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5 week immersion
July 14 - August 15, 2025
Uvita, Costa Rica
A new paradigm of education and service
the gift academy
learn to lead. learn to serve.
The Gift Academy is an educational accelerator preparing you to change culture, transform systems and realize your true nature.
Imagine a school that trains you at the intersection of culture change, therapeutic work, environmental design, and social innovation.
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Review this page and the downloadable program brochure and apply online.
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We will review your application if we feel you're a fit, you'll be invited to schedule a live call.
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Join us for the 8-week emersion from June 20 - August 15, 2025 in Uvita, Costa Rica.
How It Works
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"The real problem of humanity is that we have paleolithic emotions, medieval institutions and godlike technology."
- e.o wilson
Humanitarian Disasters
War & Geopolitic Conflicts
Technological Disruption
Climate Change
Mental Health Crisis
Social Inequites
complex challenges on the horizon:
We cannot solve systemic problems with the same level of thinking used to create them.
The Gift Academy is a guide to find new solutions.
Our holistic approach ensures that learning is not confined to the classroom. It flows into community life, creative expression, and service, fostering a sense of connection to oneself, others, and the earth. Our program places students ahead of the curve so that they can lead with the vision.
A holistic curriculum for whole humans
Be empowered to shape culture and design systems that foster thriving communities, while you awaken new ways of being where personal growth meets collective impact.
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the world needs you
Experience dynamic curriculum and immersive education to...
Cultivate inner resilience, creativity, and social-emotional intelligence to deal with complex global challenges.
Master skills in conflict transformation, human development, regenerative design, future-thinking, and facilitation.
Train in new models of culture and society that provide insight, integrity and inspiration to be heart-centered leaders.
Create ecosystems of change—from healing communities to impactful organizations to sustainable social enterprises.
Activate the experience of feeling alive and in the process discover your reason for being (Ikigai).
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Nurturing Potential and Purpose
The Academy
At The Academy, you’re not just a student; you’re a seeker, an explorer of your own limitless potential.
Introspective journeys, classroom training and collaborative projects create a transformative process that transcends traditional education
Through dialogue, lectures, demonstrations, scenario-based learning, debates and independent study, you'll be inspired to stretch beyond your comfort zone to embrace new perspectives and ways of knowing.
Imagine being part of a community where living in harmony—with yourself, the Earth, and others—is not just a goal but a daily practice.
Experience what it means to build meaningful, authentic relationships. Deepen your understanding of human connection and embrace the responsibility we all share in creating a thriving, interconnected community.
Here, you’re not just learning about community—you’re living it.
Harmony with Earth and Each Other
The Village
Celebrating Community and Creativity
The Show
Music, dance and craft-making help you discover your creativity and develop confidence in your self-expression ability to make things.
You will also learn how to collaborate on creating a transformative learning experience for others!
Expand yourself at the campus of Awake —a center devoted to embodying the seed of a new earth.
Awake Learning Village
your location
Our evolutionary hub has all the facilities that support students at the academy to turn their entire stay into a transformative learning experience.
A haven for personal growth and connection - a conscious community surrounded by the inspiring beauty of Costa Rica's mountains, rivers and ocean.
welcome to the awake center
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Gift Academy's home-base is the Awake Center in Uvita, Costa Rica. Awake is a living laboratory for conscious living, featuring 100’s of local plants, herbs and fruit trees, secluded nature spots for relaxation and study, yoga and meditation halls, cafeteria, private river access and more.
key modules
Program Curriculum
module
Futures Studies and
Systems Thinking
Introduction to systems thinking, governance models and collaborative problem-solving frameworks.
Scenario-based learning teaches how to forecast and explore the interconnected dynamics driving complex challenges on both community, organizational and global levels.
module
Self-Awareness and
Human Development
Cultivate personal growth through mindfulness, authentic relating, conflict transformation, and somatic practices.
Engage with key frameworks from depth psychology and trauma-informed practice to understand the stages of human development.
module
Creativity and Ritual
Explore arts, crafts and practices that connect creativity as essential for personal expression, cultural storytelling, and community healing.
Experience how cultural containers can align with nature and psyche to foster the social determinants of mental health.
module
Ecology and
Environmental Design
Develop a foundational understanding of ecological systems through permaculture principles and regenerative design.
Learn about how to create environments that are harmonious with nature and sustainable for future generations, and gain hands-on experience with eco-communities and regenerative businesses.
This 5-week immersive experience provides you with the core knowledge and practices they need to cultivate self-awareness, develop critical thinking, and explore their relationship with the world, nature, and community.
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Your Roadmap Toward Mastery
The competencies gained in the foundations program will gain you micro-credentials, which you can use whether you pursue careers in culture change, community-building, therapeutic work, environmental design, or social innovation. Students will start with the Foundations Program, and then have the option to expand into other diploma tracks which are in active development.
earn micro-credentials
"Education, health, wealth, and the strength to fight social injustice are the fundamental needs of human life."
- Amma
• You’re ready to explore your highest potential and use it in service of humanity and the planet.
• You are aware of the growing disconnect between people, nature, and purpose, and you’re seeking ways to bridge that gap.
If you’re asking yourself these questions…
• You seek a transformative learning experience that blends personal growth, collective intelligence, and regenerative action.
• You want to work alongside passionate individuals who are determined to make a real impact on the world.
This program is what you’re looking for if...
• How can I use my gifts to serve the world in a meaningful way?
• What kind of world do we want to build for future generations?
• How can we cultivate a culture of compassion, creativity, and sustainability?
If you’re seeing the world this way…
Wondering if this is for you?
Due to the uniqueness of this program, what’s most important is whether you feel called to this experience. The Gift Academy is for those ready to become active agents of change in a world that needs visionaries and creators to shape the future.
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meet your guides
Team + Teachers
Co-facilitator
Sarah Marshank
Sarah Marshank, MEd, is the founder of Selfistry, an integrative system for mastering the art of being human, and author of Selfistry: A Guide to Embodying Timeless Spiritual Wisdom. Combining spirituality, psychology, and neuroscience, Selfistry blends Eastern and Western philosophies with meditative and somatic practices. Sarah teaches globally and offers one-on-one mentoring.
Her journey is detailed in her memoir Redefining Being Selfish: My Journey from Escort to Monk to Me.
Founder/Program Architect
Zamir Dhanji
Graduating NYU with a concentration in Spiritual Economics, Zamir spent a decade in sustainability education and youth mentorship. As Program Director for the Teen Journey Society, he guided global Rites of Passage programs through Canada, India and Peru. Trained by Dr. Gabor Maté in somatic-based psycotherapy, he co-created Patterns to Presence, a program for healing attachment trauma. He went on to create TRU Yoga, an approach blending ancient wisdom with sound, soma and psyche. Now on the leadership team at the Awake Center, Zamir leads The Gift Academy, a decade-long vision to create an educational paradigm for holistic human maturation.
Program Manager
Terra Fleenor
Terra is a holistic hybrid instructional designer, community organizer, relationship coach with over 20 years of event experience. She has worked with Envision Festival and organized countless transformational events focusing on fostering individual resilience and supporting the revival movement.
She’s co-creator of Holistic Life Tribe, a vibrant digital community where seekers come together to pursue personal growth, professional enhancement and holistic transformation.
Ecology & Ceremony
Chris Norris
Christopher Norris Tlahuililoc is a true Phoenix, rising from the ashes to create "The Living Library Sanctuary for Sacred Plants" in 2016. His deep love for sacred medicinal plants and a profound respect for indigenous teachings has led to collaborations with various Indigenous communities, both local and international, enriching his understanding and appreciation of the relationship between culture, ecology and the ceremonial ways that bind them together.
A sundance firekeeper and sweatlodge pourer, he serves his community with the principles of integrity, dedication and self-reliance.
Peace Activation
Eva Dalak
International Consultant, Facilitator, and Trainer, Eva is a Palestinian born in Israel and based in Costa Rica. Founder of Peace Activation, Eva has spent 30 years working in conflict zones across Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. Specializing in conflict transformation and women's empowerment, she is committed to fostering peace from within individuals to create lasting community impact. This dedication inspired her to create Peace Activation and advocate for “soul-based peacebuilding.”
Restoring Commons
Danielle Gennerty
Danielle is an activist for ecological restoration, architect of place-based communities and alchemist of decentralized governance economies.
A former corporate project manager of IT systems, Danielle has been facilitating change in networked environments for over 30 years. She now lives in Costa Rica, contributing to projects that bring blockchain-based tools for collaboration and crypto-philanthropy to real world applications that incentivize economic restructuring around caring for public goods.
Your experience includes
Two organic, vegan meals per day, crafted to sustain health and support focus and energy throughout each learning experience.
Be a part of shaping the leadership of tomorrow by enrolling in The Gift Academy—a unique education that values multiple intelligences, emotional awareness, and personal growth as much as knowledge.
off-site visits
whats included
5 Week live Immersion
nourishing meals
Community Offerings
Off-Site Visits to inspiring natural sites and local learning centers, creating memories and fostering knowledge in the real-world.
From yoga and breathwork sessions to community events, these offerings enhance the immersive learning journey and foster meaningful connections with others.
A teaching-learning community with world-class instructors featuring lectures, workshops, daily classes and practice sessions.
Hands-On Learning
Use our Makerspace to turn ideas into reality through hands-on projects, workshops, and guided learning modules.
APPLY NOW
download program guide >
Your experience includes
Two organic, vegan meals per day, crafted to sustain health and support focus and energy throughout each learning experience.
Be a part of shaping the leadership of tomorrow by enrolling in The Gift Academy—a unique education that values multiple intelligences, emotional awareness, and personal growth as much as knowledge.
off-site visits
whats included
5 Week live Immersion
nourishing meals
Community Offerings
Off-Site Visits to inspiring natural sites and local learning centers, creating memories and fostering knowledge in the real-world.
From yoga and breathwork sessions to community events, these offerings enhance the immersive learning journey and foster meaningful connections with others.
A teaching-learning community with world-class instructors featuring lectures, workshops, daily classes and practice sessions.
Hands-On Learning
Use our Makerspace to turn ideas into reality through hands-on projects, workshops, and guided learning modules.
APPLY NOW
download program guide >
The Investment
Be a part of shaping the leadership of tomorrow by enrolling in The Gift Academy—a unique education that values multiple intelligences, emotional awareness, and personal growth as much as knowledge.
APPLY NOW
download program guide >
Private Room
Ideal for those seeking a balance between privacy and community engagement. Upgrades to self-contained casitas available.
$4,775+
most private
Shared Dorm
Perfect for those who thrive in collaborative, communal environments. Only available for scholarship students.
$3,500
Shared Glamping
Combine comfort and nature, providing a unique outdoor experience. Twin bed. Shared bathroom and showers.
$4,125
Choose the accommodation that best suits your needs:
most common
most common
most affordable
8 spaces available
8 spaces available
10 spaces available
The Investment
Private Room
Ideal for those seeking a balance between privacy and community engagement. Upgrades to self-contained casitas available.
Be a part of shaping the leadership of tomorrow by enrolling in The Gift Academy—a unique education that values multiple intelligences, emotional awareness, and personal growth as much as knowledge. Choose the accommodation that best suits your needs:
APPLY NOW
download program guide >
$4,775+
Shared Dorm
Perfect for those who thrive in collaborative, communal environments. Requires 10 hrs weekly work exchange .
$3,500
Shared Glamping
Combine comfort and nature, providing a unique outdoor experience. Twin bed. Shared bathroom and showers.
$4,125
The Investment
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APPLY NOW
download program guide >
Option 2
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What we need now are conscious leaders, cultural healers, and social architects to transform every facet of our world—from how we live to how we connect, innovate, and thrive together.