Photo by Arwen O'Reilly Griffith

Her passion for experiential poetry began in 1985 when she created a poetry/dance concert featuring Robert Bly and the Indian Classical dancer Neena Gulati. She co-founded The Loading Zone Theater in Santa Rosa, CA. She wrote, produced, choreographed, and directed the acclaimed play Skeleton Woman; A Dance with the Dark, inspired by an Inuit fairytale. Her current project, EVERYDAY MERMAID is a poetry/art collaboration with Deidre Scherer and published by a thousand flowers®.

Early days include an honors B.A. in International Relations from Scripps College, Claremont, CA, teaching at MSU, Philippines, and an M.A. in Urban Policy & Planning from UCLA. She studied nonverbal communication and empathy and created her own way of supporting her students to listen to their and others’ inner lives. She taught at Esalen and throughout the country. Listening to her inner voice, she began reading and writing poetry and studying Bharatanatyam dance, including poetry and music. Isobel also served on the board of O’Reilly Media and was influential in shaping its foundational and cultural values. Isobel’s poetry is featured in Pivot & Pause An Anthology by Azure Antoinette and Elizabeth Gilbert.

Isobel is the blessed mother of two daughters and two grandchildren and lives in San Francisco and Sebastopol, CA.