Jackson Maloney
Jackson Maloney is a youth mentor and rites of passage guide based in Boulder, Colorado. He has apprenticed to nature-based rites of passage and received guidance through mentorship since 2014, working with organizations such as Men’s Leadership Alliance and Twin Eagles Wilderness School, as well as in traditional indigenous rites of passage ceremonies. He started Standing On The Earth in 2023 with the vision to support teenage boys in the transition from boyhood to young adulthood and empower them to live purposeful, meaningful, and connected lives.
Education and Experience
Jackson’s education comes from years of immersion in nature-based rites, men’s work, and apprenticeship with experienced mentors and elders. Since 2016 he has trained and volunteered with Men’s Leadership Alliance, assisting in their Rites of Passage for Teenage Boys for four summers, completing their two-year Holistic Leadership Training Program, and learning how to participate, lead, and facilitate men’s groups. He has assisted as an ROP guide at Twin Eagles Wilderness School as well as leading his own Rites of Passage for Teenage Boys since 2023. He studied for two years Brazilian teacher Prem Baba’s work in an intensive weekly experiential group which focused heavily on family-systems and lineage work, shadow work, and psycho-spiritual self study. Since 2014, he has apprenticed to indigenous ceremonial ways of life and initiation rites that include sweat lodge and hanbleceya (vision quest). The combination of these groups, retreats, and ceremonies, along with his personal journey of going from struggling teen to finding mentors and a purposeful path in life have shaped his orientation as a mentor and guide.
Approach and Philosophy
Jackson holds that every human being carries innate wisdom and gifts that awaken through guided passage into adulthood. He sees the mentor role as one who can witness, reflect, and encourage the expression of those inherent qualities in the mentee, helping them see themselves as capable, strong, clear, and connected. His method centers on deep listening, nature-based activities and practices, relational accountability, and ritual marking and celebration. Through 1:1 mentorship and in group rite of passage circles, he focuses on creating conditions that allow young people to face fear, discover purpose and meaning, and practice integrity. He provides a confidential space for teens to open up about their struggles and successes while also working closely with parents to integrate and bridge his work in the home.
Personal Journey and Leadership
Jackson’s commitment to this work is rooted in his own struggles as a teen and the ensuing spiritual seeking and existential questioning in his early twenties that followed. His first sweat lodge at 20 years old gave him a place to begin the confrontational work of looking inside himself to make necessary changes. His first hanbleceya (vision quest) at 23 catalyzed a deep interior shift in his perspective on life. He spent the rest of his twenties committed to his path as an artist, publishing poetry books, releasing several albums as a singer-songwriter, and gigging around Colorado and beyond. During that time, he also got involved in men’s groups and retreats and delved into other psycho-spiritual teachings and groups to explore the inner realms. Uncles, aunties, older brothers, and mentors in these communities guided, challenged, and encouraged him on his path, providing a space where he could practice becoming the person he wanted to be. These lived experiences informed his vision and call to help the next generation of teenage boys find purpose, meaning, beauty, and connection in their lives.
Programs and Community
Through Standing On The Earth, Jackson offers one-on-one mentorship, nature-based rites of passage initiation, and young men’s groups for boys and young men ages 11-25. The rites of passage is held as a family ceremony that invites other extended family and community members to witness and celebrate the initiates, bringing a rich diversity of wisdom, experience, and perspective.
Guides, Mentors and Elders
Jackson credits his own mentors and elders as the reason he is able and prepared to mentor boys and young men. His work and life continues to be shaped and guided by the uncles,aunties, and older brother figures that have inspired and challenged him since his early 20s. He continues to apprentice and learn from them in the contexts of indigenous ceremonial traditions and practices, rites of passage programs, men’s groups, artistic endeavors, and in their modeling of day-to-day roles and responsibilities as fathers, mothers, husbands, wives, and leaders in the community.
Life and Commitment
Jackson lives with his wife in Boulder, CO. Aside from his work with teens, he is passionate about poetry, music, leatherwork, woodwork, beadwork, and any handcraft that he can learn to make something from. He is committed to doing his part to create a beautiful world for the future generations through active community engagement, service, art, and prayer.
