Aurelie Richards
Student Wellbeing Champion
Aurelie is originally from California and lived in New York City for a long time. Part of her “where I’m from” story is very influenced by this, what North Americans call the bicoastal experience. After New York, she moved to Vermont to which she feels very attuned, "search autumn in New England, imagine living in a cute cabin in those woods, and you’ll know why I feel that way”.
Aurelie began working for Catalyst in June 2022, where her main role was as Student Wellbeing Champion. In June 2023, she transitioned her role in the organisation, taking over as lead link of the People Circle, and is responsible for team wellbeing, feedback facilitation, capacity building, as well as inclusion and equity work. She took the position because it was a great opportunity to focus her previously freelance work on one organisation over a longer period of time.
Before Catalyst, she was a freelance consultant and facilitator working with individuals, groups, NGOs, and businesses wanting to develop intentional leadership, smoothly navigate change management, as well as integrate mindfulness and somatic counselling into their lives and organisations. Informing this work is her training at MIT Presencing Institute in Theory U and her two years spent living as a monastic novice resident in the Plum Village tradition of Zen Buddhism.
Beyond Catalyst, you can find Aurelie offering ear acupuncture for trauma and addiction recovery. She is also an avid gardener and enjoys hiking to new vistas in the mountains or surfing new and challenging breaks in the sea. She feels a certain resonance with the film “Lady Bird” by Greta Gerwig and is most satisfied when there is a purring cat on her belly.