Life & Work with Kristen Bodniza of Atlanta

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kristen Bodniza.

Hi Kristen, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
In 2014, I started hosting community gatherings in South Florida (Hollywood & Miami areas) when I was around 16/17 years old. It started when I became vegan and had the desire to bring people together in celebration of delicious vegan food by hosting an all vegan potluck. This became a consistent gathering and was open to everyone, not just vegans! My goal was to educate people upon healthier eating and how it can still be super flavorful and diverse. The conclusion of these gatherings were new friendships that allowed my friends from different areas and backgrounds to meet and I then realized I had a gift of bringing people together through events and community gathering.

I moved to a few different cities in Florida throughout the next few years, such as Fort Myers and Gainesville where I went to college and tapped into even more communities interested in sustainable living and creative directions; I then dropped out of college and came back to Miami for a year to pursue event organizing and culinary education by way of working in multiple admirable vegan restaurants at once.

I began to diversify the events a bit, by adding musicians and creative artists, vendors and even organization collabs to the itinerary; some of my favorite events I have hosted include Visionary Links, U-N-I-T-Y, Splash House Kickback, food drives, vending Indigo Sweets (now known as Meow Meow Cuisine) at Coconut Grove Market, and more. I started attracting even further new crowds.

In 2018, while I was still in college at University of Florida (Gainesville), I went to my first Raury show, Come to The Woods, which was in Atlanta, Ga. It was my first time ever in Atlanta. I had also reached out to Raury prior to the show with the intention to help him with event coordination and adding more nature park locations for his Come to The Woods tour, where he was encouraging people to come into nature while enjoying his live performance with his band along with community vibes.

Once attending this, I returned to Gainesville and came back up to Atlanta about a week later because another Come to The Woods show was happening. I enjoyed it so much, and my friend was coming up from Florida so it just happened to align where I hitched a ride from him, ha!

In addition to the show, I had networked with other communities in Atlanta where it just felt so welcoming. Some months pass, I move back to Miami, and I run into Raury again in Orlando, where a Secret Garden event is happening that my South Florida musician friends are performing at and I came along to help out.

These details are important because it led to Raury and I connecting more (especially because he was like the only vegan man I knew at the time and I was vegan also), where the next time I came to Atlanta I stayed at a large warehouse venue he once managed in the West End; we became friends and it stayed that way for almost a year. Eventually, he toured to Miami where him and his team stayed at my house where we also used it as a venue for our first collab! Another few months pass, then he takes me up on the tour management offer, and we went on a Florida Come to The Woods tour where I selected unique venue spaces in which I knew about by just living in Florida my whole life; we went to Earth N Us Farms in Little Haiti, Miami, a nature park in Orlando, a nature park in Tampa, then another nature park in Gainesville, Ga. At each of these shows, we marketed on Instagram alone and it was all donation-based! I would open up the show with meditation and ice breaker activities to get the crowds more connected. At this point, Raury and I had transitioned from friendship and business to romance and business.

Fast forward to 2019, I move up to Stone Mountain (near ATL, Ga) and further solidify my involvement with The Woods organization (plus our romance lol) and dedicate my organizing skills to contribute to our long term mission (you can find more info on this at www.thewoods.world). I also start facilitating women’s circles and cacao ceremonies.

Fast forward to today, I am still the events director for The Woods, wife to Raury, and mother of our three children. I am also a Georgia REALTOR® and plant-based chef / cake designer and baker.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has not always been smooth, no. As someone who has a lot of passions, narrowing my focus into a tunnel vision has sometimes gotten in the way of my progress. Even today, I often wonder if I had focused on just one or two things would I be farther than I am?

Other struggles have been mainly financially in the sense of choosing creative directions in my journey between events and vending food or selling cakes, has not always been the most sustainable, especially as I have been pregnant or breastfeeding the last 6 years!

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
As a newly licensed Georgia Realtor, in which I had been studying for about a year while pregnant/postpartum before taking the exam, I am choosing to put myself out there in terms of networking and building strong connections with individuals who are ready to build a strong future for themselves from buying or selling a home, to businesses interested in buying or leasing commercial properties.

I am known for organizing events, baking custom vegan birthday cakes, and being a pillar in the spiritual communities of South Florida and Atlanta.

I am most proud of being a mother to my 3 young boys, ages 8.5 months, 3 and 5,

What sets me apart is that I am thorough. I am an overthinker which can be a double edge sword, but I use that quality of mine to my advantage. I like to put myself in other perspectives and try to include as much detail so often no questions would need to be further dissected later, mainly in regard to event organizing, and now being a real estate agent as well.

What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
Focus and consistency are like seeds and water to the flowers you grow! They WILL blossom! You just need to educate yourself properly, learn your communication and learning styles, and dive all the way in. God will reveal your blessings as long as you put in the work to receive them.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/kriscatalyst
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kriscatalyst
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kbodniza
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristen-bodniza-60bb93198/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@kriscatalyst
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/kriswhat
• Other: www.meowmeowcuisine.com & www.thewoods.world