Lauren Kvasnicka (she/her)

Executive Director

Lauren, MPH and RYT, is a forever student of yoga, public health, and social justice and the connection of all three. Lauren has a Masters of Public Health in Community Health Promotion, is a Registered Yoga Instructor, and holds several certifications in Somatic Embodiment, Trauma-Informed Yoga, and group fitness. She believes in using yoga and mindfulness to create healthier, more just and sustainable communities especially to under-resourced communities.

Lauren finds value in using research, statistics, and science but also personal experiences and stories to promote and spread the practices of yoga and mindfulness. Starting as a volunteer, hired as our first employee, Lauren is now our Executive Director. You will see Lauren out in the community promoting our work, forming partnerships, and spreading our mission and values, as well as facilitating programs and leading meditation with us.

Lauren’s professional interests include nutrition, vegetarian diets, sports injury prevention and rehabilitation, and senior health and wellness. In her spare time, Lauren enjoys live music, being outdoors, reading essays, cooking, and snuggling with her cat, Diego.

Donna (she/her)

Facilitator

A life-interrupting illness brought Donna to yoga when there seemed nowhere left to go. Finding renewed health and hope there, she became an RYT-500 intent upon sharing the life-affirming practices of yoga, mindfulness and meditation with others. She has taught yoga in a variety of community, online and studio settings to individuals of all ages, abilities, and interests. Chair, yin, restorative and hatha are her primary offerings, and she offers a special welcome to those living with chronic physical unwellness and to those who do not identify as neurotypical. 

Donna, an ADDCA Certified ADHD Coach, works teens and adults with ADHD-wired brains in all phases of educational or professional careers as well as those who are in personal or professional relationship with them. She comes to this work after more years at senior and executive levels of nonprofit entities, city and state governments, and in the private sector than she would care to admit.

Donna holds two advanced degrees in Political Science and Criminal Justice. She dedicates a portion of her non-work hours to MN Pride Rotary Club and the League of Women Voters of St Paul in addition to Karuna Community Minnesota. If you really want to get her talking, ask her about her two rescued Yorkshire Terriers, Rocky and Emma Ruth.

Stephen (he/him)

 Facilitator

Stephen has been facilitating the Path of Freedom program for a couple of years in Anoka & Hennepin County Jails. It is a mindfulness-based emotional intelligence curriculum developed for people who have been incarcerated. Stephen was thrilled to meet Lauren and join Karuna Community to bring his passion for yoga to jails and re-entry programs.

Stephen was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland moved to MN in 2000. He began his journey with yoga in 2015 starting out with Kundalini & Yin Yoga. He recently went through certified training in Hatha & Raja Yoga to deepen his own practice to serve. Stephen is a student of Ojibwe, Lakota and Aymara teachers and has been walking the Red Road for a decade and gives credit to these teachers for his Yoga practice and his desire to share the gift of Yoga. Stephen is pictured on our website with his furry friend, Bob.

Robb (he/him)

Facilitator

A life-changing adventure began when Robb visited Thich Nhat Hanh’s monastery in the French countryside in 1993. Thanks to the deep peace and joy which he experienced there over a quarter of a century ago, he embarked on the path of exploring the inner terrain of the body, heart and mind, allowing him to become a much happier fulfilled person.  

Robb teaches the Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) course developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn at the Center for Spirituality and Healing at the University of Minnesota. He has also taught this course at Common Ground, to numerous cohorts of teachers through Minneapolis Public Schools, as well as to the staff at the Center for Victims of Torture.

Cognizant that mindfulness begins with body awareness, he is now immersing himself more deeply into body-based practices including Qi Gong, somatic experiencing and yoga. He is presently obtaining his second (RYT 200) hour program in Viniyoga from the 5 Koshas Yoga and Wellness Center. 

Dallas (she/they)

Facilitator/Advisor

Before studying to lead yoga and mindfulness, Dallas worked in the nonprofit sector and led grassroots social justice initiatives in the Twin Cities. After her sister died suddenly in 2016, she left her high-stress nonprofit job. Seeking ways to heal and reconnect with herself, she rediscovered the healing power of yoga. She lost a total of five family members in unrelated deaths over the course of fourteen months and yoga proved to be a deeply powerful tool for managing so much stress and loss. 

She offers a variety of embodied grief-related events independently and through the Center for Grief and Loss. She's also taught an identity and body-affirming weekly community class that centers LGBTQIA+ people since 2019 and is known for her approachable style that mixes humor and wisdom. She also teaches art and mindfulness classes as another approach to traditional meditation.

Strengths-based leadership is another of her passions and she started her working relationship with Karuna as a consultant for the board when they were seeking ways to cooperatively build a vision in a way that honored the gifts each individual brought to the table. Karuna's mission appeals to her because she knows firsthand that these tools can provide an anchor when circumstances are outside of our control and when we're anchored, we're in a better position to care for ourselves and one another. Having loved people who were sent to prison, she knows there are a number of circumstances that can cause a person to end up there and how important outside support and connection can be to those on the inside. 

In addition to teaching and consulting, Dallas is active in her faith community, volunteers as a neighborhood coordinator for neighbor-to-neighbor mutual aid, and enjoys welcoming dog guests to her home as a dog-sitter (though she would rather adopt another, her husband disagrees and sitting is the compromise).

Erin (she/her)

Advisor

While studying Dance and Sociology at the University of Minnesota Erin was drawn to the practice of yoga for its physical and mental benefits. It gave her the opportunity to investigate movement without judgment and provided her with the tools to manage stress and anxiety. Since 2009, she has been teaching yoga classes that are grounded in physical and mental awareness while providing space for personal exploration. 

Erin was instantly inspired by Karuna's mission to bring yoga and mindfulness practices to those affected by the criminal justice system. She has witnessed the power of compassion through her volunteer work at the Ramsey Juvenile Detention Center where Erin and her dog, Wallace, participate in social and emotional therapy programming for incarcerated youth. She's excited to provide more programs grounded in compassion and mindfulness for similar communities.