About
Mad Hatter Wellness
Equity. Courage. Connection.
Vision: Mad Hatter Wellness envisions a world that provides and promotes equitable health and wellness education for all people.
Mission: Mad Hatter Wellness creates comprehensive sexual health education programming that educates, trains and empowers people with intellectual disabilities and their support systems.
Founded in 2013 by Katie Thune, Mad Hatter Wellness has two primary programs: The Power of Me and Sexuality for All Abilities.
We are grateful for the mindfulness, breathing and movement practices we’ve learned from Yoga Calm, Move Mindfully, as well as many other teachers. We honor and appreciate the many breathing and mindfulness practices that come from traditional and ancient practices, such as Yoga which comes from South Asia. We incorporate mindful breathing and movement in our classes because it helps calm our brains and bodies in order to get ready to learn and discuss challenging health topics. It also helps us to make space for our thoughts to settle when we breathe and rest at the end of a lesson.
Katie Thune
President and Founder, Mad Hatter Wellness LLC
For the past 20 years, Katie has worked with children and adults, both with and without disabilities. Her mission is to help people improve their quality of life. In her 12 years working as a school teacher in Saint Paul Public Schools, her most rewarding work was helping children reach their fullest potential, whether helping a child join Special Olympics or teaching a student mindfulness techniques to use at home.
Katie started using Yoga Calm in her own life because she knew she needed to breathe and be more centered as a teacher. When she began using Yoga Calm in her classroom, she saw fewer behavioral issues and calmer kids. She realized she wanted to spend more of her life helping students in more schools reach this space.
Background
Since 2007 Katie has been implementing yoga-based interventions and mindfulness for people with disabilities. She has her Teaching License in Health Education, and Special Education K – 12, as well as her MA in Education: Developmental Disabilities and worked as a teacher for Saint Paul Public Schools for 12 years. She received her RYT-200 training through Devanadi Yoga in Minneapolis and Yoga Calm Ⓡ training with 1000 Petals in Saint Paul.
Katie founded Mad Hatter Wellness in 2013. In addition to teaching her Power of Me and Sexuality for All Abilities curriculum, Katie has done extensive curriculum writing and relationship work with nonprofits like Highland Friendship Club, Lifeworks, Upstream Arts, and Special Olympics MN. She has developed curricula and courses for these organizations on the topics of healthy relationships and sexuality education, incorporating mindfulness activities and yoga.
Anna Hayek
Anna is so pleased to be working for Mad Hatter Wellness as an Educator and the Heart of Operations. She has a range of teaching experience, including seven years teaching English Language Learners in elementary and middle school. She is a 200 Hour Certified Yoga Teacher, as well as a Certified Yoga Calm Youth Instructor and is certified to teach K-12 ESL and Spanish. She has participated in the following sexuality education trainings: Foundations: Core Skills Training for Sex Ed, Trauma Informed Approaches to Sex Education, Cultural Responsiveness in Sex Education, BLOOM365 Trusted Adult Ally training and the Our Whole Lives (OWL) curriculum training. Anna appreciates opportunities to empower people to connect to their breath, body and community. Pleasure and perimenopause are topics Anna especially enjoys discussing. She loves music, mindful movement, time with dear ones and restorative moments in nature.
Leah Bauman-Smith
Leah is very grateful to be working at Mad Hatter Wellness. She feels strongly that all people deserve equitable sexuality education. Leah is a licensed k-12 special education teacher with a teaching certificate in sexuality education and has taught sexuality education to students in special education for the past 10 years. She believes that all students need to know how to give consent, understand their rights and have opportunities for healthy relationships. Leah also has an extensive background in wilderness travel, urban expeditions and summer camp. Team building, self advocacy and body positivity are three areas that Leah feels very passionate about and has lots of experience teaching. Leah is honored to be a part of such an amazing organization that offers services, support and skills to people who are often left out of educational opportunities and experiences. Leah uses mindfulness practices in her own life and is excited to share these practices with others. Leah loves reading YA fiction, exploring and cheering for the MN LYNX!
Paige Lasota
Paige is grateful to work at Mad Hatter Wellness as a Sexuality for All Abilities Educator & Developer since 2019. She earned her B.S. in Disability Studies from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities and enjoys participating in ongoing education on sex education & disability justice. She has several years of personal and professional experience within the disability community and services- spanning from home-based care to special education to employment. Paige’s goal is to increase accessibility to meaningful activities in life for all. She loves traveling, gardening, singing, and board games!
Kim Rossow
With over 20 years of experience in sexual health education and 14 years of experience raising children, including a teenager with special needs, Kim has a culmination of personal and professional experience that has created a passion, perspective, and expertise that allows her to support parents and individuals with special needs as they work through the joys and trials of the many facets of sexuality. Kim has her Master of Public Health degree with an emphasis in Community Health Education and a B.A. in Psychology and Sociology. Kim’s work in youth development and sexual health and wellness education has focused on training on topics such as puberty, dating, relationships, consent, intimate partner violence, child abuse, gender identity, and other sexual health topics. Kim is the parent to three beautiful (and very active!) children. Kim’s oldest child has a profound intellectual and developmental disability, which has partially re-shaped her career, her family, and her community. Kim volunteers as the “Minnesota Angelman Syndrome Foundation Champion” to support other MN families recently diagnosed with Angelman Syndrome and has served as her local elementary school’s PTO treasurer for three years. Kim loves being involved in the community, schools, and youth/family serving organizations. In her spare time, Kim enjoys adventures with her family and friends, especially skiing, dancing, theater and travel.
Dusty Thune
Dusty teaches Special Education to transition age students, specifically classes about improving self-advocacy and empowerment. He is an artist, snow sculptor, award-winning filmmaker, writer, costume designer, and adventurer. With Mad Hatter Wellness, Dusty leads workshops, teaches individualized classes and has been a huge part of creating curricula and films.