Father Adam Bucko is one of the leading voices in the movement for the renewal of Christian Contemplative Spirituality. He co-authored Occupy Spirituality: A Radical Vision for a New Generation and The New Monasticism: An Interspiritual Manifesto for Contemplative Living and co-founded the Reciprocity Foundation, where he spent 15 years working with homeless youth living on the streets of New York City. He currently serves as a director of The Center for Spiritual Imagination in New York.

Resources:

Center for Spiritual Imagination

Books:

Occupy Spirituality: A Radical Vision for a New Generation

The New Monasticism: An Interspiritual Manifesto for Contemplative Living

Films:

Invisible: Diaries of New York Homeless Youth

The Power of Community: A Dialogue between Adam Bucko and Roshi Joan Halifax

Wen G. Chen serves as Branch Chief of NCCIH’s Basic and Mechanistic Research in the Division of Extramural Research at National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), NIH, overseeing fundamental science research, translational research, intervention optimization research as well as methodology and technology development related to all complementary and integrative health approaches.  Dr. Chen received her PhD in biological chemistry and molecular pharmacology from Harvard University. She also earned a master’s degree in medical sciences as part of the Harvard-Markey Medical Scientist training program at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Chen did her postdoctoral training in proteomics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Prior to joining NCCIH, she worked as a scientific editor at NEURON, a program coordinator at the National Institute of Mental Health, and a program director at the National Institute on Aging, overseeing the research portfolio on sensory and motor disorders of aging.

Roman R. Williams, Ph.D. is a visual sociologist who studies religion and spirituality in everyday life. Roman directs the Interfaith Photovoice Initiative (interfaithphotovoice.org), is a research fellow at the Kaufman Interfaith Institute (Grand Valley State University) and serves as the executive officer of the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion. After a career in higher education, he started a consultancy in 2020 that focuses on participatory research and cultural innovation. More about Roman and his work is available on his personal website at roman-williams.com.

Veronica Selzler is a director at Hattaway Communications, a strategic communications firm that helps visionary leaders and organizations use strategy, science, and storytelling to achieve ambitious goals for people and the planet. She partners with foundations to get to know the values at the heart of their work, and uses qualitative and quantitative research to better understand the identities, motivations, and aspirations that inspire their audiences to take action. Before joining Hattaway, she managed communications and grants at Venture Philanthropy Partners and the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund.

Dr. Molly Crockett is an Associate Professor at Princeton University’s Department of Psychology and University Center for Human Values. Crockett’s lab investigates moral cognition: how people decide whether to help or harm, punish or forgive, trust or condemn. Their research integrates theory and methods from psychology, neuroscience, economics, philosophy, and data science. Crockett’s recent work has explored moral outrage in the digital age and trust in leaders during a pandemic. Outside the lab, Crockett is a practitioner and teacher of Samatha meditation.

As America’s Doctor, Dr. Murthy created initiatives to tackle our country’s most urgent public health issues. He chose areas of focus that were raised by people across America during his inaugural listening tour.

In addition to his role as America’s Doctor, as the Vice Admiral of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, Dr. Murthy commanded a uniformed service of 6,600 public health officers, serving the most underserved and vulnerable populations in over 800 locations domestically and abroad. He worked with thousands of Commissioned Corps officers to strengthen the Corps and protect the nation from Ebola and Zika and to respond to the Flint water crisis, major hurricanes, and frequent health care shortages in rural communities.

Dr. Murthy received his bachelor’s degree from Harvard and his M.D. and M.B.A. degrees from Yale. He completed his internal medicine residency at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and later joined Harvard Medical School as faculty in internal medicine.

Dr. Murthy resides in Washington, D.C. with his wife, Dr. Alice Chen, and their two young children.

Carine Gibert is the founder of the interdisciplinary education and sustainability movement, Grounded In Motion. Currently her work focuses on how we engage in new ways of relation building with elements of the natural world. As a cultural heritage scholar, education practitioner and international facilitator she has curated experiences and led programs Internationally for over 10 years. Her residencies are led through storytelling, rituals, and embodied experiences. As a contemplative artist, she explores voice, soundscapes and the transmission of the Earth’s wisdom through her poetry. Carine is actively involved in expanding our reflections on how we move through and are shaped by the world, designing university and school curricula while teaching regularly in New York City. The courses bring together 7 practices, these practices explore notions of reciprocity, the role stories play in generating meaning in our lives, and the contextual factors shaping the mind, body, and spirit.

Amy Cohen Varela is Chairperson of the Mind & Life Europe Board and involved with Mind and Life since its inception. She is also a clinical psychologist specialized in psychodynamic therapy and philosophy. Amy studied comparative literature at Brown and Columbia Universities before moving to Paris in the early ‘80’s, where she received her degree in clinical psychology at the University of Paris 7, with a specialty in psychodynamic theory and practice, and in parallel, completed psychoanalytic training.

Hawah Kasat is an artist, author, educator, yoga instructor, community organizer, and non-profit leader. He has dedicated his life to teaching about solutions to violence and ways to peace, and has traveled to over 42 countries to facilitate interactive workshops, host dialogues, perform poetry, teach yoga, and speak with those interested in creating a caring, sustainable, and equitable world.  Hawah, is a certified Yoga Instructor, who was trained and certified in Sivananda Yoga at the Yoga Vidya Gurukul, a world-renowned teacher training college in India. He holds a second certification in the Jivamukti Yoga School and also holds a certificate from The Center for Mind Body Medicine in trauma relief and healing. Hawah has been regularly featured as a speaker, performer and workshop presenter for People to People International, the Congressional Youth Leadership Council and the Children’s Defense Fund’s Freedom Schools. He has made appearances on XM National Satellite Radio, BBC, Fox News, CNN, Al Jazerra, and the Pacifica Radio Network. He has also been a guest speaker at Yale University, George Washington University, U.C.L.A., University of Colorado, Rollins College, University of Maryland, Georgetown University, and Brown University.

Tess is the Operations Manager at Mind & Life Institute. She has a bachelor’s degree in Finance from Virginia Tech. She brings varied skills to the organization gained through her work in the Real Estate field and volunteer positions at different nonprofits in the Charlottesville area. In her free time she enjoys reading, sewing, hanging out with her family and walks with her dog.