Danita Rountree Green (pen name, Rachel Satiafa) is an author and trauma healing facilitator, conducting workshops addressing community trauma and race related issues. A trained therapeutic art and restorative language specialist, Danita uses storytelling to unravel self-defeating narratives, helping people move through personal, community and historical trauma. As Co-CEO of Programs for Coming To The Table – RVA, she facilitates the constructive yet often clumsy and uncomfortable conversations on race and the legacy of the American slave trade.
Through five national tours, Danita has shared the stage with Iyanla Vanzant, Levar Burton and Dr. Bernice King. Her work has been featured in Style, Essence and Richmond Magazine,as well as USA TODAY and The Wall Street Journal. In 2013, she served as a chairperson for the 8th Annual Arts in Society Conference held in Budapest, Hungary, where she presented her research on restorative language to delegates from 27 countries.
Danita is best known for the Love Locked Down series – a collection of works that address the effects of prison culture, and AND THEN There’s Hope , a multi-dimensional fine arts program targeting Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE’s). Her other titles include Broom Jumping: A Celebration of Love (Entertaining Ideas) and Grandmother’s Gift of Memories: A Keepsake Journal for African American Women (Broadway Books).
Former community roles Danita has filled include being Vice Chair of the Richmond Public Library Board of Trustees and Executive Liaison for The Peace Culture Club, an artists consortium cultivating a generation of resilient non-violent youth.
With degrees from both the University of Virginia and the Maryland University of Integrative Health, Danita believes language leads change.