Starting my nonviolent communication (NVC) journey in 2008 training with CNVC Founder Marshall Rosenberg, I have been dedicated to the practice, facilitation, and ongoing education of NVC since.

I have worked with corporate teams, churches, organizations, schools, as well as individual 1:1 practice, couples and families. There is no environment or relationship dynamic that cannot benefit from the practice of NVC.

I’m forever grateful for the support and guidance of author and founder myisha t hill and our beloved community at Check Your Privilege (CYP), as I am particularly interested in how NVC can better serve me and fellow co-conspirators on our journey to heal from the interlocking systems of oppression (both internally and externally).

I dedicate my volunteer time to action groups, like CYP, who are led by equity-seeking individuals of the global majority that are working towards liberation for all. I am collaborating to build fortitude and resiliency in those participating in these liberation movements nurturing the skills of authentic, compassionate communication. It is a great honor and gift to me to share this passion guiding weekly NVC practice both for the the CYP Collective as well as for my own community.

In addition to this devotion to empathy and social change, I am passionate about music and the arts community! I can be seen participating in Art Battle competitions as a live painter, found teaching and playing didgeridoo for various events, festivals, and concerts (plus providing sound therapy and instruction in private and public sessions), and giving juggling lessons to eager folk who recognize a need for simple joy and expression.

Ultimately, I am eternally grateful for a creative outlet through my painting and musical collaborations, supporting local musicians and their live/virtual performances, leading adventures as a Storyteller thorough tabletop board and role-playing games*, traveling the world and devouring every ounce of beauty it has to offer…life is dazzling, and each one of us has a right to enrich it!

*will talk ad nauseum about Dungeons & Dragons 5e (you have been warned)

“In Nonviolent Communication (NVC), giraffes are used as symbols for “the language of the heart” because giraffes have the largest hearts of any land animal. They need those large hearts to pump blood up their long necks to their brains. (Sometimes I think that this is an apt metaphor for the disconnection between our human hearts and brains, and that by learning NVC we are metaphorically enlarging our hearts so we can pump more blood into the region of our heads responsible for making decisions.)”

~Inbal Kashtan
co-founder of Bay Area Nonviolent Communication