One-on-one mentorship (which can include web-based video conferencing for those not located near an approved mentor) is seen as a key component of development for new, as well as experienced, teachers of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, providing the intimacy of a close connection with a seasoned teacher as well as the venue for an open and honest exploration of challenges, breakthroughs, insights, and possibilities that inevitably arise in teaching the program. The MBPTI has defined mentorship as: “A contractual arrangement between a mentor and mentee which focuses on a mentee’s mindfulness-based teaching in secular settings and supports the ongoing development of personal practice. The purpose of this arrangement is to promote competency and best practice skills for teaching mindfulness in secular settings and to encourage the relevance of applying the principles of mindfulness in everyday life”.

We have assembled the MBSR Mentorship Program to assure that each trainee has an educational and inspiring experience of the mentorship process, and have carefully chosen each of our approved mentors based on their years of experience, training, and wisdom.

The Process

Upon enrollment in the MBSR Certification Pathway of the Institute, your next step will be to identify and engage a UCSD-approved mentor from the list below. It is important that before contacting one of the mentors via email, that you carefully review the MBSR Mentorship Document Packet. In addition to descriptions of the mentorship process and best practice descriptions for mentors and teachers, the packet includes the contract that you will ultimately complete with your mentor.

Next, take the time to read each bio and consider contacting the mentor to arrange a brief phone interview to get a sense of whether you feel comfortable with this mentor. The arrangement is between you (as the mentee) and the mentor, so once you have determined that it is a good fit for both of you, you can jointly complete the contract and make arrangements for your regular mentorship sessions. Note: Your mentor will notify the MBPTI when you enter into a mentorship agreement with them, and will track the dates and times of sessions for reporting to the Institute for Certification purposes. However, it is highly recommended that you also maintain your own record of sessions.

The Finances

While your financial arrangement is between you and your mentor, we have asked the UCSD-approved mentors to agree to a standard hourly rate of $155. We understand that people have varying financial circumstances and may need some consideration for these circumstances. If the fee is a financial hardship, then you are encouraged to discuss this with potential mentors and see if you can mutually agree upon a fee that is acceptable to both parties. Keep in mind that these are highly experienced and very busy teachers and trainers, and their time is valuable and these rates are fairly consistent with others in our field.

Policy on Trainees Co-Teaching

If both co-teachers are MBPTI mentees, they are allowed to work with the same mentor throughout Phase One.

Since the teaching duties are shared and this reduces the number of times that a mentee has the opportunity to teach or guide each component of the program, certain adjustments to the mentoring arrangement will be made to compensate:

For mentees who have completed the 10-week MBSR TTP

• Two MBPTI mentees who are co-teaching and are working with the same mentor will have an additional two sessions of mentorship (a total of 20) in Phase One
• Mentorship sessions may be comprised of both individual (60 minute) and joint (90 minute) sessions, to be determined in discussion between the mentor and the mentees
• The recommended fee for the 90-minute sessions will be $260, which brings the total cost in line with the total cost of the standard number of individual sessions.

For mentees who did not attend the 10-week MBSR TTP

• Two MBPTI mentees who are co-teaching and are working with the same mentor will have an additional four sessions of mentorship (a total of 26) in Phase One
• Mentorship sessions may be comprised of both individual (60 minute) and joint (90 minute) sessions, to be determined in discussion between the mentor and the mentees
• The recommended fee for the 90-minute sessions will be $260, which brings the total cost in line with the total cost of the standard number of individual sessions.

The Documentation

Download and review the Mentor Document Packet, which further describes the mentorship process and includes an agreement that you and your mentor will complete.

The Mentors

Take the time to consider each of the mentors listed below and reach out to any that seem like a good fit. You will be spending a significant amount of time in contact with your mentor (over the phone, online or in-person) and you should choose carefully before proceeding. 

Sheryl Bathman, MSoSc

Sheryl Bathman, MSoSc Counselling, is the founder and director of Lifesteps Singapore, and a trained psychotherapist and mindfulness teacher. 
An Australian living in Singapore for over 20 years, Sheryl’s cross-cultural sensitivity across the years has allowed her to navigate through a multi-faceted landscape to relate with clients from the local, expatriate, and corporate communities. 
In 2010, Sheryl pioneered the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program in Singapore and has expanded the positive influence of mindfulness and MBSR within Asia in a variety of settings including corporate, healthcare, and educational institutions. She is also a qualified Mindful Self Compassion (MSC) program teacher. 
In her clinical work as a psychotherapist, Sheryl uses an integrative approach to help clients increase insight and awareness and equip them with the tools they need to meet life’s challenges. 
Sheryl is recognized as having met the full professional teaching standards for the MBSR and MSC programs by the Center for Mindfulness, University of Massachusetts Medical School (CFM UMass), and the Center for Mindful Self-Compassion (CMSC UCSD) respectively. She was inspired by exceptional teachers including Jon Kabat-Zinn, Saki Santorelli, and Bob Stahl amongst others. 
At the heart of her mentorship, she has a passion to support, guide, and empower developing teachers in reaching their fullest potential and professional goals. Sheryl enjoys yoga, new cultures, and being close to nature. 

Contact Sheryl Bathman: s.bathman@lifesteps.com.sg 
Website: www.lifesteps.com.sg 

Katherine Bonus, MA, M R Ed

Katherine Bonus, MA, M R Ed, is the founding teacher for the UW Health Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Program (1993) at the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics in Madison, Wisconsin, which encompasses 14 teachers and multiple program offerings. She received MBSR teacher certification from the University of Massachusetts Center for Mindfulness, and for 20+ years has developed and offered trainings and retreats for various populations including MBSR participants, patients, and healthcare providers, administrative staff, integrative medicine staff, physicians, and educators. Since 2008, she has collaborated in multiple research projects with the Center for Investigating Healthy Minds at the Waisman Center on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus. 
In July 2014, Katherine retired as manager of the UW Health Mindfulness program. She continues to teach and collaborate with various initiatives. Since 2014, she is a facilitator with the Foundation for Active Compassion, Lama John Makransky Ph.D. 

Contact Katherine Bonus: kbkindmind@gmail.com 

João Carvalho das Neves 

João Carvalho das Neves is a professor of Leadership & Finance at ISEG the School of Economics and Management of the University of Lisbon and teaches Corporate Finance, Real Estate Finance, and Health Finance & Economics. He also teaches Mindfulness for Business for MBAs and Mindfulness for the development of leadership and management soft-skills for executives. João is the Director of two executive masters: “Management of Healthcare Institutions” and “Real Estate Management & Valuation”. He also teaches mindfulness and Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) for the general public and in-company programs through his company ZENACTION Business Consulting & Coaching. 
João began Tibetan Buddhist Meditation practice in 2001 under the direction of Sagarapriya (Lisbon). He also practiced at Zen Meditation in the Association Zen Internationale (Paris). 
João is a Certified teacher of MBSR through the University of California San Diego Center for Mindfulness Professional Training Institute (MBPTI). João trained MBSR under the direction of Florence Meleo-Meyer and Robert Smith with the University of Massachusetts Center for Mindfulness (Nirakara/Spain) and Steven Hickman, Susan Woods, Beth Mulligan, and Paul Sugar at MBPTI. João is also a Qi Gong instructor certified by the School of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Lisbon. He was graduated by ENGAGE an Advanced Mindfulness and Emotional Intelligence Training from Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute (SIYLI). 
João’s intentions in teaching mindfulness are to support people to have balanced lives and guide and empower leaders to create great workplaces for people to work with high levels of contentment, energy, connection, creativity, clarity, ethics, respect and understanding.  He is a native Portuguese, fluent in English and speaks conversational French and Spanish. 

Contact João Carvalho das Neves: jcneves@zenaction.pt or joao.carvalhodasneves@gmail.com 
Website: https://joaocarvalhodasneves.pt/ 

Rachel Donaldson, MSW, LCSW

Rachel Donaldson, MSW, LCSW RYT-500 is currently the Director of Community Mental Health and Supportive Services at NCJW/LA where she brings mindfulness and compassion-based practices to therapists, interns, non-profit administrators, and clients. She is a long-time meditator and psychotherapist, MBSR and MBCT teacher and is certified in MBSR through the Center for Mindfulness at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center. For over 10 years, Rachel worked at Kaiser Permanente as a Senior Behavioral Health Educator where she taught over 30 MBCT and MBSR programs, developed and facilitated professional mindfulness trainings for new physicians and physician leaders, and received and led an innovations grant to research the effects of MBCT on patient utilization. Rachel has extensive experience training and supervising therapists and educators who are bringing mindfulness into private practice, non-profits and hospitals. She also teaches Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) and The Daring Way™ privately. 

Contact Rachel Donaldson: rdonaldson@gmail.com 
Phone: (310) 968 7438 

Pam Erdmann 

Pam Erdmann started working for the Center for Mindfulness, University of Massachusetts Medical School in 1993. Before joining the CFM, Pam was the Associate Chairperson of the Counseling Psychology Department at Antioch/New England University with a private therapy practice for families and adults. After joining the CFM, she at first worked in the Prison Project and then in the Stress Reduction Clinic where she worked with corporations, educators, and the general public. Since 2003, she continues to design and teach teacher training courses and supervise trainees at the University of Bangor, Wales, U.K. as well as reviewing certifications and supervising teachers for Oasis for the CFM. Currently, she is teaching MBSR in the County House of Correction, Marlborough, NH. In her 78th year, Pam’s great passion is training “the next generation”. Her focus continues to be helping folks bring all of themselves into the classroom: vulnerability, courage and expertise. She believes that there be a commitment to living the curriculum rather than just “showing up,” focusing on presence not perfection. Pam is totally in love with MBSR supervision and all the folks with whom she has been fortunate enough to share the journey. 

Contact Pam Erdmann: Grammypam37@myfairpoint.net 

Alessandro Giannandrea, PhD

Alessandro Giannandrea, Ph.D., is a psychologist and psychotherapist trained in psychoanalytic psychotherapy and existential anthropology. He is a certified teacher of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) by The University of California, San Diego Center for Mindfulness, and he is a Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) teacher-in-training. 

He is one of the lead educators/facilitators of the Master of Mindfulness and Neurosciences at Sapienza University in Rome. Through Sapienza University, Dr.Giannandrea has taught MBSR, MBCT and MSC to hundreds of individuals and is currently involved in numerous research studies investigating the effects of mindfulness practices on health, behavior and brain functioning. 

Today, Dr. Giannandrea teaches MBIs in a variety of settings, including hospitals, prisons, and schools. 
He is the founder and director of the Abruzzo Center for Mindfulness, where he currently facilitates several mindfulness-based courses. Dr. Giannandrea is also an aikido teacher and has developed a program that integrates mindfulness meditation and aikido practices, aiming to enhance interpersonal mindfulness through aikido’s art of harmony. He provides consultation and mentorship in MBIs, integrating notions and skills that come from his various experiences. He sees the path of teaching mindfulness as a continuous journey of learning and deepening the exploration of consciousness and existence. 

Contact Alessandro Giannandrea: a.giannandrea@gmail.com 

Allan Goldstein

Allan Goldstein, Certified MBSR Teacher, providing MBSR Teacher Training, and MBSR Mentorship is a Senior Advisor on the Leadership Team of the UC San Diego Center for Mindfulness. Allan’s passion for supporting Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Teachers through MBSR Training and MBSR Mentorship began in 1993 when he first participated in an MBSR program. Continuing to explore the foundations of MBSR and mindfulness led Allan to training programs offered by the Center for Mindfulness, University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMass CFM). He established MBSR Programs of Hawaii where he joyfully lived and taught for 14 years. He Joined Dr. Steven Hickman, UC San Diego CFM Founding Director, in 2011 and was a leader in the development of the UC San Diego CFM Mindfulness-Based Professional Training Institute and MBSR Certification programs. Allan has taught MBSR extensively to groups and individuals in health care, university, Veterans Health Administration, and community settings. Allan’s strong passion, for the valuable teachings found within MBSR, continues through his teaching, professional MBSR Teacher Training programs and practicum intensives which along with mentoring current and future MBSR teachers is now Allan’s dedicated focus of work in the health-care field of mindfulness programs. 

Contact Allan Goldstein: allanmbsr@gmail.com 
Website: mbsrmentorship.com 

Cassondra Graff, MS, LCSW

Cassondra Graff, M.S., LCSW is a Certified Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Instructor, a Certified Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) Instructor, and Director of the Speakers Bureau at UC San Diego Center for Mindfulness. Cassondra sees mentorship as an adventure! A relationship. A process. A rich teaching environment. She views this as a dynamic place to meet, exchange ideas and witness what emerges. 

Cassondra received her Master’s degree in clinical social work from Columbia University in New York and has a mindfulness and compassion-based psychotherapy practice in San Diego, California. In addition to teaching mindfulness-based programs, Cassondra creates and offers mindfulness and compassion-based trainings for numerous sectors, including healthcare, education, and business. Cassondra is a long-time meditator, yoga practitioner, teacher, and mentor/coach. She draws upon decades of experience, including 10 years of one-on-one and group mentoring preparing therapists for their California State Licensing Exam. Cassondra currently teaches MBSR in a long-range National Institute of Health (NIH) research study evaluating the potential benefits of mindfulness in the senior aging process. Cassondra’s goal is to empower the mentee to move their best and brightest qualities out into the world through teaching. 

Contact Cassondra Graff: cpgraff@gmail.com 

Noriko Morita Harth

Noriko Morita Harth is a Certified Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Instructor, Certified Mindful Self-Compassion Instructor and the Director of the Training at the 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.

Contact Noriko Morita Harth: nmorita@health.ucsd.edu

Gwénola Herbette, PhD

Gwénola Herbette, Ph.D. is a Certified MBSR teacher trainer, who dedicated several years to be trained as an MBSR teacher trainer, through the year-long “teacher trainer” training as well as through apprenticeships, mentorships, study, practice, and a three-month apprenticeship at the Center for Mindfulness, University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMass CFM) in 2014. 

Deeply curious about life, Gwénola studied psychology and was trained as a scientific researcher and as a psychotherapist for many years. Encountering mindfulness in 2003 was a turning point. She has been committed to the art of both her own daily practice and the teaching of mindfulness for several years now, as well as to teacher-led meditation retreats and the study of the texts at the roots of these practices in the Theravada and early Buddhist teachings, with a secular approach. Gwénola has been teaching MBSR since 2009, pioneering this program to French-speaking Europe. 

Since 2015, Gwénola has been training MBSR teachers at the Institut Pleine Conscience© that she founded and manages. In addition, she supervises MBSR and MBCT teachers. She also contributes to the training of mindfulness teachers in several training programs in Europe and invites teachers from various countries to lead retreats and to offer workshops, to support the access to the practice and to the teachings to local practitioners and teachers. Gwénola has previously taught at the University Charles-de-Gaulle, Lille (France), and worked as a psychotherapist specializing in health psychology and chronic pain. 

Gwénola is French and she has been living in Belgium since 1992 where she lives with her husband, Patrick Guilmot who is an equine-assisted therapist and also a Certified MBSR teacher (UMass CFM). 

Contact Gwénola Herbette: gwenola@pleine-conscience.be 
Website: www.pleine-conscience.be 

Steve Hickman, PsyD

Steven Hickman, PsyD., is the Founding Director of the UC San Diego Center for Mindfulness. Steve is a Clinical Psychologist and a retired Associate Clinical Professor in the UC San Diego School of Medicine. Since founding the Center in 2000, he has taught over 60 Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) courses, numerous other Mindfulness-Based Interventions (MBIs), including Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy. Steve also co-created the teacher training program for the Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) program and has trained hundreds of teachers over the years in that program. He is the former Executive Director of the Center for Mindful Self-Compassion and currently devotes his time to training, mentoring and teaching. Steve is also the author of Self-Compassion for Dummies.

Contact Steve Hickman:stevepsyd@gmail.com

Lorraine M. Hobbs, MA

Lorraine M. Hobbs, M.A., is the Founding Director of the Youth, Family, and Education Programs at the UC San Diego Center for Mindfulness. She is a family therapist and former clinical director of adolescent treatment programs. Lorraine is a certified MBSR teacher, a certified MSC (Mindful Self-Compassion) teacher, and is certified in CCARE (Compassion Cultivation, Altruism, Research & Education), a program created by clinical psychologists and contemplative scholars at Stanford University. Lorraine offers mindfulness and compassion-based interventions to medical personnel through the Department of Integrative Medicine and community-based hospitals in Indiana & Ohio and teaches at the UCSD Center for Mindfulness. During her tenure at the Center for Mindfulness, she developed and implemented curricula in mindfulness-based interventions for multiple age groups, including a program in Mindful & Compassionate Parenting. She is a pioneer in self-compassion training for parents and teens and is co-author of Making Friends with Yourself: A Mindful Self-Compassion Program for Teens & Young Adults, adapted from the adult Mindful Self-Compassion Program and endorsed by founders Kristen Neff, Ph.D. & Chris Germer, Ph.D. Lorraine provides teacher training in the MFY curriculum throughout the U.S. and internationally. She is the Director of the Adolescent Mindfulness Certification Program at UCSD CFM, where she mentors educators and clinicians teaching mindfulness and self-compassion to children & teens. Lorraine is inspired by the transformative quality of mindfulness and self-compassion and is committed to teaching MBSR to diverse and under-resourced groups, who are at risk. 

Contact Lorraine Hobbs: jalhobbs@yahoo.com 

Diana Kamila

Diana Kamila, is a certified Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Training Consultant who has served as a long-time educator, administrator, and Senior Teacher at the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care and Society (CFM) at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester Massachusetts. For over thirty years, Diana has taught stress reduction programs at Fortune 500 companies, colleges, high schools, correctional institutions, medical clinics, hospitals, nonprofit organizations, and congress. Her diverse career includes administering and teaching in a pioneering, four-year federally funded project to bring Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Training to inmates, correctional officers and administrators in correctional institutions across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Collaborative partners in this innovative project included the University of Massachusetts Medical Center Stress Reduction Clinic, the Massachusetts Commission of Criminal Justice and the Massachusetts Department of Corrections. As an educator, she has worked with adolescents, young parents, adults in transition, adults with serious or chronic health conditions, and people seeking self-empowerment and personal development. Hospital and corporate administrators, health care providers, CEOs, corporate employees and patients have found her programs comprehensive, practical, and deeply meaningful. Through her work, Diana has trained professionals in MBSR, and mentored and supervised teachers worldwide. Diana received her Bachelor’s Degree from Lesley University in Integrative Health Care. 

Contact Diana Kamila: dianakamila@comcast.net 

Pedro Lôbo

Pedro Lôbo is Certified Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Instructor by the UCSD Center for Mindfulness and teacher in traning in MSC (Mindful Self Compassion). Also certified by Mindfulness Institute (USA / UK) SIT method, developed by Mark Coleman and Martin Alyward, Pedro develops as well a work with children using the method Youth Mindfulness (UK). Pedro has been practising meditation since 1998 and was certified by Yoga Alliance in 2004. He also works as a therapist in rebirthing certified by the Institute of Rebirthing of São Paulo. He spent six months in India in 2004, a country he returned again in the years 2006, 2008 and 2010. He visited the main pilgrimage sites such as Rishikseh, Varanasi, Sarnat, Bodhgaya, Gamuk and Gangotri and Kerala. Director and Founder of the Mindfulness Institute in Brazil, Pedro uses a set of techniques and practices to inspire the lives of those who passes through him. 

Contact Pedro Lôbo: pedrolobomindful@gmail.com 

Trish Magyari, MS, LCPC

Trish Magyari, MS, LCPC is a Certified MBSR teacher, mindfulness-based psychotherapist and Insight Meditation teacher who has taught the MBSR course over 70 times, specializing in trauma, chronic pain, illness, disability, anxiety, depression and grief. Trish completed the UMASS MBSR Teacher Development Intensive (TDI) under the direction of Jon Kabat-Zinn in 2000, as well as MBCT teacher training in 2003 and MSC teacher training in 2015. She served as Director of MBSR at the University of Maryland Center for Integrative Medicine (UM-CIM) and since 2003 has offered a professional MBSR/mindfulness-based therapy practicum, apprenticeship and supervision. Trish has developed the curriculum for and led the MBSR intervention in clinical trials at the NIH, UM-CIM, and Johns Hopkins Hospital for people with chronic pain conditions, for HIV positive urban youth, and for adults with PTSD from childhood sexual abuse. Trish is also a registered yoga teacher and certified LifeForce Yoga practitioner, specializing in yoga for anxiety, depression and PTSD. She has a passion for supporting developing teachers in reaching their professional goals and draws on her experience of providing almost 1000 hours of one-on-one supervision to graduate counseling students at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. 

Contact Trish Magyari: trish@trishmagyari.com 
Website: www.trishmagyari.com 
Mobile Phone: 443-939-0232 

Kate Mitcheom, MSN, CNM, RYT

Kate Mitcheom, MSN, CNM, RYT has been practicing meditation since 1991 and teaching meditation since 1995. She received her Master’s Degree in Nursing from Yale University in 1981. In 1995 and 1997 she trained with Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD., founder of the internationally acclaimed Stress Reduction Clinic at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center in Worcester. In 1996 she founded the Mindfulness- based Stress Reduction Program (MBSR) at the Fair Haven Community Health Center in New Haven, CT, where she teaches meditation to pregnant women and their partners in the inner-city and offers MBSR for patients with chronic and life-threatening illnesses. Kate has also taught Mindfulness in schools and completed training in MBCT (Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy) with Susan Wood in 2011. She is certified by and teaches for the Center for Mindfulness at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center, offers consulting, conference presentations and staff development training for hospitals, health centers, schools and universities throughout Connecticut and New England. Kate completed Yoga Teacher Training with Todd Norian and has been teaching yoga for the past 15 years. She also completed a four year study in Energy Medicine with the Institute of Healing Arts and Sciences in Hartford CT. Since 1995, she has attended approximately 15 silent meditation retreats of 7-14 days duration at the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, MA. In 2013 she completed a year long Integrated Study and Practice Program at the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies. 
She lives in Branford, CT where she and her husband of over thirty years raised their three children. You can visit her website KateMitcheom.com for more information. 

Contact Kate Mitcheom: heartbasedmindfulness@gmail.com 
Website: www.katemitcheom.com  

Gwen Morgan, MA MSW RSW

Gwen Morgan, MA MSW RSW is clinical Social Worker with over 25-years’ experience in medical settings with a focus on stress management and support for people living with chronic illness. Currently she is with the East Greater Toronto Area Family Health Team, where she facilitates groups in Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT). She is also a Mindfulness Facilitator for the Centre for Mindfulness Studies in Toronto where she has facilitated Mindful Eating Awareness groups and programs for marginalized people. She is an Adjunct Lecturer with the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work where she does field supervision. She has lectured and led workshops for social workers and other health professionals in Mindful Eating, Mindfulness Interventions and MBCT. 

Contact Gwen Morgan:gwenmorgan@sympatico.ca 

Beth Mulligan, PA-C

Beth Mulligan, PA-C is a lead teacher trainer for the MBSR Teacher Training Intensive at UC San Diego Center for Mindfulness (UCSD CFM). Beth was a certified MBSR teacher and teacher trainer, and adjunct faculty for the UMASS Center for Mindfulness. She has been teaching MBSR for over a decade to diverse populations; from the critically ill, to non-profit organizations, the underserved, educators, and corporate leaders. Beth is also a certified MSC Teacher and teacher trainer. She was in the first group to be invited to MSC teacher training, and has been teaching MSC with great passion and enthusiasm ever since, at the UC Irvine Center for Integrative Medicine and Insight LA as well as providing workshops for professional caregivers. Beth has a background in primary care medicine as a Board Certified Physician Assistant and has practiced medicine for over 25 years. Beth is a certified yoga instructor, and holds a Black belt in Tae Kwon Do. She is a long time student of Roshi Charles Tenshin Fletcher at Yokoji Zen Center where she has lived in residence, and is the Guiding Dharma teacher at Insight Community of the Desert. 

Phone: 760-799-7847 

Holly Nelson-Johnson, MSN, APN, FNP-BC

Holly Nelson-Johnson, MSN, APN, FNP-BC is a Family Nurse Practitioner, Senior Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) teacher, Interpersonal Mindfulness Teacher, Insight Dialogue Facilitator, and a Certified Yoga Teacher. She has been awarded MBSR teacher certification by the Center for Mindfulness, University of Massachusetts Medical School. She is the founding President of the Illinois Mindfulness Consortium, and the Illinois Insight Dialogue Association. She has participated in MBSR clinical research projects; and offered MBSR in a wide variety of settings. She served as medical provider and faculty in the Department of Medicine at Cook County Hospital, teaching mindfulness in the Primary Care, and Behavioral Medicine Residency Training programs. Holly provides consultation, and mentorship in Mindfulness- Based approaches, as well as training professionals in mindfulness. She is the Executive Director of Mindfulness for Living: offering mindfulness-based approaches in medicine, education, business, health care, and society. 

Contact Holly Nelson-Johnson: hnjohnson@icloud.com 
Website: www.mindfulnessforliving.org 

Hugh O’Neill

Hugh O’Neill is co-owner of Mindful-Way.com, and has studied and practiced meditation and yoga for more than 20 years. His many years of creative and management experience in the media industry, including significant time working in international news and documentary production, combined with his intensive training in Mindfulness Meditation programs enable him to skillfully relate the concepts and practices of mindfulness to a wide range of populations. Hugh has taught more than 80 MBSR courses and dozens of other mindfulness programs at universities, medical centers, corporations and government agencies including the US Navy. Hugh has also been a presenter at the International Scientific Conference on Mindfulness, is a regular event speaker, and is the lead mindfulness teacher in a number of clinical research projects. Hugh has trained in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction with the originator of the MBSR program, Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D. He has studied and lived in residence at Yokoji Zen Mountain Center under the guidance of Zen Master Charles Tenshin Fletcher, Roshi, and is Certified as an MBSR teacher through the UC San Diego Center for Mindfulness. 

Contact Hugh O’Neill : Hugh@mindful-way.com 

João Palma

João Palma is a Certified Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Instructor by the UCSD Center for Mindfulness and by CMRP Bangor University and a Certified Breathworks – Mindfulness for Health instructor. João has been practicing Buddhist meditation since 2004 and started teaching mindfulness in 2008. He is the Director of Budadharma in Lisbon, Portugal, where he teaches. He also leads meditation and silent meditation retreats. João has been having the privilege to learn and be inspired personally by amazing teachers, such as Steven Hickman, Susan Woods, Patricia Rockman, Vidyamala Burch, Karunavira, Sagarapryia among others. It is his desire to inspire others to awake to their lives with more joy, openness, connection and compassion. 

Contact João Palma: geral@budadharma.org 
Website: www.budadharma.org 

Catherine L. Phillips, MD, FRCP(C)

Catherine L. Phillips, MD, FRCP(C) is the Founding Director of The Mindfulness Institute.ca. She is a Scholar of the Integrative Health Institute at the University of Alberta, and Assistant Clinical Professor, Department of Psychiatry, where she is a psychotherapy supervisor in Mindfulness-Based and Integrative psychotherapies. Her clinical work has included psychotherapy with traumatized individuals, and as a consultant psychiatrist to the Canadian Military. Catherine has integrated mindful awareness into her personal life and clinical practice for over 30 years. Over the past almost 10 years she has run over 45 MBSR Programs- in a variety of settings to a number of different populations. Catherine is a certified MBSR teacher though the CFM University of Massachusetts. Her publications include co-authoring an article on Integrating mindfulness into K-12 Classrooms, (2012 and a book chapter entitled “The Mindful Psychiatrist: Being Present with Suffering” in the text Mindful Medical Practice: Clinical Narratives and Therapeutic Insights (2015) Springer. She is involved in North American and international networks to establish integrity in the teaching and teacher training of Mindfulness Based Programs. 

Contact Catherine Phillips:catherine@mindfulnessinstitute.ca 
Website: www.mindfulnessinstitute.ca 

Megan Prager, MA

Megan Prager, MA is the Compassion Programs Director at UC San Diego Center for Mindfulness and Co-Founder of Mindful Labs. Megan is a Certified Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Instructor (MBSR), a Certified Mindful Self-Compassion Instructor (MSC), a Certified Compassion Cultivation Instructor (CCT), an Adjunct Faculty member at San Diego State University, and a Lecturer at UC San Diego Rady Business School. She is also a Teacher Trainer and Mentor for the UC San Diego Mindfulness Based Professional Training Institute and for the Center for Mindful Self-Compassion. In addition to teaching Mindfulness-based programs, Megan specializes in developing and delivering mindfulness and compassion trainings for Fortune 500 companies as well as for educational, healthcare, and academic settings. She is currently collaborating with Universities to establish and instruct Mindfulness and Compassion courses at the collegiate level. In all her ventures, Megan’s passion and mission are the same: to empower individuals with an understanding of the important role they play in shaping their lives and well being. Megan believes through compassionate awareness individuals are able to utilize one of the best resources they have: themselves. 

Contact Megan Prager: meganprager@gmail.com 
Website: www.mindfullabs.com  

Diane Reibel, PhD

Diane Reibel, PhD. is the Director of the Mindfulness Institute at the Jefferson-Myrna Brind Center of Integrative Medicine and Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine at Jefferson Medical College. Diane has been teaching mindfulness –based stress reduction for 18 years to patients, healthcare professionals, medical and college students, and school teachers/administrators. She currently runs a Practicum for professionals who want to integrate mindfulness into their work and offers supervision and internships in MBSR. Diane participated in professional training under the direction of Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD, and has completed the most advanced teacher training at the Center for Mindfulness at University of Massachusetts Medical Center where she has been awarded MBSR teacher certification. In addition to her passion for teaching mindfulness she studies the physiologic effects and health outcomes of mindfulness training and her research is published and widely cited in both scientific journals and the popular press. Diane is coauthor of the book Teaching Mindfulness: A Practical Guide for Clinicians and Educators. 

Contact Diane Reibel: diane@mindfulnessandmore.com 
Website: mindfulnessandmore.com 

Patricia Rockman, MD, CCFP, FCFP

Patricia Rockman, MD, CCFP, FCFP is an associate professor with the University of Toronto, department of family and community medicine; cross appointed to psychiatry. She is the lead educator for the Level C MBCT Facilitation Certificate Program at Factor-Inwentash, University of Toronto, faculty of Social Work (Applied Mindfulness Meditation program). She is a mentor with the Ontario College of Family Physicians Collaborative Mental Health Network. She has a private practice in CBT and leads MBCT groups. She has been educating healthcare providers in stress reduction, CBT and mindfulness-based practices for over 20 years. She is the director of education at the Centre for Mindfulness Studies, www.mindfulnessstudies.com. 

Contact Patricia Rockman:patricia.rockman@mindfulnessstudies.com 
Website: www.mindfulnessstudies.com 

Karen Schwisow, E-RYT

Karen Schwisow, E-RYT is the Director of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Teacher Training (MBSR) and a Senior Teacher for Mindfulness Northwest; Co-founder and Director of Yoga Teacher Training for Three Trees Yoga (2011). With authenticity and humor she creates a safe learning environment that empowers trainees to recognize their strengths and areas of growth. Karen has been teaching yoga and meditation to individuals and groups since 2005, MBSR since 2011 and has been building a foundation of mindfulness in her own life since the early 90s. She is certified in MBSR through the Center for Mindfulness at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center and has completed Therapeutic Yoga training through Subtle Yoga Asheville, NC. She teaches MBSR and MBIs in a wide variety of settings including hospitals, medical clinics, community and government organizations. She was a member of the Physicians Insurance Clinician Wellness Advisory Board where she developed and taught an MBI curriculum for Clinician burn out. For over a decade she has delighted in mentoring teachers as they develop their ability to support others in this profound work. 

Contact Karen Schwisow: karen@mindfulnessnorthwest.com 

Cheryl Shah

Cheryl has 20+ years of Finance corporate experience, in leadership roles, working in a high demanding career while raising two daughters. The daily stress she faced, led her to the conclusion that there must be a better way to live and work. She has seen firsthand the negative impacts of long work hours, stress and pressure on individuals and the resulting emotional and mental pain suffered in the workplace. Her extensive work experience informs her teaching, makes her an accessible and compassionate teacher, and helps her translate mindfulness and compassion into a language that is relevant and applicable to corporate life.

Cheryl first discovered meditation in college when her wandering mind caused difficulties with her studies. She learned about mindfulness when she discovered Mindful Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) in 2005. In 2010, realizing how self-critical and judgmental she was with herself and others, she then began to explore mindfulness more purposefully, taking the Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) program. Cheryl subsequently attended an intensive 10-day silent Vipassana retreat at the Southern California Vipassana Center in Joshua Tree in 2013, and continues retreat practice every year.

Cheryl embodies mindfulness and self-compassion, with a solid daily mindfulness practice, but more importantly, these practices have given her the ability to take the “Pause” in life to respond with more intention, to help support herself and others with a compassionate and wise response.

Cheryl has decided to end her Finance career in Corporate America and start Simply Pause to support others in this great adventure of life, to change peoples’ relationship to stress and attend to themselves and others with wise compassion.

Previous employers include NRG, Sprint, CareFusion and Jack-in-the-Box, UpWind Solutions (Vestas, Wind Turbines), Pacira Pharmaceuticals and UC San Diego, Housing/Dining/Hospitality.

Cheryl lives with her husband in San Diego, CA and they have two beautiful adult daughters. She enjoys playing tennis, traveling, hiking & spending time with friends & family.

Contact Cheryl Shah: cashah@health.ucsd.edu

David Spound, M.Ed.

David Spound, M.Ed., is the Director of Valley Mindfulness in Northampton, Massachusetts. He is certified as a teacher of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC), and he trains and mentors new teachers of these programs. 

David was certified as a teacher of MBSR by the Center for Mindfulness at UMass Medical School, the organization founded by Jon Kabat-Zinn. David worked at the UMass Center for Mindfulness from 2006–2013 where he taught MBSR and managed the MBSR teacher training and certification program. David currently trains and mentors MBSR teachers for UCSD. David was certified as a teacher of Mindful Self-Compassion by the UCSD Center for Mindfulness. For UCSD and for the Center for Mindful Self-Compassion, he trains and mentors new MSC teachers, leads online programs for MSC graduates, and co-leads a men's program based on MSC. David also co-leads silent meditation retreats for those in the MBSR and MSC teacher training paths. 

For David, his work as a teacher, teacher trainer, and mentor is a true labor of love. Please feel free to be in touch with him to discuss your interests and intentions as a teacher. 

Contact David Spound: david@valleymindfulness.com 
Website: www.valleymindfulness.com 

Paul Sugar

Paul Sugar-Director, Center for Mindfulness, Scottsdale Institute for Health and Medicine. Paul Sugar is the founder and Director of the Scottsdale Institute for Health and Medicine. Paul completed the advanced MBSR teacher training in 1994 at the Center for Mindfulness pioneered by Jon Kabat-Zinn at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center and is a Certified MBSR instructor through the Center for Mindfulness at UCSD. He has taught over 100 MBSR and MBCT 8-week programs and has delivered hundreds of mindfulness based workshops for over 25 years. Paul has taught mindfulness in the health care, corporate, academic, sports and private sectors. In addition, he created The Attention Academy school program in 1998 that has become a seminal mindfulness in the schools study. He has also spearheaded a number of other mindfulness based studies in the healthcare field. Paul has been practicing and teaching meditation, yoga and tai chi for over 45 years. In his role as business entrepreneur he has founded and operated a number of service related businesses in the healthcare field and serves on the Board of Directors of 3 mindfulness based non-profit organizations. Beyond combining management, financial, and marketing skills to maximize the growth of these organizations, Paul has applied the principles of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and Peak Performance to create a uniquely effective business model. 

Contact Paul Sugar: mindful@cox.net 
Website: www.stressbeaters.com 

John Taylor

John Taylor is a Certified MBSR Teacher with a long meditation and retreat practice. He is committed to fostering a more mindful awake world. John is also an active member of the Greater Richmond community where the primary focus of his work has been on racial equity and reconciliation initiatives, as well as facilitated community dialogues. He is currently serving on the board of the Richmond Peace Education Center, One Common Unity based in Washington D.C. and an advisory committee for the Chrysalis Institute where he teaches Mindfulness.

John's work has primarily been in the non-profit sector where he served for many years at the National office of the Presbyterian Church (USA) and as a Program Officer for the Bonner Foundation. John has also been a food security activist who initiated urban farming programs in Newark, New Jersey. John is a graduate of the College of Wooster and lives in North Chesterfield, VA with his wife, three children (and three dogs).

Contact John Taylor: morostaylor@gmail.com 

Carmen Teo, EdD, MMH

Carmen Teo, EdD, MMH, is a Certified MBSR Teacher, Certified MSC Teacher, and MBSR Teacher Mentor with UC San Diego Center for Mindfulness. She is also trained to deliver several other mindfulness-based programs for organizations and K-12 students.

She started her mindfulness journey in 2007 in the USA, returned to Singapore a year later and continued her meditation practice in the Buddhist traditions, when secular mindfulness was unheard of in Singapore. Her root practice is Vipassana (Insight) meditation in the Theravada Thai Forest tradition. Her deep passion to the practice has encouraged her to sit in at least 15 silent meditation retreats. Witnessing and feeling touched by how the practice has deeply transformed her life through her past experiences with health challenges and existential crisis, she gradually transitioned from a high-flying international consulting career into a mind-body practitioner. She founded Mindful Insights in 2015 with the intention of empowering people to regain their autonomy in taking care of their well-being, making choices that represent their deepest-held values and living a life filled with joy and compassion.

Carmen has a master’s degree from Cornell University, USA, and a Doctor in Education (EdD) from NTU-Singapore, where she researched on reflexive teaching practice and the mechanisms of mindfulness through the lived experiences of educators. Her versatile backgrounds in contemplative practice, education and business, has enabled her to deliver programs to a variety of populations in universities, public schools, social welfare and health agencies, corporations, criminal justice system, and government agencies. Apart from MBSR mentoring, she also trains and mentors inhouse mindfulness facilitators in organizations. Carmen is also a Certified Hatha Yoga Teacher since 2012. Currently, Carmen resides and teaches in Singapore.

Contact Carmen Teo: carmen@bemindful.sg 
Website: www.bemindful.sg 

Anne Twohig

Anne Twohig lives in Ireland in the beautiful seaside town of Greystones, where she enjoys long walks by the sea and hiking in the hills of County Wicklow. She is a certified MBSR teacher and teacher trainer. She is the founder of the Centre for Mindfulness Ireland, which she established in 2007. Anne trained with the University of Massachusetts Medical School Center for Mindfulness (UMass CFM), and has been a member of their professional teaching faculty since 2014. During her years as a teacher trainer with UMass CFM, Anne has been the host for professional teacher trainings in Ireland as well as teaching with CFM in Ireland, Europe and in the US. Anne has extensive experience teaching mindfulness across a range of areas, including healthcare, education, non-profit organisations, prison services, and the corporate and banking sectors. She was the recipient of a Social Entrepreneurs Ireland award for her work in Mindfulness in Education. 
Anne is passionate about offering support and guidance to the community of qualified MBSR teachers in Ireland and around the world. She is committed to encouraging ongoing teacher development in the form of mentoring, supervision and continued education. She is excited to be on the teaching faculty at the UCSD Center for Mindfulness and looks forward to being part of their professional teacher trainings in Europe. 

Contact Anne Twohig: anne@cfmi.ie 
Website: www.centreformindfulnessireland.ie 

Zayda Vallejo, Mlitt

Zayda Vallejo, Mlitt was born in Colombia, South America. She completed her Bachelor of Science in Psychology at Loyola University in Chicago and a Master’s degree in Political Economy at Oxford University. She has been practicing meditation and yoga since 1978. Her keen interest in meditation took her to Japan, India, Burma, and Nepal, where she lived for three years. Zayda is an adjunct faculty member at Cambridge Health Alliance Center for Mindfulness and Compassion (CMC). She is a mindfulness instruct or, trainer , and part of the team that developed the Mindfulness Training for Primary Care Group Leadership Manual. She is an adjunct faculty member at the Mindfulness Center at Brown University School of Public Health. For the past 18 years Zayda has served as a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) instructor, teacher, and supervisor of professionals who aspire to teach MBSR at the University of Massachusetts Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society (CFM). From 2007-2015 she taught MBSR for The Lazar Lab at the Massachusetts General Hospital for research purposes. Zayda has taught mindfulness programs and developed curricula at The Garrison Institute, Mindful Kids Miami, University of Southern California, and other organizations. In 2014 she co-founded The Heartwell Institute, a non-profit community organization in Worcester, MA dedicated to foster contemplative practices and wellness education. Zayda leads 5-day and 7-day silent retreats.

Contact Zayda Valejo: zaydavallejo1015@gmail.com 

Helen Vantine, PhD

Helen Vantine, Ph.D. is the founder and co-director of the Atlanta Mindfulness Institute. She has a private psychotherapy practice where she practices mindfulness-based psychotherapy. She is credentialed as an MBSR teacher through the Center for Mindfulness at the University of Massachusetts, and has been a teaching assistant for the CFM at the Omega Institute. She is also trained as a Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy teacher through UCSD. She has taught mindfulness and MBSR extensively in corporations, health care settings, universities, and government agencies, as well as teaching over 500 individuals in MBSR courses over that past 9 years. In addition, she has led a number of supervision groups in the practice of mindfulness-based psychotherapy. Helen has had a meditation practice since 1971. For the past 20 years she has studied Buddhism, both in the Zen tradition and the Theravada tradition. She is currently enrolled in the Community Dharma Leader Program at Spirit Rock. Helen believes that meditation is the fundamental practice for raising consciousness. For the past 10 years she has found that MBSR courses are an amazingly effective tool for raising consciousness by introducing meditation and mindfulness in a systematic, accessible and thoughtful manner. In addition to open enrollment courses, the Atlanta Mindfulness Institute has offered Mindfulness and Psychotherapy, an 8-week course based on MBSR targeting psychotherapists and health care professionals. This course has introduced over 250 psychotherapists to the practice of mindfulness-based psychotherapy and Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction. 

Contact Helen Vantine: hvantine@gmail.com 

Char Wilkins, MSW, LCSW

Char Wilkins, MSW, LCSW is a mindfulness-based psychotherapist trained to teach Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), and Mindful Eating-Conscious Living™ (ME-CL) programs. She has been awarded teacher certification in MBSR by the Center for Mindfulness, UMass Medical School, Worcester, MA. 
As a therapist, Char specialized in working with women who experienced childhood abuse/trauma and struggled with depression, anxiety and disordered eating. As a senior trainer for UCSD’s Mindfulness Based Professional Training Institute, she is a lead facilitator for Mindful Eating-Conscious Living™ Levels 1 & 2 trainings, and mentors teachers-in-training. Additionally, she serves as an advisor to The Center for Mindful Eating. Char travels internationally to train professionals in the ME-CL protocol which she created and teaches with her colleague, Jan Chozen Bays, MD. Never without her sense of humor and a few mindless moments, she always enjoys sharing and learning from others around the world. 

Char is currently unable to accept new MBSR mentees. Spaces are available for new ME-CL mentees. 

Contact Char Wilkins: info@amindfulpath.com 
Website: amindfulpath.com 

Korantema Pierce Williams, MS, CMT

Korantema Pierce Williams is a Certified MBSR Teacher who has long served as a bridge between traditional and modern practice through consultancy at ConjureWorks, the health and wellness practice she co-owns in Richmond, Virginia. With degrees from Howard University (BS) and Saybrook University (MS, Mind-Body Medicine), Korantema facilitates MBSR training and Mindfulness classes at the InnerWork Center, Richmond, VA where she serves as Board member and faculty.

Additionally, Korantema provides teacher trainer facilitation for both MBSR and MBSR Teacher Training at UC San Diego Center for Mindfulness. As a Spiritualist by training, Korantema is also known as Nana Korantema, priest in the Akom Tradition of Ghana, W. Africa for more than 20 years. Through that lens, Korantema offers leadership through healing rites for individuals and collectives; workshop facilitations imparting concepts of self-advocacy; and transformational growth and development teachings for self-preservation in both dominant and marginalized communities. Korantema facilitates audiences young, seasoned, and all ages in between, leaning into mindfulness and MBSR facilitation as impactful approaches to stress reduction, surviving trauma, and disrupting stagnant actions and thoughts.

Contact Korantema Pierce Williams: conjureworks@gmail.com

Christiane Wolf, MD, PhD

Christiane Wolf, MD, PhD is a Buddhist teacher in the Insight (Vipassana) meditation tradition. She is a certified senior MBSR teacher and teacher trainer and on adjunct faculty for the Center For Mindfulness at UMASS Medical School, as well as a certified Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) teacher. She is a lead teacher and program developer for the first national mindfulness facilitator training of clinicians for the US Veterans Administration. She is a senior teacher at InsightLA in Los Angeles and lectures and teaches classes, workshops and silent retreats in the US and in Europe. 
She is the co-author of the book “A Clinician’s Guide To Teaching Mindfulness”. 

Contact Christiane Wolf: Info@christianewolf.com 
Website: www.christianewolf.com 

Valerie York-Zimmerman 

Valerie York-Zimmerman has been teaching MBSR in Miami since 1998. She is a CFM Certified MBSR Teacher, a designation awarded by the Center for Mindfulness at University of Massachusetts Medical Center. Since 2002 Valerie has also been teaching her own adaptation, Inner Journey ~ Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (IJ-MBSR) which includes elements of MBCT focused on difficult emotions and disturbed thinking. In 2001 and 2003 she completed Vipassana Teacher Training and Advanced Vipassana Teacher Training with the Venerable Bhante Henepola Gunaratana, Ph.D., former professor at Georgetown and American Universities at his monastic retreat center near Washington, D.C. In 2011 Valerie and her husband, Leonard A. Zimmerman, M.D., founded Mindful Kids Miami (MKM), a 501(c)(3), non-profit organization. She served as the Senior Teacher/Trainer and Executive Director until completing the IJ-MBSR Mindfulness-Based Training for Educators Pilot Program with Miami-Dade County Public Schools district-wide in the 2015-2016 school year. After that, she left MKM to return to Miami Mindfulness, her original teaching organization, where she now focuses nationally and on excellence in teaching. Her intention is to foster high quality Mindfulness-Based Programs in education and in the Miami-Dade community-at-large. 

Website: www.MiamiMindfulness.com 

French Speaking MBSR Mentor 

Gwénola Herbette, Ph.D. is a Certified MBSR teacher trainer, who dedicated several years to be trained as an MBSR teacher trainer, through the year-long “teacher trainer” training as well as through apprenticeships, mentorships, study, practice, and a three-month apprenticeship at the Center for Mindfulness, University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMass CFM) in 2014. 

Deeply curious about life, Gwénola studied psychology and was trained as a scientific researcher and as a psychotherapist for many years. Encountering mindfulness in 2003 was a turning point. She has been committed to the art of both her own daily practice and the teaching of mindfulness for several years now, as well as to teacher-led meditation retreats and the study of the texts at the roots of these practices in the Theravada and early Buddhist teachings, with a secular approach. Gwénola has been teaching MBSR since 2009, pioneering this program to French-speaking Europe. 

Since 2015, Gwénola has been training MBSR teachers at the Institut Pleine Conscience© that she founded and manages. In addition, she supervises MBSR and MBCT teachers. She also contributes to the training of mindfulness teachers in several training programs in Europe, and invites teachers from various countries to lead retreats and to offer workshops, to support the access to the practice and to the teachings to local practitioners and teachers. Gwénola has previously taught at the University Charles-de-Gaulle, Lille (France), and worked as a psychotherapist specialized in health psychology and chronic pain. 

Gwénola is French and she has been living in Belgium since 1992 where she lives with her husband, Patrick Guilmot who is an equine-assisted therapist and also a Certified MBSR teacher (UMass CFM). 

Contact Gwénola Herbette: gwenola@pleine-conscience.be 
Website: www.pleine-conscience.be 

German Speaking MBSR Mentor 

Christiane Wolf, MD, PhD is a Buddhist teacher in the Insight (Vipassana) meditation tradition. She is a certified senior MBSR teacher and teacher trainer and on adjunct faculty for the Center For Mindfulness at UMASS Medical School, as well as a certified Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) teacher. She is a lead teacher and program developer for the first national mindfulness facilitator training of clinicians for the US Veterans Administration. She is a senior teacher at InsightLA in Los Angeles and lectures and teaches classes, workshops and silent retreats in the US and in Europe. 
She is the co-author of the book “A Clinician’s Guide To Teaching Mindfulness”. 

Contact Christiane Wolf: Info@christianewolf.com 
Website: www.christianewolf.com 

Japanese Speaking MBSR Mentor 

Noriko 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 trained in MBSR under the direction of Susan Woods, Char Wilkins, Patricia Rockman and Allan Goldstein, and trained in MSC under the direction of Christopher Germer, Kristin Neff, Michelle Becker and Steven Hickman. 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 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. 

Contact Noriko Morita Harth: nmorita@ucsd.edu 
Website: www.mindfulheartcenter.com/ 

Portuguese Speaking MBSR Mentor 

João Carvalho das Neves is professor of Leadership & Finance at ISEG the School of Economics and Management of the University of Lisbon and teaches Corporate Finance, Real Estate Finance and Health Finance & Economics. He also teaches Mindfulness for Business for MBAs and Mindfulness for the development of leadership and management soft-skills for executives. João is the Director of two executive masters: “Management of Healthcare Institutions” and “Real Estate Management & Valuation”. He also teaches mindfulness and Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) for the general public and in-company programs through his company ZENACTION Business Consulting & Coaching. 
João began Tibetan Buddhist Meditation practice in 2001 under direction of Sagarapriya (Lisbon). He also practiced at Zen Meditation in the Association Zen Internationale (Paris). 
João is a Certified teacher of MBSR through the University of California San Diego Center for Mindfulness Professional Training Institute (MBPTI). João trained MBSR under the direction of Florence Meleo-Meyer and Robert Smith with University of Massachusetts Center for Mindfulness (Nirakara/Spain) and Steven Hickman, Susan Woods, Beth Mulligan and Paul Sugar at MBPTI. João is also a Qi Gong instructor certified by the School of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Lisbon. He was graduated by ENGAGE an Advanced Mindfulness and Emotional Intelligence Training from Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute (SIYLI). 
João’s intentions in teaching mindfulness are to support people to have balanced lives and guide and empower leaders to create great workplaces for people to work with high levels of contentment, energy, connection, creativity, clarity, ethics, respect and understanding.  He is a native Portuguese, fluent in English and speaks conversational French and Spanish. 

Contact João Carvalho das Neves: jcneves@zenaction.pt or joao.carvalhodasneves@gmail.com 
Website: https://joaocarvalhodasneves.pt/ 

João Palma is a Certified Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Instructor by the UCSD Center for Mindfulness and by CMRP Bangor University and a Certified Breathworks – Mindfulness for Health instructor. 
João has been practicing Buddhist meditation since 2004 and started teaching mindfulness in 2008. He is the Director of Budadharma in Lisbon, Portugal, where he teaches. He also leads meditation and silent meditation retreats. 
João has been having the privilege to learn and be inspired personally by amazing teachers, such as Steven Hickman, Susan Woods, Patricia Rockman, Vidyamala Burch, Karunavira, Sagarapryia among others. It is his desire to inspire others to awake to their lives with more joy, openness, connection and compassion. (João’s bio in Portuguese) 

Contact João Palma: geral@budadharma.org 
Website: www.budadharma.org 

Pedro Lôbo is Certified Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Instructor by the UCSD Center for Mindfulness and teacher in traning in MSC (Mindful Self Compassion). Also certified by Mindfulness Institute (USA / UK) SIT method, developed by Mark Coleman and Martin Alyward, Pedro develops as well a work with children using the method Youth Mindfulness (UK). Pedro has been practising meditation since 1998 and was certified by Yoga Alliance in 2004. He also works as a therapist in rebirthing certified by the Institute of Rebirthing of São Paulo. He spent six months in India in 2004, a country he returned again in the years 2006, 2008 and 2010. He visited the main pilgrimage sites such as Rishikseh, Varanasi, Sarnat, Bodhgaya, Gamuk and Gangotri and Kerala. Director and Founder of the Mindfulness Institute in Brazil, Pedro uses a set of techniques and practices to inspire the lives of those who passes through him. 

Contact Pedro Lôbo: pedrolobomindful@gmail.com 

Spanish Speaking MBSR Mentor 

Lisette Atala-Doocy is a Certified Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Instructor who also holds a Certification from The Mindfulness in Schools Education Project, a program originally from the UK. Furthermore, she received a Certificate of Attendance from the Omega Institute on Radical Acceptance: Pathway of Emotional Healing & Spiritual Freedom led by Tara Brach. She is Co-Founder of the Bilingual Center for Mindfulness, which promotes mindfulness courses in Spanish and English. 

Lisette’s strong conviction about the benefits and power of mindfulness practice has inspired her to passionately promote these techniques within our community. She has been teaching MBSR, Mindful Yoga and Mindful Living in Spanish and English for several years in the San Diego – Baja California regions. The mindfulness programs she has led in various institutions include the School of Medicine, Baja California State University and a Scripps Clinic women’s group. She has been spearheading a Mindful-Living group for more than six years. In addition to having practiced meditation for over 23 years, Lisette has also studied classical music and linguistics while making significant contributions to the San Diego art world over the course of many years. 

Contact Lisette Atala-Doocy: lisetteatala@cox.net 
Website: www.bilingualmindfulness.com 

 
Allan Barboza, is the Founder and Director of the Centro Costarricense para Mindfulness (Costa Rican Center for Mindfulness) in Central America, a certified MBSR Teacher and a Mindfulness Based Psychotherapist. He also has been trained in Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy and along with his passion to bring mindfulness practices to the adult populations, he received the curricular training from Mindful Schools and initiated the first educational institution in Costa Rica that included in its curriculum a mindfulness-based protocol which he currently supervises. One of Allan’s main interests is to spread MBSR to Latin American communities and countries, a task that he started by translating important material to Spanish, co-teaching also in South America and becoming a Spanish speaking MBSR Mentor. His passion around contemplative practices enables him to continue to dedicate time to study, practice and investigate, and in 2013, he participated in the first mindfulness meditation oriented research in his country. As the pioneer of Mindfulness Based Interventions (MBIs) in Costa Rica and a committed practitioner of Zen meditation, Allan is a true supporter of maintaining the essence and the ethics around this noble practice as a way to guarantee a responsible approach to all these interventions. (Allan’s bio in Spanish) 

Contact Allan Barboza: abarboza@mindfulnesscr.com 
Website: mindfulnesscr.com