The Power of You Teen Retreat
Wednesday, June 24 - Saturday, June 27, 2026
Whidbey Institute, WA
When a teenager walks into a room and feels genuinely seen — genuinely part of something, genuinely at home in themselves — something shifts that no algorithm can replicate.
The Power of You Teen Retreat isn't about restriction or instruction or even mindfulness (though there will be plenty of that). It's not about telling kids to put their phones down. It's about giving them something better to reach for.
Four days on Whidbey Island. One hundred acres of forest. A team of facilitators who know how to create the conditions for real belonging — the kind that doesn't stay on the retreat. The kind that follows them home. The kind that lives inside them.
Over four days, teens will move through a carefully crafted experience — opening circles and icebreakers that actually create connection, honest conversations about identity and conditioning, meditation, creative self-expression workshops, and time in nature that does something to a person that's hard to explain until you've felt it.
Teens will explore what power really means, practice tools for managing self-talk and stress, learn to communicate from a more grounded place, and sit in the kind of community where it's safe to drop the mask. By the final day, they won't just be leaving with memories — they'll be leaving with practices they can actually use when life gets hard.
Caverly Morgan founded Peace in Schools over a decade ago — creating the nation's first for-credit mindfulness class in public high schools. She's spent years watching what happens when teens are given real tools and a real container to explore who they are. The Power of You was born from that same conviction. Same heart. Different form. This is Caverly's independent offering — separate from Peace in Schools — and a true community collaboration between the Whidbey Institute, Realizing Freedom Together, Khan Lab School, and Caverly Morgan LLC.
June 24–27 · Ages 15–19 · Whidbey Island, WA Scholarships and pay-what-you-can available — because every teen deserves this.
Scholarships Available
Full and partial scholarships + pay-what-you-can options are available. Please click here to apply.
The world our teenagers are growing up in is not the world we grew up in. AI is here. Phones are everywhere.
Parents often say we just need to take the phones away, we need to keep them off social media, we need to go back.
But the question isn't how do we take phones or AI away from teens. The question is: can we create experiences so real, so alive, so genuinely connecting — that they don't even reach for their phones?
That's what we set out to do in The Power of You Retreat. Not to fight against what is, but to offer something so much more powerful than the alternative that the alternative just loses its grip.
We’ve watched it happen hundreds of times. The kid who comes in with their arms crossed and their guard fully up. The one who's been performing their way through high school because the alternative — being actually known — feels too risky. And then something cracks open. Not because anyone pushed. Because the conditions were right.
That's what this summer is about.
The Power of You Teen Retreat — June 24–27 on Whidbey Island — is built on exactly this premise.
Four days immersed in 100+ acres of conservation forest, with a team of facilitators who know how to create the conditions for something real to happen. Mindfulness. Honest conversation. Sitting together in the kind of quiet that lets you hear yourself think for maybe the first time in a while.
Four days where the alternative to the phone isn't boredom — it's actually being alive.
Every day we watch people find something in themselves that the noise couldn't touch. One person finding that matters. A whole group of teenagers finding it together — at the same time, in the same place — is something else entirely.
Testimonials
A GLIMPSE INTO THE RETREAT
Day One — Arriving & Opening
Facilitator introductions and icebreakers
Creating a shared container of care and community agreements
Exploring the question: Who am I beyond what I've been told to be?
Introduction to mindfulness and foundational concepts
Opening circle and group discussion
Day Two — Going Deeper
Exploring the masks we wear and conditioned identity and how they hold us back
Creative self-expression workshop
Guided meditation
Small group sharing and reflection
Time to explore the land
Day Three — Connection & Community
Mindful communication workshop
Relational practices and group inquiry
Nature-based exploration and sensory awareness
Evening reflection circle
Day Four — Taking It Home
Morning grounding and opening circle
Tools and practices for managing stress and self-talk
What are you taking away? — group sharing
Closing circle with the full facilitation team
Celebrating what was discovered together
Every day includes:
Guided meditation
Time in nature
Creative expression
Group discussion and connection
Nourishing, organic meals
Teens are always encouraged to engage at their own comfort level.
Facilitator & Mentor Bios
Caverly Morgan (she/her)
After eight years as a Zen monk, Caverly Morgan discovered something unexpected: nothing was missing. The freedom she'd been searching for was already here.
Caverly is a teacher of awakening, author of The Heart of Who We Are and A Kids Book About Mindfulness, and nonprofit founder. She supports others in remembering our true nature—not through more techniques or self-improvement strategies, but through presence, inquiry, and togetherness.
Through retreats, teachings, and practices, Caverly creates spaces where we return to our inherent wholeness—the peace and belonging that doesn't
depend on anything being different.
Dr. Brian Frank (he/him)
Dr. Brian Frank is a primary care physician who loves helping people feel more at home in their own minds and bodies. He practices family medicine in the Pacific Northwest and is especially interested in how mindfulness, self-compassion, and community can support healing.
Brian has spent many years working with teens and young adults, and feels deeply inspired by their courage, curiosity, and capacity for growth. As the father of a 15-year-old daughter, he knows firsthand the incredible insights (and humor!) that teenagers bring to the world. Outside of medicine, you can find him hiking forest trails, listening to live music, or experimenting in the kitchen. He’s grateful to be part of this retreat and excited to help create a space where every teen can feel safe, supported, and fully themselves.
Jess “Jay” Jarris (she/they)
Jess “Jay” Jarris is a Somatic Psychotherapist, Yoga Therapist and Embodiment Coach. In her private practice, she blends together Somatic Experiencing, mindfulness, Polyvagal Theory, parts work and embodiment practices.
Jess began their personal exploration of contemplative practices in 2004 and since 2012 has journeyed alongside others in exploring how movement, mindfulness and somatic awareness can help to reconnect us with the innate wisdom of our bodies. She offers individual sessions, a quarterly group series called Embodied Homecoming, and workshops.
Shane Brent-Maldonado (he/him)
Shane Brent-Maldonado is a trans/queer educator and teen advocate who believes in the transformative power of voice, reflection, and self-trust. With over a decade of experience supporting teens and young adults through pivotal life transitions, Shane creates spaces where teens feel empowered to show up as their full selves. His own journey with mindfulness and meditation began as a path toward self-acceptance, helping him navigate his trans identity, purpose, and belonging. That practice continues today as a tool for staying grounded amidst the pressures and noise of adult life and career. Shane’s work weaves together storytelling, stillness, and self-inquiry to help young people connect with who they are—beyond expectations or external noise. He is especially passionate about uplifting LGBTQ+ youth and those navigating complex school or family dynamics. Shane is honored to support this retreat and offer practices that help teens tap into their own clarity, strength, and sense of direction with joy.
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