Vanessa’s Story

Vanessa Osage spent over a decade transforming culture to embrace positive sexuality.

In 2009, she created a puberty rite of passage program as a new, healthy way to meet sexual maturity. This effort soon blossomed into the nonprofit Rooted Emerging. Combining meaningful sexuality education with outdoor adventure, talking circles, and an overnight solo vigil, she has guided young people and families to revere the transition as worthy of celebration.  

 

To raise awareness as Executive Director, she coordinated over a dozen community events in Bellingham, Washington.

These included an all-ages Masquerade, Giant Puppet Storytelling events, workshops on Mindfulness & The Four Shields, a Lecture Series on Rites of Passage, and Love’s Fool, a celebration of the divinely imperfect journey of romantic love.   


  

  

 

  

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Author Tom Robbins served as Love’s Fool Grand Jester on April Fool’s Day 2017.

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In 2018, she co-created the play, “The Circle Holds It All” with Indigenous artist Meghan Yates (now Meg Vellejos McCoy of Inner Life Creations), which they toured throughout Whatcom County, Washington, middle schools in the What We Could Be Project. With grant funding from the Tulalip Tribe, the troupe brought The Mi’kmaq Kindness Teachings and more to over 1,000 students and gathered social research on the greatest needs of young people today.

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Vanessa Osage continues to coordinate events for nonprofits and foundations around the Pacific Northwest.

 
  

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In 2012, Vanessa Osage began teaching “soulful sexuality education” to young people in small groups, homeschool, 4-H and private school settings.

Having trained through Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts in 2006, she expanded her certification to create a fuller approach to guiding for sexual health. She taught Emotional Intelligence along with healthy communication, boundaries, staying true to oneself, and honoring the body’s wisdom. Her philosophy is most in line with Comprehensive Sexuality Education, as practiced with excellent long-term outcomes in parts of Europe.     

 

                                              Teaching self-love and boundaries to 6-9 year old students

From the very beginning, individuals began reaching out for private, one-on-one support in their relationships and personal growth.

Vanessa had been a professional childbirth assistant, doula, with Doulas of North America (DONA) in her twenties, so the role of private support around sexuality and family was a natural extension of her experience. She has since worked with teens, young adults, parents, couples, men, women, and diverse people of all genders and orientations.

In 2018, she trained with the Relationship Coaching Institute to earn certification as a Professional Coach, CPC. Her expertise has expanded from sexual health to include restorative consulting, institutional reform, organizational development, personal empowerment, emotional liberation, and writing coaching programs.

Following great interest in Parent Nights at private schools, Vanessa created a “Raising Sexually Healthy Kids” seminar (now a Coaching Package!), which she has hosted multiple times around Bellingham, Washington. She wrote a 23-page workbook with exercises, research and guidelines for parents, educators and professionals. This work later evolved into a published book, in 2022 (see below).

With the pandemic came the opportunity to build an author career. Now, Vanessa Osage is working on her third book, a story-rich guide for individual and collective transformation through motion.

She released her first book, Can’t Stop the Sunrise, in 2020, with great press to follow. This social change memoir received a 5-Star Review for Politics & Current Events at IndieReader. It is available wherever books are sold — and as a captivating audiobook at Audible.

Then, in 2022, members of Callisto Media/Rockridge Press reached out and asked her to write her second book, Sex Education for Girls: A Parent’s Guide.

Her third book and corresponding Tour are set for release in 2027. To learn more about the next evolution of her career into stories, diversity, and events, please visit Horizon Vision.

To receive one-on-one support in writing and public speaking, visit the Writing & Speaking page

To hire Vanessa Osage to speak at your upcoming event or conference, visit Speaking Engagements

Individual work with clients is available as schedules allow. Please visit Consulting & Coaching

See an early video describing Rooted Emerging

Enjoy interviews, articles & much more at Vanessa Osage author website