Claire Santos (12 Sparrows)

She has spent the last two decades studying trauma, its causes, and effects for the individual as well as the community at large and exploring mindfulness and yoga-based interventions for resolution of internal barriers, increased resilience, and a greater capacity to enjoy daily life. In 2010, after nearly a decade of dedicated study, she began working with various populations, primarily Veterans and people in underserved and marginalized communities affected by trauma. Claire is the founder of 21 Grams, a Charlotte-based nonprofit dedicated to increasing trauma awareness and increasing access to resources that exist to increase both the understanding of trauma and cultivate more resilience to the community, particularly to frontline caregivers and community leaders in addition to those dealing with the effects of trauma in themselves. Claire has served as a board member for Mindful Heart, a 501c3 based in Atlanta Georgia and as National Trauma-Informed Yoga and Outreach training faculty for Connection Coalition, a Miami Florida based 501c3. She brings a unique perspective to this work gained through her personal experience with trauma and PTSD and professionally in an exceptionally diverse range of settings including military, government, nonprofit, for-profit, retail and service industries, entrepreneurship, business development, community building and activation, and more. She specializes in guiding students to a place of personal empowerment and global consciousness through mind, body, spirit integration by offering universal spiritual teachings in an accessible, grounded, modern and often fun way that makes them easy to not only grasp but apply immediately to the business of living the best life possible. Claire is currently based in Charlotte, North Carolina where she leads private and group practices, meditation and mindfulness events, coaching, yoga teacher training, trauma-informed education, and Mindbody Integration services. She travels extensively for speaking engagements, training, retreats and for personal enrichment.