Elena Vélez is the founder and director of the Community Restorative Workshop (CRT), a bilingual program that guides the reduction of stress and the mental well-being of essential workers. Her 18 years of experience and professionalism as a Certified Medical Interpreter (CHI) allow her to interpret simultaneously and consecutively, virtually or in person, in community meetings, evaluations and medical appointments, thus contributing to the fluency in communication of the Spanish-speaking community.

Both her current experience as an interpreter, and her previous 5 years as a bilingual environmental educator, motivate her to take action and create CRT whose objective is to allow access to simple practices to reduce daily stress and anxiety, thus preventing work injuries. .

Elena manages to share her workshop in English and with the Latino community and thus opening the space to a diverse community, since her plan is to build and grow a multicultural and diverse community, which she supports, feels empathy and mutual respect . Learning to relax, helping the body to get where it needs to go without pain is a process that requires our attention. This process allows our machinery to function and last healthily, in the short and long term. All CRT concepts are based on neuroscience and neuroplasticity.

In their CRT sessions, they are a combination of education, restorative movement, and meditation. The practices, despite being brief, have achieved great results in each participant. Also, no experience is required. The purpose of each session is to generate lasting mental, emotional and physical balance, thus allowing you to avoid work injuries, have the opportunity to enjoy family and achieve healthy, independent and sustainable aging.

Her constant study about the consequences of a high level of stress motivates her to train in Meditation at MBSR and how to respond when someone has suicidal intentions, for which she manages to get certified as QPR. In the past, Elena graduated in Marketing and Advertising in her native Colombia and in Sculpture in Italy.