Lindsay Bridges, MDLindsay became interested in mindfulness through her work as a Family Medicine physician where the link between healthy stress management and physical well-being was so clear. She trained extensively for teaching Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) through the University of Massachusetts Medical School Center for Mindfulness, the original MBSR center founded by Jon Kabat-Zinn, and has completed their Teacher Certification for MBSR . She has been teaching MBSR in a variety of hospital and health professional training centers since 2002, and more recently, she has added work with youth and schools. She is a Mindful Schools Certified teacher. Mindfulness and meditation practices are an integral part of her daily life.
Lindsay Bridges can be reached at: [email protected], 704-299-0768 |
Ireisha "IV" Vaughn, MSEdIreisha “IV” Vaughn joined the Charlotte Center for Mindfulness in 2023 as the Administrative Coordinator. Originally from Brooklyn, NY, IV has worked in colleges, K-12, non-profit, and for-profit environments in a number of capacities, including as a Case Manager at Johns Hopkins University. IV has most enjoyed serving as a Social Emotional Learning (SEL) and Mindfulness facilitator for students in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Public School system.
Since then, IV has been honored to support the organization in its operations and growth while being a part of the community. IV can be reached at [email protected] |
J. Renaurd West, M.Ed, LPCRenaurd West is a retired licensed professional counselor and currently a certified mindfulness meditation teacher. He has worked in the helping professions most of his working life. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and a Masters degree in Clinical Counseling from the University of Cincinnati. Renaurd holds certifications in Positive Psychology and is a certified positive psychology coach. Renaurd is very serious about his personal meditation practice which spans many years. He has completed training in Transcendental Meditation and the 2-year Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Training Certification Program. He believes that his meditation practice gives meaning to his life. It is his clear intention that through his teaching he endeavors to share the peace, joy and compassion with others that mindfulness meditation brings to his life.
Renaurd can be reached at [email protected] |
Clara Irwin, LCSWClara became interested in mindfulness when she attended a retreat after graduating from the
School of Social Work at UNC Chapel Hill. She recalls the peace she felt being guided to rest her awareness on the breath. The experience lead her to take the Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) class where she began to see how mindfulness offered a way to relate to stress that lead to health and healing. Wanting to bring the wisdom of the teachings into her therapy practice with clients, she completed the MBSR training at the Center for Mindfulness at UMass and is a Qualified MBSR teacher. Her interest continued to deepen as she studied with Judson Brewer, MD, PHD, at the Mindfulness Center at Brown. Dr. Brewer’s work around how habits are formed and how with mindfulness we can step out of these habits lead her to complete the Behavior Change Facilitator Training. She brings Dr. Brewer’s teachings into her work with clients helping them change their relationship to stress and anxiety. She shares if she could name one thing that has been most helpful in her life and in helping others it would be mindfulness. Clara can be reached at [email protected] |
Carolyn GrahamAlthough Carolyn is retired from a career in public education, she continues to be a teacher at heart, finding passion in passing on to others her own learnings and experiences with Buddhist contemplative practices and the science that speaks to their effects on human well-being. Carolyn is certified to teach compassion training, a process premised in Tibetan Buddhist mind-training practices, developed at Emory University’s Center for Contemplative Science and Compassion Based Ethics.
Carolyn can be reached at [email protected] |
Brooke LehmannBrooke began practicing mindfulness in her recovery from PTSD and soon after began writing poetry. This symbiotic practice of mindfulness and poetry has brought immense healing as she practices the art of paying attention. She discovered CCM in 2021 and is incredibly grateful to the community for deepening her practice. Brooke's poems have been featured in Poet Lore, Tar River Poetry, and others. She was longlisted for the 2022 Palette Poetry Sappho Prize for Women Poets, and her chapbook manuscript, Pillar of Exquisite Sorrows, was named a finalist in Tusculum Review’s 2023 Chapbook Prize. Her poem, “Thanksgiving Psalm” was awarded first place in the 2024 Charles Edward Eaton contest for Pinesong and was also nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Her debut poetry collection, Of Salt and Song, is forthcoming from Kelsay Books in 2025.
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David ViaforaDavid has organized and led mindfulness retreats for educators, physicians, families, teens, children, young adults, and other groups across North America, Europe, and Oceania. He first ordained as a monk with Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh in 2005 and spent several years living in the Plum Village tradition monasteries. David is now a lay ordained member of the Order of Interbeing, and works as a licensed therapist for children, adults, and families. His new book, Thriving Together: 9 Principles for Co-creating True Community highlights his joy, gratitude, and love for Sangha building. David identifies as a white-presenting Chinese-American cis man. He is the co-founder of Greatwoods Zen Center. Some of David’s favorite things to do are drinking tea in the woods with friends, Sangha game nights, and sunset meditations.
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Kate Zdrojeski, Esq.Kate is an attorney who practiced law for nearly a decade in Manhattan and Brooklyn, New York. She began her legal career in 2012 with the Department of Investigation, the city’s anti-corruption agency, and later moved to the Brooklyn DA’s Office, where she was an Assistant District attorney in the Public Integrity Bureau. Kate turned to self-compassion in 2022, as a refuge from grief, and she has maintained a daily mindfulness practice since. Now a trained Mindful Self-Compassion teacher, she hopes to return to the criminal justice system to offer courses to those touched by it.
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