Event Speakers

Christopher Germer, PhD

Christopher Germer, PhD, is a clinical psychologist and lecturer on psychiatry (part-time) at Harvard Medical School. He co-developed the Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) program with Kristin Neff in 2010 and they wrote three books: The Mindful Self-Compassion Workbook, Mindful Self-Compassion for Burnout, and Teaching the Mindful Self-Compassion Program. MSC has been taught to over 250,000 people worldwide. Dr. Germer is also the author of The Mindful Path to Self-Compassion and he co-edited two influential volumes on therapy:Mindfulness and Psychotherapy, and Wisdom and Compassion in Psychotherapy. Dr. Germer lectures and leads workshops internationally and he has a small psychotherapy practice in Massachusetts, USA.

Kristin Neff, PhD

Kristin Neff, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin. She is a pioneer in the field of self-compassion research, conducting the first empirical studies on self-compassion more than twenty years ago. She has been recognized as one of the most influential researchers in psychology worldwide. Kristin runs the Self-Compassion Community, an online learning platform where people can learn the skill of self-compassion with the help of others. She is author of the best-selling books Self-Compassion and Fierce Self-Compassion. Along with her colleague Chris Germer, she developed the empirically-supported Mindful Self-Compassion program and co-founded the Center for Mindful Self-Compassion. They co-wrote the best-selling The Mindful Self-Compassion Workbook and have a new book called Mindful Self-Compassion for Burnout coming out in September 2024.

Gabor Maté MD, CM

Gabor Maté (pronounced GAH-bor MAH-tay), MD, CM, is a retired physician who, after 20 years of family practice and palliative care experience, worked for over a decade in Vancouver’s Downtown East Side with patients challenged by drug addiction and mental illness. The best-selling author of five books published in nearly 40 languages, including the award-winning In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters With Addiction, Gabor is an internationally renowned speaker highly sought after for his expertise on addiction, trauma, childhood development, and the relationship of stress and illness. For his ground-breaking medical work and writing he has been awarded the Order of Canada, his country’s highest civilian distinction, and the Civic Merit Award from his hometown, Vancouver. His most recent book, The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness and Healing in a Toxic Culture is a New York Times and international best-seller. His next book, co-written with his son Daniel, will be Hello Again: A Fresh Start for Parents and their Adult Children, based on their popular workshop.

Deran Young, LCSW, Capt/USAF (retired)

Deran Young, LCSW, Capt/USAF (retired) is a licensed therapist specializing in racial trauma and legacy burdens. She is also a co-author of the New York Times best-seller You Are Your Best Thing, a retired military officer, and founder of Black Therapists Rock. Black Therapists Rock is a non profit organization with a network of over 30,000 mental health professionals committed to reducing the psychological impact of systemic oppression and intergenerational trauma. Deran obtained her social work degree from University of Texas, where she studied abroad in Ghana, West Africa for two semesters creating a high school counseling center for under-resourced students. She has visited over 37 different countries and her clinical experience spans across four different continents. Her passion for culture and people has led her to become a highly sought after diversity and inclusion consultant working with companies like BBERG, Facebook, Linked In, and YWCA. She resides in the Washington, DC area with her young son.

Richard C. Schwartz, PhD

Richard C. Schwartz, PhD, is the creator of Internal Family Systems, a highly effective, evidence-based therapeutic model that de-pathologizes the multi-part personality. His IFS Institute offers training for professionals and the general public. He is currently on the faculty of Harvard Medical School, and has published five books, including No Bad Parts: Healing Trauma and Restoring Wholeness with the Internal Family Systems Model. Dick lives with his wife Jeanne near Chicago, close to his three daughters and his growing number of grandchildren.

Daniel J. Siegel, MD

Dan Siegel, MD, is the Executive Director of the Mindsight Institute and Founding Co-Director of the Mindful Awareness Research Center at UCLA, where he was also Co-Principal Investigator of the Center for Culture, Brain, and Development and Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the School of Medicine. An award-winning educator, Dan is the author of five New York Times best-sellers and over fifteen other books which have been translated into over forty languages. As the founding editor of the Norton Professional Series on Interpersonal Neurobiology (“IPNB”), Dan has overseen the publication of one hundred books in the transdisciplinary IPNB framework which focuses on the mind and mental health. A graduate of Harvard Medical School, Dan completed his postgraduate training at UCLA specializing in pediatrics, and adult, adolescent, and child psychiatry. He was trained in attachment research and narrative analysis through a National Institute of Mental Health research training fellowship, focusing on how relationships shape our autobiographical ways of making sense of our lives and influence our development across the lifespan.

David Treleaven, PhD

David Treleaven, PhD, is a prominent trauma specialist, author, and educator known for his work in trauma-sensitive mindfulness. With a PhD in Psychology from the California Institute of Integral Studies, Treleaven’s research focuses on the intersection of mindfulness meditation and trauma. His groundbreaking work has highlighted the potential risks of mindfulness practices for trauma survivors, shaping a more nuanced approach to meditation in various settings. In 2018, Treleaven published Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness: Practices for Safe and Transformative Healing, a pivotal resource for mental health professionals, meditation teachers, and trauma survivors. As a sought-after speaker, Treleaven has presented at prestigious institutions worldwide, including UCLA, Brown University, and Oxford University. He founded the Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness community, offering training programs for professionals working with trauma survivors. Treleaven’s influence extends across trauma studies, mindfulness, and mental health fields. He regularly contributes to academic journals and popular media, advancing the discourse on safe and effective trauma healing practices. His work continues to guide professionals in recognizing trauma, responding skillfully, and adapting mindfulness techniques to support healing while avoiding retraumatization. Treleaven’s approach has become instrumental in developing more inclusive and safety-oriented mindfulness practices.

Raymond Rodriguez, LCSW, Rev.

Raymond Rodriguez, LCSW, Rev., is a Latino Clinical Social Worker with over twenty years of experience in working with community-based clinical practice. He received his Social Work degree from Columbia University School of Social Work. He is a family therapist with clinical interests in the areas of immigration, diversity, LGBTQ empowerment, spirituality, and working with marginalized communities. In the last decade he has become a trauma specialist assisting clients with complex psychological trauma and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. He is certified in Sensorimotor Psychotherapy and in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR).  He has extensive training and practice in family systems therapy, Internal Family Systems (IFS), Structural Dissociation and Ego States Psychology, Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), and psychodynamic psychotherapy. He served as a counselor faculty at Hostos Community College of the City University of New York, and adjunct lecturer at Columbia University School of Social Work and Smith College School of Social Work. He was also a faculty and member of the Executive Committee of the Trauma Studies Center of the Institute for Contemporary Psychotherapy and at the Integrative Trauma Studies Program of the National Institute for Psychotherapy. He is currently on faculty with the Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Institute.  He formerly served on the Board of the National Association of Puertorrican and Hispanic Social Workers.  He lives in New York with his partner and son.

Eduardo Duran, PhD

Eduardo Duran, PhD, is a Vietnam Veteran who started his academic training after being discharged from the US Navy. He has worked in Indigenous communities most of his professional life. Clinical work in communities has informed his theoretical and clinical approaches to psychotherapy.  His work is informed by traditional teachings from Indigenous elders that continues to unfold into an ongoing hybrid model to address individual and collective soul wounding. 

Early on he was providing community psychological interventions when an Indigenous Woman Elder approached him and told him that he needed to write and publish what she heard him speak about. That meeting with the Elder has resulted in several books including: Native American Post Colonial Psychology, Healing the Soul Wound, Buddha in Redface and Quantum Coyote Dreams the Black World. The unfolding themes in these writings are an integration of traditional Indigenous and Western cosmology as these interface with the shape shifting of consciousness in our present Zeitgeist.

Eduardo lives in Bozeman Montana.

Sydney Spears, PhD

Sydney Spears, PhD, (she/her) identifies as a cisgender Black-multiracial woman. She has deep passion for elevating and advancing global social justice, equity, and compassion in the world. Consequently, Sydney has been highly committed to providing and integrating non-oppressive, strengths-based, and trauma-sensitive practices within her private practice and teaching. In the recent past, Sydney has worked as a faculty member for the University of Kansas-School of Social Welfare. Her academic teaching has been centered on cultural diversity, cross-cultural practice, anti-oppression, and racial identity issues.  She has also worked with children, adolescents, military veterans, and adults across educational systems and mental health social services. Sydney is currently serving as the Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Belonging (DEIB) for the Center of Mindful Self-Compassion, and she is also a certified Mindful-Self Compassion (MSC) teacher. In terms of advancing trauma-sensitive practices, Sydney serves as a member of the leadership team for the Boston area Center for Trauma and Embodiment and facilitates trauma-sensitive sessions as a certified provider. Sydney recently published a very user-friendly and experiential workbook for those who are interested in practicing mindfulness and self compassion. The workbook is called Finding Self-Compassion: A Mindfulness Workbook for Getting to Know and Love Yourself.

Chris Willard, PsyD

Christopher Willard, PsyD, is a clinical psychologist, author, and consultant based in Massachusetts. He has spoken in over thirty-five countries, and has presented at two TEDx events. He is the author of twenty books, including Growing Up Mindful(2014), How we Grow Through What We Go Through (2022), and Feelings are Like Farts (2024). His thoughts on mental health have been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, mindful.org, cnn.com, and elsewhere. He teaches at Harvard Medical School.

 

Paul Gilbert, FBPsS, PhD, OBE

Paul Gilbert, FBPsS, PhD, OBE, is Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Derby and honorary visiting Professor at the University of Queensland. Until his retirement from the NHS in 2016 he was Consultant Clinical Psychologist for over 40 years. He has researched evolutionary approaches to psychopathology with a special focus on mood, shame, and self-criticism in various mental health difficulties for which Compassion Focused Therapy was developed. He was made a Fellow of the British Psychological Society in 1993, President of the BABCP 2002-2004, and was a member of the first British Governments’ NICE guidelines for depression. He has written/edited 23 books and over 300 papers and book chapters. In 2006 he established the Compassionate Mind Foundation as an international charity with the mission statement: To promote wellbeing through the scientific understanding and application of compassion. There are now a number of sister foundations in other countries. He was awarded an OBE by the Queen in March 2011 for services to mental health. He established and is the Director of the Centre for Compassion Research and Training at Derby University UK. His latest book is a major edited book with Professor G. Simos Compassion: Clinical Practice and Applications (2022).