Kate Keisel is the Co-Founder and Co-CEO of the Sanar Institute, a pioneering organization dedicated to providing transformative trauma healing services for individuals and communities affected by interpersonal violence, with a particular emphasis on sexual violence and complex trauma. With over 19 years of experience in the field, Ms. Keisel has become a recognized authority on trauma-specific mental health treatment, psychological evaluations, and clinical interventions for individuals and communities impacted by interpersonal violence.
Under Ms. Keisel’s leadership, the Sanar Institute launched a Newark, New Jersey based Wellness Center in 2015 which offers holistic mental health and wellness services free of charge. In 2018, she expanded the organization’s reach through the Thrive Initiative’s training and education programs throughout the United States, Latin America, West Africa, and South Asia. Ms. Keisel also oversees diverse partnerships with government and civil society organizations to improve system responses and integrate best practices in trauma-conscious care for diverse communities with a focus on all forms of human trafficking, sexual violence, domestic violence, stalking, and technology-facilitated violence including image based sexual abuse (IBSA.)
A passionate advocate for systemic change, Ms. Keisel combines lived experience with an academic and clinical foundation to create trauma-conscious services that foster healing, resilience, posttraumatic growth, and empowerment. Her leadership is rooted in an anti-racist, anti-oppressive framework that recognizes the importance of community-driven, person-centered care. With a career grounded in the intersection of human rights and trauma healing, Ms. Keisel continues to drive Sanar’s mission to provide compassionate, evidence-based healing and training for trauma exposed and impacted individuals and communities.
Ms. Keisel is a Bilingual (English/Spanish) Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in International Studies with a focus on human rights in Latin America and a Master’s Degree in Clinical Social Work with a focus on complex trauma healing. She holds post-graduate training certificates in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Trauma-Sensitive Yoga, Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) and has participated in training in Internal Family Systems (IFS), Somatic Experiencing (SE), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), Expressive Arts Therapy, and Sensory-Based Modalities. She is also a certified yoga teacher with a 200 hour YTT.
Ms. Keisel believes that every individual should have the opportunity to heal in their own way, at their own pace, and have access to the resources that foster resilience, inspire hope, and allow each person to build a life of their choosing.