Karen Rodriguez

Karen Rodriguez

CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER

Karen Rodriguez is a Guatemalan woman raised in Venice Beach. She is a food lover who got her food education in kitchens of great restaurants in Southern California and a few in NYC. In these roles, she opened teams, served, managed and occasionally cooked. Her love of the culinary arts led her on the journey to learn an incredible amount from chefs, farmers and all of the people connected to our food.

She loves to connect with nature through healing, herbs, and gardens and is always excited to share a meal and feed loved ones. Following the thread of where our food comes from has made her passionate about teaching both children and the adults who teach children about tending to our soil and our earth because that is where all food begins. She is excited about regeneration and supporting healthy humanity, through food education, regenerating soils, restoring systems and kissing the ground.

Press Photos

Photos for Press and Speaker Series Use.

Recent Appearances

Envision Festival

What kind of human do you want to be? With Kevin Powell

PODCAST - CUANDO LA TIERRA HABLA

Karen Rodriquez, recordando la historia ancestral de la regeneration del suelo

Contact Information

Nathan Rice for Press Inquires
Gabrielle Lanzoni for Partnership Inquiries

What is your earliest memory of connection with nature?

My relationship with water. I was a kid who wanted to be swimming or in a bath all of the time. I remember that the SOUND of water was such a connector for me. Water running in baths, whistling in tea kettle, splashing, raindrops tapping, waterfalls, streams, lakes, or moving waves of the ocean. When I saw or heard any water, I felt brave and knew I could be held if I connected with the water. I remember understanding water’s majesty and healing powers every time I encountered it in my surroundings. 

Who was your biggest inspiration in the regenerative movement during the founding of Kiss the Ground?

Indigenous cultures inspire me most in my work. For centuries, they lead their communities with reverence for the seed, food, earth, and the unit of their group to live and live with enough for all.  As for leaders in the movement, there are two truly – Dolores Huerta’s work for the dignity of farm workers and their working conditions moved me in such a way growing up. Dr. Vandana Shiva, whose work against corruption in the food sector and support of seeds, showed me our power and choice of how we participate in the systems we have.

What gets you up each day, what keeps you going?

To me, it is a miracle that we get to spend time here on the planet, that in any given moment, there is a world of microbes within us making things function. I love and revere life. I love seeing babies laugh and learn, I love swimming, I love the ocean, and I love a great meal. I love laughing with my friends and growing together. I love mushrooms growing from the earth. My reverence for life is why I do this work, and the possibility of another day where those things can happen and many more beautiful things or painful things, or boring things, and the possibility of regeneration for our humanity for our systems gets me up each day. 

What would you say to someone in the early stages of founding a non-profit organization in the environmental space?

Like all living systems and regeneration itself, context is everything. Be brave to go outside the lines and use more creative energy as often as possible. Also, enjoy and revere your life. This means, yes, work hard, use your passion, work towards your cause, sleep well, be with family, get off of technology, and play. We must also enjoy what we transmute energy every day to protect.

Introducing Our Newest 10K Acre Partner!