Rhonda V. Magee, M.A., J.D., is Emeritus Professor of Law and the founding Director of the Center for Contemplative Law and Ethics, at the University of San Francisco, and Founder of the Mount Iris Meditation Community (2025). She is the author of The Inner Work of Racial Justice: Healing Ourselves and Transforming Our Communities Through Mindfulness (Penguin RandomHouse TarcherPerigee: 2019), an innovative approach to the integration of mindfulness principles and practices into the work of addressing identity in diverse settings and communities, and helping us heal from the trauma that the legacies of oppression. Having received authorization as a spiritual guide and teacher in the Zen lineage, Hoshi Myozen Magee also draws on training as a teacher of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, and her study and co-teaching with Bhikkhu Analayo, a Scholar-Monk in the Theravadan tradition. Hoshi Magee is a founding advisor of the Mindfulness in Law Society, and a member of the Board of Advisors of the Contemplative Sciences Center at the University of Virginia. Her current work explores how culturally-specific practices – including Black Social Gospel and the quality she calls “soulheartedness” -- intersect with and strengthen flourishing at the personal, interpersonal and collective levels in changing times.

Connecting Across Differences: Mindfulness-Based Practices for Teaching, Learning and Flourishing Together

From migration to climate distress, from A.I. to income inequality, humanity faces a range of challenges causing both increased pressure and the need to collaborate on solutions. Building on an understanding of the ethical underpinnings of mindfulness practices, Professor Magee will describe how contemplative teaching and learning approaches to higher education provide a foundation for personal awareness, interpersonal connection, collective conflict resolution and healing. Reflecting on her 25+ year career as a law professor, and experience as a long-time leader among the contemplative educator community in the United States, Professor Magee will discuss the challenges and opportunities for applying mindfulness to better address the social, collective crises of our time.