Graduate Profile
Alison Marks (2007 Graduate)


Before I began attending the Golden Gate School of Feng Shui, I was working doing design coaching part-time, and for many years previously I was in nonprofit management. At my last job, I was the executive director at a soup kitchen for the homeless.

I chose to come to the Golden Gate School of Feng Shui because I had already been been coaching people on how to create a home environment that really supported them, and had previously envisioned feng shui as a set of rules that people had to follow. Finding out that it's actually a set of principals that we can interpret creatively and individually in each situation to help us align with the heavens and the natural world was very interesting to me.

Attending the school totally changed my life, of course. I am much more of a professional doing what I am doing now, and I have a lot of support from the community and the people I met in the program. I have a lot more knowledge and experience behind me. I have a professional designation too, and although it's not about the numbers or letters, having done something so big and accomplished it helps me in the world more. I,ve also met so many amazing people.

This is really, really important work in the world. At first it was hard for me to think about making the jump from working in the nonprofit sector "saving the world" to helping people have pretty living rooms. Over time, I got it on such a deep level that we are in such a unique time on the planet right now, and it's vital for people to have homes where they can recharge their batteries so they have the internal resources to do the important work that they are being called on to do.

At this time in my life, I am practicing feng shui. My specialty is working in homes and office environments, and I have also developed a specialty with my background being in professional coaching. I like to work with people over a period of time so they get experience rather than a one shot consultation. In this way, we can address the obstacles in their way so they stay on track, and over a period of time develop a deeper relationship with their living space.

In addition to my regular website for my business, Inside Out Design Coaching, I just launched a new blog called Spirit in the City, celebrating San Francisco's juicy, funky and fun places that make us happy to be alive. It's all about the power of place. And it's such great fun for me to visit places around the Bay Area and share what I see; my perspective is always becoming more coherent, and it definitely incorporates many beautiful and profoundly meaningful lessons I learned at Golden Gate School of Feng Shui.

I am utilizing what I studied in my work and also personally in so many different ways. It has infiltrated all the corners of my life. It put me on a path through which I've learned a lot, not just from the school, but also other things I've been turned onto because I attended the school. It's been an explosion of learning, growth, and friendships. It's been wonderful!

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