Guest Profile
Lisa Napora PhD
Lisa is an educator and systems thinker adept in process design and facilitation, she promotes the infusion of awareness-based practices within the American education system. She serves as a bridge: bridging the languages of contemplation and learning, and bridging across constituencies, institutions and sectors - building bridges to engage whole systems for wellbeing. Lisa is Chair of the Western New York Contemplative Faculty & Staff Group, an inter-institutional collaborative under the auspices of the WNY Consortium of Higher Education; co-Chair of the State University of New York (SUNY) Contemplative Network, and Project Director of the Launching SUNY Initiatives in Mindfulness & Health conference, an award-winning proposal funded by the highly competitive SUNY Conversations in the Disciplines grant program.
In-depth study of the relational dynamics of inner and outer change has evolved into a passion to design research that addresses some of the pressing challenges of our times. Lisa’s research focuses on the intersection of mindfulness education, leadership development, and social systems change to foster sustainability. Leadership for sustainability requires a new kind of leader who is self aware, adaptable, emotionally intelligent and capable of creating the type of broad systems changes needed for planetary wellbeing – a Mindful Leader. Her research seeks to illuminate the connections between these streams of research and further catalyze this nascent field.
