The Paths to Becoming an Accredited Professional
by Jackie Eshelman
My mother is the most skilled human I have ever met. Her way of being cultivated me into a lifelong learner and a skill-builder. Therefore, I am always on the lookout for new ways of knowing. Back in 2019, I was teaching science and math in the field for an experiential middle school, and after finishing my Permaculture Design Certificate, I was excited with my new understanding of ecology and farming, but I could not shake the feeling that I was still missing a piece. I will never forget the day my life path was changed by Allan Savory’s Ted Talk. These were the first twenty-two minutes of a trajectory that I could not have predicted and my life is better for every connection I have made since that day.
After watching Allan’s impactful talk, I discovered Savory’s Global Hub network and learned that you could become an accredited educator in Holistic Management. With my degree in leadership and education, and a background in group facilitation, I realized that I had the background and skills to hit the ground running. Taking accredited courses in Holistic Management through Savory Hubs was a direct and tangible way for me to immerse myself in the foundational learning and connect with a like minded community. I found that, of all of the Savory Hubs throughout the world, my closest hub, the Jefferson Center for Holistic Management, located in Northeastern California, was collaborating with White Buffalo Land Trust, the Savory Hub in Central California, to teach a 10-day Holistic Management intensive course in November of 2019, which was just two months away.
Me and the ladies from my HM intensive in 2019!
It felt like divine intervention. I knew in my gut what I needed to do. I took a leap. I spent every dollar I had to my name, and signed up for the in-person Holistic Management course near Santa Barbara, California. In preparation, I took the Savory Institute’s online courses, which cover the Foundations of Holistic Management. These courses are a must for anyone starting this journey. As I drove down to Santa Barbara that November, pumping my last few dollars into my gas tank, I felt hopeful and nervous at my decision. After completing the required course work, all that was left to do before becoming an accredited professional with the Savory Institute, was to have a two-hour “ exit interview” with a Savory Institute exit interviewer.
Now three short years later, I am a Savory Field Professional and Hub Leader. (Yes! It can happen that fast!) What I discovered through my own experience is that the process to become an Accredited Professional Educator is really quite simple and, when we work in complex systems, there can be many pathways to the same destination.
In an effort to pay-it-forward for the next person taking their first brave step toward becoming an Accredited Professional, let me recap the process:
Step 1: Take the Savory Institute online courses in the Foundations of Holistic Management
They can be purchased separately or as a 5-course bundle
Step 2: Take an immersive in-person or virtual course
Sign up for the suite of 4-course in-person or virtual courses with a Savory Hub in the Global Network like UVE (the order of coursework is not important).
Holistic Planned Grazing
Holistic Ecological Monitoring
Holistic Financial Planning
Holistic Land Planning
Step 3: Set Up and Take the Exit Interview
When you have completed all of the coursework and feel ready to interview, you fill out this Exit Interview Request form. After submitting the form you will be directed to the Savory Website to Pay the $199 USD Exit Interview Fee.
This “interview” is in the format of a conversation guided by a Savory Institute Exit Interviewer and designed to understand your level of fluency and comfort when talking about Holistic Management with others.
After the interview, you are either accredited as an Associate Educator, or you will be directed toward the areas of Holistic Management training upon which you need to focus your growth.
Step 4: Start Your Journey as an AP
As an Associate Educator you are encouraged to gain experience teaching, training, and being mentored in Holistic Management with Accredited Professional Educators, Field Professionals, and/or Master Field Professionals.
Still not quite sure where to start?
Check out the Savory Institute Help Center for Details on Accredited Professional (AP) process.
Contact Savory Global to learn about the journey to becoming an AP.
Take the UVE Holistic Management Courses
Read “Holistic Management, Third Edition: A Commonsense Revolution to Restore Our Environment”
Jackie Enloe Eshelman is a Holder at UVE Hub, a Savory Field Professional and EOV Master Verifier, and an experiential educator. She leads UVE’s EOV monitoring crew and has the pleasure of traveling the western regions of the US working to support land & livestock stewards wherever they are on their regenerative journey.