty Member | Mission Circle & Board Member

I'm a leadership coach based in Helsinki, Finland, where I live with my Canadian husband.

My journey with Right Use of Power began during my Hakomi studies, when Cedar’s book immediately resonated with me. As a leader, the concept of empowerment had always carried deep meaning, and I knew instantly that this framework held something essential.

Though I once dreamed of attending the trainings in Colorado, it wasn’t until the pandemic that the opportunity opened up—an introductory workshop online. Since that first experience, I’ve attended nearly every RUPI training available, many more than once. This path led me to become a facilitator, associate teacher, and board member.

The ongoing journey of power-consciousness has been deeply transformational. Right Use of Power offered a missing piece in my professional life, especially as I reflected on my years in leadership. Understanding my own power more clearly has not only brought insight—it has changed the way I am.

The RUPI framework brings language and clarity to conversations that are often overlooked. I’m committed to making power-consciousness accessible across professions, especially supporting leaders in using their power wisely and ethically.

I’m honored to contribute as part of the RUPI faculty and Mission Circle.

Gabriela Zapata-Alma

They/Elle

About Gabriela

Gabriela Zapata-Alma, LCSW, CADC, (they/elle) is a liberation-centered bilingual, multicultural clinician, speaker, author, educator, and national subject matter expert with 20 years’ experience serving individuals and communities impacted by interpersonal and structural violence. In addition to their boutique practice, GZA INK, Gabriela currently serves as the Associate Director of the National Center on Domestic Violence, Trauma, and Mental Health, as well as faculty at the University of Chicago, where they direct the Alcohol and Other Drug Counselor Training Program within the Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice. As a person with lived experience of violence and trauma, they center survivor-driven solutions, nonpathologizing approaches, and intergenerational healing in their work. A frequent keynote speaker and published author, Gabriela has developed evidence-supported toolkits, curricula, and best practice guidelines that have been used as blueprints for conferences, summits, and legislative advocacy, all while centering lived/living expertise at the intersections of substance use, mental health, and gender-based violence. Gabriela's work is driven by their values, particularly the value of interdependence and being in right relationship as a community member, partner, parent, and future ancestor. When they are not cultivating healing and equity, they can be found with their nose in a book, their fingers in the soil, roaming through forests, or singing and dancing with family.

Shiva Roofeh

She/Her

About Shiva

Shiva Roofeh helps leaders navigate power and systems change through facilitation, strategy, and adaptive leadership approaches. As a Program Director (Imperial College London, DukeCE) and facilitator, she’s worked with ABN AMRO, Generali, Google, Unilever, and the European Central Bank to transform organizational culture.

Rooted in a deep belief in collective power, Shiva’s "curious rebel" perspective bridges systems thinking with human-centered change. She equips leaders to tap into their shared influence, blending adaptive frameworks with lived experience to create futures where people and systems flourish together.

Our Advisory Board

Jeff Couillard

He/Him

About Jeff

Jeff Couillard holds an M.A. in Environmental Management from Royal Roads University and is the founder and chief facilitator at Attainability Group, a small consulting firm dedicated to building incredible teams of professionals in organizations big and small in a wide range of sectors.

Attainability Group focuses on bringing Right Use of Power™ principles into organizations
to improve employee engagement, develop leadership capacity, and achieve better client outcomes. From team development to conflict resolution, leading multi-disciplinary teams of professionals tackling the complex issues of addiction and mental health, to sharing stories on the TEDx stage, Jeff is focused on creating highly functional individuals, teams, and communities.

Farzin Farzad

He/Him

About Farzin

Farzin Farzad is an Organizational Justice practitioner with experience in higher education, trade associations, local government, and the private sector. Holding two master’s degrees in international affairs and diplomacy as well as a certificate in conflict resolution skills, Farzin leverages his unique academic background, extensive travel experience, and experiential knowledge to provide comprehensive, thought-provoking local and global approaches to his work.

In addition to training and education programs, Farzin is a seasoned project manager with expertise in developing strategies that build equitable workplace environments and government services, as well as build internal capacity.

Farzin is the founder of Critical Equity Consulting, LLC, a boutique Organizational Justice consulting firm focused on helping organizations rebuild with a primary focus on creating equitable outcomes and seeking justice.

Dr. Loren Intolubbe-Chmil

She/Her

About Loren

Loren Intolubbe-Chmil, Ph.D. (she/her) is an educator and activist with over thirty years of experience in teaching and diverse educational contexts. Loren’s deepest interests encompass representative stakeholder engagement, education for change, and human rights-based decision-making. Loren’s work in the world is significantly shaped as a tribal member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma as well as the experience of completing K-12 education in multiple and divergent locations as the child of a parent in the U.S. military. As a reflection of commitment to a world that embodies dignity, belongingness, justice, curiosity, and interdependence, Loren has taught several courses – including study abroad programs in Nepal and southern Africa – and led a variety of workshops and trainings with those collective values at the center.

Loren has a BA in Sociology with a Minor in Women’s Studies from Mary Baldwin University, and earned an M.Ed. and Ph.D. in Social Foundations of Education at the University of Virginia. Loren is currently a Teaching Assistant Professor and Leadership Instructor in the Student Academic Success Center at the University of Colorado-Boulder, and is co-founder and partner of the educational consulting firm CoreCollaborative International.

CoreCollaborative International: https://corecollaborative.com/

Loren LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/loren-intolubbe-chmil-ph-d-98571939/

Click Here to See Our Founding Members & Sponsors