Traven Rice is a filmmaker and journalist based in the Lower East Side of NYC. As a director and a writer, she has worked in both the documentary and fictional space, having documented her neighborhood for over a decade, covering the people who make up the local community on a daily basis. She has directed numerous fictional short films that have won many awards at top tier festivals and has two feature films in early development.

Traven is devoted to telling stories about the magical moments in our everyday lives. Her work champions marginalized voices and delves into the heart of what connects all of us at the most basic human level. She is currently developing a hilarious short film about breast cancer, with the intention to help people talk about hard things, with heart and humor.

As a longtime Zen practitioner and Sensei, she has integrated her meditation experience with personal storytelling in order to create this workshop.