Our Vision & Values
Resilient and sustainable communities around the world!
WE CARE
Wellbeing Ethics
Compassion Accountability Resiliency Effectiveness
Introduction
Aloha,
This is Dr. Valerie Simonsen, founder of You Know More.
In the 1980s, I experienced a series of near-death experiences. After the final one in 1989, I awoke from surgery inspired to serve as a bridge between traditional and conventional medicines. As a result, I decided then to expand my practice to include international crisis relief work.
My background as an Emergency Medical Technician and first responder, followed by decades of experience as a naturopathic physician, prepared me with valuable tools to help with the healing process.
In 2010, while volunteering at the Bumi Sehat clinic in Bali, I was introduced to a woman who had been paralyzed for ten years due to a massive stroke. She was 35 at the time and existed in a crystalline fetal state, unable to walk, talk and even swallow. Within weeks of restorative care at the clinic, she started to recover her abilities, which amazed her family, friends, and even the medical team. As she continued to recover, I realized that the source of her healing was our shared belief that she could heal. Looking back, it is clear that this experience was the conception of You Know More.
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WE CARE: Wellness, Ethics, Compassion, Accountability, Resilience, Effectiveness
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, I witnessed too many of my peers struggling and dying from overwork and burnout. And I saw in myself the same tendency to sacrifice my own self-care. It was clearly the time for You Know More to be born.
You Know More values the innate wisdom of the body, mind and soul that is our birthright. Through the You Know More program, we offer restorative support for those who dedicate their lives to caring for others. We invite you to join us on this journey.
Thank you very much for your interest in our mission and vision.
Our Team
Vice President
Suzie Nixon
Secretary, Practitioner
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Dr. Valerie, serving a woman in Bali that was paralyzed by a stroke, witnessed in a few weeks time, an amazing restoration of the woman’s ability to swallow, talk, & walk. Another practitioner asked her “how did she achieve such a feat”.
Dr Valerie returned to her internal knowing & honored the woman’s innate wisdom, understanding the client knew on some level that she could restore her own wellbeing. The client became the “midwife” that escorted Dr. Valerie to birth a new lease in life & the non-profit YOU KNOW MORE!
As the president of YOU KNOW MORE, Dr Valerie is an humanitarian, human rights activist, evolutionary activist, philosopher, and philanthropist with 40 years of medical service with 26 years as a licensed naturopathic physician. As a global citizen, she has distinguished herself as an international expert in integrative functional wellness, integrative medicine, disaster relief through natural medicine, & ecological medicine to reconcile the care & health of ecosystems, populations, communities, & individuals. She believes in you and is excited to support you as you return to the nature of your nature and have a personal renaissance. Yes! You Know More!
Life is good and I am grateful. My desire to serve and assist with making sustainable living for communities is currently celebrated living life between Maui and family in Sandy Utah. I retired from Federal service after working for USFS (Forest Service) and BPA (Bonneville Power Administration) as a fish and wildlife biologist and expert in land, water, people and project management. Life has given me a wonderful ride.
What keeps me going? Stopping twice a day to meditate practicing TM (Transcendental Meditation), stretching the body, doing fun exercise, and being outdoors whenever possible. Planting seeds of hope, food, and kindness and tending the garden of possibilities like the YOU KNOW MORE non-profit. Life is good and I am grateful.
Suzie brings over 30 years of career experience in the nonprofit field to You Know More. From helping to initiate new programs and partnerships to bringing established organizations to new heights, she directed the programs and development with Girls Incorporated of Carpinteria for 10 years, co-founded and directed programs with the Ojai Valley Youth Foundation for 7 years, devised new approaches and growth for The Thacher School's alumni fund and network for 10 years, and directed development of alternative PE programs and funding for school across the country with Kids in the Game for 2 years.
More recently, her passion is to lend her support through corporate consulting with businesses with shared values such as the Franciscan Sisters and Flourish Ojai.
The possibility of inclusive, integrated communities and organizations inspires her imagination as does entrepreneurial approaches to solutions for big challenges. With You Know More, Suzie currently serves as a co-founding member of the Board of Directors and offers her healing service to the program offerings through Biofield Harmonizing and reflexology.
Prior to retiring in 2020, Craig was a senior director of product management at a large aerospace corporation located in Southern California, using the power of data to enhance commercial airline safety and improve operational efficiency. He has extensive experience in creating innovative products and solutions and bringing them to market and was responsible for the financial performance of projects, programs, and product team building.
One of his favorite projects was leading the development of a simulation of the International Space Station’s power system. Earlier in Craig’s career he was an accountant and financial auditor for a worldwide accounting firm, Coopers & Lybrand.
Andrea attained her Master's in Mental Health Counseling with a Specialization in Expressive Arts Therapy at Lesley University. She attended Lesley 22 years after getting her Bachelor’s in English and Psychology at Georgetown University, with many rich life experiences and travels in between. Through her world travels and acting training, Andrea gained a deep appreciation for the unique yet universal experience of being human. She was inspired to integrate her conservatory acting and movement training into helping people cultivate whole self wellness.
She is trained in trauma interventions and uses a person-centered, intersectionality-aware approach. Her work is informed by Somatic Experiencing, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, Polyvagal Theory, and NLP as well as Qi Gong, Linklater breath work, Meisner acting, and Williamson Technique movement. Andrea has served people experiencing terminal illness, homelessness, PTSD, domestic violence, incarceration, mental health struggles, and addictions. This work has affirmed for her that humans are capable of great resilience, vulnerability, courage, and adaptability. People just need tools and support to reconnect and revitalize. Andrea looks forward to supporting you on your journey!
Grace brings a diverse professional background to the table with experience in non-profit programming with Girl Scouts of Western Washington, equine-assisted studies and therapies, and building games for education, management, and social change. She is passionate about art, people, connection and community.