Plenary Faculty and Discussants
Plenary faculty deliver lectures and are available to answer attendee questions throughout the week, often leading breakout sessions and participating in panel discussions. Their lectures expand on the week’s theme, deepening and broadening our shared knowledge from a variety of experiences, backgrounds, and disciplines. The faculty includes scientists, researchers, contemplative practitioners, scholars, changemakers and teachers from a variety of disciplines.
sujatha baliga
Restorative Justice Facilitator
Convening Faculty
sujatha baliga’s work is characterized by an equal dedication to people who’ve experienced and caused harm and violence. A former victim advocate and public defender, sujatha is a frequent guest … MORE
Yuria Celidwen, PhD
Indigenous scholar, Consultant and Advocate
Convening Faculty, Fellow, Grantee
Yuria Celidwen, PhD, is of Indigenous Nahua and Maya descent from the highlands of Chiapas, Mexico. Her research examines the experience of self-transcendence in Indigenous contemplative traditions wide-reaching, and how … MORE
Hanne De Jaegher
University of the Basque Country
Convening Faculty
Hanne De Jaegher (DPhil, 2007, University of Sussex) is a philosopher of cognitive science fascinated by how we think, work, play—basically, live and love—together. She developed the theory of intersubjectivity … MORE
Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela, PhD
Stellenbosch University
Convening Faculty
Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela is Professor and Research Chair for Historical Trauma and Transformation at Stellenbosch University. Her work focuses mainly on two strands of research: exploring intergenerational repercussions of oppression and … MORE
Wendy Hasenkamp, PhD
Science Director, Mind & Life Institute
Planning Committee Member, Reviewer
Wendy is the Science Director of the Mind & Life Institute. She is a neuroscientist, contemplative practitioner, teacher, and writer who is interested in understanding how the mind and brain … MORE
Angela Harris, JD
University of California
Planning Committee Member
Angela P. Harris is professor emerita at UC Davis School of Law and co-editor-in-chief of the Journal of Law and Political Economy. An award-winning law teacher, she pioneered courses on … MORE
Lasana Harris, PhD
University College London
Convening Faculty, Reviewer
Prof. Harris is a social neuroscientist who takes an interdisciplinary approach to understand human behaviour. His research explores the neural correlates of person perception, prejudice, dehumanization, anthropomorphism, social learning, social … MORE
Sulaiman Khatib
Combatants for Peace
Convening Faculty
Sulaiman Khatib was born in Hizmeh, a town just outside Jerusalem. He lives in Ramallah. He is a Board Member of Middle East Dreamers, and is former co-founder and former … MORE
john a. powell, JD
University of California, Berkeley
Convening Faculty
john a. powell is Director of the Othering and Belonging Institute and Professor of Law, African American, and Ethnic Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. He was previously the … MORE
Clifford Saron, PhD
University of California, Davis
Convening Faculty, Fellow, Planning Committee Member
Clifford Saron is a research scientist at the Center for Mind and Brain and MIND Institute at the University of California, Davis. He received his Ph.D. in neuroscience from the … MORE
Ed Taylor, PhD
University of Washington
Planning Committee Member, Research and Programs Council Chair, Research and Programs Council Member
Dr. Ed Taylor is vice provost and dean of Undergraduate Academic Affairs at the University of Washington where he oversees educational opportunities that advance and deepen the undergraduate academic experience. … MORE
Kamilah Majied, PhD
California State University, Monterey Bay
Convening Faculty
Dr. Kamilah Majied is a mental health therapist, clinical academician, and internationally engaged consultant on inclusivity and contemplative pedagogy and practice. She has practiced and taught Buddhism and mindfulness practice … MORE
Quinn Conklin, PhD
UC Davis Center for Mind and Brain
Convening Faculty, Fellow, Grantee
Quinn Conklin (she/her) is a Post-doctoral Scholar at the UC Davis Center for Mind and Brain where she leads the Contemplative Coping During Covid-19 project. Quinn has been a member … MORE
Carolyn Parkinson, PhD
University of California, Los Angeles
Convening Faculty
Carolyn studies how the human brain tracks and encodes information about its social environment and how this information shapes our thoughts and behavior. She received her B.Sc. from McGill University … MORE
Robert Roeser, PhD, MSW
Pennsylvania State University
Convening Faculty, Planning Committee Member, Research and Programs Council Member, Reviewer
Robert W. Roeser is the Bennett Pierce Professor of Caring and Compassion in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies, College of Health and Human Development, at Penn State … MORE
Allison Holt
Convening Faculty
Allison Leigh Holt is a neurodivergent artist using techniques of expanded cinema and the Light and Space Movement to model divergent epistemologies. A garage-academic and Fulbright scholar (Indonesia, 2009-10), she … MORE
Contemplative Faculty
Contemplative faculty guide participants through practices that integrate their first-person experience with themes being explored, interspersing contemplative art and practice sessions with free time for personal reflection. In addition to daily practice, the contemplative faculty lead the retreat time.
Willa Blythe Baker, PhD
Natural Dharma Fellowship
Convening Faculty
Willa Blythe Baker, PhD, is the Founder and Spiritual Director of Natural Dharma Fellowship in Boston, MA and its retreat center Wonderwell Mountain Refuge in Springfield, NH. She was authorized … MORE
kelley nicole palmer
Convening Faculty
kelley nicole palmer is a black, queer creative and community advocate based in Charlotte NC. kelley uses the practices and philosophy of yoga to guide her work in creating equitable … MORE
Peter Wayne, PhD
Harvard Medical School
Convening Faculty, Fellow
Peter Wayne, PhD, is a researcher and practitioner in the field of mind-body and integrative medicine. Dr. Wayne is the Bernard Osher Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School … MORE
Program Planning Committee
The Program Planning Committee (PPC) is a committee of invited specialists from diverse disciplines and perspectives who bring their expertise to curate and produce the content of the conference. In addition to developing the overall theme and narrative arc of the program, the members of the PPC actively participate and serve in leadership roles throughout the conference. The PPC members for SRI 2022 are Clifford Saron (co-chair), Ed Taylor (co-chair), Angela Harris and Wendy Hasenkamp.
