About Bridgepath
Who We Are
Bridgepath Foundation is a U.S.-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to strengthening personal, collective, and planetary well-being. We work at the crossroad of human development, cultural continuity, and ecological responsibility—supporting individuals and communities in living with dignity, resilience, sovereignty, and harmony with the Earth.
Founded in response to growing disconnection—within ourselves, our communities, and the natural world—Bridgepath bridges evidence-based wellness practices with cultural and Indigenous wisdom to create pathways of healing, belonging, and long-term sustainability.
Our Mission
Bridgepath Foundation exists to nurture personal, collective, and planetary well-being by supporting individuals and communities in living with dignity, resilience, sovereignty, joy, and harmony with the Earth.
Our Vision
A world where diverse cultural wisdom is honored, the Earth is revitalized, and individuals and communities live with dignity, sovereignty, and harmony with nature.
What We Do
Bridgepath Foundation advances well-being through an integrated portfolio of programs that support individuals alongside community-centered and land-based initiatives.
Our work includes:
Wellness & Human Development Programs
Education, coaching, wisdom and women’s circles, retreats, and embodied practices that support mental, emotional, physical, and relational well-being across diverse populations, including women, adults, youth, and institutional settings.Community & Cultural Initiatives
Long-term partnerships with Indigenous and local communities focused on cultural continuity, women’s economic resilience, knowledge preservation, and community-defined priorities.Land, Food, and Ecological Stewardship (Emerging)
Future initiatives supporting food and seed sovereignty, ecosystem recovery, and the revitalization of traditional relationships with land and territory.
Our Approach
Bridgepath’s work is guided by principles that ensure ethical engagement, cultural respect, and long-term impact:
Culturally Grounded
Our programs honor worldview, tradition, and context, ensuring that initiatives are appropriate, respectful, and non-intrusive.Community-Centered & Self-Determined
Communities and individuals define their own priorities, life plans, and solutions. Bridgepath walks alongside rather than directing or imposing.Reciprocal & Relationship-Based
Our work is rooted in mutual respect, shared responsibility, and the belief that support circulates—strengthening families, communities, and ecosystems.Integrative of Evidence-Based and Cultural Wisdom
We bridge contemporary well-being and wellness science with ancestral and Indigenous knowledge systems, recognizing both as essential to sustaining life.Long-Term and Sustainable
We prioritize durable systems, capacity-building, and ethical funding models that support continuity beyond short-term interventions.
These principles apply across both our individual-focused programs and our community-based initiatives.
Our Operating Model
Bridgepath Foundation operates through a blended funding model that integrates:
Earned revenue from well-being, wellness and educational programs
Philanthropic grants and institutional partnerships
Individual donors and community supporters
Earned revenue from programs directly supports community-based initiatives, creating a reciprocal and ethical funding structure that aligns financial sustainability with mission integrity.
Our Work in Practice
Since its founding, Bridgepath Foundation has:
Facilitated well-being, wellness, education, and human development programs in the United States
Supported Indigenous-led cultural preservation, women’s economic initiatives, and knowledge safeguarding efforts in Colombia
Built long-term relationships rooted in trust, reciprocity, and respect for sovereignty
Our work continues to grow through partnerships that honor both people and place.
Leadership & Governance
Bridgepath Foundation is led by its Executive Director and guided by a Board of Directors with experience in nonprofit governance, wellness, education, community development and indigenous Elders. The organization also collaborates with advisors and cultural knowledge keepers in alignment with community protocols.
Directors Circle
Maria Luisa Whittingham
Board Chair
Rosario Montes
Adminitrator
Debra Dorella
Marketing / Fundraising
Maureen Fitzpatric LCSW
Program Coordinator, USA
Janna Storino
Treasurer
Tiba Edilberto Mendoza Ruiz
Muisca, Community and Cultural Representatice
Maria Cristina Herdoiza Perez
Program Coordinator, Colombia
Maria Claudia Montes- Founder & Executive Director
A social worker by training, Maria Claudia holds a Master’s degree in Social Work from New York University and a Bachelor’s degree from Ramapo College. She is licensed as a Master Social Worker in both New York and New Jersey, USA. Her interdisciplinary approach integrates trauma-informed, person-centered, and strength-based methods alongside creative and expressive arts, yoga therapy, hypnotherapy, Gestalt and life coaching. Her foundation also includes an associate degree in fashion design from Fashion Institute of Technology, which she integrates as an embodied and expressive modality supporting identity, dignity, and self-expression.
Maria Claudia brings lived experience with addiction, anxiety, depression, eating disorders, and suicidal ideation—using this understanding to create spaces rooted in empathy, empowerment, and growth.
Over the past decade, Maria Claudia has led programs that nurture personal and collective well-being, including one-on-one coaching, wisdom and women’s circles, retreats, and culturally grounded initiatives with Indigenous communities in Colombia. She has trained extensively in yoga therapy, Reiki, Kundalini, and child and family therapy, combining these modalities to create meaningful pathways for healing, self-discovery, and connection to the Earth.
As Founder and Executive Director of Bridgepath Foundation, Maria Claudia is committed to walking alongside individuals and communities to strengthen sovereignty, dignity, and ecological stewardship. She believes that true well-being arises from the integration of mind, body, spirit, and Earth—and through her work, she inspires others to embrace their own potential while contributing to a more connected and thriving world.
Maria Claudia Montes is a guide for reclaiming joy, resilience, and harmony with oneself, community, and the Earth. Born in Bogotá, Colombia, and raised in New York, she draws on her Muisca heritage and a lifelong journey of learning to weave ancestral wisdom with evidence-based well-being, wellness and expressive practices.
