Come to Your Mat

Executive Director of TBTN

Katie Koestner

Katie Koestner is a national expert on student safety and healthy relationships and the first woman in the US to speak out nationally and publicly as the victim of campus “date” rape at age 18. She appeared on the cover of TIME Magazine on June 3, 1991.

Katie has been featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show, NBC Nightly News, CNBC Talk Live, CNN, Larry King Live, Good Morning America, Later Today, MSNBC, Entertainment Tonight and over 200 other national television programs and is the subject of an HBO movie.

She has lectured at over 5000 schools and organizations in North America and around the world. Her audiences have included the incoming classes at MIT, Brown University, West Point, the US Naval Academy, Amherst College, Williams College, the top 200 officers of the Department of Defense, and the American Association of School Administrators

Owner of Mudita - Be Joy Yoga

Carrie Coppola

• Carrie Coppola is the owner of Mudita – Be Joy Yoga. Carrie has a M.Ed. from the University of Utah and is a 500 E-RYT and Certified Yoga Therapist.
• Carrie believes yoga found her. She immediately felt the profound healing benefits of the practice. This ignited passion led her to create Yoga for Recovery, a program integrating yoga in treatment centers. Carrie has facilitated yoga for countless people in recovery through group and individual sessions, monthly workshops, weekly classes, within each sharing the hope and possibility of utilizing yoga to rediscover the connection to self, lost through trauma and addiction.
• Carrie is the director of Be Joy Yoga School, holding yearly yoga teacher and Trauma-informed trainings to support teachers to step into their intuitive self and facilitate healing through yoga.
• Carrie holds a deep reverence for the practice of yoga. Whether teaching classes, leading retreats, or offering trainings, her intention is to create a safe, compassionate space to come home to yourself and be joy.

Director of the Office of Sexual Assault & Relationship Abuse Education & Response (SARA) at Stanford University

Carley Flanery

• Carley Flanery. MPH, MSW, Director of the Office of Sexual Assault & Relationship Abuse Education & Response (SARA) at Stanford University.
• Carley works with undergraduate and graduate students to prevent sexual and relationship violence, stalking, sexual harassment, and gender-based discrimination on campus and beyond. She applies best practices for prevention and intervention efforts on campus, which includes institutional response, policy and protocol development and implementation, advocacy and resource coordination, and assessment.
• Carley completed her undergraduate degree in sociology and graduate degrees in public health and social work at the University of Michigan, where she was a first-generation college student. She joined Stanford in 2015 as the assistant director of the SARA Office and was named the director in 2016.

Yoga Specialist, Miraval Wellness Resort

Lisa Frank

Therapy Program Coordinator

Brookelynn Bagley

C-IAYT, E-RYT 500, RYCT, RYPT, the Yoga of 12 Step Recovery (Y12SR)

Courtney Butler Robinson

licensed psychotherapist and yoga teacher trainer

Lisa Danylchuk

• Lisa Danylchuk, LMFT, E-RYT is an author, licensedpsychotherapist, and yoga teacher trainer specializing in bringing yoga into trauma treatment.
• A graduate of UCLA and Harvard University, Lisa is the founder of the Center for Yoga and Trauma Recovery in Oakland, CA, and creator the Yoga for Trauma (Y4T) Online Training Program.
• She has authored three books:Yoga for Trauma Recovery: Theory, Philosophy, and Practice (2019), How You Can Heal: A Strength Based Guide to Trauma Recovery (2017), and Embodied Healing: Using Yoga to Recover from Trauma and Extreme Stress (2015). She is a contributing editor for Best Practices for Yoga for Veterans, published by the Yoga Service Council.
• She serves on the Board of Directors and is Secretary of the UN Task Force for the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation.As a leader in the movement to incorporate yoga into trauma treatment, she has trained yoga and mental health professionals around the world.

Trauma Center Trauma Sensitive Yoga Trainer for Alaska and Hawaii

Jody Hassel

• Jody Hassel, M.F.A., E-RYT, TCTSY-F is the Trauma Center Trauma Sensitive Yoga Trainer for Alaska and Hawaii.
• She is the founder and Executive Director of Blossom House, a nonprofit service organization providing accessible, trauma-informed interventions to incarcerated and in-custody communities. Blossom House’s Yoga Service Project Alaska currently offers weekly yoga as well as a Yoga Teacher Training program for men and women at the Fairbanks Correctional Center and yoga classes for youth at the Fairbanks Youth Facility.
• She is also a Supervisor for the 300-Hour TCTSY Certification Program at the Center for Trauma and Embodiment in Boston.
• Creating access to an embodied practice of being present and feeling empowered are Jody’s highest priorities in facilitating yoga.

Owner and curator of Attune Heart Center

Jody Barnes

• Jody Barnes, LCSW, RYT, is the owner and curator of Attune Heart Center.
• She offers holistic psychotherapy, trauma-informed yoga, Clarity Direct Neurofeedback, and professional trainings and consultation.
• Over the last 15 years, Jody has dedicated her career to working with survivors of sexual trauma gain more balance and mastery in their life.
• Jody has created an 8-week experiential group for mothers, “Mamas in Healing,” which includes trauma-informed yoga. Jody loves working with women and mothers to increase their ability to create more self-care and self-love for themselves.
• Her integrative, body-inclusive approach helps people create a plan for empowered restoration and well-being. She weaves together inquires and interventions that promote caring for the body, mind, heart and spirit.

Philosophy and yoga teacher, and adjunct faculty member at NYU

Tatiana Forero Puerta

• Originally from Bogotá, Colombia, Tatiana Forero Puerta is a graduate of Stanford University and New York University, earning multiple degrees in comparative religion and philosophy. Tatiana has taught philosophy and yoga for a decade and is an adjunct faculty member at NYU.
• Tatianais a recipient of the Stanford University Garfield Prize in Ethics, a 2017 Pushcart Prize, a 2019 Pushcart Prize Nominee, and a finalist for The Blueshift Journal prize for writers of color.
• Her work has appeared inYoga Journal, Elephant Journal, Able Muse, Juked, and JOY: Journal of Yoga. She is the author of Yoga for the Wounded Heart (Lantern, 2018) and Cleaning the Ghostroom (2020, Able Muse Press).
• With certifications and advanced training in Emotional Freedom Technique for Trauma Survivors, Yoga for Cancer, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Trauma-Sensitive Yoga and Mindfulness, and Holistic Nutrition, Tatiana is a 500hr RYT.

Holistic psychotherapist with a private practice

Lara Veon

• Lara Veon is a holistic psychotherapist with a private practice in the Chicago area where she specializes in the treatment of trauma.
• She holds a Masters degree in Community Counseling from Loyola University Chicago and a Masters degree in Teaching from Webster University. She has supplemented her education with post-graduate training in trauma, somatics, equine-assisted psychotherapy, and neuroscience.
• Lara provides trauma-informed counseling consultation for schools in the Chicagoland area and Mindful Practices, an organization bringing yoga and holistic wellness programs to schools and educators around the world. Lara is the co-author of Everyday Self-Care for Educators: Tools and Strategies for Well-Being (Routledge, 2019)
• She is a founding member of The Breathe Network, an international organization that connects survivors of sexual violence to trauma-informed, sliding-scale, holistic healing arts practitioners.

Yoga, meditation, and reiki teacher

Daniel Sernicola

• Based in Columbus, OH; Daniel Sernicola is a highly sought-after yoga, meditation, and reiki teacher specializing in trauma-informed yoga, yoga for athletes, restorative yoga, pranayama, meditation, and aromatherapy. He is a writer and contributor for Yoga Journal.
• His individual sessions and group classes feature a heartfelt and eclectic mix of philosophy, asana, pranayama, meditation, reiki plus a healthy dose of humor — all designed to awaken healing and wellness.
• Daniel is passionate about bringing yoga and mindfulness to youth, offering several programs in the Columbus community for survivors of emotional, physical and sexual trauma including teens in a residential facility and LGBTAIQ+ youth.
• He was recognized by the Kaleidoscope Youth Center for his work with underserved youth.

Yoga, dance, Somatic Psychology

Hala Khouri

• Hala Khouri, M.A., SEP, E-RYT 500*, has been teaching the movement arts for over 20 years. Her roots are in yoga, dance, Somatic Psychology, and the juicy mystery of Life itself.
• With her B.A. in Psychology and a Masters in Counseling Psychology, Hala is working toward her PhD in Community Psychology. She is trained inSomatic Experiencing, a technique which focuses on trauma’s impact on the body-mind and ways to resolve it.
• Hala helped create Off the Mat, Into the World, a non-profit organization dedicated to utilizing the tools of yoga and somatic practices within a justice framework to inspire people to be conscious leaders of change.
• Through the nonprofit A Thousand Joys, Hala educates social workers and direct service providers on the effects of vicarious trauma and offers them somatic tools to discharge and manage stress.

Masters in Social Work from Boise State University

Caitlin Lanier

• Caitlin Lanier has degrees in English and Education from the College of Idaho, and a Masters in Social Work from Boise State University. She has completed her yoga teaching certification and holds a specialized certificate from The Justice Resource Institute’s Trauma Center in Lennox, Massachusetts for teaching trauma-sensitive yoga.
• When not teaching yoga, Caitlin serves as a children’s mental health therapist at a local nonprofit.
• Caitlin has developed trauma-sensitive yoga programs for college students, for clients at a domestic violence/sexual assault crisis center, for a hospital serving women who’ve resettled as refugees, and for counseling centers.
• A firm believer in the healing power of yoga for physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being, Caitlin brings a compassionate, trauma-informed perspective to her teaching.

RMT travels internationally speaking on topics related to EMDR therapy

Jamie Marich

• Jamie Marich, Ph.D., LPCC-S, LICDC-CS, REAT, RYT-200, RMT travels internationally speaking on topics related to EMDR therapy, trauma, addiction, expressive arts and mindfulness while maintaining a private practice in Warren, OH. She created the “Dancing Mindfulnesspractice” and delivered a TEDx talk on trauma in 2015.
• Jamie is the author of five books including Trauma and the Twelve Steps: A Complete Guide for Recovery Enhancement (2012) and Trauma Made Simple: Competencies in Assessment, Treatment, and Working with Survivors, Dancing Mindfulness: A Creative Path to Healing and Transformation (2015).
• With Dr. Stephen Dansiger, Marich authored EMDR Therapy and Mindfulness for Trauma Focused Care (2017). Her newest title, is Process Not Perfection: Expressive Arts Solutions for Trauma Recovery (2019).

The owner of Body Bliss Connection, LLC

Jessica Sowers

• Jessica Sowers, AADP, HC, E-RYT, is the owner of Body Bliss Connection, LLC, a certified Holistic Health and Wellness
• Coach, and member of the Board of American Association of Drugless Practitioners.
• She is an Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher(E-RYT), Instructor
• of Yoga Therapeutics and Aerial Yoga Instructor.
• Jessica studied at The Institute for Integrative Nutrition®, is trained in over 100 dietary theories and practical lifestyle coaching methods.
• She has also studied Yoga for several years through Three Rivers Yoga and The Himalayan Institute and is certified in the Science of Hatha Yoga, in Therapeutic benefits of Ascension Aerial Yoga, Yoga Nidra, Meditation, Restorative Yoga and in Energy Anatomy and healing.
• Her passion is helping people implement a successful, personalized “roadmap to health” to develop a deep inner awareness and manages stress.