Pushkara S AshfordBorn in Los Angeles in 1940, Pushkara grew up in Seattle. She sang in a folk chorus in her teens, in operas and musicals. She performed folksongs for 25 years in a trio and as a duo with her husband in concerts, on college campuses, in coffeehouses, n radio and TV. She was a co-founder in 1966 of the Seattle Folklore Society. Mother of three, Pushkara taught music and supervised cooperative preschools in the Home and Family Life program at Seattle Community College. A founding parent volunteer at Seattle's Alternative Elementary School (AS#1) in 1970, she later developed and taught in the primary program. She earned her MSW in 1978 and taught in Antioch University Masters Psychology program. Appointed by Family Services of King County as designer and coordinator of the Family Violence Project, she organized community campaigns and developed interdisciplinary legal, law enforcement, medical, addiction, counseling teams and safe housing services. She also established a private practice, Family Therapy Associates. An intractable vocal condition lead Pushkara to India where she served and studied meditation in a spiritual community. Pushkara worked in Seattle as house manager for Multifaith AIDS Projects. She established a residential service for meditators in upstate New York, and served as a counselor at a residential facility for teen boys near Philadelphia. Returning home to the PNW, Pushkara's vision for peace inspired the gypsy wagon journey of SingPeace! Pilgrimage for Peace & Global Harmony hosting peace-makers, song-leaders, and story-tellers in community events. For Pushkara, SingPeace! represents the return to life and to her first love, for though her singing voice has long since left her, she has found music wherever she goes. Read More Read Less