Meet Your Lead Teachers

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• Kristin Neff, PhD, is co-founder of the Center for Mindful Self-Compassion and co-developer of Mindful Self-Compassion. She is Associate Professor in the Educational Psychology Dept. at the University of Texas at Austin. She is a pioneer in the field of self-compassion research, being the first person to operationally define and measure the construct. She has published widely including numerous academic articles and book chapters, as well as the bestselling books Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself, The Mindful Self-Compassion Workbook, and Teaching the Mindful Self-Compassion Program. Kristin’s work has received extensive coverage in the popular press, including The New York Times, MSNBC, Scientific American, Psychology Today, and many others. She is also a frequent guest on shows such as the BBC Women’s Hour and Dan Harris’s 10% Happier podcast. Kristin gives talks on self-compassion and leads MSC workshops around the world.

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• Christopher Germer, PhD is a co-developer of the Mindful Self-Compassion program and a co-founder of the Center for Mindful Self-Compassion. He is the author of the popular book, The Mindful Path to Self-Compassion, and co-author (with Kristin Neff) of the professional text, Teaching the Mindful Self-Compassion Program, and The Mindful Self-Compassion Workbook. Chris is an MSC Teacher Trainer and leads MSC intensives and workshops around the world.Chris is also a clinical psychologist and lecturer on psychiatry (part-time) at Harvard Medical School. Chris has been integrating the principles and practices of meditation into psychotherapy since 1978. He has co-edited two influential volumes – Mindfulness and Psychotherapy, and Wisdom and Compassion in Psychotherapy – and he is a founding faculty member of both the Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy and the Center for Mindfulness and Compassion, Cambridge Health Alliance, Harvard Medical School. Chris maintains a small private practice in Arlington, Massachusetts, USA, specializing in mindfulness and compassion-based psychotherapy.

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• Lisa Baylis is a High School Counselor and leader in positive education and mindfulness in schools. Lisa has been sharing wellbeing strategies for the last 20 years as an instructor, a counselor, a facilitator, and a mother. Lisa has a master’s degree in Counselling Psychology and a bachelor’s degree in Physical Education. She has taught internationally and locally. Much of her vast teaching experience was gained in classrooms across Canada’s British Columbia — from Fort St. John to the Comox Valley. Trained by mindful self-compassion pioneers Chris Germer and Kristin Neff, Lisa is also a trained Mindful Self-Compassion teacher. No matter the setting — classroom, counselling session, or teacher development — Lisa incorporates concepts of positive psychology, self-compassion, and mindfulness.

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• Karen Bluth, PhD is a Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. A lifelong educator with 18 years of classroom experience, Karen is also a mindfulness and self-compassion teacher, and has been a mindfulness practitioner for over 40 years. Karen’s research focuses on the roles that self-compassion and mindfulness play in promoting well-being in adolescents. She is co-creator of the curriculum Making Friends with Yourself: A Mindful Self-Compassion Program for Teens, the teen adaptation of Mindful Self-Compassion for adults, and travels internationally to train teachers to teach this curriculum. She is also author of the book The Self-Compassion Workbook for Teens: Mindfulness and Compassion Skills to Overcome Self-Criticism and Embrace Who You Are.

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• Megan Sweet, EdD is the Director of Training at Mindful Schools. Megan is an experienced Network Lead with a demonstrated history of working in the educational management industry. She is skilled in Educational Consulting, Lesson Planning, Educational Technology, Instructional Design, and Curriculum Development. Megan has experience as a school teacher, school district administrator, and a leader in school transformation. She is the author of An Educator’s Guide for Using Your 3 Eyes and is the host of a nationally-syndicated radio show The Awakening Educator.

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• Wayne Serebrin, PhD, is an award-winning teacher with 30 years of experience as an Education professor at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. He is best known for his collaborative work with teachers, youth and children in local school districts. He recently launched a Contemplative Studies MEd specialization in the Department of Curriculum, Teaching & Learning, and is developing related courses at the BEd and post-baccalaureate levels. His current teaching, research and service efforts are focused on: compassion cultivation; mindfulness and self-compassion; nonviolent communication; anti-oppressive pedagogies (social- and eco-justice); Indigenous teaching and learning perspectives and decolonization; and compassion-based social, emotional and ethical learning pedagogies that critically integrate student identities, engagement and well-being.