Community Highlights: Meet Jim Graywolf Petruzzi of Sanctuaries of the Earth Mother

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jim Graywolf Petruzzi.

Hi Jim, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
For 25 years I ran businesses on the East Coast – entrepreneurial in scope and diversity: a chain of 35 video stores, clothing stores, ice cream, radio stations, etc. I also taught during that time and helped people with starting up small businesses or non-profits. Then I left all of that to go West and explore my spiritual nature deeper and acquire higher educational degrees.

Now I focus on my non-profit, Sanctuaries of the Earth Mother, and the business I do to support it. It is focused on nature-based education and cultural teachings with a global board and reach. I also lead groups and retreats and provide ceremonies.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
A totally smooth road means no progress. So, mine has been smooth at times and rough at others. When I built my businesses I focused on it too much and missed a lot of my personal life. Then my wife at the time was diagnosed with cancer at 48. We went West and I taught at University as I earned degrees – and began running an environmental center for the university.

By birth I am Romani gypsy – Italian branch, Native American and a smattering of ‘other’. My grandmother taught me of her spiritual ways as an Italian Romani, but I really began on a spiritual trail with Native American teachers in Colorado. I was challenged for being on this path as a mixed breed. I continued thanks to my native elders. Then I began traveling the planet living and learning from many indigenous cultures. Accused of being too white by some and too red by others. Slowly that changed. Over the years I had books published and taught in many venues. In 2009 I created Sanctuaries of the Earth Mother as a means to teach about getting back in balance with nature. I have created several small businesses to support this work and now seek funding from foundations.

We’ve been impressed with Sanctuaries of the Earth Mother, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I have created and run many businesses and non-profits over the years. Each supported non-profit organizations in the environmental realm. I have used what I learned – and my mistakes – to apply to the next cycle of my life. I have run small to large businesses and organizations and looked at each with eyes seeking new ways to function. That is a long story, but it brings me to my work with Sanctuaries of the Earth Mother (SOTEM). It seeks to make changes in our human ways of connecting and working with the Earth and people to come back into a balanced system that supports and does not destroy.

Some examples of innovations I am proud of… I created a diverse plan for affordable housing in the 90s – a combination of market-priced homes, homes sold at a cost where interest was charged and homes sold at cost with no interest. By doing this many levels of society were served.

While at Colorado State University I ran the Environmental Learning Center non-profit for the University. I worked with others to create a Colorado Partnering Education model, where students from K-12 schools, at-risk schools, Americorps, and University students all worked and learned together and teachers were shared between them.

With SOTEM we are creating a global effort to teach and practice sustainable living by working in the physical realm and the virtual. We are Wisdom Gatherers and Wisdom Keepers, teachers, storytellers, spiritual members, scientific practitioners, and artists. We now seek to create physical Sanctuaries around the globe – facilities – where people can come to learn.

Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
It requires a combination of the people mentioned above to be successful in any realm at one’s peak ability. I’ve had teachers from around the world from business to science to elders… teammates with skills that supported mine and vice versa… advocates for most of my work – while being a leader of virtual Standing Rock advocates appeared daily and on it goes.

Each time I tried a new venture people appeared who helped me see the solutions to mistakes and/or other ways to move forward. Each team I built a team I did so in a circle fashion – all had a voice and each was equal to all others. Learning to step up when they had the best skills and follow when someone else did.

Contact Info:

• Website: jimgraywolf.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jimgraywolfpetruzzi/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100078274932128
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-graywolf-petruzzi-9abb557/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/JimGraywolf
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbi03Xdp4xSlc5ZX_Z6Oo-A