Kavitha Rao is a mother, facilitator, bridge-builder, and practitioner. As a daughter of immigrants to the US, she has always been curious about difference and how we make meaning and find belonging through connection to land and community. These explorations led her to cofounding the small community her family lives in, Common Fire.
Kavitha’s work focuses on transformational leadership, building community across difference, and using creativity and collective visioning to work towards repair and healing. Her understanding of the possibility of change is deeply influenced by her training in Ayurveda, yoga, and mindfulness. She brings these tools to her work recognizing how important knowing ourselves and personal healing is in our efforts to heal our planet and build community. She offers deep gratitude to the grassroots groups around the world that she has had the privilege to learn from, her mentor Lillie Allen of Be Present, and to her colleagues, fellow dreamers, and co-conspirators at the Center for Whole Communities, the Emergent Strategy Ideation Institute, Soul Fire Farm, and the Wildseed Community Farm and Healing Village.