Charlotte DiBartolomeo is Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder of Red Kite Project. She earned a Master’s in Conflict Transformation with a specialty in Intercultural Service, Leadership & Management from the School for International Training Graduate Institute in Vermont. She has studied post war development in Sarajevo, Bosnia, and has served as an NGO delegate to the United Nations at the 2003 Economics Conference for Women. Charlotte has been a trainer and facilitator for twenty years working in corporate, government and academic sectors. She has done conflict coaching with managers, developed and instructs curricula for workforce development and transformational leadership, and facilitates dialogue processes within both the public and private sectors.
Sam Stone is the Director of Red Kite Rising, the martial arts healing division dedicated to helping youth and adults resolve traumatic effects of PTSD and developmental trauma. He has written curriculum and instructs programs in the Philadelphia School District and Jane Addams Place, a transitional housing facility in West Philadelphia for women and children.
Red Kite Project assists organizations and their workforce to rise above obstacles to well-being and safety. Red Kite Rising got its start in the shelters of West Philadelphia. Originally, it was created as an intervention for CHOP’s Homeless Health Initiative, to be utilized with the residents at Jane Adams Place, a shelter for women and children fleeing domestic violence. They would use somatic therapies like yoga, and other processes that were aimed at helping participants to re-embody, and reconnect with their bodies to assist them in living healthier, happier lives. Martial arts and circle processes were a large part of the trainings, and after only a short period of time, fighting in the shelters had stopped among the participants of the program.
RKR was then taken to Chester Arthur Elementary school for an eight-week program before being implemented at the Crefeld School- a 6-12 educational facility located in Chestnut Hill.
A short time after this, RKR would find its way to the Perimeter, and start to work with Veterans of the armed forces. A focus that it continues to hold to this day.
For more information:
Resiliency Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDJlV_r7jf8
A short video of a Marine speaking about his experience in Red Kite Project Workshops
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urgur6atc-U