Roshi Joan Halifax, Ph.D., is a Buddhist teacher, Zen priest, anthropologist, and pioneer in the field of end-of-life care. She is Founder, Abbot, and Head Teacher of Upaya Institute and Zen Center in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She received her Ph.D. in medical anthropology in 1973 and has lectured on the subject of death and dying at many academic institutions and medical centers around the world. She received a National Science Foundation Fellowship in Visual Anthropology, was an Honorary Research Fellow in Medical Ethnobotany at Harvard University, and was a Distinguished Visiting Scholar at the Library of Congress.

Ryan Wolf is the Physical Wellbeing Lead at Gallup. He leads Gallup’s physical health and wellbeing initiatives through strategic partnerships with Gallup’s research team, benefits department, and external medical and wellness partners. He administers “In The Zone,” Gallup’s physical wellbeing program, which provides Gallup associates, spouses and family members with opportunities to pursue greater wellbeing by participating in health initiatives and educational challenges. He works closely with Gallup fitness center staff who coach and consult Gallup associates for improved and measurable health outcomes.

Stephen utilizes techniques from his training and experience in somatic psychology, human development, interpersonal dynamics, and embodied spirituality. Stephen also works as the EAP Consultant for Marin / Sonoma Kaiser Permanente, supporting the physicians, nurses, leaders, and teams by offering brief psychotherapy, leadership coaching, and group programs. Many years prior he held consulting and business development positions at Ernst & Young and Watson Wyatt Worldwide. Stephen received his Bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, studying Organizational Development, Psychology, and Modern Literature and a Master's degree from the California Institute of Integral Studies, studying Body-Mind Psychotherapy, Group Dynamics, and Eastern Spirituality. Stephen loves living in Sonoma County in Northern California and embraces the joys and growth in family life.

Phyllis Stewart Pires, MA, Senior Director of WorLlife Strategy at Stanford, designs and manages programs that support the Stanford community in navigating the competing demands of work, study, personal and family lives. These include a large system of early education programs, life-cycle support services and peer-mentor circles leveraging original worklife integraton content. She has worked with the Clayman Institute for Gender Research on a variety of women’s leadership and diversity initiatives and was selcted as a 2016-17 Beyond Bias Fellow. Phyllis founded the award-winning Family Services programs at Cisco and her career in the technology sector included a variety of HR, communications, and diversity roles, including serving as the Global Head of Diversity of SAP.

Bryan Bohman is Chief Medical Officer for University HealthCare Alliance (UHA), Stanford’s community-based medical foundation. He also serves as Associate Chief Medical Officer at Stanford Health Care (SHC). At the School of Medicine, his roles include Associate Dean for Stanford Medicine Partners, Clinical Professor of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Co-Director of the Clinical Effectiveness Leadership Training (CELT) program and Senior Advisor to the WellMD Center. Dr. Bohman trained at Stanford in internal medicine and anesthesiology. After two decades of clinical practice in community-based anesthesiology, he served as SHC Chief of Staff from 2008-2011. As Chief of Staff, Dr. Bohman founded Stanford’s wellness committee and subsequently shepherded the founding of its WellMD Center in 2015, serving as the Center’s interim Director until 2017. The Center’s aim is to advance faculty, trainee and care team wellbeing across Stanford Medicine while also serving as an international leader of scholarship in a field that is increasingly vital to the future of medicine. Dr. Bohman’s primary areas of interest include population health management and the relationships between clinician wellness, quality improvement and healthcare system performance.

Becky Diamond’s search for the story has taken her around the world to war zones in Iraq and Afghanistan to presidential debates and into living rooms of everyday people. Whether it’s local news or a complex military operation, the goal is always the same: Becky looks for the heart of the story — to shine light on the human experience. Drawing on her award-winning journalistic skills and wide-ranging experience, Becky breaks down the video production process into easy-to-follow steps to help storytellers at any level create newsworthy content that resonates.

Dr. Noémie Le Pertel is a licensed provider of East Asian medicine and offers acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine, Eastern integrative nutrition, qi gong, reiki, color therapy, cranial sacral, and neuro-muscular therapy. Dr. Le Pertel serves as the staff center acupuncturist in primary care at Columbia University Medical Center and holds a private practice in Columbus Circle/Lincoln Center. She has been teaching yoga and meditation in the context of personal wellbeing, performance and leadership since 1998. Dr. Le Pertel has consulted for a variety of organizations including Ireland's Health Service Executive (Irish Government) for Healthy Ireland, Columbia Women in Business, Columbia Women's Alumni group, AppNexus, Exubrancy, Mount Sinai Beth Israel's Department of Integrative Medicine, and Columbia University Center for Family and Community Medicine, and more. She currently offers individualized executive coaching, leadership development and facilitation for enhanced performance and wellbeing and is working on a second doctorate in Adult Learning and Leadership at Columbia University.

Keynote speaker Tony Drees is the Transition Expert, a Warrior, a Survivor, an Invincible Champion of Life, an Army Veteran, a Purple Heart Recipient, an Amputee, a Teacher, and a Father. Drawing upon his triumphs and lessons as a warrior and survivor, Tony developed a powerful system using common language to help anyone elevate their survival potential and make lasting changes with just three simple rules: No Lies, No Excuses, and Never Quit. Tony lives in Colorado and speaks professionally at schools, corporate events, veterans benefits, on TV and the radio. He stands on his only leg to inspire his audiences when giving his guiding ‘3 Rules To Live By’ presentations.

Lakiba was certified by Stanford’s Center for Compassion & Altruism Research & Education (CCARE) in 2014, to teach Compassion Cultivation Training (CCT) workshops. Working with the Compassion Institute, Lakiba develops and delivers public workshops, including culturally relevant specialized workshops for a range of clients. In addition to Stanford’s CCARE program, Lakiba has trained with the Center for Mindful Self-Compassion, Mindful Schools, Mission Be, The Greater Good of U.C. Berkeley, The Center for Mind-Body Medicine, The Dalai Lama Center for Ethics & Transformative Values @ MIT, Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute (SIYLI) and Stanford’s Designing Your Life for Women (DYL). Lakiba is a Senior Adjunct Professor at Menlo College and Notre Dame de Namur University. She holds a B.A. in Creative Arts, an M.A. in Organizational Development, and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Psychology with a specialization in Consciousness, Spirituality & Integrated Health.

As families prepare for a new school year in which distance learning continues, how can caregivers support their young ones' learning while establishing a daily routine and marking progress (even on those not-so-good days)? Join us for a discussion and Q&A with Jelena Obradović, associate professor at Stanford Graduate School of Education and director of the Stanford Project on Adaptation and Resilience in Kids (SPARK). Jelena will offer practical suggestions for families with children in kindergarten through elementary school, including tips for setting up a welcoming learning space at home and cultivating a sense of closeness and connection.

Wondering what you'll do when your regular caregiver is unavailable or an adult relative needs help around the house?  Are you looking for a nanny, sitter, housekeeper, full-time child care, tutoring and academic support, or even pet care?

EMMA SEPPÄLÄ, Ph.D, is Science Director of Stanford University’s Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education and the author of The Happiness Track (HarperOne, 2016). She is Co-Director of the Yale College Emotional Intelligence Project at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, and Faculty Director of the Yale School of Management’s Women’s Leadership Program. She consults with Fortune 500 leaders and employees on building a positive organization. She has spoken at TedX Sacramento, TEDx Hayward, and companies like Google, Apple, Facebook, Bain & Co, Ernst & Young, and a United States Congressional Hearing. Her articles have been featured in Harvard Business Review, The Washington Post, QUARTZ, Business Insider, Stanford Medicine, Psychology Today, Fast Company, Forbes, Huffington Post, MindBodyGreen, Greater Good Science Center, and Scientific American Mind. She is the founder and editor-in-chief of Fulfillment Daily, a popular news site dedicated to the science of happiness.

Amaranatho started his working life as a technical support manager and this took him on a transformational journey from getting a degree in AI, to world explorer and spending 15 years as a Buddhist monk. He has spent long periods of time alone, in isolation and dealing with uncertainty. As a mindfulness-based executive and agile mindset coach, scrum master, he supports executives, leaders, and teams to stay calm and connected in a complex situation. He developed the PlayfulMonk approach to awaken people and organization to their true potential. Amaranatho is currently accrediting to be a coaching supervisor.

Successfully combining a clean, sweet Southern comedy style with keen New York savvy, Karith Foster offers a unique, refreshing look at life in general and now – marriage new motherhood. Using her disarming wit and a keen understanding of our shared experiences, Karith engages her listeners in matters ranging from diversity and bullying to intense life changes and everyday relationships. Drawing from her extensive travels and experience in the corporate and entertainment worlds, Karith uses humor to accentuate the positive and inspire her audience. A graduate of Stephens College (Missouri), who studied at St. Peter’s College, Oxford, Karith has forged the waters of being the only source of diversity in myriad situations to navigating the formidable world of radio, television, and stand up comedy. The result is a view of the world that anything is possible with belief in your abilities and the power of laughter.

Mark J Lindquist's life and career are two of the most awe-inspiring stories you have ever heard. The moment your people have the opportunity to listen to this journey, they will come to two conclusions: 1) I can and will do more with my life and career, and 2) There are simply no more valid excuses - I must achieve what I was put on earth to achieve. ​ Mark is a person who believes that if one human being can do a thing, then you can too. He started life in an orphanage in Seoul, South Korea, was adopted and was brought to America at the age of 8 months and raised on a farm in rural Minnesota. Performing was in his blood from a young age and the culminating moment of his teenage years came when he was given the opportunity to speak on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial for the AmeriCorps graduating class of 2000. Since launching his motivational speaking firm (Mark J Lindquist Motivational Speaking and Entertainment) and his consulting firm (Lindquist and Associates), he has had the opportunity to speak for the largest companies in America (McDonald's, Walmart, Starbucks, IBM), sing for the largest crowds in America (NFL, NBA, MLB, NCAA), and perform for the President of the United States of America. He is widely known in the professional speaking industry as the fastest-growing motivational speaker in America, having been invited to deliver guest lectures to over 1500 aspiring and professional speakers, including many Hall of Fame Speakers. Mark is a United States Air Force and Afghanistan War Veteran. He currently lives in Denver, Colorado.​

Welcome! You are invited to join a meeting: Navigating School in Uncertain Times. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the meeting. Many families are concerned about the impact of remote and hybrid learning on their child’s academic journey. Denise Pope, PhD, senior lecturer, Stanford University Graduate School of Education will offer practical tips for how families can best support student well-being and engagement during these uncertain times. This webinar is designed for families with students in Pre-K through Grade 5. A second webinar, at a TBD date in January, will focus on families with students in grades 6-12. There will be Q&A at the end of both webinars.