EDUCATOR · AUTHOR · SPEAKER
Helping people live and lead with greater awareness.
Natalya Rakevich, Ph.D.: Educational leader, creator of the Narrative Awareness® Framework and System, consultant, researcher, motivational speaker, writer, well-being/success coach, teacher, trainer, counselor, and spiritual seeker.
| Ph.D. in Educational Leadership | Creator of Narrative Awareness |
| Founder, Vela Well-Being | Educator, Researcher & Speaker |
PHILOSOPHY
Awareness creates space for choice
Natalya’s work begins with a simple premise: the stories we carry influence how we understand ourselves, respond to difficulty, and relate to others.
Through mindful observation, reflection, and meaning-making, people can recognize the narratives shaping their lives—and decide what to keep, what to change, and how to move forward with intention.
Awareness allows us to see the stories we live by – and choose how they continue.
A guiding idea behind Narrative Awareness
THE WORK
Where research meets lived experience.
Natalya brings together educational research, trauma-informed practice,
mindfulness, and narrative reflection.
Research & Well-Being
Research into the well-being of helping professionals, particularly amid prolonged trauma, and the practices, relationships, and sources of resilience that sustain those who support others.
Narrative Awareness
An original framework for observing, understanding, and intentionally reshaping the stories through which we experience life.
Vela Well-Being
Trauma-informed education, consultation, and professional learning for educators, psychologists, and helping professionals.
FEATURED FRAMEWORK & WORKBOOK
Narrative Awareness
A research-informed framework for understanding the stories that shape how we experience ourselves, others, and the world.
Developed by Natalya, Narrative Awareness brings together mindful observation, reflection, storytelling, and conscious choice. It helps people recognize the narratives influencing their identities and responses, explore what those stories mean, and intentionally choose what to keep or change in support of greater well-being.
EDUCATION, RESEARCH & LEADERSHIP
25+ years in education and well-being
Education, Research & Leadership
Natalya holds an Ph.D. in Educational Leadership from Lesley University. Her doctoral research examined how Ukrainian educators sustain well-being during prolonged wartime trauma. Her broader work applies those insights to resilience, mindfulness, and trauma-informed support for educators, psychologists, counselors, and other helping professionals.
SPEAKING & WORKSHOPS
National and international presentations
Speaking & Workshops
Natalya speaks on Narrative Awareness, resilience, prolonged trauma, mindfulness, self-care, and the creation of healing communities. Her engagements have included the following conferences:
- International School Psychology Association – Narrative Awareness and global school consultation
- Boston International Trauma Conference – Narrative Awareness during wartime trauma
- Society of Refugee Health Care Providers – Maintaining well-being through prolonged trauma