Rahla has two driving passions-performance arts and inspiring personal excellence. The merging of her education and experience in each of these fields resulted in the creation of The POWER OF PLAY,  a unique, effective, and infinitely entertaining approach to developing human potential.

A native of Los Angeles, Rahla was an original member of L.A.'s prestigious Groundlings Improvisational Theater Company where she studied with founder and director Gary Austin. She also studied improvisational technique with the legendary teacher, Viola Spolin.

When her father died of cancer, she was devastated and her own journey back to wholeness led her to the work of Norman Cousins ("Anatomy of An Illness") and radiation oncologist Dr. 0. Carl Simonton ("Getting Well Again"). She subsequently assisted Dr. Simonton at several "Healing Power of Laughter and Play" conferences where she was inspired to create her own workshop using her unique improvisational skills to reconnect people to their spirits. Dr. Simonton would often tell her that "playtime is mandatory! It is not an elective." Her own ideas were validated when Dr. Simonton told her she was on to something important. Subsequently, she developed her own workshop, or as she called it, "playshop."

Beginning in 1982, Rahla regularly conducted The POWER OF PLAY  in the greater Los Angeles area. She served on staff at the California Mental Health Association's "Step Up on Second" facility in Santa Monica from 1984 to 1993 where her work with mentally ill and homeless adults received wide public attention. She was a guest facilitator at The Wellness Community, a cancer outpatient support program in Santa Monica and has worked one-on-one with cancer patients and people with AIDS.

The POWER OF PLAY has expanded greatly over the years. American Express, Westcor Partners, and the Harlem Globetrotters are among her corporate clients. She has consulted to medical groups and foundations, colleges and universities, religious organizations, schools, and cities. She is currently writing a book and has also developed a one-woman interactive theater experience that showcases the principles of The POWER OF PLAY and their potential to transform the individuals and organizations that have the commitment and will to embrace them.