She. Burned. It. All. Down.
In 2020, former high-tech executive Neelam Patel torched a 22-year career to pursue her creative passions. During this time, she generated a debut 300+ page poetry collection, Burning It Down: Dancing in the Rubble, an Amazon bestselling poetry collection in two categories. She was selected as an official speaker at SXSW 2023.
Winner of 2 individual artist’s grants for poetry.
Produced 4 one woman shows, including sold-out audiences.
Performed in 30+ Fringe Festival shows.
Performed poetry for Accenture and for US Department of State events.
Performed in theater shows nationwide.
Featured poet at Barnes & Noble
Official SXSW 2023 Speaker
Performed at Georgetown University
Tech career spanned from program management at Microsoft, and User Interface management at Network Solutions, to Customer Success and Sales executive leadership in the cyber security startup world.
Graduated from Honors Conservatory at Theatre Lab in DC
Graduated with a B.S. in Computer Science from Rutgers University
Fun Facts.
Dance is Neelam’s first love, and she improvises dances in public spaces, like the Bean at Chicago’s Millennium Park, the I Love You Wall in Paris, and on Copenhagen’s Magstraed Street. The photo is from her performance at a family wedding, before it became the central image for her book cover.
Neelam learned to swim as an adult, taking class multiple times before taking her hands of the edge.
Her turning point was in Puerto Rico, where she learned to float in salt water; resulting in a belief that it was possible.
Cheers to letting go of edges, and only when we’re ready!
