Alison Laichter
Alison Laichter is a semi-sweet, meditating, spiritual sassafrass. She's also a consultant, facilitator, meditation teacher, urban planner, and former Brooklynite, now based in southern California. She has led gatherings, workshops, classes, and retreats for people of all ages throughout the world, including students and professors at Yale University, children and women at NYC homeless shelters, yogis at yoga studios coast to coast, social entrepreneurs at the ROI Summit in Jerusalem, humanitarian activists in Mumbai, and artists and musicians in Mexico City.
She founded and directed the Jewish Meditation Center (JMC) in NYC. She was a recipient of the Joshua Venture Group Dual Investment Program, a two-year, $100k fellowship for social entrepreneurs and was named one of the Jewish Week’s “36 Under 36: Visionaries for a New Era.” Before founding the JMC, Alison's urban planning career included working in economic consulting, pro-poor business development at the United Nations Development Programme, and for Transportation Alternatives where she directed a campaign to re-imagine the entire east side of Manhattan for bicycle and pedestrian safety. Alison studied civil engineering at The Cooper Union and urban planning at Columbia University.
Alison works with organizations and communities to design and facilitate immersive gatherings and meetings, strategic planning, program creation and development, professional development trainings, community building, and other inspiring projects. Her most recent work has been with the Jewish Funders Network, Hillel International, Chopra Center for Wellbeing, Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation, OneTable, Jim Joseph Foundation, Leichtag Foundation, Leucadia 101 Main Street Association, Kavana Cooperative, Asylum Arts, Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, Jewish Initiative for Animals, and the Skirball Cultural Center.
She teaches meditation all over the world, including at schools, retreat centers, synagogues, JCCs, hospitals, festivals, and conferences, all with the intention and understanding that truly sustainable repair of the world happens from the inside out. Alison loves working with communities and organizations to create inclusive, accessible, and radically amazing experiences.