photo by Kora Goodman

Hi, I’m Naomi watkins (she/her).

I am guided by two threads in my life: 1) the importance of inclusive learning communities led by facilitators who empower their participants, and 2) the natural world and my body serve as some of my most impactful teachers and healers.

I am a certified forest therapy guide, an educational and instructional leader, a breathwork facilitator, a yoga instructor, a non-profit co-founder, and a storyteller. I explore the land on foot and on my paddleboard, share the stories of women past and present through writing and podcasting, hold a Ph.D. in education, and passionately believe in the empowerment of women and young people. While I grew up on the coast of the Pacific Ocean, my chosen home is on the traditional and ancestral homelands of the Shoshone and Ute Tribes in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Career highlights

  • 20+ years in the public and private K-16 education systems as a teacher, instructional coach, university professor, and state educational leader.

  • Trained thousands of educators across the United States & developed 30+ in-person and online courses for adults and children.

  • Co-authored Champions of Change: 25 Women Who Made History, a book written with Katherine Kitterman and illustrated by Brooke Smart as part of my work for Better Days 2020, a non-profit dedicated to popularizing Utah women’s history through art, education, and legislation.

  • Co-host of This is Her Place, a podcast about Utah women, past and present.

  • Created the first-ever K-12 curriculum and website dedicated to Utah women's history, developed and provided educator professional learning opportunities on this curriculum, and partnered with other community organizations and institutions, including the Utah Museum of Fine Arts and PBS Utah, on a variety of educational projects and exhibits to highlight Utah women’s advocacy in social movements.

  • Earned an Outstanding Achievement Award from the Utah Division of State History and the Ardis E. Parshall Public History Award from the Mormon History Association.

  • Co-founder of Aspiring Mormon Women, a 501c3 non-profit organization that supports and encourages Latter-day Saint (Mormon) women's professional and educational pursuits. While I stepped away from the religion in 2017 and running the daily operations of the organization in 2018, the organization continues to provide capacity building, networking, and mentoring on an international scale through an online discussion forum and in-person events.

  • My research on literacy and language pedagogy, educating English language learners, culturally diverse children's literature, content-area and disciplinary literacy, and teacher education has been published in academic journals such as The Reading Teacher, Journal of Children's Literature, TESOL Journal, and Middle School Journal.

Education & Certifications

  • Certified Forest Therapy Guide, The Forest Therapy School

  • 100-hour Breathwork Facilitator Training, Breathwork Liberation Society

  • 200-hour Wellness, Social Emotional Learning, and Yoga Teacher Certification, Breathe for Change

  • Healing Sexual Trauma Training: A Professional Training in Trauma-Informed Care, The Breathe Network

  • Wilderness First Aid & CPR Certified

  • Ph.D., Teaching & Learning: Literacy, University of Utah

  • M.Ed., Curriculum & Instruction: Language & Literacy, Arizona State University

  • B.A., English Teaching, Brigham Young University

  • Secondary English Teaching License, State of Utah