Toby Israel is a multifaceted entrepreneur and educator based in Costa Rica, where she channels her passion for movement arts and personal empowerment across multiple disciplines. With a BA in Anthropology from Middlebury College and an MA in Peace and Media Studies from the University for Peace, she seeks to ground abstract ideas like peace, healing and freedom in the body and voice through dance and poetry.
As founder of Mujeres Fuertes Autodefensa (Strong Women Self-Defense) and Choose Empowerment, Toby has developed a holistic approach to personal safety that extends far beyond physical techniques, reaching thousands of participants in Costa Rica, Central America, and beyond. Her teacher trainings, retreats, and workshops integrate empowerment self-defense with mindfulness, somatic practices, dance, and conscious communication in an effort to explore the full spectrum of human connection. She holds Level 3 certification through ESD (Empowerment Self Defense) Global, is credentialed through the International Association of ESD Professionals, and serves as a trainer of trainers in the empowerment self-defense community.
