I’m Lera — an educator, entrepreneur, and graffiti researcher.
I love my work, where I try to transform post-Soviet educational systems for the better — to make them more human-oriented. My focus is on mindful, effective, and caring learning across all stages: humanistic preschool, school, higher, lifelong, and corporate education.

I live in Almaty, Kazakhstan — a big, modern city balanced between mountains and chaos.
I was born in Kazakhstan, spent a big part of my life in Russia (Saratov region, Moscow, Sochi), and moved back here about three and a half years ago.
So my life is a mix of languages, cultures, and meanings.

I love both urban details and wild nature: graffiti, random city corners with strange stickers, exploring new routes, long hikes, and skiing.

I’m open, curious, and independent — but I also love silence and respect personal space.
If you stay at my place, I want you to feel both welcome and free to be yourself.

Due to the current political situation, I should mention that I’m LGBT+-friendly and do not support any of wars.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I love meeting new people and learning new things.
I don’t want to explore the world only in a tourist way — I want to feel it through local eyes.
I’ve spent a lot of time with couchsurfers and locals, and often host travelers myself (sometimes even outside CS).
Please check my references — they say it better than I can.

Interests

• contemporary art
• education
• languages
• science
• travelling
• communication
• contemporary dance
• startups
• graffiti
• community
• project management
• psycology
• vargan
• enterpreneurship

Music, Movies, and Books

Anything I will think of for days after watching. Anything with a sense.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Rope jumping, running my own business in CIS, seeing bears in Kamchatka, one year sabbatical

Teach, Learn, Share

I work with digital startups, so I can share best practices in LEAN methodology, MVP design, and Customer Development.
I’m also deeply into community building and non-formal education — both are at the core of my professional and personal interests, and I’d love to exchange ideas about them.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Hacks from my work experience, traditional cousins, stories about Kazakhstan and Russia without cliches

Countries I’ve Visited

Armenia, Austria, Belarus, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Georgia, Germany, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Montenegro, Morocco, Spain, Turkey, Uzbekistan

Countries I’ve Lived In

Kazakhstan, Russian Federation