hi, my name is navi.

My full name is navkiran and it means “new ray of sunshine” or “new ray of god’s light”. The older I get, the more fitting my name feels. I’m thirty-something, still on the land that raised me. Monterey cypresses, driving down the 101, and taking BART into the city feels like home. I’m the eldest child of Sikh Punjabi immigrants, survivors of genocide and persecution in their homeland. My Sikh ancestry informs much of my social justice praxis today.

I wear many hats in this lifetime: I am a facilitator, educator, curriculum developer, visionary, healer, medic, first responder, mediator, full spectrum doula, astrologer, community organizer, event + program manager, writer, pastry connoisseur, chef, a queen of making custard-based desserts… the list goes on. I am a multi-faceted, ever-changing human and I do my best to honor my seasons, moving with whatever creative urge spirit sends my way. What’s important to me, first and foremost, is a values alignment.

In all that I do and produce in this world, I consistently center warmth, vision, connection, care, accessibility, and an abolitionist, anti-oppressive framework. Whether I am providing care as a doula or facilitating a room of strangers, I am led by non-carceral, participatory, and consensual strategies – ensuring that individuals or teams I work with feel informed, considered, and empowered in their autonomy. I am gentle, curious, intuitive, strategic, and heart-centered. I believe a critical lever of transformative change is to look inward and regularly engage in self-inquiry. As such, I am constantly learning, seeking mentorship, and spending time in community — where I find comfort in learning from my mistakes and regularly asking for feedback.

Outside of paid work, I engage in community organizing, mutual aid, and providing my services free of charge to those who need it most. I also love to read, play games, cook, make things with my hands, write, and dance. Currently, I’m even learning to DJ!

Education, Trainings, & Certifications

I am a student for life and continue to build my skills! I’m always enrolled in some sort of class or program. Here’s a selection of my education over the years:

  • University of California, Santa Barbara — Bachelor of Arts in Black Studies (2015)

  • AORTA — Fundamentals of Facilitation Courses 1 & 2 (2016)

  • Roots of Labor Birth Collective — 200HR Full Spectrum Doula Training (2018)

  • University of California, Berkeley — Ethnic Studies 199: Traditional Postpartum Wisdom: Implications for Contemporary Justice (2018)

  • Pregnancy & Infant Loss — Online Course with Nneka Hall (2018)

  • Hood Herbalism — Intro to Herbalism (2019)

  • Insight Meditation Center — Decolonizing Nonviolent Communication (2019)

  • SEEDs — De-escalation and Conflict Mediation Training & Certification (2020)

  • Ancestral Apothecary — Cecemmana 9 Month Herbalism Program (2021)

  • Strozzi Institute — BIPOC Embodied Transformation (2024)

  • A Sacred Passing — Death Doula Training (2024)

  • Alternatives to 911: Responding to Crisis (2025)

  • Stronger U Wellness — Non-Carceral Harm Reduction Seminar (2025)

  • Berkeley Free Clinic — Street Medicine Training (presently)