268 Gretchen Wilbur: Living with the Maroons: Learning ‘Who I Am, Who I Have Been, and Who I Be Now’

Educational equity, intercultural communication, and teacher education are the threads of Dr. Gretchen Wilbur’s 30+-year career as an educational leader. Upon retiring from DePaul University in 2019, Gretchen traded an urban lifestyle in Chicago for the rural mountains in Jamaica where she lives with the Maroon people. As the only resident who is White, female, and highly educated, Gretchen is adapting to living in a culture that tests many of her western world views, including identity, community, relationships, land, money, and time. Her love of the Maroon people inspired Gretchen to apply her organizational and artistic skills in creating the Respecting Culture & Earth Foundation which uses a self-determining approach to advance cultural arts and environmental sustainability for economic independence. Gretchen is working on a book about her deepening understanding of and respect for the Maroon culture. She and her life partner, Oral, share a vibrant home in which they host a commercial bar and guest rooms. Members of the Women Over 70 community have an open invitation.Quote: I live permanently in Accompong Town in the mountains of Jamaica because I fell in love with the Maroon people, lifestyle, and land.- Gretchen WilburConnect with Gretchen WilburEmail: wilburg09@gmail.comPhone: What’s App, +1-876-359-7093Respecting Culture & Earth Foundation What We Do — OneFamily, OneLove, OneEarth (respectingcultureandearth.org)O & G Guesthouse Microsoft Bing Travel - O G Guesthouse