Visitors are now able to access Esalen as well as other businesses and trails in northern Big Sur via twice-daily convoys on Highway 1 operated by Caltrans.
Convoys run only at 7:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. each day. These are the only opportunities to travel into and out of Big Sur, so visitors must plan accordingly.
Dr. Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz is an award-winning associate professor at Teachers College, Columbia University. Her research focuses on racial literacy in teacher education, Black girl literacies, and Black and Latinx male high school students. A sought-after speaker on issues of race, culturally responsive pedagogy, and diversity, Sealey-Ruiz works with K-12 and higher education school communities to increase their racial literacy knowledge and move toward more equitable school experiences for their Black and Latinx students.
Her award-winning co-authored book [with Dr. Detra Price-Dennis] Advancing Racial Literacies in Teacher Education: Toward Activism for Equity in Digital Spaces was published in April 2021. Her first full-length collection of poetry, Love from the Vortex & Other Poems, (Kaleidoscope Vibrations LLC) was published in March 2020, and her sophomore book of poetry, The Peace Chronicles, was released in July 2021. In September 2022, her TEDx Talk "Truth, Love & Racial Literacy" was released on YouTube.
Yolanda Sealey Ruiz is a poet, professor at Columbia University, and scholar-activist. She works with school districts, colleges, universities, and organizations across the country helping individuals build their racial literacy.