History - Center for RelationaLearning

CRL History

Accompany us on the journey through our past, and learn about who we are and where we come from.

Our Story

Our History

The Center’s history is embedded in the sacred landscape of Northern New Mexico. For more than 20 years the Center formed its mission and practice while based at the Historic Mabel Dodge Luhan House in Taos, New Mexico. As a multicultural and multi-age living and learning center, Dr. Otero and associates hosted and facilitated hundreds of workshops, retreats, and conferences on Global and Multicultural Education, New Mexico History, and Culture. We at CRL have always been pushing against the standard paradigm of education. We have been reforming the culture of teaching, learning, and leading since the 70s beginning with global, multicultural, diversity, and inclusion issues, emerging into a focus on relational learning and community leadership, and parent and community engagement across England, Australia and New Mexico. Most recently the focus since 2015 has been relational leadership development.

Southwest to Outback

Our pioneering work reflects the changing global context. First, we focused on building American’s awareness of the global interdependence in which we all live. Learning and accepting our connectedness in the face of differences, conflicts, and challenges has led us to assist diverse school communities across the US, Australia, and England to develop a relational mindset and the corresponding skills and strategies that promote equity, tolerance, goodwill, and interconnection. As a result of working in so many different communities, we have developed new ways for people to connect and relate to each other. A powerful expression of our unique approach has been the 20 years of learning journeys between the people of Australia and New Mexico.

Onward

As we move through the impacts of isolation and disconnection created by the global pandemic and the emerging challenges of AI and social media, many now realize we are not meant to live disconnected, either from ourselves or each other. More people than ever want a relational approach to life to counter the acceleration of anxiety, alienation, loneliness, and apathy. As we move forward we have adapted, refined, and reformed our approach to best suit the newly emerging ways we live and work together.

More about George and CRL

The story of CRL is the story of people and place. George Otero was born and raised in New Mexico and except a stint in Denver Colorado to teach middle school, consult with the Center For Teaching International Relations and earn an ED.D in global multicultural education he has lived in Albuquerque, Taos and Santa Fe. He is rooted in New Mexico. This identity has driven his professional life. In 1977, he set up a non-profit organization located in the historic Mabel Dodge Luhan House in the heart of Toas, New Mexico. This living learning center was home to transformational education experiences for more that 65,000 folks of all ages for 20 years.

The power and joy of working in such a sacred landscape allowed George to pioneer unique ways of putting the relationship first in classrooms, organizations, and personal development in order to support humans to create the way they relate in the context of a diverse, global society.

The result. Classes, publications, retreats, seminars, teaching workshops and gatherings on history, culture, art, education and community too numerous to list and a unique experiential methodology that sees relational ways of learning, (play, games, story, dialog, art and ceremony) as the natural way everyone can co-create a present and emerging future that prioritizes relational learning, living and leadership.

Following the New Mexico byline, ‘It grows as it goes’, CRL has developed in unpredictable but destined ways. When Susan Chambers Otero came into Taos in 1986, a new tributary emerged. Studies in art, consciousness, sacred landscapes, and community social gatherings blossomed and kismet turned into marriage, partnership and the founding of SunMoon LLC. The Center for RelationaLearning came into being and the relationships that have occurred since 1996 have resulted in strong friendships, learning journeys between Canada, England, Australia and New Mexico, and professional development and training across the globe. This website reflects the current people, programs and relationships that make CRL a unique center for relational learning and leadership.

CRL History

Accompany us on the journey through our past, and learn about who we are and where we come from.