Our Founder

Kristin Westbrook, Founder

Meditating since 2001, Kristin discovered the practice helped combat both the stress of her job as creative director as well as navigate the frenetic pace of NYC. Inspired by the food trucks of midtown Manhattan, she dreamed of a similar way to deliver nourishing moments of meditation to busy city dwellers in a calm space without requiring travel or a large time commitment.

Her vision led her to purchase a 1976 recreational vehicle (RV) which she renovated and transformed into New York’s first mobile meditation studio. Thus Calm City was born.

In early 2017, Kristin began parking the Calm City RV on New York’s busiest streets and inviting potential meditators inside. While some New Yorkers had meditation experience, others had never heard of the practice, and neither group had imagined doing it right on the streets of the city. Slowly the business began to grow as Calm City appeared at health fairs, special events, parties, and companies. Calm City now creates custom 8 to 12-week programs for Fortune 500 companies, universities, and government agencies, and continues to deliver meditation via online classes during the pandemic.

Kristin received her meditation certification through the Nalanda Institute for Contemplative Science in partnership with The Path. She has also completed:

• the Mindful School’s 16-hour Mindfulness Fundamentals and 20-hour Mindful Communication courses

• Compassion Cultivation Training with Leah Weiss PhD, MSW, Stanford University

Additionally, she is trained in:

• Transcendental Meditation technique

• Mental Health First Aid. 

Kristin is passionate about sharing the healing power of meditation, which she credits with helping her navigate living with metastatic breast cancer. Through Calm City she seeks to empower people to create a happier, healthier world.