Celebration and Appreciation of Our New Location in San Luis Obispo: A Letter from Executive Director, Dimitri Egan

All, 

Some of you may know, in September of 2025, Windhorse in San Luis Obispo was able to purchase a new office to call home. This was a vision rooted in sustainability, future-oriented thinking, and deep community integration. It was cultivated from a seed that was planted when Windhorse first arrived in California in 2010. 

This vision and endeavor were supported by our Board of Directors, who trust in the work we do. It was made possible, in part, by the financial generosity of alumni families, who believe in this clinical and philosophical approach as something bigger than they are. And finally, it was built through the hearts, hands, time, and generosity of the community of people that serve and are served by this special way of being, the Windhorse way of being.  

Over the last 9 months, Dana and I have overseen a tireless project of tear down and rebuilding, strengthening and coating, containment and creativity. In this way, building this new office home is not unlike the compassionate and courageous journey that we all go through on our paths of healing and commitment to health. 

There were inevitable bumps in the road: permit delays, plumbing mishaps, scuffs, and scrapes. There was compromise and sacrifice, sweat and chaos. There was the subtle impact of change and disorder throughout the entire year, the not-so-subtle impact of building costs being over budget, and the impact on all of the staff. And there were the clients who had grown to love and be a part of our little, maze-like office space with all its quirks and corners. The impact on them was not so subtle, and it will take time to regroup and reorient to our new space.  

Often, I think of the movie Life as a House when I find myself in a Bardo State, or state of transition. There are, invariably, all the thoughts and feelings that go along with change, and the truth is that "Sometimes you have to tear something down before you can build something new." This is what it has felt like over the last 9-12 months. Every inch of the new office has heart and soul in it. So many hours of building each room with detail, safety, containment, and creativity. I would love to take credit for that, but that is the brainchild of our resident Clinical Director (and Windhorse Compassion Designer), Dana Doneza. This also speaks to one of our foundational Windhorse approaches and disciplines: Environmental Awareness Practice. It is the notion that through intentionality, awareness, and commitment we can create and cultivate sane and healthy conditions and environments that foster genuine and authentic healing spaces.  

To all of you that donated to the cause, either directly, indirectly, through monetary contributions or sweat, through your time, energy, and hearts that you pour into this work, hear me and trust me when I say it was all necessary to create the home that can sustain this work for years to come. Everything you have given to Windhorse has been appreciated and honored.

This has truly been a labor of love and, as we are taking root in the beautiful confines of this space, I keep thinking about building something new. It is new, shiny, and has a sheen to it, but underneath all the new skin remains the bones and the spirit of what has been with and within us, the deep connections of authentic relationships, the simplicity of the mundane, the synchronicity of heaven and earth, mind and body, vision and touch, and ultimately the seeds of trees we may never fully see.   

I thank you all, and appreciate your patience, your vision, and the many ways you have contributed to this journey. And to those who work so tirelessly with their own minds to find balance, understanding, and a place of reprieve, I hope we can be a place for that for you, now and in the future. 

With kind compassion and nourishing gratitude, 

Dimitri Egan