Dr. Gail Y. Lash, PhD
Dr. Gail Lash believes that we are all one human family, and one with the Earth and its creatures. We express and see this oneness when we travel and get to know each other - in our homes, at work and in leisure times & natural places. Her passion is to create Peace Trails around the world that encourage this unity between humanity and all life - promoting dialogue on compassion, justice and how to create a new world at peace.
Since 1991, Dr. Lash has worked with rural communities, assessing social and economic development issues related to community-based ecotourism in and around parks and protected areas. Her work in Ecuador, Belize, Indonesia, and the United States, has covered such topics as local perceptions of benefits from protected areas and/or endangered species, landowner rights, women's craft groups, guide training, conservation education, and building equitable partnerships.
Since 1996, Dr. Lash has also been on a spiritual journey, learning and developing her intuitive skills. By getting in touch with the Creator, and the Divine-within, she has been able to balance her logical and intuitive knowing, and purposefully create her life. She is blessed with opportunities to teach these principles of inner-knowing through her Peace Brain Training: how to be centered, grounded, detached from outcomes, and passionately creative! Also, she has learned how to access Divine healing and is a spiritual healer, as well as teaching healing classes and doing Peace Counseling to those in need through her Alchemy of Peace workshops and private sessions.
Dr. Lash is Founder and CEO of Tourism For Peace (TFP), promoting the teaching of peace through travelers and their hosts. She is Co-founder and Principal of Ursa International, a design firm that specializes in creating parks and visitor spaces worldwide, primarily zoological parks and animal sanctuaries. She is Coordinator of the Spirituality in Tourism Network for the International Institute for Peace through Tourism (IIPT), and an Associate with Community Conservation, Inc. (CC). Dr. Lash was also a Teacher and Board of Directors member at Horizon Center for Intuitive Awareness; she served on the Board of Directors of The Forest Foundation (TFF), which supports local producer artisan groups in several developing countries; and formerly was on the Board of the International Environment Forum (IEF), an internet-based organization that promotes spiritual principles for finding solutions to environmental problems.
Dr. Lash has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Zoology from Duke University, a Masters of Science Degree in Technology and Science Policy from Georgia Institute of Technology, and a Ph.D. in Forest Resources from the University of Georgia.
In her play time, Gail loves to write her books, solve mysteries, play with her dogs, hike in the mountains with her husband Nevin, travel to diverse countries and cultures, photograph animals, attend live theater, be a clown, and walk labyrinths.
