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Sunday, 5/3/2026, 9am - Radio 2050

KCSM
Published May 1, 2026 at 11:00 PM PDT
Rosie von L
Rosie von Lila

Human Flourishing.

Rosie von Lila lives in Brooklyn, New York. Her journey begins in California. “I’m originally from Arcata, California. I have had a very unconventional career trajectory, and it’s only recently, like in the last year or so, that my life has made sense to me. I grew up in Arcata. I moved to San Francisco. I went to school at University of San Francisco, and then I lived in the Bay Area for 16 years. I didn’t go right into the corporate world. Part of that was because when I was 19, I went to Burning Man for the first time. And I’ve been going ever since. I have been involved with the community for more than half my life. And this year was my 20th time going out to the Blackrock desert. And so, it’s been this really huge part of my life. And I eventually ended up working for Burning Man headquarters in San Francisco, and I worked with them globally. And after that, I moved to New York City. And I came for what was supposed to be a five-month contract with a company out here. And now it’s been seven years. New York has swallowed me and eaten me, and here I am now, making new things. (click story headline for more)

I did the opposite of what most people do when they get involved with burning man. Usually, you go to burning man and then you come home and you quit your corporate job. Me, I did a 180, and I went and worked on Wall Street in finance, as an executive. I was working in private equity. So metaphorical Wall Street, not actually on Wall Street. The next year, in 2021, I felt it was time to write a book. I knew that that would be on my horizon at some point, but I never knew what. And I was talking to a friend who works in publishing, and I said, I have this idea, and I have this idea and this idea, but what really ties them all together is human flourishing. It was like lightning struck. And he goes, that’s what your book is about. And I was like, oh, my gosh. And so that started the journey of, I say that human flourishing chose me more than I chose it. I came along, and you’re the one who articulated it, Rosie. So that’s what your work is about. And so, then it’s been this journey now”.
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