BreakBread Team
An incredible team of deeply warm, genuine, imaginative,
wise humans lifting the dream of BreakBread into the world.
Martha Williams
Co-founder
For 25 years, Martha has been studying human systems, with a B.A. in Anthropology, a certification from The Coaches Training Institute and OM Yoga, an M.F.A in Film Directing.
Martha is an avid student of transformation (Landmark Education), meditation, storytelling, yoga, and female power inside patriarchal systems – studying with Kasia Urbaniak and Ruben Flores at The Academy, as well as Regena Thomashauer, creator of Mama Gena. Martha sees her life commitment as helping to evolve our collective mind and body through cultural and artistic creation and sometimes agitation.
Martha is also co-founder and CDO (Chief Dream Officer) of Culture Shift Agency and host of the Culture Shift Podcast, is a brand/media/event director and process facilitator/inventor. She’s worked with NeuroLeadership, Intel, Connoisseurs, The Kinetix Group, to name a few.
An award-winning writer/director, Martha brings unique perspectives and insight to business, leadership, and a myriad of other waves she’s either making or riding. She has had a 20-year career that has crossed many genres, from sustainability to coaching/facilitation to branding/media development – all of which is bridged by a penchant for tugging at the invisible personal and cultural fabric that binds us together. Martha’s latest media work, a short-form series about love and dating, recently hit 7 million views on YouTube with 25K subscribers.
John Scilipote
Co-founder
For 30 years, John has studied Nondual Kabbalistic Healing and Nondual Shamanism with Jason Shulman and was a founding member of On The Common Ground, an NYC-based organization focused on men’s soul work.
John has also recently been certified as a Soulful Facilitator. John sees his life commitment as helping people awaken and embrace that which delights and transforms, opening them to be more fully in relationship with others and the world we live.
John, co-conspirator and co-founder of Culture Shift Agency and co-producer of the Culture Shift Podcast, is a technology/brand director and process facilitator/ inventor. He’s worked with Canon, Sony, Novartis, PinkFund, IBM, to name a few.
With a 30 year career that spans the music industry to web development to digital marketing. Without intending to do so, John has grown and sold two companies.
An accomplished musician, yogi, poet, and healer, John brings a breadth of talent, passion, and depth to bear in business, facilitation, and whatever else he happens to be plunging into at any given moment. He recently joined forces with his love, Martha Williams, to form Culture Shift Agency and create BreakBread World.
Visionkeepers
Susan Mazonson
Collaborator, Host & Biz Dev/Strategy, Openness/Insight
“I believe that conversations in “safe and trusted” spaces can be consciousness-raising and transformative, very much a part of what I’m here to create. One thing I love about BreakBread World Dinners is they CAN be transformative but aren’t directly about that – which makes the dance of conversation especially nourishing. Also, the co-founders, Martha and John are the real deal, modeling curiosity, receptivity and integrity.”
I’m an activator, coach, bridge-builder and connector for high growth individuals and culture-shifting organizations. Exhilarated by the magic of collective wisdom emerging from well-facilitated diverse groups. Obsessed with the transformative power of Art, Imagination, and Real Conversations That Matter. Passionate about sponsoring and supporting the greatness in others, particularly female entrepreneurs and intergenerational collaborators.
Francesca Maas
Collaborator, Host & Market Reseach, Reflection/Wisdom
“I love the organic nature of these conversations that always leads to surprising insights; I come away feeling nourished and fully alive with an expanded perspective.”
I am a work-in-progress, increasingly comfortable with identity being fluid. I claim my unknown path. Holding an inner compass that shows the way, relaxing into my value as a seeker and finder.
Maureen Wildman
Host, Curiosity/Fun
“I love hosting BreakBread Dinners because (from a psychological and philosophical perspective), they are terrific “cocktail” parties with exquisite conversations.”
I am a Gypsy and a Jester from upstate New York who left the ice and snow 40 years ago for sunny Tennessee where I met the love of my life. My formal studies include Psychology, Philosophy, Montessori Education and Martial Arts. I like people, dancing, books, and creativity; I love my brilliant daughters, my above-average husband (most of the time), Leonard Cohen (all of the time) and tequila.
Marlene Nichols
Host, Delight/Weaving
“I’m so curious about people and hungry to learn from our collective wisdom. BreakBread embraces the notion that a group of relative strangers can dive right in to the seriously playful and inquisitive nature of real conversation.”
I’m a Southern lady raised by a German mother – so Eudora Welty and Marlene Dietrich are my artistic traditions. I’m the creator of Write Party Global, an online workshop where we banish your writer’s block once and for all and co-produce the LA based storytelling show Strong Words.
Alice Forrester
Host, Wisdom/Grounding
“I host BreakBread dinners to be nourished and enlivened by the deeper conversation and openhearted interaction with friends old and new.”
Alice describes herself as curious, an explorer of the senses, of nature and of what it is to be an awakening human being. Ten years ago, Alice began her studies at “A Society of Souls” with founder Jason Shulman and her heart found a nurturing home in the ideas, environment and community provided by this school and its lineage. Her great desire now is to share what she is learning with others who are on a journey of self-reflection and awakening to life.
Martha Williams and John Scilipote are creators, thinkers, and community connectors passionate about the power of conversation to create communities of care, connection, trust, and belonging. They founded