Community Call

Rockwood Community Calls are a FREE online event series created to support leaders from everywhere within the social justice ecosystem so that you can feel connected, supported, and replenished.

Every other month, we host a 60-minute Zoom call with a teacher, healer, leader, activist, artist, or speaker who will hold space for whatever our collective spirit is seeking in that moment.

Everyone is welcome, whether you’ve been through a Rockwood program or this is the first you’ve heard of us. Register for the next call and give yourself the gift of space, ease, and joy in your workday.
 

May 7, 2026 | Evolve Benton 

 

In this supportive workshop, we'll explore tools to navigate life's uncertainties with grace and strength. Through guided meditation and expressive writing, we'll delve into the fear and anxiety that often accompany challenging times. Together, we'll discover personalized practices to cultivate well-being, allowing you to move through life's uncertainties with a renewed sense of love, joy, and inner peace. 

Evolve Benton, a distinguished HBCU alum of Dillard University, has made a significant mark speaking at colleges, universities, and corporate stages. With over 8 years of experience as a DEI manager at the top US medical school, the University of California San Francisco, Evolve seamlessly integrates themes of diversity, equity, inclusion, and personal narratives to pioneer transformative policies and strategies.

Evolve holds a BA in Communications, an MA in Clinical Psychology, and an MFA in Creative Writing; their expertise is in communication and psychology. A proud Los Angeles native, Evolve's achievements span various domains: they authored "SIR: poetry dedicated to boihood and black queer love," created The BOI Documentary, and founded Speaking 4 Profit University. Here, they mentor diverse speakers and consultants in scaling to six-figure enterprises.

Evolve’s "Speaking 4 Profit" podcast delves into the intersections of money, business, and wellness. Through their workshops, Benton provides a roadmap to discern and address normalized biases, always advocating for enhanced inclusivity. Benton's deep-seated knowledge of DEI ensures organizations receive tailored strategies that nurture diversity and inclusiveness from the ground up.

Learn more about Evolve at evolvebenton.com. 

 

 

TBD 2026 | Norma Wong 

 

Norma Wong shares insights from her newest book, Who We Are Becoming Matters, expanding on the Human Quotient described in her previous book, When No Thing Works. She offers an urgent perspective on what it is we must do to meet the collapse, lessen suffering, and stewarding the thriving world we envision. Norma is a Rockwood friend, and an occasional guest co-trainer for long arc strategy. 

Norma Wong (Norma Ryuko Kawelokū Wong Roshi) is a Native Hawaiian and Hakka life-long resident of Hawaiʻi. She is the abbot of Anko-in, an independent branch temple of Daihonzan Chozen-ji and serves practice communities in Hawai‘i, across the continental U.S., and in Toronto, Canada. She is an 86th generation Zen Master, having trained at Chozen-ji for over 40 years.  

In earlier years, Wong served as a Hawai‘i state legislator, on the policy and strategy team for Governor John Waihee with federal  and Native Hawaiian portfolios. She led teams to negotiate agreements on the munitions cleanup of Kahoʻolawe Island, ceded land revenue for Native Hawaiians, and the return of lands and settlement of land issues for Hawaiian Home Lands. She was active in electoral politics for over thirty years.  

In recent years, Wong has been called back into service to facilitate breaking the impasse and transforming policy and governance on issues of seeming contradiction.  In the conflict between native culture/science and western discovery science posing as a dispute over the construction of a telescope on Maunakea, Wong was a team member narrating and facilitating a path forward through mutual stewardship. She currently serves as a community advisor on issues such as the protection of the aquifer from fuel contamination at Red Hill and the long-term response to the Lahaina wildfires. 

Norma has spent many years in the applied space – the direct application of indigenous and Zen ways, values and practices to living and transformational change critical to our times. In 2025, Norma’s first book When No Thing Works: A Zen and Indigenous Perspective on Resilience, Shared Purpose, and Leadership in the Timeplace of Collapse was published by North Atlantic Books and has sold more than 12,000 copies throughout the country. Norma is part of the Collective Acceleration community of practice.

 

RESCHEDULED FOR 2026 | Prentis Hemphill 

 

Join us in resilience and personal ecology as we engage in an embodied exploration of how we might choose deeper connections in times of stress and crisis. We will practice learning and remembering how to reach for each other.

Prentis Hemphill is the bestselling author of What It Takes to Heal, a groundbreaking exploration of healing, justice, and transformation. A therapist, somatics teacher, facilitator, political organizer, and writer, Prentis is also the founder of The Embodiment Institute and a leading voice in embodied leadership and collective healing.

For over a decade, Prentis has worked with individuals and organizations through their most challenging moments of change—navigating leadership transitions, conflict, and the alignment of practice with values. Grounded in an embodied approach, their work ensures that our intentions aren't just ideas, but are fully lived, felt, and practiced.

Before founding The Embodiment Institute, Prentis served as the Healing Justice Director at Black Lives Matter Global Network and was a lead somatics teacher with generative somatics and Black Organizing for Leadership and Dignity (BOLD). They hold an M.A. in Clinical Psychology and have provided therapeutic services in low-cost mental health clinics, centering marginalized communities.

Prentis has contributed to Atlas of the Heart (Brené Brown), The Politics of Trauma (Staci K. Haines), You Are Your Best Thing (edited by Brené Brown & Tarana Burke), and Holding Change (adrienne maree brown). They are also the creator and host of the acclaimed podcasts Finding Our Way and Becoming the People, which have surpassed over a million downloads.

At its core, Prentis’ work challenges the complacency of mainstream therapeutic models, infusing healing with the rigor of justice, repair, and accountability. They believe that reclaiming feeling and relationship creates space for true transformation—in ourselves, our movements, and the world.

Prentis lives on a small farm in Durham, NC, with their partner, Kasha, their child, and two dogs.

Learn more about Prentis at prentishemphill.com.