Hello world, I’m Lotus Malana Wong.
A multi-hyphenate flower and a multi-dimensional leader.
Lotus Malana Wong is an Executive Facilitator, Brand & Experience Designer, and Soul Stylist with 15 years of experience guiding and gathering groups to grow, heal and expand together. With a passion for people, Lotus is dedicated to elevating leaders and transforming teams to bring their boldest visions to life.
In practice, Lotus has been on her own journey of self-discovery and healing, traveling through over 35 countries from Thailand to Iceland to Mexico. This led her to create the School of Unconditional Love (S.O.U.L.) a BIPOC-centered experiential learning platform offering rituals, retreats and rites of passage for individuals and communities.
Lotus plays a leadership role on multiple teams including as the Co-Executive Director of Embrace, an Oakland-based community organization, which provides a platform for spiritual innovators, healing practitioners and social entrepreneurs. She is also the Co-Founder and the Head of Brand Experience & Community at Femmefluence, a private equity club and global movement for high impact women leaders. Lastly, she is an Executive Facilitator & Trainer at Late Nite Art, a creative learning & development lab that has led 600 art-based team connection events in 15 countries worldwide.
Lotus’ clients include: Adobe, LinkedIn, Starbucks, Verizon Media, Sephora, VISA, Genentech, Sallie Mae, Greater Good Science Center, Microsoft, Patreon, Oakland Museum of California Art, DeYoung Fine Arts Museum, Beneficial State Foundation, Race Forward, Common Future, The Fetzer Institute, Kellogg Foundation, Christiana Care Health, Symphonic Capital, Women Donors Network, Lynmar Winery & Estate, NYU Shanghai, Morehouse College, University of Texas, Giveness International (Japan), and I Can Read Hanoi (Vietnam).
Formal Education:
BA in Marketing and a minor in Design Studies (Arizona State University)
Certificate in International Business (University of Economics Prague)
Organizational Culture Coaching & Consulting Certificate (Delivering Happiness)
Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Certification (Holistic Underground)
Executive Education Diploma in Design and Leadership (UPEACE: United Nations Mandated Graduate School of Peace and Conflict Studies).
Spiritual Education:
Hridaya Yoga & Meditation Training (Levels 1 & 2)
Tantra Heart Shamanic & Daoist Training (Levels 1-3)
Earth Priestess Arts Training (Ana Maria Magdalena)
Ancestral Lineage Healing Program (Ancestral Medicine)
“Reclaiming Radiance” 9 month Divine Feminine Arts & Womb Wisdom Program with Chun-mui Miller, Remembrance Apothecary (present)
2 year Feather Lodge Apprenticeship with Sweet Medicine Nation (present)
Meet the Dream Team
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Christine Juang
Lead Designer & Illustrator
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Ariana Peña
Account Manager & Junior Designer
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Nicole Aguilar
Executive Assistant & Design Assistant
A woman in harmony with her spirit is like a river flowing. She goes where she will without pretense and arrives at her destination prepared to be herself and nothing else.
— Maya Angelou
My journey so far…
On the first day of the New Year in 2010, I had an encounter that I can only describe as divine.
I was traveling with friends in Mexico and our car got stuck in the sand. There we were ringing in a new decade stranded on a deserted beach without cell service, it felt like a bad omen. Just when I was ready to give up hope, I met my Spiritual Teacher.
What began as a holistic way to cure depression and heal a broken heart revealed itself to be an entry point into exploring my spiritual path and experiencing the fullness of life in its entirety. Until then, I had never formally learned about religion or spirituality and I started waking up to what it means to return to my true nature and live an intentional, liberated, and love-filled life.
I've been exploring life's mysteries ever since.
In 2014, I moved from the desert of Arizona to the west coast of California. I had always dreamed of living in the San Francisco Bay Area, knowing my ancestors had immigrated through the golden gates from Guangzhou, China generations ago. I intuitively understood the influence your environment has on you and I wondered who I might become given a diverse, creative and progressive epicenter like the Bay. I found my chosen home in Oakland, California, full of lush redwoods and soulful community.
In 2016 during my “Year of Courage”, I put my stuff in storage and left everything I knew to answer the call to adventure! I spent two and a half years getting my “Ph.D. - Pure Heart Degree” traveling and working in eleven countries throughout Southeast Asia, Central America, and North America. There I met healers, artists, and entrepreneurs from all walks of life who taught me what it means to be guided by the Universe and centered in the spiritual heart.
In 2019, my “Year of Divine Love”, I sensed the need to return to Oakland where I manifested a beautiful zen sanctuary in the heart of the city. There I began to get grounded, rebalance, and share my gifts. I felt called to elevate women and communities of color on their paths of healing, wholeness and truth. I continued my worldly travels facilitating transformational learning journey’s in France, Canada, Japan, Vietnam and Mexico. Read more about 2019: Year of Divine Love.
In 2020, my “Year of Enough”, I created a Womxn of Color Healing Circle that offerred monthly gatherings. We co-created a global community of over 300 women and femmes of color to grow and heal together. That year, I relaunched my personal brand & business: “Lotus Awakens” as well as my co-hosted podcast, This Intentional Life. Read more about 2020: Year of Enough.
In 2021, my “Year of Soul”, I founded SOUL: School of Unconditional Love, a global education platform centering BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) and offering transformational courses, coaching, and community gatherings. I led our first course, Love & Liberation, a 5 month journey for women and femmes of color ready to expand their capacity to love, bring healing to their relationships & uplift our collective liberation. Read more about 2020: Year of Soul.
In 2022, my “Year of Balance”, my aim was to rebalance and stabilize myself and my work. It became very clear that I needed to slow down. At the start of the year, I celebrated the completion of the Love & Liberation course with a 93% satisfaction rating and life changing results! I stepped into a full-time job as People & Culture Manager at visionary nonprofit, Common Future and I renewed my work with Late Nite Art as a Lead Facilitator and Trainer. I also found a new passion, offering “Soul Expression Styling”, to complement my coaching offerings. Read more about 2022: Year of Balance.
In 2023, my “Year of Femme Power”, I began a full and fierce year that brought me to my knees and showed me who I truly am. This was a year of rebuilding and reclaiming a new era of life, moving from free-spirited Maiden to mature inner Mother. To honor that transition, I co-created METAMORPHOSIS: Rite of Passage Ceremony for women of color. This was also the year, I stepped into the role of Co-Executive Director of Embrace, a BIPOC-centered organization committed to resourcing spiritual innovators, healing practitioners and community leaders in Oakland.
Welcome 2024, Year of Trust!
Events & Experiences
Wholeness at work. I love working with purpose-driven organizations and leaders to design team events, learning experiences, offsites and retreats to build cultures of connection and belonging.
Branding
Your brand evolves when you evolve. I offer brand identity, business strategy and creative design services to express your soul’s work with intention.
Styling
We are constantly in the process of reinventing and rediscovering ourselves. Soul Styling activates and empowers leaders to build a personal & professional style that expresses their multi-dimensionality from the inside out.
Rites & Rituals
Life is a ceremony. Honor it accordingly. I design and guide transformational rituals, community retreats and rites of passage for people to honor the many milestones & meaningful moments in their lives.
Love says 'I am everything.' Wisdom says 'I am nothing.' Between the two, my life flows.
-Nisargadatta Maharaj