Inner Transformation for Social Impact Leaders
A 5-week program to re-inspire your leadership for change
GENEROUSLY SPONSORED BY COLLABORATING PARTNER, TIANREN CULTURE
Including live conversations with renowned speakers:
Â

Â
Location: Online
Dates:Â May 26 - June 28, 2025
The live virtual sessions will take place on Thursdays from 9:30-11:00am Hong Kong time (Wednesdays at 9:30-11:00pm ET or see your local time). Weekly Topic materials will be made available via the online portal each Monday.Â
The program includes:
- Live audience and Q&A with experts, on weekly 90-minute Zoom calls
- 15+ powerful micro practices to accelerate your learning
- Online learning community of people working for the social good
- Bonus content and resources, through self-paced lessons online
Â
Click here to register!

If you would like more information about the program, please download the detailed information guide below. Thank you for your interest!Â
By registering you agree to receive messages about this event, updates, event invitations and other informative communications from the Garrison Institute.
What you’ll gain
This program brings you tools, skills, and insights to revitalize your work as a change-maker. It will help you to:
- Enhance your understanding of the powerful connection between your inner development and your ability to make a positive impact on others in your community.
- Learn micro practices that can be used anytime and anywhere to bring more peace to your life.
- Motivate you to try mindfulness practices that will work for you.
- Broaden your self-awareness and accelerate your social impact on your community.Â
- Position you for greater personal and professional growth.
Each module contains an introduction to the subject matter, including research supporting each practice, as well as short video demonstrations, reflection questions, and a discussion forum.
You will receive a toolkit of research-based contemplative practices which promote inner transformation and physical and emotional well-being, leading to an increase in motivation, pro-sociality, and the ability to help others. Â
As part of the program, you'll have access to:
- Five live, 90-minute sessions, featuring expert guest speakers. (Sessions will be recorded and shared for repeat viewing.) Additional pre-recorded video content provided by guest experts.Â
- Interactive online platform providing additional resources, and community discussion board.
- Simple and effective micro-practices.Â
- Discussion buddy for peer:peer learning.Â
Who is the program for?
Social impact leaders and champions for social good in the public and private sectors, as well as leaders of nonprofits and non-governmental organizations working toward social change.
This program is for you if you
- Work for the social good.Â
- Are guided by a set of pro-social values.Â
- Believe in the possibility of social change.
- Believe that who you are impacts how you show up in your work.
- Are interested in exploring practices for inner development to improve your well-being and your leadership abilities.
- Have a demanding, fast-paced work life that doesn’t afford you much time for reflection.Â
- Feel spread thin by the competing demands of your work as a leader in the social change field.
- Work collaboratively to amplify positive change. Â
- Want to bring a new spark and passion to your work and the teams you lead.
Maybe you’ve heard about the benefits of practices like mindfulness or meditation for inner development and stress management, yet you are unsure where to begin, or if you're on the right track. If you are eager to embark on this journey of exploration, this program is designed to guide you along the way.

“These times are calling on all of us to take radical action toward change. It starts with ourselves, with our own personal practices.”
~Rhonda Magee
Weekly Themes
Â
The program begins on Monday September 30, concluding on November 4.  Live 90-minute zoom calls will be held each Thursday (9:30 - 11:00 AM Hong Kong Time). Recordings will be made available to those who cannot attend live.Â
Readings and multimedia content will be made available each day through the course platform for additional self-paced learning.
Topic 1: Tools for Inner TransformationÂ
How does contemplative practice lead to inner transformation, and foster the resilience that is essential to "being well" to "serve well?"
Topic 2: Exploring the Wisdom of the Body
How can the wisdom of the body be accessed through contemplative practice to contribute to our inner transformation?
Topic 3: Contemplating Nature: Our Interdependent Reality
How can practices like encountering ourselves in nature bring us to a deeper understanding of our connection to all beings and the earth?
Topic 4: Expressing and Appreciating Awe through the Arts
How do the arts evoke awe that inspires a deeper appreciation for the human condition and spiritual inquiry?
Topic 5: Relational Mindfulness
How can interpersonal practices such as compassion meditation, deep listening, and presencing help us build collaborative relationships to work towards the common good?Â
Â
Live Zoom calls will take place each Thursday (October 3 - October 31) from 9:30am to 11:00am Hong Kong time (see your local time here).Â
Recordings will be made available for those who cannot attend live.
Faculty & Experts
Â

Daniel J. Siegel, M.D.
Executive Director, Mindsight Institute
Dr. Daniel Siegel is a Harvard-educated psychiatrist and prolific author. He is renowned for his groundbreaking work in interpersonal neurobiology. As the executive director of the Mindsight Institute and a clinical professor at UCLA, he integrates neuroscience and psychology to explore the profound impact of relationships on human development and well-being, reaching global audiences through his lectures and best-selling books.

Â
Sharon SalzbergÂ
(Recorded Content)
Meditation Teacher & Author
Sharon Salzberg is a meditation pioneer, world-renowned teacher, New York Times bestselling author and co-founder of The Insight Meditation Society (IMS) in Barre, MA. She is among the first to bring mindfulness & lovingkindness meditation to mainstream American culture fifty years ago, inspiring generations of meditation teachers and wellness influencers.Â

Â
Rhonda Magee, J.D.Â
Founding Director of the University of San Francisco Center for Contemplative Law and Ethics
Rhonda V. Magee is a professor of law at the University of San Francisco and a leading international mindfulness teacher and practice innovator focused on integrating mindfulness into higher education, law and social change work. Rhonda’s affiliations have included: Center for Contemplative Mind in Society (Chair of the Board), the Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute (President of the Board), the Brown Center for Mindfulness, the Mindfulness In Law Society, the Mind and Life Institute (fellow) and The Garrison Institute (Board of Advisers).Â

Â
Arawana Hayashi
Director, Social Presencing Theater
Arawana Hayashi heads the creation of Social Presencing Theater (SPT) for the Presencing Institute, where she serves as a core faculty. Working with Otto Scharmer, Peter Senge, and colleagues, she brings her background in the arts, meditation, and social justice to creating “social presencing” that makes visible both current reality and emerging future possibilities for individuals and groups. Arawana is both an improvisational dancer and a lineage holder of the practice, Japanese traditional dance of Bugaku. She is also a long-time practitioner and senior teacher in the Shambhala tradition of meditation. Arawana delivers workshops on SPT throughout the world.Â

Dacher Keltner, PhD.
Professor of Psychology & Faculty Director, Greater Good Science Center, UC Berkeley
Dacher Keltner is a professor of psychology at UC Berkeley and the director of the Greater Good Science Center. He has over 200 scientific publications and six books. He was the scientific advisor behind Pixar’s Inside Out, is involved with the education of health care providers and judges, and has consulted extensively for Google, Apple, and Pinterest, on issues related to emotion and well-being.

Â
Monica Gagliano, PhD.
(Recorded Content)
Ecologist
Monica Gagliano is a research scientist studying evolutionary ecology, with a focus on re-encountering the ways we communicate and collaborate with the wisdom and consciousness of plants and all nature. She is a pioneer of the new field of plant bioacoustics. In collaboration with various disciplines across the Sciences and the Humanities, her research aims at expanding our perception of animals, plants and nature. Monica presents her work globally, and splits her time between S. America, Europe and Australia.Â

Â
Sander Tideman, J.D.
(Recorded Content)
Founder and CEO, Triple Value Leadership
Sander Tideman is founder and CEO of Triple Value Leadership, executive coach and author. His work seeks to integrate insights from Eastern philosophy and psychology with practices of management, finance, business and economics, to help leaders transform (their organizations) into a force for positive sustainable change, working with (rather than against) the principles of nature and human creativity. His work is informed by his conversations with the Dalai Lama, as documented in his book, Business as Instrument for Societal Change (2016).Â

Dekila Chungyalpa
Founder & Director, Loka Initiative
Dekila Chungyalpa is the director of the Loka Initiative at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and the Center for Healthy Minds, focusing on faith-led environmental efforts around the globe to address environmental protection, sustainable development and global health issues. Prior to this position, she lectured and researched at Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies as part of the McCluskey fellowship and worked at World Wildlife Fund for over 13 years. Dekila serves as the environmental adviser for His Holiness the 17th Karmapa, who is the head of the Karma Kagyu School of Tibetan Buddhism.

Christa M. Tinari
Director, Contemplative-Based Resilience, Garrison Institute
Christa is Director of the Contemplative-Based Resilience Project which provides contemplative-based tools for well-being, for professionals whose work exposes them to vicarious or secondary stress and trauma. Christa will be your course guide. She will facilitate our live zoom calls and will be available to support your participation in the course.Â