Born From The Simple Act of gathering

In 1989, Jenny Yancey and Dan Siegel invited friends and changemakers to meet on the Greek island of Patmos to share ideas, creativity, and purpose while experiencing a refresh in a radiant setting. What started as an intimate exchange of conversation and connection became a 25-year tradition.

Growing a GoodWorld

In 2014, the gathering tradition grew into GoodWorld Journeys, an organization dedicated to hosting Salon-style retreats that spark meaningful conversations. Drawing on their backgrounds as writers, social entrepreneurs, and creative facilitators, Jenny and Dan began inviting inspiring artists, storytellers, songsters, truthtellers, and creative visionaries to come together in community for soulful connection and new ways of seeing to emerge.

The ancient Greeks had two words for time: Chronos and Kairos. Chronos was clock time. Kairos was meaningful time — the kind that comes when we pause, reflect, and open ourselves to something deeper. That’s the quality of time we try to create. In a noisy, fast-moving world, we believe there’s value in slowing down — especially in places that inspire creativity and wonder.

Jenny and Dan’s daughter, Weezie Yancey-Siegel, now co-leads the next chapter of GoodWorld Journeys, working closely with our exceptional local production teams. While the island of Patmos remains our spiritual home, we’re thrilled to expand our Salon offerings to San Miguel de Allende, a vibrant town of historic significance and artistic renown in the Mexican high desert.

“It’s only by having some distance from the world that you can see it whole, and understand what you should be doing with it.”

— Pico Iyer

Our Team

Behind each GoodWorld Journey is a team of people who care deeply about meaningful gathering and storytelling. Drawing upon diverse creative fields — from nonprofit innovation and user experience to music and film — we collaborate to design Salon experiences that resonate, inspire, and stay with participants and guest artists long after they return home.

Dan savors dreaming up and designing Salons in Greece and Mexico — his two favorite places on earth. His soulmate Jenny taught him the power and importance of gathering and hosting people with attention and care. He is most happy when swimming in bodies of water with music, wading in silence where words emerge, hanging in the garden with Jenny and cat Max — with Weezie & Satchel always close to the heart.

Dan Siegel

Navigator of Purpose & Prose

Weezie draws on a background in event production, content strategy, and user experience design to shape meaningful and memorable Salon experiences. After a decade of contributing to GoodWorld Journeys in a seasonal capacity, she’s excited to help usher in its next chapter. Based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, she can usually be found practicing yoga, cooking pasta, listening to music, or inventing new nicknames for her cats, Mimi and Fifi.

Weezie Yancey-Siegel

Navigator of Experience & Strategy

Jenny first visited Patmos at 15 while studying abroad on another nearby Greek isle, and has spent her life ever since connecting cultures and building community. She continues to work with GoodWorld Journeys in an advisory role, sharing wisdom around group facilitation, experience planning, and cross-cultural exchange. She lives in San Miguel de Allende and spends her time making art and tending to her magnificent rooftop succulent garden.

Jenny Yancey

Navigator of Vision & Values

Emily ensures a high-quality musical experience during Salons and fosters a warm, welcoming environment for guest artists and their companions. With over 30 years in music performance and a background in both travel planning and event production, she blends artistry with thoughtful logistics to support each gathering. Based between Patmos and Athens with her husband and son, Zephyros, she performs music regularly in Greece.

Emily Mesko

Navigator of Hospitality & Song

Melissa participated in a GoodWorld Journeys Salon in 2017, an experience she considers life-changing. With over 40 years of experience at the intersection of strategy, design, and technology, she helps identify the right venues, hospitality partners, guest artists, and creative collaborators for our Salons. She lives in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, and her children’s book, Frankie Saves the World, is being published in 2025.

Melissa Hoffman

Navigator of Engagement & Event Design

Satchel assists with documenting GoodWorld Journeys Salons and supporting daily organizational tasks. Now based in Athens, Greece, he spent eight years working as a film editor in Los Angeles and now works remotely as a commercial editor. He’s a big cat lover and even has a tattoo of his cat on his arm.

Satchel Yancey-Siegel

Navigator of Videography

Upcoming Journeys

June 2026

Living An Examined Life

Join a creative pilgrimage into music, memoir, & myth with Neko Case, Ani DiFranco, Anaïs Mitchell, and Ann Powers.

June 2026

The Stories We Tell

Explore the power of words and storytelling with Silas House, Barbara Kingsolver, Ada Limón, and Safiya Sinclair.

August 2026

The Journey is Your Story

Dive into the craft of memoir, personal storytelling, and poetry with Hala Alyan, Ashley C. Ford, and Maggie Smith.