When a thread in the web of life has been woven, its purpose does not wither. It holds together the fibers of many other lives who were impacted by that single thread. On July 2, 2017 a beautiful thread was woven. Dr. Ileana Sisson, has left this world. She left behind strength, kindness, compassion, wisdom, friendship, and love. These traits will radiate from every thread she touched in the web of life. May her light never fade.
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After the 2015 bear hunt, Ileana made herself available for free counseling to all bear monitors who had documented bears as they were brought into check stations to be weighed. Ileana then traveled 4 hours to host an outdoor retreat in central Florida for the bear monitors. With patience and compassion, she listened to our stories. She gave us tools to work through our trauma. She showed us how to turn our grief into strength, our passion into determination, and our defeat into can-do attitudes.
It is because of Ileana’s lessons, that we were able to dry our tears and get on with the business of not only saving our bears, but all of the wildlife and wild spaces they share.
Ileana, your spirit will always be the guiding light for Imagine Our Florida. You are our Angel Warrior. We love you.