About
I am the Liberal Arts Endowed Professor of Communication Arts & Sciences at Penn State University, co-founder of Yoga Lab, and a mindfulness and yoga teacher. You can find me in the classroom, lecture hall, on a meditation cushion, or a yoga mat, sharing insights on how to become capable, compassionate, and engaged democratic citizens.
I am the author of six books, including the forthcoming On Mindful Democracy: A Declaration of Interdependence to Mend a Fractured World (Parallax, 2026). On Mindful Democracy presents a bold reimagining of civic life. Rewriting the Declaration of Independence as a Declaration of Interdependence, in this book I offer an antidote to political burnout and civic despair. It issues a call for a new politics grounded in everyday acts of mindfulness, compassion, and connection, reminding readers that true democracy is not a destination but a lived practice.
My academic research radically reimagines democracy. Long misunderstood as a contest between political parties, with citizens enlisted as soldiers in the battle, I argue that democracy is best understood as a communal practice rooted in care, deliberation, and shared responsibility. For me, democracy begins with common ground, embraces disagreement, and is embodied in everyday practices of mindfulness, compassion, and community-building. As I write, “There is no way to democracy; democracy is the way.”
In recognition of my scholarship, I have received the Karl Wallace Award and the New Investigator Award from the National Communication Association. I was also honored with the Penn State College of the Liberal Arts Outstanding Tenure-Line Faculty Teaching Award.
Through years of research and teaching, I have come to see that democracy cannot thrive without mindfulness. The skills cultivated through meditation, paying attention, pausing judgment, looking deeply, speaking lovingly, and listening carefully are the same skills required of engaged citizens. As such, I view mindfulness as a form of civic education: for democracy to regain its transformative power, people must learn to live more mindfully.
Inspired by my research on community well-being and mutual support, I’ve worked with my fellow co-founders (Anna Sunderland Engels and Kristen Boccumini) to make philanthropy a cornerstone of Yoga Lab’s identity. Rooted in a belief that yoga can be a force for both personal and collective healing, we at Yoga Lab integrate mindfulness, social connection, and service into every aspect of our studio’s mission. All proceeds from my monthly “Dharma Lab” meditation series are donated to local environmental organizations. And for many years, the studio hosted “Yoga on the Mountain,” a signature event that brings the community together to hike, practice yoga, and meditate while raising funds for local charities—One year we funded the planting of over 1,000 trees through One Tree Planted! Deeply committed to accessibility and inclusion, I routinely offer free yoga and mindfulness classes for first-generation college students, graduate students, and campus staff, as well as trauma-sensitive and community healing sessions in response to local needs. Through these efforts, I and the whole Yoga Lab team embody a living practice of compassion, empowerment, and social responsibility.