David Germano, PhD, teaches and researches Tibetan and Buddhist Studies at
the University of Virginia. He is the director of UVA’s Contemplative Sciences Center as well as UVA Tibet Center, the Tibetan and Himalayan Library, and the Sciences, Humanities and the Arts Network of Technological Initiatives (SHANTI). His personal research focuses on tantric, philosophical, and contemplative traditions in Tibet. He has lived for many years in Tibetan communities in Asia, in the context of which he has also worked extensively on programs of scholarly engagement, community service, and participatory knowledge initiatives. He has extensive experience with the development of digital technology for use in the humanities and education. He is currently focused on the exploration of contemplative ideas, values, and practices involving blended humanistic and scientific methodologies, as well as new applications in diverse fields.

Mirabai Bush is Senior Fellow and the founding Director of the Center for Contemplative Mind in Society, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to encourage contemplative awareness in American life in order to create a more just, compassionate, and reflective society. She has designed and led mindfulness trainings for corporations from Hearst to Google, where she was a key developer of Search Inside Yourself, a training that has now reached more than 2000 Google engineers. She has also developed programs in contemplative practice for journalists, lawyers and judges, higher education faculty, environmental leaders, social justice activists, and the Army. She is co-author, with Ram Dass, of Compassion in Action: Setting Out on the Path of Service, author of Working with Mindfulness (a CD, an e-book, and a series of webinars), and editor of Contemplation Nation: How Ancient Practices Are Changing the Way We Live. She is most recently co-author of Contemplative Practices in Higher Education: Powerful Methods to Transform Teaching and Learning.