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, 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.