Vital Signs: Cultivating a Flourishing Life

Lori is a passionate advocate for creating lives of meaning and engagement in both the personal and professional realms. She is a senior faculty member at Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute (SIYLI), an organization born at Google, where she mentors and trains teachers, and designs and facilitates both in-person and virtual mindfulness based emotional intelligence programs.

Lori holds an MA in psychology and is a certified Mindfulness Meditation Teacher, trained by Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach through the Greater Good Science Center. She is currently involved in a 2-year project in Bhutan working in partnership with the Gross National Happiness initiative bringing SIYLI’s program to all levels of the Bhutanese government.

She is also curriculum contributor and facilitator at: LinkedIn, Purpose Blue, Wisdom Labs, Mindfulness Rx and the Mindfulness Training Institute, and leads nature-based mindfulness retreats at MEA, Esalen Institute, and Canyon Ranch.

A near fatal bicycle accident in her early 40’s triggered a humbling re-evaluation of her values, actions and identity. Recognizing that while our lives are short, our choices have a ripple effect on the world around us, Lori is committed to living in alignment with awareness, integrity and whole-heartedness – and dedicated to supporting others who desire to have a similar positive impact.

As our Santa Fe Program Director & Facilitator Lead, Mary’s an experienced leader of mission-driven organizations and initiatives that benefit individuals and communities and strive to advance a more hopeful, caring, and connected world.

As a facilitator and strategic advisor, she’s coached teams and facilitated multi-year projects to transform communities, created and led training and dialogues across the country, and worked for 15+ years with research-practice bridging organizations including Challenge Success and the John W. Gardner Center, both Stanford University-affiliated research organizations.

Before joining MEA in 2024, Mary took a mid-career sabbatical to reflect on purpose, study Spanish, travel, and volunteer with whale shark research and conservation. She also serves as a Senior Advisor with Heartwise Learning, and works with both corporate and educational clients in strategic planning and values alignment. She’s thrilled to be based back in Santa Fe after a 22-year stint in the Bay Area!