About Bridgepath Foundation
Bridgepath Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit working at the intersection of human development, cultural continuity, and ecological stewardship
We operate through a reciprocity model: earned revenue from integrative wellness programs flows directly to Indigenous-led community initiatives in Colombia's Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. No overhead between them. Your remembering funds theirs. Their wisdom deepens yours.
Who leads Bridgepath Foundation
Bridgepath Foundation was founded by Maria Claudia Montes, an integrative coach with a background in psychiatric social work and Muisca ancestral heritage. She grew up between Bogota and New York, fluent in two worlds and searching for the thread that connected them.
That thread turned out to be the same one the Wiwa Mamos and Sagas have been protecting for centuries: that the health of a person and the health of the Earth are not separate questions.
Bridgepath began during COVID as a wellness practice. As that work deepened, it led to the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. The Foundation was built from what she found there.
Our Mission
Bridgepath Foundation supports personal, community, and planetary well-being by supporting individuals, organizations, and communities in living with dignity, resilience, sovereignty, joy, and harmony with the Earth, through education, grants, coaching, and community-based initiatives rooted in respect for people, culture, and the living world.
Our Vision
A world where diverse cultural wisdom is honored, ecosystems are revitalized, and individuals and communities live in dignity, sovereignty, and reciprocity with one another and the living Earth, shaping their futures with care for generations to come.
Our two flagship initiatives
Ley de Origen - SHEMBUTA: In alliance with the Organización Wiwa Golkushe Tayrona (OWGT), Bridgepath is supporting the first-ever written documentation of the Wiwa sacred law across 14 sacred sites in La Guajira. Phase 1 is complete. Phase 2 begins August 2026.
Wiwa Women’s Economic Sovereignty Program: Direct investment in Wiwa women and girls as they restore sacred weaving and dyeing traditions, build community livelihoods, reclaim economic sovereignty and self-determination, and pass living knowledge to the next generation.
The people walking this path
Bridgepath Foundation is led by Founder and Executive Director Maria Claudia Montes and guided by a Board of Directors with expertise in nonprofit governance, wellness, education, community development, and Indigenous knowledge systems.
Board of Directors & Advisors
Maria Luisa Whittingham
Board Chair
Rosario Montes
Administrator
Janna Storino
Treasurer
Debra Dorella
Marketing / Fundraising
Maureen Fitzpatrick LCSW
Program Coordinator, USA
Juan Carlos Nacogui Gil
Wiwa, Community and OWGT Cultural Representative- Colombia
Marta Cecilia Gil
Wiwa Women's Art Coordinator- Asociación Indígena Wiwa Ribunduna representative
Saga Ana Gil
Wiwa Elder- Palabra Mayor- Spiritual Advisor
Mamo Bunkua
Wiwa Elder- Palabra Mayor- Spiritual Advisor
Saga Ana and Mamo Bunkua serve as Cultural and Spiritual Advisors to Bridgepath Foundation. Their guidance is not symbolic. It is the foundation of how this work is conducted
Maria Claudia Montes- Founder and Executive Director
Born in Bogotá, Colombia and raised in New York, Maria Claudia carries Muisca heritage alongside formal training in social work, yoga therapy, clinical hypnotherapy, coaching, and personal image; a combination that reflects her core understanding: that remembering is not only an inner journey. It is the path back to self, to community, and to the living Earth
Her work begins with a simple observation: that disconnection runs through everything. Within people, between communities, and between humanity and the natural world. At Bridgepath, she built a practice that holds both: evidence-based well-being programs for individuals navigating burnout and life transitions, and long-term cultural and ecological initiatives alongside Indigenous communities in Colombia's Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, who hold the medicine.
She holds a Master's degree in Social Work from New York University and brings over a decade of experience working with individuals and communities across the full range of human experience, with deep listening, cultural humility, and a long-term commitment to dignity and self-determination for all people.
She walks alongside the Organización Wiwa Golkushe Tayrona (OWGT) as Bridgepath's supporting partner in Ley de Origen - SHEMBUTA a flagship initiative led entirely by the Mamos and Sagas of the Wiwa people and the Wiwa Women's Micro-Grant Program, supporting economic sovereignty for Wiwa women in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta.
She believes the most powerful change happens when individuals and communities lead from their own wisdom and sovereignty.
Bridgepath Foundation files an annual 990-N with the IRS. Financials are available on request at [email protected]. EIN: 99-0760841
Walk The Path With Us
For your own journey
Start with a free 30-min discovery call
For my team or organization
Explore workplace wellbeing programs
For their future
Fund the Ley de Origen · Phase 2 begins July 2026
A healing that goes beyond you
Monthly stories from the Sierra Nevada and from individuals finding their way back to self.
No spam, just what matters.
Bridgepath Foundation is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Serving individuals and communities globally
Bridging Mind, Body, Spirit, and Earth
