Dr. Lyssa Menard:

Dr. Lyssa Menard is an Assistant Professor of behavioral science at Northwestern University and has been teaching methods of deep relaxation, mindfulness, and vipassana meditation for more than 15 years. She began her own meditation practice, studying with Jack Kornfield at Spirit Rock in northern California, in 1993. She has taught these techniques for stress, weight, and pain management at Loyola Medical Center, University of Chicago, and Northwestern University. She has completed Jon Kabat-Zinn’s instructor training course in Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), which combines mindfulness, meditation, and yoga. She is founder of Strategies for Change, where she incorporates these techniques in psychotherapy and business coaching. Her brief, ‘news-you-can-use,’ weekly email note called “Tidbits – Juicy Nuggets to Increase Wellness Instead of Waistline,” is available for all.

Michelle Taufmann:

Michelle Taufmann consults with corporations on creating mindfulness-based work environments, and teaches mindfulness and meditation classes in a variety of settings. For the past 15 years she has maintained a regular meditation practice, has received ongoing instruction from leading meditation teachers in the U.S., and has deepened her practice through extended silent meditation retreats. Michelle received advanced training in Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction from Jon Kabat-Zinn, the creator of this extensively researched and proven course. Prior to becoming a mindfulness consultant and teacher, Michelle was a successful marketing research and strategy consultant. She consulted to Fortune 100 corporations and their advertising agencies, business start-ups, national nonprofit organizations, and government agencies. Michelle draws upon her experience as a psychotherapist and focus group facilitator to skillfully convey mindfulness concepts, and to facilitate self discovery in group settings.