Nadine Mazzola (she/her) is a senior ANFT trainer, certified forest therapy guide, and founder of New England Nature and Forest Therapy Consulting based in the Metro-West and Greater Boston area. Nadine trained with ANFT in 2015 as part of cohort 4 and she has been training and mentoring new guides, as well as running her own guiding practice for 10 years. Her work integrates forest therapy, expressive arts, somatics, and embodied leadership. She became a forest therapy guide following her own breast cancer diagnosis in 2013, a turning point that changed her career path and continues to inform her teaching, mentoring, and guiding practice. Nadine wrote, designed and self-published her award-winning book “Forest Bathing with Your Dog which thoughtfully weaves forest therapy with human–animal connection. As a breast cancer survivor, she brings lived experience and sensitivity to her work with people affected by cancer, as well as with a wide range of populations across wellness, education, healthcare, and organizational settings. An accredited Mindful Art Teacher with training in Expressive Arts, somatics, and embodied leadership, Nadine is known for her warm, invitational teaching style and her ability to create learning environments that are both grounded and creatively expansive. She prioritizes supporting guides in developing confidence in their own way of guiding, feeling grounded in the ANFT Relational Forest Therapy approach, and sharing her deep experience with the practice of forest therapy and running her own guiding business. Nadine maintains a strong interest in the evolving research base supporting nature and forest therapy and regularly integrates current science into her teaching. She offers a collection of continuing education classes that bridge experiential practice with evidence-informed frameworks. Nadine has been featured on PBS Windows to the Wild, ABC’s Chronicle, and in the Boston Globe, Boston Magazine among others. With a background in business and marketing—and a former career as a professional billiards player competing on the WBBA tour—Nadine brings a unique blend of discipline, strategy, creativity, and heart to her role as an ANFT trainer. She is committed to supporting the growth of the forest therapy field through thoughtful education, mentorship, and embodied practice.

Amanda is the founder of Shinrin Yoku Hong Kong, a Certified Forest Therapy Guide with the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy Guides and Programs in the US, as well as a Certified Professional Coach in Transformation. Amanda graduated from the University of Hong Kong Faculty of Law (LLB (Hons) and PCLL) and Faculty of Social Sciences (MSocSc in Corporate Environmental Governance). Survivng critical illness in 2014 allowed her to experience the deep healing power of living with awareness in the embrace of nature. Since 2017, she has guided and facilitated close to 100 forest bathing and nature connection experiences, lectures and workshops through public events and in collaboration with the corporate sector, social service organisations, environmental centres, NGOs and educational institutions in Hong Kong. Tapping into her extensive experience as a lawyer and a senior NGO manager and drawing from decades of combined experience in yoga, tai chi and mindfulness practice, she crafts highly relevant and personal experiences that support busy urbanites to reconnect with nature, each other and the peace and wisdom within us. Amanda’s deep connection with nature has supported her through life’s many challenges, including multiple career transitions and critical illness, and she has found nature to be a sacred sanctuary, a wise teacher, a fun-filled friend, a loving parent, and much more. She felt called to be of service to the earth in 2006, but it took her many years and a windy path before encountering Forest Therapy, a practice that deeply resonated with her calling. Amanda is now an ANFT Certified Nature and Forest Therapy Guide and Mentor, as well as an ICF Certified Professional Coach for Transformation based in Hong Kong. She founded Shinrin Yoku Hong Kong in 2017 to offer forest therapy and nature connection experiences to support busy urbanites reconnection with nature and reignite our passion for life. She collaborates extensively with the corporate sector, conservation organizations, NGOs and educational institutions and offers experiences in English, Cantonese, and Mandarin.