Itzel Hayward is a compassionate and fierce advocate for loving communication. After serving as a public policy lawyer for 13 years, Itzel left her legal career and founded Attuned Living, a mindfulness and wellness organization that helps individuals heal the sense of separation they feel from others—or even from themselves. Her unique work—based on the teachings of yoga, mindfulness, and compassionate communication—ranges from promoting social justice work within organizations and communities to guiding individuals on their search for personal and professional fulfillment. Today, Itzel holds retreats, classes, trainings, and private one-on-one sessions online, over the phone, and in person with people from all over the world. Her mission is to gently remind you of your individual wholeness and your interconnectedness with others and all of life. You can learn more about Itzel at attunedliving.com.

Kathy Simon is passionate about teaching skills for communicating across difference, whether the differences arise across the kitchen table, in the classroom, the board room, or across religious, racial, and political divides.  With a degree in Literature from Harvard, Kathy began her career as a high school English and drama teacher.  She then earned a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Teacher Education at Stanford, and directed the Coalition of Essential Schools, a national school-reform organization focused on creating more equitable and vibrant schools. Kathy is the author and co-author of several books on curriculum, teaching, and school reform, including Moral Questions in the Classroom, Teaching as Inquiry, and Choosing Small. 

A certified trainer with the Center for Nonviolent Communication, Kathy has been practicing NVC since 1995 teaching it since 2009.  For nine years, she led BayNVC’s popular “Living Peace” retreat and Immersion Program.  Kathy leads workshops and coaches in a wide variety of contexts with parents, couples, educators, clergy, and therapists, and for non-profit groups.

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