Wellora

Empowering leaders through science-backed mindfulness

I bridge the gap between science and mindfulness, providing leaders with practical strategies and coaching to enhance leadership clarity and resilience.

Work with me

The Problem

82% of first-time founders fail.

Leaders face unprecedented challenges, from internal layoffs to external financing treadmills. While building their ventures, leaders often lack an unbiased view of their own leadership gaps.

This lack of self-awareness, along with the tendency to neglect their own wellbeing in times of high stress, leads to decreased resilience.

The Solution

Leader resilience is key to success.

Fostering greater self-awareness of leadership gaps helps leaders avoid critical pitfalls as they navigate startup uncertainty.

Leaders who engage in mindfulness practices report improved decision-making, resilience and increased productivity, directly impacting their company's success.

My Approach

I arm leaders with resilience through mindfulness, ahead of any crisis or self-doubt.

As an operator, I've observed first-hand the common pitfalls of leaders. Can you think of a leader who is charismatic, but not detail-oriented? Or a leader who is a brilliant scientist, but lacks the skills needed to inspire their company or foster positive culture? How about a leader who is highly-strategic and effective, but is causing friction with the rest of the leadership team?

I deliver high-impact, personalized coaching for leaders, utilizing science-backed techniques to help leaders become more self aware, resilient and holistically effective.

Why I created Wellora

A few years ago, my life seemed to epitomize the American Dream. As a Syrian immigrant, I had made my way to two graduate programs at Harvard. Yet despite what looked like external success, I spent much of my time grappling with insomnia, irritable bowel syndrome, and chronic back pain from a car accident while an undergraduate at Cornell.

After many failed attempts to address these physical and mental ailments through traditional therapeutics, I eventually realized that my relentless, restless mind was the true source of my unhappiness. No matter how much praise or material success I accumulated, my neurotic, unsatisfied mind continued to manifest new problems.

Ironically, while I had built a career in biotech in various strategy & operations roles, it became clear that I needed to turn inward to find peace, rather than continuing to spend time and money exploring traditional pharmacological treatments. I spent years committed to understanding the nature of my mind and consciousness through formal meditation and later became a yoga teacher to incorporate movement into my practice. While at Harvard, I also participated in a clinical trial based on “mind-body syndrome” theory, which posits that chronic pain can be cured by rewiring pain signals through inner work. After five years of persistent back pain, I became pain-free in a matter of months.
I’ve experienced firsthand how mindfulness can reverse stress‑related disease and boost self-awareness, even in a high-pressure corporate environment. I’m deeply motivated to make the fruits of mindfulness techniques more accessible to highly ambitious leaders who are changing the world.

Nora Rodden, MS, MBA, RYT 200
CEO & Founder

How I'm different

I'm a scientist

There is no one-size-fits-all strategy. I use a variety of clinically proven mindfulness, breathwork, and cognitive techniques tailored to leaders, aiming to reduce stress, overcome limiting beliefs, and enhance leadership confidence.

And an executor

In simple words, I get things done. I've spent time in investment banking and multiple biotechs across sizes and modalities. I apply operational skills like time and project management to support leaders in being operationally excellent.

All engagements include:

In-person shadowing, meeting observations and stakeholder discussions.
Option for personal yoga classes in a variety of styles (Vinyasa Flow, Yin, Restorative, Flow + Restore).