Current Mindfulness Director Cohort
Alex Tzelnic
Alex Tzelnic (he/him) is a Mindfulness Director and Physical Education teacher at Belmont Day School in Belmont, MA.
Alex grew up in Concord, MA. As an avid athlete, he took an early interest in Zen practice, appreciating the way it stoked his curiosity by engaging both body and mind in asking the big questions. At Skidmore College he studied philosophy, religion, and Asian studies, spending a semester living in a Buddhist Monastery in India and deepening his study of mindfulness.
After college Alex pursued his passion for play by becoming a PE teacher. He also continued to explore his interest in practice by writing about mindfulness for publications like Tricycle Magazine. His thirst for insight and connection eventually led to an MA in Mindfulness Studies at Lesley University.
Alex lives in Cambridge, MA, with his wife and two kids, and is thrilled to engage in this work in such a diverse and dynamic hub. He has felt incredibly fortunate to have been exposed to mindfulness from an early age, and believes that nurturing wonder and presence in the next generation is one of the greatest gifts we can give.
Ashley Williams
Ashley Williams (she/her) is a Mindfulness Director at the Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School in Richmond, Virginia.
She is a MS, C-IAYT certified Yoga Therapist and Mindfulness Educator with 12 years of experience in the fields of education, behavioral and mental health and community programming in Richmond, VA.
As a builder and weaver, Ashley bridges mindfulness, diversity, wellness and inclusion on micro and macro-levels to achieve equitable, socially stable and conscious spaces for individual and collective care. She is the Founder of BareSOUL Yoga & Wellness, a community-based organization created to offer accessible yoga offerings. Ashley is also the founder of Mindful on Life and Mindfulness and Movement, two curriculum-based programs dedicated to transforming community through the practice of mindfulness education.
She is full of inspiration, light and experience to guide efforts in creating spaces for people of all ages and backgrounds to be educated and empowered through the practice of awareness. Ashley is a dog mom, an outdoor explorer and loves all things food-related.
Char
Char is the Mindfulness Director at the Milner Middle School in Hartford, CT. Bio coming soon!
Christy Anana
Christy Lynn Anana (she/her), NBCT, RYT, M.Ed., is the Mindfulness Director at Quil Ceda Tulalip Elementary located on the land of The Tulalip Tribes in Washington State, north of Seattle. She is a doctoral candidate at the University of Washington’s Educational Leadership L4L Program.
She has been a yoga teacher for over 14 years while leading mindfulness with students as a school counselor. She became passionate about body-centered contemplative practices as a pathway to increase her own wellbeing as well as building educator resiliency. Mirroring Thich Nhat Hanh’s words, she believes that, “”Happy Teachers Change the World,”” Lifting up educators delivers positive outcomes for students. This work is relevant, rigorous, anti-racist and culturally responsive to transform and shift systems toward equitable learning and wellbeing. She has published some books: one book is on tapping or EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) using knowledge from Traditional Chinese Medicine to unblock stuck emotions so children, adolescents, and adults feel better; and another book is A Safe Place. This book guides children on how to process their feelings and then walks alongside them as they create a safe place in their brain to feel better. This resource became available as many students are dysregulated because of painful things happening in our world. Mrs. Anana was named Washington State School Counselor of the Year in 2016. She is a proud mom of two adult talented, multi-racial daughters, and partner to Mr. Anana.
Dave Trachtenberg
Dave Trachtenberg (he/him) is the Mindfulness Director at American University’s School of Education.
Dave is a mindfulness guide & mentor, restorative justice educator, cross-cultural dialog facilitator, and inclusive leadership coach with over 20 years of experience practicing mindfulness. He has dedicated his life to integrating mindfulness with a lens of inclusion and social justice, and creating communities that honor our collective wisdom, celebrate our identities and lived experiences, and embody the courage and humility needed to create a more welcoming society.
Currently, Dave facilitates at American University (School of Education, Department of Health Studies), serves on the Advisory Board of Peace of Mind, consults with organizations on Appreciative Inquiry and Inclusive Leadership to design more inclusive cultures, facilitates virtual communities with Pace, and has helped people flourish as a mindfulness mentor and wellness coach for over 13 years. Dave also coaches storytelling and public speaking, helping people discover their voice to speak authentically, with confidence, and from the heart.
Previously, Dave has served with five different mindfulness in education nonprofits: as Program Director of Minds Inc. (serving over 18,000 educators, students and parents in Washington DC), and as a guiding teacher for Mindful Schools, Mindfulness First, Millennium Forum, and Peace of Mind. He has also facilitated cross-cultural dialog circles with Soliya, and mindfulness and restorative justice in Washington DC area public schools.
In his free time, Dave explores his artistic passions of film, music, and storytelling, nerds out with fantasy tabletop roleplaying games, plays basketball, and listens to way too many podcasts.
Erica Marcus
Erica Marcus (she/her) is a Mindfulness Director at Cape Elizabeth Middle School in Cape Elizabeth, Maine.
Erica has lived her calling to work with youth as a wilderness youth therapy field guide in Utah, an outdoor educator in Maine, a middle school English teacher in DC, and a mindfulness educator based out of Portland, Maine. She is wrapping up a year as a Mindful Schools’ guiding teacher, along with putting the finishing touches on a book about mindful technology use for teens (to be released in the spring of 2022).
From past experiences on long backpacking trips and riding her bike across the country, to more recently raising a four year old and a baby, Erica loves adventures. She is drawn to contemplative practices— mindfulness, silent retreat, yoga, journaling, reading, music, and art—as methods to better understand herself and her place in the world.
Erica believes mindfulness can allow us to live with more authenticity, clarity, and compassion. Mindfulness practice offers us a way to examine, and stay with, reality as it is, both internal and external. Today, the world is demanding attention, and we need access to a fierce kind of love to care for one another and our world.
Jelena Popovic
Jelena Popovic (she/her) is a Mindfulness Director at the Minds in Motion Early Childhood Learning Center in Greenville, South Carolina.
Jelena is a school psychologist by training and a peacebuilder by heart. She is experienced in beginnings, grounded in mindfulness practice, deeply passionate about intergenerational community and igniting its enormous transformative power. Her passion is facilitating dialogs that are grounded in circle practices, mindful awareness and empathy. Jelena is dedicated to peace education, mindful educational leadership and healing centered pedagogy as a path that supports a shift toward a culture of belonging for all.
Jelena spends most of her time in a circle with educators and students and is a facilitation trainer for Soliya where she guides others in facilitating virtual cross-cultural exchange dialogues. She serves on the advisory board for the Peace of Mind and is Practicing Peace in Schools Leadership Council lead for the Peace Alliance. She is a Program Facilitator at Mindful Schools and a podcast co-host of Hope Story Circles for the Peace Alliance. Jelena serves as a mindfulness mentor, Awakening Joy facilitator, guides mindfulness retreats for educators, leads international At Home In the World family retreats, and is a co-founder of Design to Connect, LLC, an educational consulting organization, that assists schools in their efforts in skillful, integrated, and sustainable schoolwide implementation of mindfulness and peace education practices.
Jelena’s guiding principle is summed up in saying “Peace begins with me.” Her daily practice consists of moments of silence, wonder, and everyday gratitude for small, seemingly ordinary yet extraordinary things.
Jill Guerra
Jill Guerra (she/her) has worked in the role of Mindfulness Teacher at schools in Oakland, California since 2017. She is currently the Mindfulness Director at Manzanita SEED elementary where she has been the mindfulness teacher since 2019.
Jill was a classroom teacher for thirteen years where she practiced culturally responsive and anti-racist teaching. She found mindfulness practice in 2014 through Mindful Schools where she later earned certification. She has a master’s degree in Critical Environmental and Global Literacy and is the author of four children’s books including, WHEN I BREATHE DEEPLY/CUANDO RESPIRO PROFUNDO, a picture book about mindful breathing, and WE ARE YOGA/SOMOS YOGA, a resource picture book with asanas, affirmations and reflection questions for self-awareness. She completed a 200-hour yoga and SEL training through Breathe for Change and is currently in training to become certified to teach Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) through UCSD. She has taught mindfulness workshops to teachers at U.C. Berkeley’s Graduate School of Education and leads mindful sits with her school staff weekly.
Jill believes that having a true mindfulness practice awakens us to our common humanity, compassion for the needs of others, and social justice. Her next book, The ABC’s of Mindfulness, will be published in 2023.
Jordan Grinstein
Jordan Grinstein (he/him) is the Mindfulness Director for Shrewsbury Public Schools in Shrewsbury, MA.
He is a multifaceted educator with over a decade of experience creating and sharing trauma-informed and culturally relevant curricula to empower communities with wellness and equity education. He co-founded the social justice wellness program Breathe for Justice, for students and educators to learn embodiment practices as tools for collective liberation. He has been a member of Ivy Child International for seven years, specializing in the professional and personal development of teachers, administrators, and youth ambassadors. As a yoga teacher trainer, meditation coach, and Ayurvedic Practitioner, he facilitates youth and adults to lead social-emotional wellness experiences for their communities and integrate mindful routines into school culture. His mission is to inspire people to be leaders in their lives, cultivate community empowerment, and create access to social justice and wellness education.
Kara Cosby
Kara Cosby (she/her) is a Mindfulness Director at Englehard Elemtary School, part ofJefferson County Public Schools, in Louisville, KY.
She’s been an educator for 13 years and is currently a teacher with the Compassionate Schools Project at Engelhard Elementary. She graduated in 2008 with a Master’s in Teaching from the University of Louisville. She completed her second Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership in 2015 from Asbury University.
In 2017, Kara began her position teaching and leading mindfulness with K-5 students by integrating compassion and yoga-based practices. The curriculum focuses on mindfulness for stress management and self-control, while educating the whole child for self-awareness and self-understanding. Over the years, being a mindfulness instructor has caused a shift in her own life. Through her practice she has cultivated a passion for deep breathing and meditation, which has led to her becoming a more mindful parent and partner. She believes mindfulness is a way of life. Her mission is to equip children and families with the tools necessary to prevent stress and improve their personal, social, and emotional skills.
Kate Finnick
Kate Finnick (she/her) is the Mindfulness Director and District SEL Liaison for North Babylon School District on Long Island in New York. She has a Doctor of Naturopathy, a Master of Science Degree in Clinical Counseling, and has certifications as a Reiki Master, Meditation Instructor, and Nutrition Coach. She is also a certified School Counselor and has worked with young people as a guidance counselor for 23 years. Kate began her practice as a mental health therapist. She gained experience working in Queens Family Court with the Domestic Violence and Sex Crimes Units and as a Director of Mental Health for a residential mental health agency. In 2000 she took her experience and love of working with children to the educational system as a guidance counselor. From her own experience attending a Quaker school, she understood and valued the importance of the life principles they were taught (Simplicity, Peace, Integrity, Community, Equality, Stewardship – SPICES) as guideposts to living in a way that best allows us to thrive within ourselves and as members of the world community. She began to focus her work on teaching students the ways of living mindfully as a way to help them build a solid foundation of living the SPICES. In 2020 she transferred from being a guidance counselor in the middle school to working throughout the district (preK-12 and staff), helping individuals on the path of learning to live a mindful life.
Kate also serves on the Educator Advisory Board for NaliniKids (an organization focused on creating PreK-12 programs pairing physical movement with emotional reflection for children of all ages and backgrounds) and is the owner of Lives Without Limits, a holistic counseling practice assisting individuals in working with their personal triangle of wellness (Mind, Body, Soul).
Through her work with adults and young people, she is dedicated to empowering others to be able to let their inner light shine!
Kazumi Igus
Kazumi Igus (she/her) is a Mindfulness Director at As Black, female science teacher at the Westchester Enriched Sciences Magnet School in Los Angeles, California.
Kazumi Igus has, for the last 14 years, found herself dedicated to radical access to any and everything that would support students of color. Her love of the environment inadvertently brought her to a Thailand monastery where she experienced her first silent retreat. That experience solidified her path of integrating mindfulness into the school setting.
Kazumi is a UCLA Mindful Awareness Center trained meditation facilitator, who has had her own practice for the last eight years. She facilitates drop-in meditations and courses in various community and school settings to bring Mindfulness to everyone who may benefit from it (radical access). She runs her school’s Mindfulness Club and just before the “”COVID social remix”” she was designing a Mindful Athletes program for the school’s nationally ranked basketball team.
Affectionately known around west Los Angeles area as Ms. Igus, Kazumi is a Los Angeles native working at one of the only predominantly Black high schools in Los Angeles Unified where she wants to transform education to be inherently social-emotionally responsive; explicitly supportive of increasing the ability to focus; and empowering of the students’ ability to be emotionally resilient in this increasingly tumultuous time.
Kimberly Daniels
Kimberly M. Daniels is the Mindfulness Director at P.S. 41 (The Greenwich Village School) in New York City.
Kimberly holds a Master’s degree in Psychology, as well as a Certification in School Counseling. She has served as a School Counselor for over 15 years in New York City public schools. Additionally, Kimberly is a Board Certified Holistic Health Coach and the founder of Wellness by Kimberly, a Holistic Wellness and Mindset Coaching practice that transforms the lives of women through a combination of mindfulness work, practical psychology, and nutritional counseling. She has an unwavering commitment to justice and social emotional learning, as well as a passion for helping women and children become empowered in their lives through the practice of mindfulness.
Kimberly has been practicing yoga and meditation since she moved to NYC in 2000, when she stumbled into the Dharma Mittra yoga studio. She now attempts to use her mindfulness techniques to parent her two year old son and hopes to continue strengthening her skills in this new domain.
Laura Lenz
Laura Lenz (she/her) is a Mindfulness Director at Riverside Central Elementary School in Rochester, Minnesota.
She has been a public school teacher for 27 years, primarily teaching English to multilingual students, first in the Twin Cities area, and for the last fourteen years in Rochester Public Schools. For the last three years, Laura has served as an instructional coach and mentor to first-year and student teachers.
In 2016, Laura started teaching mindfulness to her middle school refugee and immigrant students at the Newcomer Center in Rochester. She found it to be so transformative for herself and her students that she has continued to teach mindfulness to students and also expanded to offering mindfulness to educators.
Laura is passionate about making mindfulness practices and concepts accessible to everyone in the community. She views mindfulness as a relationship-builder, enhancing inner knowledge, peace, and confidence as well as improving connections with others. Laura believes mindfulness is a vehicle for making the social change that leads to everyone in the community feeling a sense of belonging, love, and joy.
She has two young adult children and lives in Rochester, Minnesota with her husband, cat, and dog.
Lucy MacGregor
Lucy MacGregor is the Mindfulness Director at Mountain City Public Montessori in Asheville, North Carolina.
She has worked in educational and therapeutic spaces with young people for over 30 years. After engaging with students across a wide variety of ages and having children of her own, she developed a strong focus on early childhood education – both as classroom teacher and educational leader. Lucy was introduced to mindfulness at a pivotal time in her life, as a middle schooler and new immigrant to the United States. The seed of mindfulness practice developed into a steady resource that accompanied her into adulthood and became a foundation of her work as an educator.
Through the years, Lucy has focused on cultivating spaces for shared leadership and co-learning in schools, spaces in which the vitality and wisdom inherent within each person is recognized, grows and transforms in relationship with others, and catalyzes transformative learning and action around a common purpose. She is a teacher at Mountain City Public Montessori, a Program Facilitator at Mindful Schools, and is a co-founder of Design to Connect, LLC, an educational consulting organization, that assists schools in their efforts in skillful, integrated, and sustainable schoolwide implementation of mindfulness and peace education practices.
Lucy holds a Master’s Degree in Education, Mindfulness for Educators, through Antioch University, an Early Childhood Montessori credential through The Center for Guided Montessori Studies, and a B.A in Sociology through Oglethorpe University. She is a teacher at Mountain City Public Montessori in Asheville, North Carolina and a program facilitator for Mindful Schools. Lucy is mom to two teenage children, Elijah and Rowan, and many furry animal friends. She very much enjoys being in nature, gardening, painting, and adventures.
Shawana Ward
Shawana Ward is an author and Mindfulness Director at Hampton University. Shawana graduated from Old Dominion University in 2014. After obtaining her Psychology degree, Shawana went on to further her education through enrichment and state certifications working in the counseling and mental health field for almost 10 years. After having her own son and creating her own mindfulness and wellness practices, she then began education on chakra healing, alternative and holistic services, and mindfulness based stress reduction.
Since graduating, Shawana has founded a nonprofit, Extract Attract Inc that assists youth, adolescents, and emerging adults develop the confidence and skills they need to be successful individuals in the community. In 2020 she created and launched her wellness community, “The Self Love Song,” incorporating mindfulness, movement, and music to create safe and inclusive spaces for healing and well-being, specifically for BIPOC. Between the two entities Shawana has reached several K-12 public and private schools, created mindfulness workshops up and down the east coast, and facilitated community and workplace wellness sessions all over the DMV area. Shawana believes that healthy environments create healthy individuals and in turn, creates healthy communities motivating her to continue to serve via guided meditation, yoga practice, shadow-work, and mindfulness based practices.
Other Partners Have Included
Nina Bryce
Carrington Kernodle Epperson
Marco MooYoung
Enrique Collazo
Jennifer Maddox
Leadership
Ben Painter
Ben Painter (he/him) is a Co-Founder and Partner at WholeSchool Mindfulness. Recognized as a “Rising Voice” of mindfulness by Mindful.org, Ben is dedicated to supporting the mindfulness in schools movement. He collaboratively engages with WholeSchool’s community of supporters, including Mindfulness Directors, staff, educators, philanthropists, and the Board, to cultivate this vision.
During his high school years, Ben had the distinct privilege of engaging in mindfulness classes led by Mindfulness Director Doug Worthen. This foundational experience profoundly influenced his personal and professional trajectory, allowing him to harness meditation as a tool for personal growth and community enrichment.
Before his role at WholeSchool Mindfulness, Ben worked as an Investor Relations Associate at New Profit, a pioneering venture philanthropy firm focused on breaking down barriers to opportunity in the U.S.
He graduated from Bowdoin with a B.A. in Government and Legal Studies, where he served as the Vice President of the Student Body and co-founded the Mindfulness Club.
Ben’s journey in mindfulness also includes several meditation retreats, highlighted by his experiences at the Drupa Drong monastery in Northern Nepal.
Jenna Spencer
Jenna Spencer (she/her) is a Partner at WholeSchool Mindfulness. Jenna works in partnership with our diverse community of stakeholders- schools, educators, and investment partners- to re-imagine and co-construct a more equitable and liberatory education system through mindfulness.
Jenna began her career as a high school English teacher with Providence Public Schools, where she had the privilege of working with the most brilliant group of young people. She is a fierce advocate for building systems that are student, educator, and family informed, responsive, and led and that center community power, justice, and healing.
Prior to her work at WholeSchool Mindfulness, Jenna was as an Investor Relations Manager with New Profit on the Education and Inclusive Impact teams. In this role, she worked closely with the investor community, building meaningful partnerships and targeted engagement opportunities, while working to catalyze the flow of dollars and capacity building supports to Black, Latinx, and Indigenous social impact leaders. Prior to her work with New Profit, Jenna was the Development Manager at DC Public Education Fund, a nonprofit organization and the sole philanthropic partner of DC Public Schools.
Jenna is a Teach for America alum, has an Ed.M. in Education Policy and Management from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and a B.A. in Africana Studies and Performance Studies from Brown University.
Marc Waxman
Marc Waxman (he/him) is a Co-Founder and Partner at WholeSchool – meaning, he has the pleasure to work with an amazing group of Mindfulness Directors, board members, WholeSchool staff, and staff of WholeSchool’s Partner Schools to transform school communities through the power of mindfulness. Marc has close to 25 years of professional experience in education, including becoming a National Board-Certified Teacher, and over 20 years of experience in non-profit development and management. He has been practicing mindfulness for many years and has completed a year-long mindfulness teacher training program. Marc co-founded and co-led several progressive urban charter schools in New York City and Denver, where, in addition to his teaching and administrative responsibilities, Marc was accountable for board development, fundraising, business plan development, fiscal oversight, program design, and project management. As a school leader, Marc promoted opportunities for teachers to explore the power of mindfulness for themselves and their students. Additionally, Marc is a Certified ChiRunning Instructor and regularly supports runners in enhancing their running experience through mindfulness.
Selena La'Chelle Collazo
Selena La’Chelle Collazo (she/her) is a Partner at WholeSchool Mindfulness, stewarding Mindfulness Director Recruitment & Selection to identify those with a demonstrated commitment to working at the intersection of education, justice, and mindfulness.
Selena holds degrees from the University of California (B.A., Psychology), Endicott College (M.Ed., International Education), Alliant International University (M.A., Counseling Psychology), and Brown University (A.M. & Ph.D., Theatre Arts & Performance Studies).
Before joining WholeSchool Mindfulness, Selena served as a K-12 educator in international schools, a youth speaker for the National Student Leadership Conference, and a founding member of both the Inward Bound Mindfulness Education (iBme) Communities of Color Leadership Team and the iBme Systems Committee. Through Pramana Wellness, Selena offers bilingual (English & Spanish), BIPOC & LGBTQIA+ affirming liberation and wellness practices including guided journaling sessions, mindfulness meditation training, narrative-based psychotherapy, yoga asana, and yoga nidra.
Staff & Advisors
Charisse Minerva
Charisse Minerva is Consultant at WholeSchool Mindfulness, stewarding Community & Professional Development. She brings to the Mindfulness arena a background in Arts, Science, Youth and Community Development. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Medical Technology from Medical College of VA MCV/ VCU, and a master’s in performance studies with a concentration in Dance Anthropology from NYU Tisch School of the Arts. For 16 Years Charisse served as Director of a multiple award winning Performing Arts Academy which was an integral component of a Community Development Organization. She then spent 7 years designing and implementing a K-12 Mindfulness curriculum at Friends School, VA Beach, VA. Minerva then designed and continues to facilitate a community-based Dance, Drum & Mediation (DDM) program to introduce Mindfulness tools to communities not versed in Mindfulness pedagogy. Charisse has been in schools, corporate offices, detention centers, elite academies, counseling programs, health care facilities and college programs. She served as core faculty for the first two cohorts of the Inward Bound Mindfulness Education (iBme) Yearlong Teacher Training program and is presently a guest presenter. She worked with the Dalai Lama Project of University of VA Contemplative Science Center and does workshops, and conferences throughout the United States and abroad. She considers herself a 21 st century Griot, focusing on community building, using the ancient tools of creativity, culture, and contemplation.
“I believe Contemplative Practices are a human capacity that we have begun to reawaken. Its such a priceless gift to realize in these challenging and fruitful times.”
Jim Roche
Jim Roche, C.P.A., M.B.A. serves as a part-time CFO for WholeSchool Mindfulness. With over two decades of experience, Jim Roche has consistently demonstrated the importance of aligning operational success with sound financial practices. Serving as the principal of Robust Alternatives, Jim offers a practical approach to helping businesses identify, capture, and monitor their progress through essential metrics, both financial and non-financial. His work predominantly supports companies in growth or transformative stages, ensuring they’re set on a path of sustainable financial management. Beyond consulting, Jim brings depth in tax planning, assisting both businesses and individuals in structuring for optimal outcomes.
He earned his Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and an MBA from Babson Graduate School of Business. Jim is an engaged member of the American Institute for Certified Public Accountants and the Massachusetts Society for Certified Public Accountants. His wide range of experiences, from serving as a part-time CFO to advising on business strategies, underscores his valuable contribution to the WholeSchool Mindfulness community.
Jon Luke Tittmann
Bio coming soon!
Research & Program Evaluation
Ashley Gaskew
Bio coming soon!
Becky Acabchuk
Becky Acabchuk has a PhD in Physiology and Neurobiology and is consulting with WholeSchool in conducting research on its mindfulness programs across five school sites. Becky is a Post-Doctoral Research Associate at the University of Connecticut, where she holds a joint appointment in the Institute for Collaboration on Health, Intervention, and Policy and the Department of Psychological Sciences. Her research focuses on evaluating the mental and physical health benefits of yoga and mindfulness meditation, with a special interest in promoting scalability and acceptability of evidence-based mindfulness programs across diverse populations. Becky specializes in conducting systematic reviews and meta-analyses, and recently completed a randomized controlled trial comparing mindfulness tools to assist students in developing a meditation practice to self-manage stress.
Becky leads mindfulness workshops locally and internationally, tailored for a wide variety of audiences (e.g., schools, addiction groups, sport teams, workplace settings and more), she has been teaching meditation, yoga and o
ther wellness classes in the private sector for 15 years. Becky is also an Editorial Associate for two scientific journals, Social Science & Medicine, and Psychological Bulletin. Previously, she worked as an adjunct Professor at Connecticut College and UConn, where she taught the Neuroscience of Meditation and Health Psychology.
James 'Lamar' Foster
James “Lamar” Foster, Ph.D., is a research and data professional with over 10 years of experience working cross-functionally to tell stories with data. He has experience working with large unstructured and structured data sets (over 1 TB) and survey data for evaluation purposes. He uses qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches to answer questions at the intersection of race, place, policy, and practice. In particular, his research seeks to understand how local, state, and federal policies mediate the actions of school leaders striving to make their schools more equitable when attending to the well-being of students marginalized due to their race, gender, economic status, and other social axes of difference.
He has presented and published his research at prestigious conferences and journals, such as the American Educational Research Association, the University Council for Educational Administration, Educational Administration Quarterly, and Theory into Practice. He has held research and data positions at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the University of Washington eScience Institute, The Center for Evaluation and Research for STEM Equity at the University of Washington, and more.
Lamar holds degrees from The Pennsylvania State University (B.S. in economics), Duquesne University (M.S.Ed. in Child Psychology and Program Evaluation), and the University of Washington (Ph.D. in Education Policy, Organizations, and Leadership). Lamar enjoys going outdoors, reading, writing, learning about horology, and watching Manchester United F.C. in his free time.
Board
Ashley Williams
Ashley Williams (she/her) is a Mindfulness Director at the Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School in Richmond, Virginia.
She is a MS, C-IAYT certified Yoga Therapist and Mindfulness Educator with 12 years of experience in the fields of education, behavioral and mental health and community programming in Richmond, VA.
As a builder and weaver, Ashley bridges mindfulness, diversity, wellness and inclusion on micro and macro-levels to achieve equitable, socially stable and conscious spaces for individual and collective care. She is the Founder of BareSOUL Yoga & Wellness, a community-based organization created to offer accessible yoga offerings. Ashley is also the founder of Mindful on Life and Mindfulness and Movement, two curriculum-based programs dedicated to transforming community through the practice of mindfulness education.
She is full of inspiration, light and experience to guide efforts in creating spaces for people of all ages and backgrounds to be educated and empowered through the practice of awareness. Ashley is a dog mom, an outdoor explorer and loves all things food-related.
Ben Painter
Ben Painter (he/him) is a Co-Founder and Partner at WholeSchool Mindfulness. Recognized as a “Rising Voice” of mindfulness by Mindful.org, Ben is dedicated to supporting the mindfulness in schools movement. He collaboratively engages with WholeSchool’s community of supporters, including Mindfulness Directors, staff, educators, philanthropists, and the Board, to cultivate this vision.
During his high school years, Ben had the distinct privilege of engaging in mindfulness classes led by Mindfulness Director Doug Worthen. This foundational experience profoundly influenced his personal and professional trajectory, allowing him to harness meditation as a tool for personal growth and community enrichment.
Before his role at WholeSchool Mindfulness, Ben worked as an Investor Relations Associate at New Profit, a pioneering venture philanthropy firm focused on breaking down barriers to opportunity in the U.S.
He graduated from Bowdoin with a B.A. in Government and Legal Studies, where he served as the Vice President of the Student Body and co-founded the Mindfulness Club.
Ben’s journey in mindfulness also includes several meditation retreats, highlighted by his experiences at the Drupa Drong monastery in Northern Nepal.
Doug Worthen
Doug Worthen (he/him) is a Co-Founder of WholeSchool and is the Founder and Director of Mindfulness Programs at the Middlesex School in Concord, Massachusetts. Since 2010 he has been supporting and educating the Middlesex School community (students, staff, parents, and alumni) in mindfulness. Doug began practicing mindfulness meditation in 1999 as a member of the University of Virginia national championship lacrosse team and has been a dedicated practitioner ever since. Living through two bouts of lymphoma, including a bone marrow transplant in 2007, Doug has also experienced how supportive mindfulness can be when living with illness. Doug has attended many week- and month-long mindfulness retreats, led and attended a variety of teacher trainings, and is dedicated to supporting other schools in creating full-time staff positions in mindfulness.
Erika Mills
Erika Mills (she/her) serves as a Board Member of WholeSchool. Additionally, she is the Director of Financial Aid and Associate Director of Admissions at Middlesex School in Concord, Massachusetts, where she also serves as an English teacher, head of house, and varsity rowing coach. She co-teaches a class on Mindfulness in Literature with Doug Worthen, with whom Erika has been practicing mindfulness since 2010. Erika has been coaching, teaching, and working with teenagers since she graduated from Connecticut College in 2003. Prior to Middlesex, Erika worked at Choate Rosemary Hall and Harvard Business School, where she co-authored a number of business cases and later earned her M.B.A. She serves on the board of Cirtronics Corporation in New Hampshire, volunteers with Concord Prison Outreach, and lives in Concord with her family.
Raed Khawaja
Raed Khawaja (he/him) serves as a Board Member of WholeSchool Mindfulness.
Raed is the CEO and Co-Founder at Open, a mindfulness studio designing a new way to practice wellbeing, together. Inspired by his love for music, fascination with art and architecture, and a practice of prayer cultivated while growing up Muslim, Raed began building Open in 2018 with a vision to amplify the benefits of meditation through community. With career foundations in global consumer goods and technology consulting, he first focused his strategic expertise on crafting the Open breathwork experience as the mindfulness studio’s inaugural teacher. Raed seeks to inspire millions to find presence and connection with themselves and with each other through Open.