Richie Davidson

Named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by TIME magazine, Dr Richard Davidson, PhD., is a researcher at the University of Wisconsin and a pioneer in the exciting frontier of mind-body medicine. His best-known work focuses on neuroplasticity, the capacity of the brain to develop and change throughout life. His latest book is The Emotional Life of Your Brain: How Its Unique Patterns Affect the Way You Think, Feel, and Live--and How You Can Change Them.

Rick Hanson

Rick Hanson, Ph.D., is a neuropsychologist and New York Times best-selling author. His books include Hardwiring Happiness, Buddha’s Brain, Just One Thing and Mother Nurture. Founder of the Wellspring Institute for Neuroscience and Contemplative Wisdom and on the Advisory Board of the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkley, he's been an invited speaker at Oxford, Stanford, and Harvard, and taught in meditation centers worldwide.

Richard Chambers

Dr. Richard Chambers is a clinical psychologist and internationally recognized expert in mindfulness. He has published The Art of Mindful Origami​ and two previous books, Mindful Learning and Mindful Relationships. He is regularly interviewed by mainstream media and consults for a growing number of businesses, sports clubs, healthcare organizations and educational institutions. Richard is spearheading a world-first, university-wide mindfulness initiative at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. He is also one of the developers of Smiling Mind, a free mindfulness app with over 1 million downloads.

Tenzin Palmo

Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo (born 1943) is a bhikṣuṇī in the Drukpa Lineage of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism. She is an author, teacher and founder of the Dongyu Gatsal Ling Nunnery in Himachal Pradesh, India. She is best known for being one of the very few Western yoginis trained in the East, having spent twelve years living in a remote cave in the Himalayas, three of those years in strict meditation retreat.

Tara Brach

Tara Brach is a leading Western teacher of Buddhist meditation, emotional healing and spiritual awakening. She has practiced and taught meditation for over 35 years, with an emphasis on mindfulness meditation. Tara is the senior teacher and founder of the Insight Meditation Community of Washington and author several books on meditation and spiritual awakening.

Chris Germer

Christopher Germer, PhD is a clinical psychologist specializing in mindfulness and compassion-based psychotherapy. He is a founding member of the Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy, a clinical instructor in psychology at Harvard Medical School, author of The Mindful Path to Self-Compassion, and co-editor of Mindfulness and Psychotherapy and Wisdom and Compassion in Psychotherapy: Deepening Mindfulness in Clinical Practice. Dr. Germer lectures and conducts workshops internationally on the art and science of mindful self-compassion.

Michael Merzenich

Dr. Michael Merzenich is the pioneer of neuroplasticity – the brain’s ability to change and adapt. Having published more than 150 peer reviewed articles and being bestowed in 2016 with the Kavli Prize (one of the world’s top neuroscience prizes), it’s fair to say Dr Merzenich is perhaps the most recognisable figure in brain plasticity today and contributes a breadth of knowledge to how we develop competence through experience and learning. You can read more about Dr Merzenichs’ work in his book, Soft-Wired: How the New Science of Brain Plasticity Can Change Your Life.

Michael Bunting

Michael is the founder of prominent leadership consultancy WorkSmart Australia and The Mindful Leader – an online portal for all things Mindfulness and Mindful Leadership.

He has trained and coached thousands of leaders - from CEOs to front-line corporate leaders – with a client-base that includes numerous global multinationals.

He is also the bestselling author of The Mindful Leader and A Practical Guide to Meditation, and co-author of Extraordinary Leadership in Australia and New Zealand.

Parker Palmer

Parker J. Palmer is a world-renowned writer, speaker and activist who focuses on issues in education, community, leadership, spirituality and social change. He is the Founder and Senior Partner Emeritus of the Center for Courage & Renewal, and has written nine books, including Let Your Life Speak, The Courage to Teach, A Hidden Wholeness, and Healing the Heart of Democracy. His latest book, Healing the Heart of Democracy: The Courage to Create a Politics Worthy of the Human Spirit, was chosen by Spirituality & Practice as one of the best books of 2011 on contemplation and social activism.

Timothea Goddard

Timothea Goddard is recognised as a pioneer in bringing MBSR (Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction) to Australia over the past 14 years and is certified with the Center for Mindfulness, UMass. Timothea has worked in private practice for 30 years as a psychotherapist, and educator, having trained in humanistic, psychodynamic and body-based psychotherapy. She is Director of Training with the Mindfulness Training Institute - Australia and New Zealand and in this capacity is driving excellence in the training of mindfulness teachers in the region.

Dan Siegel

An award winning educator, Dr. Siegel is a clinical professor of psychiatry at the UCLA School of Medicine and the founding co-director of the Mindful Awareness Research Center at UCLA. Dr. Siegel is also the Executive Director of the Mindsight Institute, an educational organization that focuses on how the development of mindsight in individuals, families and communities can be enhanced by examining the interface of human relationships and basic biological processes. His New York Times bestseller Mind: A Journey to the Heart of Being Human (Norton, 2016) offers a deep exploration of our mental lives as they emerge from the body and our relations to each other and the world around us.

Chantal Pierrat

Chantal is the Founder/CEO of Emerging Women & Emerging Women Live. Her mission is to empower women to lead impactful lives through transformative, female leadership.Prior to Emerging Women, Chantal served on the executive team as the VP of Sales and Marketing for Sounds True, a multimedia publishing company focused on spirituality, personal growth, and holistic living where she spearheaded the successful launch of the Wake Up Festival, Sounds True’s first annual national event with over 25 speakers and 800 attendees. Chantal is also the creator of SoulSweat™, a dynamic dance program that combines structured choreography with wild abandonment.

Stephen Porges

Stephen W. Porges is a leading neuroscientist, "Distinguished University Scientist" at the Kinsey Institute and professor in the department of psychiatry at the University of North Carolina. Prior to moving to North Carolina, Professor Porges directed the Brain-Body Center in the department of psychiatry at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He was a recipient of a National Institute of Mental Health Research Scientist Development award and was awarded a patent on a methodology to describe neural regulation of the heart.

Shauna Shapiro

Shauna L. Shapiro, PhD, is a Professor of Psychology at Santa Clara University and an internationally recognised expert in mindfulness. Dr Shapiro has recently featured at TedX with her talk "The Power of Mindfulness: What You Practice Grows Stronger" and has been featured by many media outlets, such as: Wired magazine, USA Today, Dr. Oz, the Huffington Post, Yoga Journal, and the American Psychologist.You can find out more about her work in her critically acclaimed books The Art and Science of Mindfulness and Mindful Discipline: A loving approach to setting limits and raising an emotionally intelligent child.

Roshi Joan Halifax

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. Her forthcoming book, Standing at the Edge: Finding Freedom Where Fear and Courage Meet, is to be released on May 1, 2018.

Steve Hayes

Steven C. Hayes, Ph.D, is a clinical psychologist and Nevada Foundation Professor at the University of Nevada. He is an author of 44 books, almost 600 scientific articles, the developer of Relational Frame theory and has guided its extension to Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), a popular evidence-based form of psychotherapy that uses mindfulness, acceptance and values based methods. If that wasn’t enough, Google Scholar ranks him among the top 1,500 most cited scholars in all areas of study (living or dead). His book, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Second Edition: The Process and Practice of Mindful Change, describes flexible and innovative ways to cultivate psychological flexibility.

Elizabeth Mattis Namgyel

Elizabeth Mattis-Namgyel is a Buddhist author and teacher who has studied and practiced in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition for twenty-five years. Elizabeth’s book, The Logic of Faith – A Buddhist Approach to Finding Certainty Beyond Belief & Doubt, encourages readers to experience the reciprocity at the heart of the universe.

Kate James

Kate James has spent the past sixteen years working as a coach, meditation teacher, mindfulness speaker and retreat facilitator. She is also the author of four best-selling personal development books including Believe in Yourself and Be Mindful. Kate works with clients to help them increase self-awareness, build confidence and gain clarity about their career and life direction. She has practised meditation herself for over 24 years and she now shares her meditations for free on the Insight Timer app.

Sara Lazar

With a PhD in microbiology at Harvard University, Dr. Lazar has led numerous scientific studies. Her most notable research observes changes in the brain, also known as neuroplasticity in long-term meditators under Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). Dr. Lazar’s research has been covered by numerous news organizations including The New York Times, USA Today, Time Magazine, CNN, ABC Evening News, National Public Radio, WebMD, and the Huffington Post.

Mark Nepo

Mark Nepo moved and inspired readers and seekers all over the world with his #1 New York Times bestseller The Book of Awakening. Beloved as a poet, teacher, and storyteller, Mark has been called “one of the finest spiritual guides of our time,” “a consummate storyteller,” and “an eloquent spiritual teacher.” His work is widely accessible and used by many and his books have been translated into more than twenty languages. A bestselling author, he has published eighteen books and recorded thirteen audio projects. In 2015, he was given a Life-Achievement Award by AgeNation. And in 2016, he was named by Watkins: Mind Body Spirit as one of the 100 Most Spiritually Influential Living People, and was also chosen as one of OWN’s SuperSoul 100, a group of inspired leaders using their gifts and voices to elevate humanity. Recent work includes The One Life We’re Given (Atria, 2016), Inside the Miracle (Sounds True), selected by Spirituality & Health Magazine as one of the top ten best books of 2015, The Endless Practice (Atria).

BJ Fogg

Dr. BJ Fogg directs the Persuasive Tech Lab at Stanford University. A psychologist and innovator, his work empowers people to think clearly about the psychology of persuasion and behvaviour change — and then to convert those insights into real-world outcomes. BJ has created a new model of human behavior change, which guides research and design. He has taught thousands of people around the world how to create habits that last. He is the author of Persuasive Technology: Using Computers to Change What We Think and Do, a book that explains how computers can motivate and influence people. Fortune Magazine selected BJ Fogg as one of the “10 New Gurus You Should Know”.

Daniel Goleman

Dan Goleman is an internationally known psychologist and science journalist. He is co-founder of the Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning at the University of Illinois in Chicago. He is also a board member of the Mind & Life Institute. He currently co-directs the Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence in Organizations at Rutgers University. As a science journalist, Dr. Goleman was awarded the Washburn Award. He was also awarded the Lifetime Career Award from the American Psychologists Association and was made a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He has authored many books, the most lauded of which is Emotional Intelligence in 1995 which was on the New York Times Bestseller List for a year and a half. His latest book is Altered Traits: science reveals how meditation changes your mind, brain and body.