Samara Anderson. Samara is an Attorney licensed in both Vermont and New York, 200-hour Registered Yoga Teacher becoming a 500-hour Certified Yoga MedicineTM Instructor, MBSR Instructor-In-Training, and a social entrepreneur teaching mindfulness to stressed professionals.  Her long-term goal is to create a non-profit community wellness farm in Vermont, using therapeutic animals, nature and mindfulness to increase the well-being of all beings (because the health of humans is intimately connected to the well-being of the plant). She discovered yoga and meditation in 2003 when she graduated from Vermont Law School and was in a stressful and busy commercial litigation law firm based in New York City.  Her legal work has evolved from complex commercial litigation in New York to public service with the State of Vermont, initially as an Assistant Attorney General, an in-house legal and policy advisor for the State of Vermont Agency of Human Services, and presently in a technical compliance and process improvement role at State of Vermont Department of Children and Families.  Her mindfulness and wellness practice has deepened over the past eleven years, culminating in completing her first 200-hour yoga teacher training in 2013 and, in 2021, completing her 500-hour Yoga MedicineTM teaching certification.  Since 2016, Samara has combined her mindfulness practices with the stressful practice of law in her Mindful Practices workshops to reduce stress and increase productivity and happiness. Attorneys and non-attorneys alike exclaim that they have never felt so relaxed and focused at the same time: two qualities that make for highly effective attorneys and humans.  Her mindfulness teachings for lawyers qualify for the Wellness Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credits, so participants in her workshops and sessions are able to receive CLE credits towards their state licensing requirements. Learn more about Samara here.

Maria Bries. Maria is an attorney with McCauley Lyman LLC where she represents developers, investors and lenders in various infrastructure transactions pertaining to project development and finance in the renewable energy sector. Maria is also a certified yoga and meditation teacher, with a focus on mindful self-compassion. Maria is a recent graduate of the Mindfulness Meditation Certification Program with Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield through the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley. She is also actively involved in Prairie State Legal Services, a legal aid organization servicing 36 counties in northern Illinois. Through her business, Mindful Living with Maria, LLC, she combines nutritional and wellness coaching along with contemplative practices to support individuals with chronic autoimmune and mental health conditions. She resides in Naperville, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, where she homeschooled her two children.

Jeffrey Bunn. Jeff is a recently retired lawyer, living in the suburbs of Chicago. After leaving the practice, he founded The Mindful Law Coaching and Consulting Group, which counsels and consults law firms in the design and implementation of workplace well-being programs. He has also taught/led meditation classes at several local yoga studios, as well as the Chicago Botanic Garden. You can learn more about Jeff and his organization here: The Mindful Law Coaching & Consulting Group LLC.

Laurie Cappello. Laurie is the Executive Director of MILS, Chapter Division & Communications Division Chair, and Co-Chair of the New England Chapter. She recently retired from her role as the Director of Well-Being at Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, PC, an AmLaw 100 Firm, where she co-created and managed "Mintz Mindfulness – Practicing Law, Practicing Mindfulness," a core component of the Mintz well-being program. Laurie is completing her Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) teacher training.

Jill Carnell. Jill is an attorney who is dedicated to living a more contemplative life. As a longtime volunteer of the Indiana Judges and Lawyers Assistance Program, Jill has now turned her professional attention to understanding, advocating for, and supporting the well-being of all who serve in the legal profession. During her Master of Arts study, she was immersed in emerging research regarding the impact of mindfulness practices on stress reduction, enhanced brain function, emotional regulation, and our innate capacity for compassion. Her thesis, An Introduction to the Brahmavihāras: For Lawyers, Law Students, & Judicial Officers, was published in September 2021. To learn more about Jill and her work, visit https://www.thought-kitchen.com.

Chapin Cimino. Chapin is a Professor of Law at Drexel University Kline School of Law and the co-chair of the Mindfulness in Law Society. At Drexel, Chapin has taught contemplative practices to students, faculty and staff since completing Warrior One’s Mindfulness in Law Teacher Training in 2018. She has been a student of the dharma herself since 2012, and will always be. Learn more about Chapin here.

Brendan Cournane. Brendan is a semi-retired lawyer whose practice focuses on public finance law. He has held positions in both the public and private sectors. Brendan has practiced mindfulness techniques for over 30 years blending exercise programs (he’s run 100 marathons around the world) and mindfulness. He is a Certified Professional Coach (CPC) and in his role as a professional development coach Brendan collaborates with professionals facing burnout and malaise in their professional and personal lives. His mindfulness practice combines breathing, meditation, exercise and gratitude for living one day at a time. Read more about Brendan here.

Nina Farber. Nina, a former New York City litigator and legal writing professor, is the Director of Academic Success at Boston College Law School and the co-chair of the MILS Academic Division. She is also a trained Koru Mindfulness Instructor, an RYT® 200 certified yoga instructor, and is training with the Mindfulness Center at Brown University to teach Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction. She is fully certified as Koru Mindfulness instructor and currently teaches Koru Mindfulness courses. Nina also leads meditation groups at Boston College Law School and has taught introductory workshops on mindfulness in the Boston area. You can read more about Nina here.

Brenda Fingold. Brenda is a Certified Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction teacher who has directed workplace mindfulness programs at the mindfulness centers at Brown University and UMass Medical School. Previously, she spent 17 years as a litigator and training partner at the law firm Hale and Dorr (now WilmerHale). She is a co-chair of the Mindfulness in Law Society New England Chapter. Learn more about Brenda here: https://brendafingold.com/about/

Teresa Gregersen. Teresa is a paralegal and educator, is trained in mental health counseling, and has a master’s degree in contemplative psychotherapy and Buddhist psychology. She is based in the Chicago area. She has been a mindfulness meditation instructor for over 7 years and organizes mindfulness meditation groups within business organizations. Teresa is passionate about social justice advocacy and teaches on cultural competence and race, bias, and ethnicity within the legal profession. She founded Maitri Bridge Consulting to help equip attorneys with tools and resources to support their mental health and well-being and ultimately better serve clients from marginalized and vulnerable populations.

Lynn Hogewood. Lynn is a lawyer in Alabama and, along with teaching several courses, serves as the Director of the Academic Success Program at Cumberland School of Law. She has been incorporating mindfulness moments into the classes she teaches as well as hosting mindful sits and teaching mindfulness workshops and strategies for academic success. Lynn started her journey with mindfulness 10 years ago. She has her 200-hr Yoga Teacher Certification through LifePower Yoga and is certified in Ziva Meditation. She is also a certified teacher in Koru Mindfulness.  Lynn completed here MA in Educational Psychology to better combine learning science with mindfulness-based practices for academic success.  She will be pursuing a doctoral degree to study more about learning in law school and contemplative and mindful practices that support learning and career satisfaction.  Lastly, Lynn has founded and is building a nonprofit organization, the Contemplative and Mindful Education Center of Alabama. Read more about Lynn’s role at Cumberland here.

Emily Hornsby. Emily is an attorney with Morris Haynes law firm in Birmingham, Alabama. She represents injured people in civil cases involving product liability, personal injury and wrongful death. Emily is in her second year of a two year mindfulness meditation teacher certification program taught by Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach. Read more about Emily here.

Steve Hornsby. Steve has served for 39 years as a trial lawyer, judge, senior state government official, health care executive, consultant and coach. At the age of sixteen, Steve undertook a meditation practice, which began a lifelong study of human consciousness, brain science and spirituality. He is a certified leadership and life coach focusing on legal, healthcare and government service professionals. He holds dual certifications in leadership and life coaching from Coach for Life (2018), is a trained Circle Process facilitator (2009), and a graduate of the Silva Method mindfulness training (1970).

Ari Kaplan. Ari is a Toronto lawyer and dispute mediator pursuing his PhD in law and emotion studies at Western University in London Ontario. He is a certified mindfulness meditation instructor, trained by Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield. His Toronto Method Mindfulness Handbook is forthcoming (Friesen Press, 2023).

Stephanie Lewis. In addition to being a government attorney, Stephanie is a national board certified (NBC-HWC) health and wellness coach, certified mindfulness instructor, and Qigong practice leader. She began practicing mindfulness a decade ago and has received teaching certifications from the Mindfulness Center in Bethesda, Maryland, and WarriorOne’s Mindfulness in Law Teacher Training. She has also completed the MBSR Teacher Training Intensive. She is a member of the MILS Board of Directors. Learn more about Stephanie here: https://livewellflow.com

Rosario (Rosi) Lozada. Rosi is trained as a mindfulness facilitator with UCLA’s Mindfulness Awareness Research Center at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior. A professor at FIU College of Law, Rosi is engaged in well-being initiatives nationally and locally. She serves as 2021 Chair of the AALS Section on Balance in Legal Education. At FIU, Rosi collaborates with the Center for the Advancement of Teaching to further Contemplative Practices in Education. Rosi also co-facilitates and leads (a) law student reading groups on identity, well-being and resilience; and (ii) faculty reading groups on social change, racial justice, and mindfulness. Born in Miraflores, Peru, Lozada is a native Spanish speaker. You can read more about Rosi here.

Rhonda Magee.  Rhonda is a Professor of Law at the University of San Francisco and an internationally-recognized thought and practice leader focused on integrating mindfulness into higher education, law and social change work.  A student of a variety of Buddhist and other wisdom teachers, she trained as a mindfulness teacher through the Oasis Teacher Training Institute of the University of Massachusetts Center for Mindfulness.  She teachers mindfulness-based interventions, awareness, and compassion practices from a range of traditions.  Rhonda is presently serving on the ABA’s Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs and is focusing her work on the effort to incorporate wellness and mental health support more structurally into Law Schools and Legal Education, especially in view of the link between those and anti-racism, diversity and inclusion.  Her first book, “The Inner Work of Racial Justice:  Healing Ourselves and Transforming Our Communities Through Mindfulness,” is now available through TarcherPerigee, a member of the Penguin Random House Group.  You can read more about Rhonda here:  

https://www.rhondavmagee.com/; https://www.usfca.edu/law/faculty/rhonda-magee.

Joanna McCracken. Joanna is an attorney, yoga instructor, and meditation teacher. She is the founder and managing partner of the McCracken Law Firm, as well as Mind Your Business, an organization that teaches lawyers, firms, and other legal groups how to use meditation, mindfulness, and yoga techniques to overcome occupational stress and create healthier working environments. Learn more about Joanna here.

Claire E. Parsons. Claire is Of Counsel at Bricker Graydon LLP in Cincinnati, Ohio where she focuses her practice in the areas of school law, employment law, and litigation. Over the last ten years, Claire has used mindfulness practices to help manage the stress of her work and other community and family obligations. Claire has obtained certifications to teach meditation, yoga, pranayama, and compassion. Since 2018, she has shared her knowledge of mindfulness in articles and presentations for local, state, and national organizations and she currently serves on committees for her local and state bar associations relating to lawyer well-being. In 2020, Claire founded the blog, Brilliant Legal Mind, which offers instruction, practical tips, resources, and guided meditations to help lawyers and professionals learn how to bring mindfulness into their lives and law practices. Claire is also the author of the book, How to Be a Badass Lawyer: The Unexpected and Simple Guide to Less Stress and Greater Personal Development Through Mindfulness and Compassion, and the children’s book, Mommy Needs a Minute. Claire is currently enrolled in the meditation teacher program developed by Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield to begin in 2025.

Cindy Pensoneau. Cindy is the founding partner of The Pensoneau Firm, PC in Memphis, Tennessee, as well as a lawyer, mediator, coach, and yoga teacher. She has practiced law for 19 years, primarily in family law litigation, Collaborative divorce and mediation. She has practiced yoga for 22 years and received her 200-hour YTT certification in 2010 in the hatha yoga tradition. She is currently working towards her 500-hour advanced yoga teacher certification and Mindfulness meditation teacher training. She is a member of the MILS Board of Directors and works with her colleagues in Lawyer Yoga and Summa Vita to speak on the intersection of yoga and law practice. Learn more about Cindy here.

Amy Pruett. Amy is an intellectual Property and Entertainment attorney and mediator, who advises on protecting IP rights and guides clients through challenging conflicts with mediation, collaborative negotiation, and alternative dispute resolution. Amy is also passionate about wellbeing in the law, and co-founded Abunditude, LLC (www.abunditude.us) with her husband, Daniel. Their mission is to provide well-being programs and tools in demanding professions like the law (and with their 3 year old twins!). She is 500hr Yoga Alliance certified, with trainings in Yin Yoga, Pain Management, Boosting Immunity, Meditation, Coaching and more.

Sara Robertson. Sara founded LimeHorse, a professional education company - with a focus on the legal profession - offering online and in-person training in mindfulness, emotional intelligence, organizational development and peak performance. At corporate training firm, Mindful Gateway Consulting, Sara works with their team as a trainer and performance specialist. She also develops and leads courses in the Applied Specialization and Mindfulness Meditation certificate program at the University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies, where she sits on the advisory board of the AMM-MIND specialization program. She has developed and delivered training for the Law Society of Ontario, the Ontario Bar Association, Trillium Health Network, the Toronto Maple Leafs NHL Team and Toronto Marlies AHL team, as well as Canada’s Olympic and Paralympic teams. Sara also contributes as a Research Assistant with the Regulatory and Affective Dynamics (RAD) Lab at the University of Toronto, studying the effects of short duration mindfulness interventions on academic stress. Learn more about Sara here.

Scott Rogers. Scott founded and directs the University of Miami School of Law’s Mindfulness in Law Program and conducts neuroscience research exploring the efficacy of mindfulness trainings on the structure and function of the brain. He is a founding member of the Mindfulness in Law Society and has been sharing mindfulness with members of the legal profession since 1998. Read more about Scott here.

Clifford Rosky. Cliff has been practicing meditation for 18 years, and has spent more than 30 days on silent retreat. He is a member of the International Mindfulness Teachers Association, the Board of Directors of the Mindfulness in Law Society, the Executive Committee of the Balance Section of the American Association of Law Schools, and the Utah State Bar Lawyer and Judge Well-Being Committee. He has been trained as a mindfulness facilitator at UCLA's Mindfulness Awareness Research Center in the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, and is certified as a professional mindfulness teacher by the International Mindfulness Teachers Association. In 2019, Rosky began teaching a new course called Mindful Lawyering, which examines the relationship between the practice of meditation and the practice of law.

Julie Sandine. After introducing mindfulness to Vanderbilt Law students through her Supportive Practices option, Julie served on the Board of the AALS Section on Balance in Legal Education and was instrumental in creating the Section’s Mindfulness Affinity Group and its Contemplative Space, now a regular feature at its annual meeting. She then joined the effort to form the Mindfulness in Law Society and currently serves as its Secretary. You can learn more about Julie here.

Christina Sava. Christina completed a yoga teacher-training program in Coral Gables, Florida just after finishing undergrad and starting law school at the University of Miami. She thought she might have to set her passion for yoga, mindfulness, and other wellness practices aside to become a serious attorney, but, luckily, attorney wellness was a growing topic within the legal industry. At the University of Miami School of Law’s Mindfulness in Law Program Christina was able to blend mindfulness practice and philosophy with her study of law. She has since continued to present on the topic and facilitate attorney wellness programming. Currently, Christina is a regulatory compliance attorney in the Richmond, Virginia office of Troutman Pepper. As an associate attorney at a big law firm with high demands, mindfulness practice has become a pillar of Christina’s toolkit for staying sane, happy, and relatively serene.

Lori Wald. Lori practiced in the area of debtor/creditor law for about 20 years. She has been certified as a Trained Mindfulness Facilitator from the UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience & Human Behavior and is a founding board member of the Mindfulness in Law Society. In an effort to promote the goals of the National Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being, she has conducted Continuing Legal Education courses on the topic of mindfulness. In addition to lawyers, Lori has taught nursing home residents, primary and middle school students, as well as private individual groups both in person, on Zoom and on Facebook through her page, Nothing Doing. Her essays about mindfulness have been published in various places including literary journals, the Cleveland Plain Dealer, the Journal of the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association and her website, Nothing Doing Daily.

Rachel Wohl. Rachel is an attorney, mediator and mindfulness teacher. She has been practicing meditation for over 25 years, and for the past 13 years has been teaching a 2.5 day course called “Practical Mindfulness: Being Clear and Calm in the Heat of Conflict” at Pepperdine Law School Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution. She co-authored an article about this course called “Mindfulness in the Heat of Conflict: Taking STOCK,” which was published in Vol. 20 Harvard Negotiation Law Review, 121-155, 2015. The article describes a tool, “Taking STOCK,” she and Len Riskin developed and teach together to help people integrate mindful awareness into their work and lives. She teaches mindfulness to judges, lawyers and mediators in a variety of venues and currently serves on the Advisory Board of the Mindfulness in Law Society.

Ronald Wilcox: Back in the early 1990's Ron spent three summers studying, researching and interning in Japan as part of a Master's degree (combining study and research in Japan with business courses back at NYU), and then a law school summer program. More recently he completed the nine-month Mindfulness in Law Teacher Training, became an mPEAK Coach (Mindfulness, Peak Performance, Enhancement, and Knowledge), and is currently in the two-year Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program led by Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach.  Ron has been a lawyer for real people since 1995 (mostly consumer protection), is a graduate of Gerry Spence's Trial Lawyers College, and is the former Co-Chair of the National Association of Consumer Advocates.