Faculty Member

Jo-Ann Kevala

Jo-Ann Kevala Dip HGF, Dip BA is an experienced executive with over 25 years of progressive leadership experience in the high-tech and emerging technologies businesses. The Haven has been a catalyst in her journey to finding self-compassion, balance and a way to live a more congruent life. This has extended to include integration and application of many Haven concepts and models to her relationships, executive coaching, training and business leadership. As an entrepreneur together with her husband Rob, Jo-Ann owns and operates Hidden Pond a bed and breakfast and retreat center in Metchosin, BC.

Jo-Ann leads Self Compassion as well as leads and assists Haven Core programs Come Alive and Living Alive.

Hidden Pond

Events with Jo-Ann Kevala

Practice of Being
February 24 - March 1, 2026

An Invitation to Deepening Your Practice of Being  If you’ve taken Come Alive or another Haven program, you already know the experience of waking up to yourself — that moment when you feel more present, more open, more connected with who you really are and with others.  And you may also recognize the reality of how this is possible:  Being is more than a moment.  Being is a life practice.    A life practice is an intentional, integrated way of living awake and aware A life practice is sustaining the commitment to showing up for yourself and others—daily, imperfectly and…

Living the Questions
March 29 - April 3, 2026

Living the Questions This five-day experiential program invites you to explore life’s essential paradoxes through Haven models, breathwork, expressive arts, and experiential practices. Grounded in self-responsible relational living, this workshop will bring curiosity and compassion to the human dilemmas that shape our experience: Isolation / Connection – Honouring and deepening connection with self and others Freedom / Structure – Exploring personal responsibility, choice, and the boundaries that support authentic freedom. Life / Death – Opening to impermanence and awakening to finding presence. Meaninglessness / Purpose – Meeting uncertainty with creativity, passion, and the courage to create meaning. Hear more from…

Come Alive
June 21 - 26, 2026

Come Alive is our most popular core program and the perfect place to begin or continue your journey in personal or professional growth and transformation. People from all walks of life, backgrounds, experiences, lifestyles, and locations join us and most experience something profound. We are grateful for the land and sea that sustain us.  We are deeply grateful to learn, live and play on 7 acres of forested land by the sea that is the ancestral, traditional, and unceded territory of the Snuneymuxw First Nation, a community of Coast Salish Peoples.  Our peaceful yet vibrant centre on Gabriola Island offers…

Come Alive
August 16 - 21, 2026

Come Alive is our most popular core program and the perfect place to begin or continue your journey in personal or professional growth and transformation. People from all walks of life, backgrounds, experiences, lifestyles, and locations join us and most experience something profound. We are grateful for the land and sea that sustain us.  We are deeply grateful to learn, live and play on 7 acres of forested land by the sea that is the ancestral, traditional, and unceded territory of the Snuneymuxw First Nation, a community of Coast Salish Peoples.  Our peaceful yet vibrant centre on Gabriola Island offers…

When One Door Closes
October 1 - 4, 2026

When One Door Closes Turning heartbreak into wisdom, boundaries, and new beginnings. When One Door Closes is a transformational course for singles who are ready to stop repeating old patterns, reconnect with themselves, and step boldly into what’s next. Whether you’ve recently ended a relationship, are healing from one long past, or are simply tired of feeling stuck in the same cycles, this course offers the clarity and confidence you’ve been craving. This is not a dating course… It’s a you-course—a space to rebuild from the inside out. During the program, you’ll learn how to distinguish loneliness from true solitude,…

Living Alive: Self Awareness
November 1 - 26, 2026

The Living Alive programs offer the unique experience of time, space, and guidance to help you (re)discover who you truly are. For 25 days, you’ll have the opportunity to create and establish new or different patterns for conscious living. People from all walks of life, backgrounds, experiences, lifestyles, and locations join us and often experience something profound. We are grateful for the land and sea that sustain us.  We are deeply grateful to learn, live and play on 7 acres of forested land by the sea that is the ancestral, traditional, and unceded territory of the Snuneymuxw First Nation, a community of Coast Salish…