Speakers | International Conference on Mindfulness 2024

ICM:2024 Mindfulness in a changing world

Speakers

ICM:2024 Mindfulness in a changing world

Speakers

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See below for the 2024 conference speaker lineup.

We aim to showcase diverse perspectives and also include the voices of those who historically have not been at the table.

About Jon

Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D. did his doctoral work in molecular biology at MIT in the laboratory of the Nobel Laureate, Salvador Luria. Jon is a Professor of Medicine emeritus at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, where he founded the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society in 1995, and in 1979, its world-renowned Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Clinic. He is the author of 15 books, the most recent of which are Mindfulness Meditation for Pain Relief (2023) and a Thirtieth Anniversary Edition of Wherever You Go, There You Are (2024). His books are published in over 45 languages. His work has contributed to a growing movement of mindfulness in mainstream institutions such as medicine, psychology, health care, neuroscience, schools, higher education, business, social justice, criminal justice, prisons, the law, technology, government, and professional sports.

Over 700 hospitals and medical centers around the world now offer MBSR. Jon lectures and leads mindfulness workshops and retreats around the world and online. In the Spring of 2020, at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, he offered 66 consecutive weekdays of 90-minute online guided meditations, talks, and dialogue, the so-called mitigation retreat: see www.youtube.com. His website is www.jonkabat-zinn.com.

Jon will be providing the Closing Keynote (virtually) at ICM:2024.

Jon Kabat-Zinn

About Catherine

Catherine McGee has been teaching Insight meditation since 1999. She is a member of the Gaia House teacher council, teaches yearly at the Insight Meditation Society (www.dharma.org) and the Barre Centre for Buddhist Studies ( www.buddhistinquiry.org/about-us/), and is a guiding teacher for OneEarth Sangha- (oneearthsangha.org) a virtual EcoDharma centre supporting a global community in the Path of Engaged Practice.

Between 2014 and 2020 she collaborated closely with Rob Burbea in forming and shaping A Soulmaking Dharma (www.buddhistinquiry.org/online-programs/soulmaking-dharma/).

Catherine is giving the Strand 2 Keynote and leading the Conference Retreat Day with Rhonda Magee.

Catherine McGee

About Sona

Sona Dimidjian, Ph.D. is Director of the Renée Crown Wellness Institute and Professor in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of Colorado Boulder. Her current research projects focus on preventing depression and supporting wellness among new and expectant mothers, promoting healthy body image and leadership among young women, and enhancing mindfulness and compassion among youth, families, and educators. She also has a longstanding interest in expanding access, scaling, and sustaining effective programs, using both digital technology and community-based partnerships. Dr. Dimidjian received her BA in psychology from the University of Chicago and her PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Washington.

Sona is presenting the Strand 1 Keynote and is also part of the panel for Strand 1.

Sona Dimidjian

About Rhonda

Rhonda V. Magee is a Professor of Law at the University of San Francisco and a leading mindfulness teacher and practice innovator with a focus on applying mindfulness to the hardest challenges of our times. She is an internationally-recognized teacher, guide, and mentor, focused on integrating mindfulness into higher education, law, and social change work. A prolific author, Professor Magee draws on law and legal history to weave storytelling, poetry, analysis, and practices into inspiration for changing how we think, act, and live better together in a rapidly changing world.

Rhonda will give the Strand 3 Keynote address and lead the Conference Retreat Day with Catherine McGee.

Rhonda Magee

About Amit

Amit Bernstein is a Professor of Psychology and Director of the Observing Minds Lab and the Moments of Refuge Project, in the School of Psychological Sciences at the University of Haifa. He is currently a Visiting Professor at the Center for Healthy Minds and the Department of Psychology, at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Amit was an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a doctoral student at the University of Vermont, and a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford and the Palo Alto VA. Amit’s research has focused on internally directed cognition in mental health and the (mal)adaptive ways that people process, relate to, and respond to their internal states. His group’s translational work has focused on mental training therapeutics targeting internally directed cognition to promote mental health and buffer the toxicity of adversity and trauma, particularly among marginalized communities. With his students and colleagues, he has published over 160 papers, he is an alumnus of the Israel Young Academy of the Israel National Academy of Sciences and Humanities, and his group’s work has been featured in popular media around the world.

Amit will give the Strand 4 Keynote address.

Amit Bernstein

About Jamie

Jamie Bristow is a prominent expert on the application of inner development and contemplative practices in public life. For eight years, from 2015 to 2023, Jamie played an instrumental role in the UK's All-Party Parliamentary Group on Mindfulness, acting as its clerk and serving as Director of the associated policy institute, The Mindfulness Initiative. His work during that time included influential policy reports such as Mindful Nation UK and Reconnection: Meeting the Climate Crisis Inside Out. Jamie now retains a part-time position with The Mindfulness Initiative as a sustainability policy expert whilst leading public narrative and policy development for the Inner Development Goals and conducting action research on the relationship between climate anxiety and engagement for the Climate Majority Project. Jamie's earlier roles included being the Business Development Director at Headspace, and his rich background encompasses psychology, climate change campaigning, and advertising.

Jamie will be delivering the Strand 5 Keynote.

Jamie Bristow

About Vidyamala

Vidyamala Burch OBE is the founder of The Breathworks Foundation - an international mindfulness and compassion charity. Vidyamala began teaching her mindfulness approach to managing pain and illness following her personal experience of living with health challenges following spinal injuries and surgeries in her teens. She began to explore mindfulness, compassion, and meditation as a way to manage her pain and found the results to be life-changing and transformative.

In 2001, she developed the Mindfulness-based Pain Management (MBPM) programme, and there are now over 700 teachers based in over 40 countries who have trained in this approach to managing pain and long-term health conditions. Vidyamala was awarded an OBE in 2022 for services to Wellbeing and Pain Management. She is also an honorary member of The British Pain Society for her outstanding work for the alleviation of pain, was named on the Shaw Trust Power 100 List of the UK’s most influential disabled people for four years running, and is on the Advisory Council for the Global Compassion Coalition.

She is the author of Living Well with Pain and Illness (2008), Mindfulness for Health (2013), and Mindfulness for Women (2016).

Vidyamala will lead the Stand 4 Workshop.

Vidyamala Burch

About William

William Fley is a bereavement and trauma holistic therapist working with people with have undergone adversity, change and challenges around identity and belonging. Born in Central America and raised in New York and of multi-racial inheritance, his ancestry carries a rich history of migration, displacement, resistance, creativity, self-determination, and freedom fighting. Inspired and energised by Buddhism in Sussex as the foundation for somatic abolitionism as a means for inner transformation and evolution. Founder of the Mindfulness Network for People of Colour, a CIC which helps address inequality and oppression through mindfulness . William wants to bring awareness of the disparities in the mindfulness industry and to eliminate cultural and other barriers to accessing mindfulness by encouraging cultural awareness and responsiveness.

www.honouringrief.com

www.mnpc.co.uk

William will provide one of the Pre-Conference Workshops at ICM:2024

William Fley

About Willem

Willem Kuyken is a professor of mindfulness and psychological science and director of the University of Oxford Mindfulness Centre. His work has focused on depression and evidence-based psychological approaches to depression. In particular, his research examines how mindfulness and mindfulness-based programs can prevent depression and enhance human potential across the lifespan.

Willem will lead the Strand 5 Workshop and is part of the Strand 1 Panel discussion.

Willem Kuyken

About Martine

Martine Batchelor lived in Korea as a Seon nun under the guidance of Master Kusan for ten years. She is the author of Meditation for Life, The Path of Compassion, Women in Korean Zen, and Let Go: A Buddhist Guide to Breaking Free of Habits. She teaches meditation retreats worldwide and lives in France. Her latest works are The Spirit of the Buddha, What is this? and The Definition, Practice, and Psychology of Vedana. Recently she has been involved with the Silver Sante Study, teaching meditation, mindfulness, and compassion to seniors in France to see if this could prevent aging decline.

Martine will provide one of the Pre-Conference Workshops at ICM:2024

Martine Batchelor

About Choden

A monk within the Karma Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, Choden (aka Sean Mc Govern) completed a three-year, three-month retreat in 1997 and has been a practicing Buddhist since 1985. Originally from South Africa where he qualified as a lawyer, he learned meditation under the Tibetan master, Lama Yeshe Rinpoche. He is now involved in developing secular mindfulness, compassion, and insight programmes drawing upon the wisdom and methods of the Buddhist tradition, as well as contemporary insights from psychology and neuroscience. He is an honorary fellow of the University of Aberdeen and teaches in their Postgraduate Study Programme in Mindfulness (MSc) which is the first of its kind to include compassion in its curriculum. He co-wrote a book with Paul Gilbert in 2013, entitled Mindful Compassion that explores the interface between Buddhist and Evolutionary approaches to compassion training. He is also the co-author of two other books: Mindfulness Based Living Course (2018) and From Mindfulness to Insight (2019).

Choden will lead the Strand 2 Workshop.

Choden

About Aesha

Aesha Francis is a co-founder of The Urban Mindfulness Foundation. She co-created the Mindfulness-Based Inclusion Training (MBIT) while completing her postgraduate studies in mindfulness with the University of Aberdeen. Aesha has been an important contributor to the field of mindfulness, introducing innovation in context-specific delivery and continually developing the program to meet the needs of a changing and diverse world. In addition, Aesha is a co-author of the recently published paper Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction for Our Time: A curriculum that is up to the task. She enjoys teaching and supervising mindfulness courses, sessions, and retreats, with a prosocial focus across various demographic groups and sectors. Aesha has a Black and Asian heritage and explores her practice through a social justice, culturally informed, critical, sensitive, and compassionate lens. She is also a trained artist, designer, and consultant, committed to creatively and meaningfully broadening access. Aesha describes her practice as a radical art of love for life, embracing all of its diverse forms.

Visit www.urbanmindfulnessfoundation.co.uk for more information

Aesha Francis

About Dean

Dean Francis is an accomplished environmental consultant, mindfulness teacher, supervisor, and co-founder of the Urban Mindfulness Foundation. After completing his master's in mindfulness studies, he co-created the award-winning Mindfulness-Based Inclusion Training program, specifically designed to build solidarity through practice and dismantle racism and social inequalities collectively.

Dean co-authored the collaborative paper "Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction for Our Time: A Curriculum That Is Up to the Task" and he is a trustee for the British Association of Mindfulness-Based Approaches (BAMBA), the UK’s primary professional body of registered practitioners, teachers, teacher training organisations, and innovators.

Starting his mindfulness training in 2009, Dean is at the forefront of socially engaged mindfulness training for UK underrepresented groups and is instrumental in the development and leadership of the new BAMBA EDI task force. His advocacy for innovation and equitable access via co-created and collaborative training that values lived experience, continues to have a significant UK influence. He currently supports his local council's Race Equality Alliance and Sussex Mindfulness Centre's, EDI developments and IAPT training. By facilitating grassroots engagement, his work has aided access and relatability in our current times of collective global challenge.

Dean Francis

About Anne

Anne Speckens is professor of psychiatry and founder and director of the mindfulness expertise center of the Radboud University Medical Centre Nijmegen, the Netherlands. Her research focuses on the effectiveness and possible working mechanisms of MBIs in people with psychiatric and somatic conditions, and health care professionals.

Anne will be chairing the Strand 1 Panel discussion at ICM:2024. She will also be showing and talking about her art as part of the Connection Events.

Anne Speckens

About Oleg

Oleg N. Medvedev, Ph.D., currently holds the position of A. Professor at the University of Waikato’s School of Psychology in New Zealand.

He is at the forefront of shaping mindfulness research as the Editor-in-Chief of the Springer Nature Journal Mindfulness and steering the academic discourse through his leadership of two comprehensive reference works: the Handbook of Assessment in Mindfulness Research and the International Handbook of Behavioural Health Assessment. He is actively involved in mindfulness and health-related research covering mindfulness-based interventions, well-being, health-related quality of life, affective disorders, and healthy mental aging. His distinctive contribution lies in his innovative use of advanced statistical and psychometric methods, including Generalisability Theory, Rasch analysis, Network analyses, and novel Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning techniques.

A. Prof. Medvedev is the author of over 150 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters, and co-author of the book Mindfulness-Based Intervention Research: Characteristics, Approaches, and Developments.

Oleg will lead the Strand 1 Workshop.

Oleg Medvedev

About Michael

Michael Waupoose (Maec mahwaew) is an enrolled member of the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin. He is an 8-year veteran of the United States Air Force. Michael began his meditation practice in 2009 after being introduced to MBSR through the UW Health Mindfulness Program. He has been teaching in the UW Mindfulness Program since 2011, offering adult MBSR classes, MBSR classes for the BIPOC community, and an MBSR Teacher Training Intensive, which he developed. He also teaches mindfulness classes on the Menominee Indian Tribe reservation.

Michael has completed teacher training with the Center for Mindfulness at the University of Massachusetts Medical School and the UC San Diego Center for Mindfulness. He is a certified MBSR teacher through the UC San Diego Center for Mindfulness. He holds a Master’s Degree in Social Work and is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. His interests include offering classes for the BIPOC community, exploring the benefits of mindfulness for overall wellness and quality of life, and how mindfulness can support skillful responses to the harm and impact of racial and social injustice. Michael resides in Madison, WI USA with his husband, whom he has enjoyed life with for over 29 years.

Michael will be leading one of the Post-Conference Workshops.

Michael Waupoose

About Cathy-Mae

Cathy-Mae Karelse, PhD is an independent specialist with years of experience in deep systems change and decolonisation, interweaving inner and outer landscapes to shift dominant narratives. As a thought leader in belonging and thriving, she designs and delivers customised change strategies and programmes to shepherd meaningful transformation. She has worked with corporates, policy institutes, communities, and global programmes around policies and strategies that generate embodied leadership, justice, and freedom. Cathy-Mae is currently the Climate Youth Resilience Lead for the Mindfulness Initiative and works on Salzburg Global’s Public Policy New Voices Europe programme. As the author of Disrupting White Mindfulness: Race and Racism in the Wellbeing Industry, she foregrounds global South, Indigenous, queer leadership in emergent worldmaking. In addition to public speaking, she is an educator, coach, and change-maker.

For more information see www.cathymae.com

Cathy-Mae will be co-leading a Guided Practice in Strand 1 and is part of the Strand 5 Panel discussion.

Cathy-Mae Karelse

About Lone

Lone Fjorback is associate professor at the Department of Clinical Medicine of Aarhus University and director of the Danish Center for Mindfulness. Her areas of expertise are mindfulness, compassion, mental health, depression and stress.

Lone is part of the Strand 1 Panel discussion.

Lone Fjorback

About Marleen

Dr Marleen Ter Avest is a mindfulness and compassion teacher, who obtained her PhD at the Radboud University Medical Centre (Netherlands) on the working mechanisms of MBCL (mindfulness-based compassionate living) and MBCT (mindfulness-based cognitive therapy) in recurrent depression. She is the owner of Note to Mind and Kind to Mind, through which she teaches mindfulness and compassion, gives coaching and guides silent days for general audiences as well as for research and education. Marleen is connected to the MBCL teacher-trainer education led by Frits Koster and Erik van den Brink as an educator and supervisor and is additionally active as chair of the scientific committee of the Dutch Mindfulness Association.

Marleen is leading the Strand 2 Guided Practice.

Marleen Ter Avest

About Margaret

Margaret Fletcher teaches MBSR and trains MBSR teachers through East Coast Mindfulness. The current focus of her work is exploring the intersection of mindfulness teaching and eco-awareness; she aims to support MBSR teachers to find their own relationship with Earth and to incorporate Earth as a living participant into their teaching.

Margaret was trained by senior teachers at the Center for Mindfulness at the University of Massachusetts Medical School to facilitate various educational pathways of the Center including the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Clinic and the complete set of MBSR teacher training through to teacher certification. She brings over two decades of experience in corporate, small business and non-profit settings to her teaching and training.

Prior to her work in MBSR, Margaret was a guiding teacher for White Mountain Sangha, a non-dual meditation community in NH.

Margaret will lead the Strand 5 Guided Practice.

Margaret Fletcher

About Rosalie

Rosalie Dores M.A is a mindfulness teacher, supervisor and trainer. She is an Insight Dialogue Retreat Teacher (Relational Meditation). Rosalie is dedicated to offering teachings that engage at the interface between ancient wisdom and the challenges of our modern world. She recognises the urgent need for a meditative practice that incorporates the social and interpersonal domains of human experience as intrinsic to awakening. She is a Work That Reconnects facilitator and co-teaches courses and workshops dedicated to raising awareness about climate and social justice.

Rosalie will be presenting the Strand 4 Guided Practice Workshop.

Rosalie Dores

About Richard

Richard is the director of the Mindfulness Initiative, which is set to place mindfulness at the heart of policy and decision-making. Current work includes being the Secretariat to the Mindfulness All-Party Parliamentary Group in Westminster, Climate Youth Resilience work, and supporting Innovations in Mindfulness - including the Mindfulness Innovations Awards in October 2024. Richard has a social justice background, having worked in the Third Sector for over 30 years. Immediately prior to joining the MI, Richard ran a homelessness organisation for 15 years. Richard is a trained mindfulness teacher and a registered change management practitioner and has provided consultancy, training, and coaching to individuals and organisations on mindful leadership, and mindfully managing change.

Richard will be part of the Strand 5 Panel.

Richard Edwards

About Kareen

Kareen Griffiths is a Mindful Change Consultant, Speaker, and Mental Health Advocate with over 15 years of experience in change management and communications. Specialising in integrating mindfulness practices for leadership and wellbeing in the workplace, Kareen has been recognized as a finalist for the Lloyds Bank Launchpad, Women Who Inspire, and the Multicultural Business Community Champion Award. Her insights have been featured in notable publications including Stylist Magazine, Women's Health, and Huffington Post. As a Charity Trustee for the Mindfulness Initiative, she is dedicated to increasing accessibility to mindfulness in communities and in the workplace. Kareen also serves as a Mindful DJ, using music and wellbeing events to promote mindfulness and increase access in under-represented communities.

Kareen is co-leading the Strand 1 Guided Practice.

Kareen Griffiths

About Trish

Trish Bartley has developed and published MBCT for Cancer and taught clinical groups of people with cancer since 2001. She trains for CMRP/Mindfulness Network and Oxford Mindfulness Foundation – and offers training workshops and retreats in Europe and sometimes further afield. She has recently launched an International Mindfulness and Cancer Online Project at www.mindfulnessandcancer.com and has published two books on MBCT for Cancer (Bartley, 2012,2017). Trish has a background in development and is keenly interested in the role of the group in Mindfulness-Based Programs. She co-authored Teaching Mindfulness-Based Groups. (Bartley & Griffith, 2022).

Trish will be leading the Strand 2 online workshop.

Trish Bartley

About Jessica

Jessica Andexer, psychotherapist mbacp (accred), Dip, PgCert, PgDip, MTT has worked as a psychotherapist since 2006, and as an educator, consultant and meditation teacher.

She has worked in lots of different places from trauma services, university, tiny charities, to the NHS. Much of her current work offers out mindful, somatic and therapeutic based interventions to neurodivergent people.

She loves finding new ways of doing things and gets excited about making connections between things like science and our day to day experiences. She is really interested in neuroscience, Buddhist psychology, somatics and creativity. She identifies as queer, multiply neurodivergent and physically disabled, and making spaces inclusive and accessible is really important to her.

Jessica will lead the Strand 3 online workshop.

Jessica Andexer

About Carter

Professor Carter Lebares’ research focuses on understanding the effects of stress on surgeons mental health and performance and identifying targetable factors for intervention. Since 2015, she has focused on the development of a tailored mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) called Enhanced Stress Resilience Training (ESRT). ESRT has shown promising benefits to burnout, cognition, and physiologic markers of stress in single-site randomized clinical trials with surgical trainees. Longitudinal cohort studies have shown ESRT to benefit stress, burnout, global well-being scores, and measures of career trajectory such as highest-tier fellowship placement for advanced surgical training. As Principal Investigator, she has used implementation science to identify key factors to ESRT sustainability, and as a member of the American College of Surgeons Academy of Master Surgeon Educators, she works with surgeon educators at other institutions to help execute and study wellbeing interventions. List of published work:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/1BCmldoY6um51/bibliography/public

Carter is part of the Strand 4 Panel Discussion.

Carter Lebares

About Diana

Diana Reynolds has worked as a civil servant for over 20 years. Before that he worked in a variety of sectors, including school and college teaching and university administration, change management and information technology. Diana happened upon mindfulness by accident when he was a small child grappling with the large deamons of an unfair world. At that point, he had no idea what it was or what it might be called. Like Pegs, Diana’s practice informs his work.

Finally, in 2013., Diana was lucky enough to work with people who could name these counter-cultural practices and explain what it was all about. A new world opened up! Diana has a master’s degree in mathematics and strategic management. His children are grown up and he is a part-time carer for his husband. Diana enjoys relaxing with family and friends, walking, reading, sea swimming, painting and drawing, and is working softly on slowing down.

Diana will be co-leading the Strand 5 Online Workshop.

Diana Reynolds

About Pegs

Pegs Bailey has worked in the field of employability for over 20 years, from service delivery through to national policy. During a period of significant illness she was introduced to mindfulness in the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh and ‘engaged buddhism’. Pegs’ personal practice informed her work, and in particular a growing focus on collaborative approaches to strategy and service-design in employability and mental health services.

Pegs is completing a MSc in Mindfulness with the University of Aberdeen. She is interested in how mindfulness can support policy development and delivery. Her research explores what lessons can be drawn from the Welsh experience of implementing mindfulness training and tools as part of the Well-being of Future Generations Act Culture Change Programme.

Pegs is also a keen gardener, dog owner, mother of two, wife, daughter, sister, friend and still working on her habit of ‘trying to do too much all at once’.

Pegs will be co-leading the Strand 5 Online Workshop.

Pegs Bailey

About MIck

Dr Michael Krasner, MD, FACP, a Professor Emeritus of Medicine at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, brings over 23 years of experience in facilitating Mindfulness-Based programs. Notably, as project director of "Mindful Communication," his work was featured in JAMA in September 2009. He co-led the establishment of the Mindful Practice in Medicine Programs at the University which has offered continuing education for healthcare professionals for the past 14 years, including a teacher training program with trained facilitators placed worldwide. Dr. Krasner is the executive producer of the documentary "The Healer’s Journey" (to be released in 2025) and hosts the podcast "Flourishing in Medicine." His mission is to support health professionals' well-being, advocating for personalized care experiences, bidirectional healing, and mutual high regard in clinical encounters.

Mick will be part of the Strand 4 Discussion Panel.

Mick Krasner

About Clara

Professor Clara Strauss is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist and mindfulness teacher, supervisor and researcher working across Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Sussex. She co-leads Sussex Mindfulness Centre with her colleague Dr Robert Marx which bridges mindfulness interventions, teacher training and research to ensure that interventions are guided by research evidence and that research findings are implemented in practice. She has a particular research and teaching focus in adapting mindfulness and compassion approaches so that they are accessible and helpful across a broad range of contexts, including to support healthcare staff wellbeing. Profile

Mindfulness Centre website

Clara will chair the Strand 4 Panel Discussion.

Clara Strauss

About Maura

Dr Maura Kenny is a consultant psychiatrist and the inaugural Director of Staff Wellbeing for the Central Adelaide health network, with over 20 years of experience teaching mindfulness courses in both clinical and organisational settings. She held a teaching partner position with the Oxford Mindfulness Centre for several years, co-founded a Mindfulness Teacher Training Institute, and more recently completed the Stanford Medicine Chief Wellness Officer course. Maura’s special interest is the wellbeing of healthcare staff and to that end developed a 6-week mindfulness course that has been delivered for several years in SA’s public health setting and in other healthcare and university settings around Australia, the UK, Singapore and Taiwan.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-maura-kenny-b5bb1b53 Website: https://www.mindfulscp.com

Maura will be part of the Strand 4 Discussion Panel.

Maura Kenny

About River

River attended her first Insight Meditation retreat in 2000, and subsequently helped to establish Sheffield Insight Meditation. She trained as a Dharma Teacher with Bodhi College. A former Derbyshire Poet Laureate, she leads writing and arts projects, and is an LGBTQI+ activist. Her non-fiction book ‘The Subtle Art of Caring: A Guide to Sustaining Compassion’ (Windhorse, 2023) explores how the capacities of friendliness, joy, compassion, and equanimity, can build resilience in challenging times.

River will be part of the Meet the Authors Event

River Wolton

About Fiona

Fiona Mckechnie is the author of the book Mindfulness-Based Therapy for Managing Fatigue. She is an Occupational Therapist and one of the senior clinicians in the Bristol ME service, with over 25 years of working within fatigue services.

She has a long-standing personal meditation practice, training at Bangor University with a certificate in Mindfulness teaching and an MSc in Mindfulness-based approaches, she also has an interest in employment and fatigue syndromes. She is a trustee of BACME (British Association of Clinicians in ME/CFS) and has been involved in therapist training for many years.

Fiona will be taking part in the Meet the Author event

Fiona Mckechnie

About Esther

Esther Ghey is a campaigner and founder of Peace & Mind UK, a community interest company (CIC) dedicated to improving the mental health of young people and their families. The goal of Peace & Mind UK is to plant seeds of resilience, empathy, and unity in schools and the rest of society.

After the murder of her daughter, Brianna on Feb 11^th 2023, Esther began campaigning to get mindfulness into schools in England. Over £87,000 has been raised for the Mindfulness in Schools Project and teacher training has begun in Brianna’s hometown of Warrington. Esther has maintained a regular daily mindfulness practice for over 9 years, she credits this practice as being a vital part of dealing with tragedy and the trauma she has suffered.

Her second campaign aims to “Change the Law to Make Phone Companies More Responsible for Children’s Online Welfare”. So far, her petition has over 118,000 signatures.

Esther has met with several leading figures such as Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer. She has gained cross-party support for both campaigns and is working alongside leading experts to improve the lives of young people.

Esther will be part of the post-conference workshop Mindfulness for Future Generations.

Esther Ghey

About Fiona

Professor Katherine Weare is a highly influential international figure in the field of mindfulness, wellbeing, mental health and social and emotional education, framed by a whole school approach. Her work has been described by Professor Mark Greenberg as ‘always ahead of the curve’. She is lead for Education at the Mindfulness Initiative, and co-author, with Adrian Bethune, ’Implementing Mindfulness in Schools: an evidence based guide’ to which Jon Kabat Zinn responded with a "deep bow of appreciation for this incredible, elegant and balanced work." She is Professor at the University of Southampton, where she developed high impact national and international programmes and research projects and advised policy makers, agencies and educators across the world. Her book, ‘Happy Teachers Change The World: a guide to cultivating mindfulness in education’, was co-written with world revered zen master Thich Nhat Hanh, and is an educational best seller that has been translated into 7 languages.

Katherine will be part of the post-conference workshop Mindfulness for Future Generations.

Katherine Weare

About Ben

Having worked as a trainer for Mindfulness in Schools Project (MiSP) since 2016, Ben joined the MiSP team in 2017. Ben leads on curricula and training, supporting MiSP’s Associate Trainers and developing new materials. He also runs MiSP’s Hub Practice Groups, delivers many of its information sessions and regularly teaches its courses. Ben is a qualified primary school teacher and spent 20 years in the classroom, including 11 years as Deputy Headteacher. Ben also has the National Professional Qualification for Headship and has had two acting headships. In addition to being certified in all of MiSP’s curricula, Ben has trained as an MBSR teacher – delivering in a variety of educational settings.

Ben will be part of the post-conference workshop Mindfulness for Future Generations.

Ben Chalwin

About MIck

Faiy joined the Mindfulness in Schools Project (MISP) team in 2021; her role includes supporting staff and senior leaders in introducing, developing and embedding mindfulness in educational settings. She is a qualified secondary school teacher, BAMBA listed adult mindfulness teacher and Specialist Leader of Education for Wellbeing and Inclusion. She has trained in a variety of SEL/wellbeing programmes and has a particular interest in supporting educational settings in developing organisational approaches to wellbeing. Faiy has also worked on the training teams for the full range of MISP curricula since 2015 and has been a core member of The Present for Schools training team since 2017.

Faiy will be part of the post-conference workshop Mindfulness for Future Generations.

Faiy Rushton

About Jason

Jason is founder and CEO of Raise the Youth, a not-for-profit social enterprise delivering programmes of intervention to benefit the lives of children and families across a range of sectors including education, health, justice, community development and social care.

He is dedicated to equipping children and young people with the skills, knowledge, and attitudes that are taught in MiSP’s mindfulness curricula, to promote health and wellbeing in children, young people, and those that care for them.

Jason will be part of the post-conference workshop Mindfulness for Future Generations.

Jason Steele

About Richard

Richard co-founded Mindfulness in Schools Project in 2009 and his TEDx talk helped define the landscape of mindfulness in education. He co-wrote .b, as well as other MiSP curricula, and was an expert witness at the UK’s All Party Parliamentary Group on mindfulness. Richard is a teacher at Tonbridge School, the first UK school to put mindfulness on the curriculum, and has taught it to well over a thousand adolescents, as well as to school staff and school parents.

Richard will be part of the post-conference workshop Mindfulness for Future Generations.

Richard Burnet

About Sarah

Sarah Silverton is a renowned mindfulness teacher and co-author. In the mid 1990’s, she was introduced to mindfulness and was trained by Mark Williams to teach mindfulness. Sarah also studied at the Centre for Mindfulness, Masachusetts in 1999 with Melissa Blacker, Jon Kabat-Zinn and Florence Meleo-Meyer amongst others. Other significant teachers have included Ferris Urbanowski, Pam Erdmann, David Rynick and Rebecca Crane.

Sarah was a member of the core teaching and training team at the Centre for Mindfulness Research and Practice (CMRP) at Bangor University for ten years after it was established in 2001. She taught and trained others through the CPD and Master’s programmes. She was also a co-author of Paws b and .b Foundations for Mindfulness in Schools Project.

In 2016 she co-authored (with Tabitha Sawyer and Dusana Dorjee) The Present for Schools and in 2017 Living in The Present, a well-being and mindfulness course for adults. She supports mindfulness teachers through supervision and Mindful Movement Retreats. She is a member of BAMBA and Mindfulness Network and a director both of The Present Courses CIC and Sarah Silverton Mindfulness Ltd.

Sarah will be part of the post-conference workshop Mindfulness for Future Generations.

Sarah Silverton

About Emily

Emily Slater is the CEO of Mindfulness in Schools Project (MiSP), an international charity and community of mindfulness educators supporting today’s young people with skills and attitudes designed to benefit their lifelong well-being. Emily is a trained teacher, linguist, and seasoned campaigner herself – working the first ten years of her career for a range of (international) NGOs with their aims to equip young people and their teachers with knowledge in topics ranging from environmental activism to human rights and (global) citizenship.

Following the birth of her son, Emily went on to co-found the campaigning organisation, Maternal Mental Health Alliance (MMHA) securing unprecedented levels of government funding for perinatal mental health services over her decade working there, as well as a unified voice across 100+ national and international children’s, maternity and mental health organisations and inspiring the establishment of the Global Alliance for Maternal Mental Health (GAMMH).

Deepening her connection with mindfulness, via official 8-week courses and her MSc ‘Studies in Mindfulness’ at Aberdeen University, Emily is an enthusiastic advocate for what mindfulness can offer, having experienced first-hand its relevance and potential benefits for addressing elements of trauma; also a secular means of introducing people to the benefits of ‘being here now’, something she was gifted insights into from attending Quaker Meetings as a child, and still now in her home town in Sussex, UK.

Since joining MiSP three years ago, Emily has increasingly understood the key place MiSP can play not only in supporting children and young people from all backgrounds here and now but also crucially in fostering the skills and attitudes to support them across their lifetimes. She is passionate about ensuring what MiSP has to offer can be accessed as widely as possible both at home in the UK and overseas - and welcomes contact from those who can support with either, emily.slater@minfulnessinschools.org.

Emily will be part of the post-conference workshop Mindfulness for Future Generations.

Emily Slater

About Nana Korantema

Nana Panyin Korantema Pierce Williams Ayeboafo Richmond, VA, USA

Licensed by the UCSD MBPTI, Nana Korantema is a Practitioner, Consultant, and Facilitator of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction, (MBSR). Also a Teacher Trainer for UCSD’s Center for Mindfulness, Nana leads healing practices and transformative land relationship justice through the foundations of MBSR and the embodiment of radical self care for both individuals and community. Nana Korantema serves as a bridge between cultural traditional practice and modern existence, embracing mindfulness health and wellness offerings, ancestral guidance & communication, self-care facilitation, and sensory awareness as vehicles of change for stagnant conditions in the mind, body, and spirit. For more than 25 years, Nana Korantema has been a Spiritualist, trained in the Akom Tradition of Ghana W., Africa. She is also an educator, activist, deep listener, counselor, and advocate for marginalized individuals and communities. Nana provides transformational growth and development through ConjureWorks, the health and wellness practice she co-owns with her spouse, Nana Abena Oparebea, where treatment and counsel are offered with a focus on mind-body medicine, embracing holistic and integrative modalities for transformational healing, growth, and deepened awareness. Nana Korantema is conduit, wife, sister, mother, daughter, godmother, and life-long learner, who remains humbled by the healing powers of compassion, forgiveness, and love.

Nana Korantema is part of the Strand 2 Panel

Nana Korantema Pierce Williams

About Paula

Paula Watson is a humanistic psychotherapist and founder of YARDO CIC, a non-profit company developing therapeutic programmes with grassroots community groups. She brings a rich background in arts and media to her holistic approach. Her meditation journey began at CoolTan Arts in 1990s Brixton, where she later managed a multicultural media training centre, receiving a NESTA Fellowship in 1999. She authored the television industry report 'Pitch Black - from the Margins to the Mainstream' (2001) then contributed to the development of Channel 4's prototype diversity database. Her interest in Theravada grew while raising her family; she attended classes at the London Buddhist Vihara complemented by participation in MBSR courses. She integrates these passions into her work at YARDO, collaborating with community-minded clinicians and activists to develop accessible programmes. Paula edits the YouTube channel, London Buddhist Videos and serves as a trustee of The Mindfulness Network.

www.yardo.co.uk www.youtube.com/londonbuddhistvideos

Paula will be facilitating the Strand 3 workshop

Paula Watson

About Bhante

Bhante Pannavamsa, also known as Ven. Hokandara Pannavamsa Thero, is the head monk of the Dhamma Centre in Colchester, UK. Originally from Sri Lanka, he has dedicated over fifteen years to teaching Buddhist Psychology and conducting meditation retreats globally.

Bhante Pannavamsa founded the Mind Kraft Foundation in Sri Lanka, supporting traumatised youth and prison inmates. Recognised by the Mental Health and Medical Council of Sri Lanka, his work promotes mindfulness and Buddhist Psychology as alternative medicine. Appointed Ambassador of Mindfulness to Europe by the Sri Lankan government, he promotes Theravada Buddhist teachings across Europe. His approach combines traditional Buddhist practices with modern psychological insights, making him a respected figure in the global Buddhist community.

At the Dhamma Centre, he leads classes and retreats on the Abhidhamma, Suttas and meditation techniques, emphasising mindfulness and wisdom to enhance individual well-being. His teachings also address modern mental health issues such as depression, anxiety and stress.

Bhante will be facilitating the Strand 3 Workshop with Paula Watson.

Bhante Pannavamsa

About Roy

Roy Ellis has worked in Wales public sector for almost 30 years in roles: employer support; community support, and for the past 12 years part of the Academi Wales leadership development team. Academi Wales purpose: ‘Transforming Wales Through Excellence in Leadership Development’. Roy’s knowledge and experience of change theories; continuous improvement; change management; personal and leadership development together with mindfulness allows a pragmatic approach to the challenges we face. Like many, Roys’ interest in mindfulness is a result of wanting to overcome personal challenges. His mindfulness study applied in his work context, brought about the realisation mindfulness is a potential solution to bigger picture challenges: mindful teams; organisations; communities and the potential for mindful compassionate leadership. His work regularly brings him into situations of change; individual and organisational, where behaviour change hold the answer to cultural resulting in real change.

Roy will be part of the Strand 5 Panel Discussion

Roy Ellis

About Stephen

Stephen Batchelor is a writer, translator, teacher and artist. He is the co-founder of Bodhi College and author of several books on Buddhist thought and practice, including Buddhism Without Beliefs, After Buddhism, and The Art of Solitude.

Stephen will be showing and talking about his art as part of the Connection Events.

Stephen Batchelor

About Iwan

Iwan Brioc is the Artistic Director of Theatr Cynefin, known for Sensory Labyrinth Theatre, and a Theatre of the Oppressed practitioner for three decades. His work spans directing, training, and contributing to international productions and academic publications. Holding qualifications in Social Psychology, Dramatherapy, and Mindfulness, he developed the Context Oriented Arts (CoArts), linking theatre styles with consciousness types: Cartesian, Inter-subjective, and Non-dual. Presently, Iwan leads a mindfulness curriculum, Coming to Our Senses for NHS staff, integrating applied theatre with mindfulness to enhance experiential learning. He also curates a series of dialogues between scientists studying consciousness and people with extraordinary consciousnesses, called Four Simple Questions.

Iwan's "The Markov Blanket" is part of the ICM:2024 Connection Events.

Iwan Brioc

About Lynn

Lynn Koerbel is the Assistant Director of MBSR Teacher Education and Curricula Development at Brown University. She has been training MBSR teachers and supporting the evolution of best practices in MBP training for over 10 years. One area of particular interest is the use of reflective practice (writing and more) to support teacher formation.

Lynn is part of the pre-conference workshop The MBI:TAC: Past, Present and Future - Holding Integrity in a Changing Landscape.

Lynn Koerbel

About Colleen

Colleen Camenisch is an MBSR teacher and Teacher Trainer at Brown University. She also teaches MBSR and MBCT at the UMASS Center for Mindfulness. Colleen has a passion for Standard of Practice in its impact on the field and for supporting MBI teachers in learning how to find places to teach programs after they complete training programs.

Colleen is part of the pre-conference workshop The MBI:TAC: Past, Present and Future - Holding Integrity in a Changing Landscape.

Colleen Camenisch

About Jem

Jem Shackleford is mindfulness teacher, teacher-trainer and supervisor. He is a trustee of BAMBA and MBI:TAC Lead for the OMF. Jem is particularly interested in integrity and development in the mindfulness around teaching standards and course innovation.

Jem is part of the pre-conference workshop The MBI:TAC: Past, Present and Future - Holding Integrity in a Changing Landscape.

Jem Shackleford

About Sarah

Sarah Millband is a mindfulness teacher, supervisor and trainer with the Mindfulness Network. She’s the organisation’s Safeguarding Officer, with responsibility for ensuring that the Mindfulness Network is adhering to the legal frameworks and good practice guidelines that underpin safeguarding for charities. Sarah has been involved in training and development in third sector and grassroots voluntary organisations in Wales for over 30 years. She currently works in private practice as a mindfulness-based person-centred therapist and has a special interest in mindfulness for trauma and mindfulness for those in high-intensity health and social care environments. Sarah has adapted MBCT for women survivors of domestic violence and abuse and is involved in ongoing research in this field. Sarah is a trainer with CMRP and along with other colleagues from Bangor, she’s involved in piloting the Mindful Self-Care Programme (developed by Dr Maura Kenny) in the NHS in Wales.

Sarah will be facilitating an Online Workshop in Strand 1.

Sarah Millband

About Paul

Paul D’Alton is Associate Professor at the School of Psychology, University College Dublin (UCD). He is former director of the MSc in Mindfulness Based Interventions at UCD and has been practising and teaching mindfulness for more than 20 years.

Paul has a particular research and policy interest in human rights and associated health and social inequalities. He has published several book chapters and multiple peer-reviewed journal articles. He has completed a number of funded research projects.

Paul was appointed a Fellow of the Psychological Society of Ireland in recognition of his contribution to the discipline of psychology. He was also awarded an International Fellowship from the All Ireland Institute of Hospice and Palliative Care.

Paul is part of the Strand 3 Panel.

Paul D'Alton

About Menka

Menka Sanghvi (she/her) works at the intersection of mindfulness, creativity and technology. She is the founder of Just Looking, a publishing project and community for slowing down and resisting the algorithmic taming of our attention. Her book about the mindful use of technology, Your Best Digital Life, is coming out with Macmillan next year.

Menka has led the innovation work at The Mindfulness Initiative since 2018, launching the Fieldbook for Mindfulness Innovators and the Awards scheme. She is also a Trustee of the Breathworks Foundation. Previously, for 15 years, Menka specialised in running incubators and change labs for social impact organisations such as the United Nations. Through this she identified inner change as foundational to meaningful systems change.

Inspired by teachings from the Jain contemplative tradition, as well as insights from scientific research, Menka is dedicated to making mindfulness and compassion practices as inclusive as possible.

wearejustlooking.org

www.innovationsinmindfulness.org

Menka will be part of the Strand 2 Panel: Opening to Mindfulness beyond a scientific account: a dialogue about possibility and promise

Menka Sanghvi

About Eluned

Eluned Gold, MSc, RMN, PGCE, MBCPTc has been working in the field of health and well-being for more than 40 years, as a therapist and mindfulness teacher. She considers herself very fortunate to have trained to teach MBSR with Ferris Urbanowski and other teachers from the Center for Mindfulness in Massachusetts in 2001, and later in MBCT with Mark Williams. Eluned subsequently worked as a Mindfulness teacher and trainer for the Centre for Mindfulness Research and Practice (CMRP) Bangor University, for 20 years. Whilst working at CMRP Eluned was responsible for curriculum development and training standards for mindfulness teacher training and developed the Teacher Training Pathway (TTP). As a Therapist Eluned has worked with many families under duress, e.g adoptive and foster parents , and also with young people suffering the impact of intergenerational trauma Eluned retired in 2017 from her role as Director of Continuing Professional Development to take up this current role as Co-Director of Training with the Mindful Birthing and Parenting Foundation. She has been involved in developing soem innovative programmes for early parenting and in developing the training for MBCP teachers world wide.

Eluned will be co-facilitating the Strand 4 Online Workshop

Eluned Gold

About Jennifer

Jennifer Averill Moffitt, CNM, MSN, MBCPTc, is a nurse-midwife and the perinatal services manager at the Family Health Center of Worcester in Massachusetts as well as the Director of Community Partnerships and a senior faculty member at the Mindful Birthing and Parenting Foundation. Jen has been teaching the Mindfulness-Based Childbirth and Parenting (MBCP) program since 2014, after training intensively with MBCP founder, Nancy Bardacke, CNM, MA, MBCPTc.

As a Fulbright scholar and perinatal professional, Jen has dedicated her career to working with high-risk, marginalized, and underserved populations. Her passion for the intersectionality of mindfulness, birth, early parenting, and health equity – as both intervention and prevention – has led Jen to devote herself to training and mentoring perinatal and mental health professionals to facilitate the MBCP program across the globe.

The mother of two spirited teenagers and a 20+ year mindfulness practitioner, Jen also brings a wealth of personal experience, humility, and passion to her work.

Jennifer Averill Moffitt

About Uz

Uz is a mindfulness teacher, trainer and supervisor. Her book, ‘Mindfulness for Children’ was published in 2018.

Uz is a lead trainer on the mental health charity, Mind’s practitioner training pathway for its 8-week course: Radical Self-Care. The team were recently selected as finalists for the Mindfulness Initiatives’ Innovation in Mindfulness Awards.

She is known for her enthusiastic approach and has enjoyed leading mindfulness sessions at the Women of the World Festival and popular walking meditations at the V&A Museum. She is particularly interested in welcoming all the intersecting aspects of people’s identities into mindfulness courses.

Uz is a Trustee of the Mindfulness Network and sits on the EDI board looking at ways to broaden the reach of mindfulness and make it more inclusive.

Uz will be part of the Strand 3 Panel

Uz Afzal

About Chris

Chris Ruane was a Member of Parliament (MP) for Clwyd North West up until 2019. Chris founded the All Party Parliamentary Group in 2014 and was Co-Chair for four of the six years up to 2019. He is now its Honorary President. Chris leads on developing the Mindfulness Initiative's relationships with politicians and mindfulness advocates in legislatures across the globe, and regularly speaks about mindfulness in politics and the experience of the UK parliament at events and conferences on behalf of the Mindfulness Initiative.

Chris Ruane will be speaking at the Conference Dinner.

Chris Ruane

About Oliver

Professor Oliver Turnbull is a neuropsychologist, with an interest in emotion and its many consequences for mental life. He is also a clinician, whose work is with neurological and neurosurgical patients, especially those who have suffered strokes or brain injury. He is the author of some 200 scientific articles on these topics, and co-author of 'The Brain and the Inner World', ‘Clinical Studies in Neuropsychoanalysis revisited’, and ‘Mistakes in Clinical Neuropsychology’. He is Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Bangor University in North Wales.

Oliver will be speaking at the Conference Dinner.

Oliver Turnbull

About Bridgette

Dr. Bridgette O'Neill is a clinical psychologist by professional training and has taught mindfulness-based approaches in NHS mental health services for staff and clients since 2002. She is a senior lecturer, trainer and supervisor with the Centre for Mindfulness Research and Practice and the Mindfulness Network as well as a trainer with the Sussex Mindfulness Centre. Bridgette has a particular interest in mindfulness and compassion-based approaches in relation to social and environmental challenges and is part of the author group of the paper ‘Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction for Our Time: A Curriculum that is up to the Task’. As well as Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy, Bridgette teaches, supervises, and trains teachers in the Mindfulness-Based Compassionate Living programme.

Brigitte is part of the pre-conference workshop MBSR for our current times.

Bridgette O'Neill

About Rebecca

Professor Rebecca Crane PhD is the former director of the Centre for Mindfulness Research and Practice at Bangor University and is a trustee for The Mindfulness Network. She has written numerous peer-reviewed articles on how mindfulness-based programs can be implemented with integrity into mainstream practice settings, and how they can support inner change that contributes to collective and systemic societal shifts towards a more equitable and sustainable world. She has written Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy Distinctive Features, co-authored Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy with People at Risk of Suicide, co-edited Essential Resources for Mindfulness Teachers, and is a Principal Fellow with the Higher Education Academy.

Rebecca is also part of the post-conference workshop MBSR for our current times.

Rebecca Crane

About Sophie

Sophie Sansom, PhD, is co-director of the Centre for Mindfulness Research and Practice at Bangor University. As a senior lecturer Sophie teaches on the master's program and is passionate about social and environmental initiatives having recently co-developed the Mindfulness-based Climate Resilience program (MBCR). Founder of SiTT (Support for Integrity in Teaching and Training) Sophie has established frameworks for community development and professional standards in the field. Having collaboratively developed a pioneering approach for the recognition of new MBP curricula Sophie sits on the International Panel of Acknowledgement (IPA) hosted by the European Association of Mindfulness-based Approaches (EAMBA). Leading on the scholarship and development of the Mindfulness-based Interventions -Teaching Assessment Criteria Sophies academic work explores ways of supporting innovation and accessibility while upholding quality and integrity; a key focus in her role as Chair of the British Association of Mindfulness-based Approaches (BAMBA).

Sophie is also part of the pre-conference workshop The MBI:TAC: Past, Present and Future - Holding Integrity in a Changing Landscape.

Sophie Sansom

About Gemma

Dr Gemma Griffith is a Senior Lecturer in Psychology, Director of Postgraduate programmes and Co-director of the Centre for Mindfulness Research and Practice at Bangor University.

Gemma is also part of the pre-conference workshop The MBI:TAC: Past, Present and Future - Holding Integrity in a Changing Landscape.

Gemma Griffith

About Gwennan

Gwenan Roberts worked in the National Health Service as a highly specialist speech and language therapist and manager for 36 years. There she worked with children and adults with intellectual disabilities, autism, complex needs, young offenders and individuals who exhibited behaviour deemed as challenging.

Since her retirement from the NHS, she has completed an MA in Mindfulness Based Approaches at Bangor. She has recently taught mindfulness courses to parents of children with additional learning needs, North Wales Police, Welsh Government, Local Government, Natural Resources Wales and Mindfulness 8-week courses in Welsh over Zoom.

She works in both Welsh and English and holds a monthly Welsh Language drop -in session on Zoom. She is a Board Member of Meddylgarwch Cymru / Mindfulness Wales.

Gwennan will be leading Saturday's Morning Practice.

Gwennan Roberts

About Zoe

Zoe is a mindfulness and mindful self-compassion teacher, supervisor, retreat leader, and teacher trainer. She co-directs The Mindfulness Project and also teaches for The Mindfulness Network, The Centre for MSC, and Sussex Mindfulness Centre. As an accredited counsellor and psychotherapist, Zoe maintains a private practice in southwest London where she regularly runs courses accessible to diverse populations, including workplace and community settings, health-based charities, and NHS staff and patients. She is passionate about supporting deepening practice and has been offering follow on Beyond Beginners groups for many years. Grounded in the Insight Meditation tradition, her own practice is also inspired by Soulmaking dharma, and a growing interest in Nondualism. Zoe’s practice includes creative expression through singing, songwriting, and dancing the 5 Rhythms and Open Floor.

Zoe will be Leading Sunday's Morning Practice.

Zoe Shobbrook-Fisher

About Noriko

Noriko Morita Harth is a Certified Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Instructor, Certified Mindful Self-Compassion Instructor and the Managing Director of UC San Diego Center for Mindfulness. Noriko has been teaching MBSR and MSC since 2014. She also offers mentorships for MBSR and MSC teachers, MBSR Teacher Training programs, and practicum at the Mindfulness-Based Professional Training Institute at the UC San Diego Center for Mindfulness.

Born in Japan, she moved to the States in 1985. Noriko feels that her life transforming journey of discovering and exploring mindfulness practices has allowed a more balanced life and identity between these two cultures. Noriko strongly believes practicing mindfulness and compassion, and bringing its principles into her life has and continues to help her grow as a person. She feels passionate about bringing these practices to other people's lives. It is her mission to share what she has learned, what she continues to learn to our community. In addition, Noriko sees an opportunity, based on her own integration experiences, to introduce mindfulness & compassion programs to the Japanese community.

Noriko is part of the post-conference workshop MBSR for our current times: The relevance and power of MBPs when rooted in lived experience.

Noriko Morita Harth

About Zayda

Zayda Vallejo, M.Litt.ayda Vallejo, MLitt is Co-founder and Executive Director of The HeartWell Institute in Worcester, MA. A Certified MBSR instructor, for the past 20 years Zayda has been teaching classes, mentoring professionals, and conducting trainings in MBSR at the UMass Center for Mindfulness, the Mindfulness Center at Brown University, Cambridge Health Alliance Center for Mindfulness and Compassion at Harvard University Medical School, the Center for Mindfulness at UCSD, and Mindfulness Kids Miami. She teaches 5- and 7- day MBSR guided silent retreats. She also holds a 200-hour Yoga Teacher Certification from the Kripalu School of Yoga. Zayda is a co-author of Treating Co-Occurring Adolescent PTSD and Addiction: Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Adolescents with Trauma and Substance-Abuse Disorders, and Moment-to-Moment in Women’s Recovery: A Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention Program. Zayda designed the “Mindfulness Immersion” training program, which she has taught for the past six years to educators, psychologists, and social workers. She is co-author of the Compassionate Consciousness Framework and the “Mindfulness as a Catalyst for Equity and Collective Healing” training program with Dr. Bertha-Elena Rojas.

Zayda is part of the post-conference workshop MBSR for our current times: The relevance and power of MBPs when rooted in lived experience.

Zayda Vallejo