Our Team

We are a kaleidoscope of perspectives, guiding speakers with insight, creativity, and care.

RiseLive exists because of our team—a collective of voices, experiences, and expertise as diverse as the stories we help bring to life. Across race, age, neurodiversity, abilities, disciplines, and life paths, we unite innovators, disruptors, and creators from publishing, writing, theatre, design, marketing, activism, fundraising, public speaking, and more.

Kristen Mcguiness

CEO & Publisher of Rise Literary

Kristen is a best-selling author, editor, and long-standing publishing professional. She’s the CEO & publisher of Rise Literary, and founder of RiseLive. After spending the first decade of her career working in editorial for Simon & Schuster and Harper Collins, as well as in film development at Warner Brothers, Kristen wrote the bestselling memoir, 51/50: The Magical Adventures of a Single Life, which was featured on the "Today Show" and in USA Today. Since then, she has co-authored dozens of books and her work has appeared in Rolling Stone, Shondaland, Marie Claire, amongst others. In addition, she has worked at numerous booksellers, including Shakespeare & Co. in New York. She lives in Ojai, CA with her husband, two children, and a dog named Lucy.

Lauren PORTÉ

Chief Marketing Officer

Lauren is the Chief Marketing Officer for Rise Literary, a hybrid publisher and book coaching company. She has spent the past 25 years working in sales, fundraising, and marketing through various industries, realizing that the most powerful part of a storied work history is the wide variety of human connection. In 2025 Lauren was the co-producer of TEDxOjai, featuring 12 speakers through the daylong event in Ojai, CA. She is endlessly curious, a lover of books, travel, and new adventures. Lauren lives in Mt. Kisco, NY.

Vyana novus

Chief Creative Officer

Vyana is an ecological artist & educator based in Ojai, California. Before joining the Rise Literary team as Chief Creative Officer, Vyana spent a decade doing freelance design, brand strategy, creative direction, and teaching. Their studies spread wide across various art media, somatics, and relational skills. They use earth pigment paint making & color science alongside interpersonal relational skills to explore how creativity sustains & heals us as people. Their work & facilitation is heavily inspired by their near death experience, guiding their use of multimedia storytelling as a tool for intergenerational healing & legacy making.

Raya whittington

Content Director

Raya enjoys exploring new bookstores, penning her own stories, and watching objectively bad film and television. She believes in the power of literature to foster community, provoke thought, and provide much-needed escapism. With degrees in English, Communications, Psychology, and Social Media Marketing, she aspires to continue contributing to the creative world for years to come.

Community Partners

Azure Antoinette

Community Architect

Community Architect Azure Antoinette is an internationally recognized activist and brand expert, creating local and online engagement for RiseLive across the world.

Sonali Fiske

Story Architect

Story Architect Sonali Fiske will bring her years as a TEDx coach and political activist together to help speakers craft, write, and share their talks through a cultural conversation.

SMITHHOUSE Strategy

Public Relations

Working with clients across the entertainment, lifestyle, nonprofit and events industries, SMITHHOUSE will be supporting all elements of public relations for RiseLive.

Solhaus Media

Audio + Videography

For mission-driven organizations and values-led teams, Solhaus Media transforms complex impact into compelling, story-driven video, filming RiseLive for online distribution.

Jonathan Gravenor

Digital Architect

Founder of From Zero 2 Sixty, Jonathan Gravenor is our Digital Architect, structuring our YouTube channel to build a new stage with less saturation and more exposure.

Katie Hendricks

Embodiment Architect

World renowned expert in body intelligence, Katie Hendricks offers a somatic-relational approach, helping speakers to embody their live and recorded talks.