Susan MacKenzie, Ph.D.

Susan MacKenzie, Ph.D. is a spiritual director, retreat leader, and educator. A graduate of the Guild for Spiritual Guidance in New York, Susan works with individuals who wish to be more intentional in their lives through reflection, prayer practices, and spiritual disciplines.  Susan offers retreats throughout New England, including some that draw upon her Maine Guide training and incorporate outdoor adventure. Her retreats are geared to a range of audiences, including spiritual seekers with no affiliation to organized traditions. Susan is comfortable with anyone who seeks to live from a deep center of personal integrity and meaning, honoring whatever s/he names as sacred.  Susan has served as a faculty member for the 5-day Spiritual Formation Academy sponsored by The Upper Room in Nashville TN. She has taught courses in World Religions and Ecology, Sustainable Development, and American Environmental Literature at Colby. She is an expert in ecosystem management and a Maine Master Naturalist. Susan and her husband manage their 20-acre forest for wildlife habitat. They garden, raise chickens, and keep bees. She enjoys Early Music and plays recorders for fun.

Learning Materials:

In this article, 'Grounded In Hope', Susan argues that faith communities may have a significant and constructive role in the Anthropocene, the age where humans are the dominant drivers of ecosystem processes.

In this video, Susan reads a story that is deeply meaningful to her. It comes from the beginning of a book by Christin Lore Weber called Finding Stone: A Quiet Parable and Soul-Work Meditation. You're invited to sit back and listen, letting the story flow around you.