Kat Houghton is a psychologist committed to cultural change through facilitating personal transformation. Kat worked for 15 years with families of children with autism dedicated to changing within-family cultures from those of despair, or the drive to “fix” autism, to that of a deep appreciation of different world views and a focus on building bridges with empathy. Since 2009, Kat has been running a software company, ilumivu.com, that provides wearable, mobile and web systems to psychologists and behavioral health researchers. Her current work more closely integrates transformation on the individual, interpersonal and cultural level. Kat was instrumental in founding the Asheville Community Rights Movement which is moving towards local legislation to assert rights for self-governance and the rights of nature; a crucial step in dismantling corporate rule. She co-founded nonprofit Community Roots with Tyler Garrison in 2016.
Mic Collins lives in Asheville, North Carolina where they are a social movement organizer and community activist. Mic works as Chapter Coach for Showing Up for Racial Justice, a national network of groups and organizations working to mobilize white people within a multi-racial movement against white supremacy. Mic also volunteers with the local SURJ chapter (ASURJ) as well as the white caucus, a project spawning from Building Bridges of Asheville and the Racial Equity Institute. This past August, they joined the collective at Firestorm Books & Coffee in West Asheville, a cooperatively run, worker-owned radical bookstore and community space.
Community members are invited to Democracy in the Park, a public gathering at the Carrier Park Pavilion from 12:00 pm to 6:00 pm on Sunday, Sept. 30. Democracy in the Park is a convergence space for community members to engage with local activist and organizers about City government, how it works, how it could be improved, and to discuss with each other ways to expand public participation in the process. All are welcome.
Enjoy this one-hour Living Well with Kath Houghton & Mic Collins!
