Transforming Education from
the Inside Out
“Mindfulness and SEL are how we build bridges to advance a world built on belonging.”
Meena Srinivasan, MA, National Board Certified Teacher, is a South Asian-American edupreneur with deep expertise in the fields of Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) and Mindfulness in Education. She is one of Mindful Magazine’s 2022 Ten Powerful Women of the Mindfulness Movement and the Founding Executive Director of Transformative Educational Leadership (TEL), an immersive yearlong fellowship for educational leaders committed to the power of inner transformation, collective impact, and becoming seeds of radical change in their communities. Prior to this role, Meena worked in partnership with the Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL) for five and half years implementing SEL system-wide in the Oakland Unified School District. She has taught and led in public, private, urban, international schools and holds a Clear Administrative Services Credential in the state of California.
Meena is the creator of the SEL Every Day online courses, author of Teach, Breathe, Learn: Mindfulness In and Out of the Classroom, SEL Every Day: Integrating SEL with Instruction in Secondary Classrooms which was chosen as one of 2019’s Favorite Books for Educators by the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley and Integrating SEL into Every Classroom Quick Reference Guide. Meena’s article, “Social and Emotional Learning Starts with Adults” was one of ASCD’s 10 Best Express Articles and she was featured in Educational Leadership Magazine on “Mindful School Leadership” and the “Benefits of Meditation for Educational Leaders.”
A student of the late Ramchandra Gandhi (Mahatma Gandhi’s grandson) and Nobel Peace Prize Nominee, Thich Nhat Hanh, she was a contributor to Thich Nhat Hanh’s bestselling books Planting Seeds: Practicing Mindfulness with Children (Parallax Press, 2011) and Happy Teachers Change the World: A Guide for Cultivating Mindfulness in Education (Parallax Press, 2017). Meena also co-authored a chapter in Applied Mindfulness: Approaches in Mental Health for Children and Adolescents (American Psychiatric Association Publishing, 2019) on “Mindfulness in School Settings” with leading Mindfulness in Education researcher, Lisa Flook. She trained to teach Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) at UMASS Medical School’s Stress Reduction Clinic.
With Kaira Jewel
Leading Meditation with Shantum Seth
With Sharon Salzberg
With Sr. Chan Khong in Plum Village
Meena has been practicing Yoga and Mindfulness for over 25 years. She has been a Registered Yoga Teacher since 2005 in the lineage of Swami Satyananda and has been ordained into the Tiep Hien Lineage (Order of Interbeing) under Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh since 2010, is currently a Dharma Teacher Aspirant, and has been an active member of the Plum Village Community of Engaged Buddhism for more than 17 years. She’s also studied extensively with prominent spiritual teachers and lineage holders in other wisdom traditions.
With His Holiness the 17th Karmapa
Meena is a recipient of the Hemera Foundation Contemplative Education Fellowship. She’s currently on the Board of Directors of the Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation, has served on the Board of Directors of the Mindfulness in Education Network (MiEN), was Core Faculty of the Mindful Education Institute, and served on the Advisory Board of the San Francisco Asian Art Museum’s exhibit, Yoga: The Art of Transformation, the first major exhibition to explore yoga. After graduate school, she spent five years living in her ancestral homeland of India, studying contemplative practices, while teaching at the American Embassy School and bringing mindfulness to educators and children across the region through Thich Nhat Hanh's India based non-profit Ahimsa Trust.
With Jon Myla Kabat-Zinn
With Mirabai Bush
Linda Lantieri, Resmaa Menakem and Michelle Chatman
With Satish Kumar
Outside of the education world she has worked in the fields of journalism and public policy and had a variety of professional experiences at organizations including: ABC Network News, Reuters, Bloomberg, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and the International Bureau of Education. A contributor to United Nations publications on inclusive education, Meena earned a Masters Degree in Education from UC Berkeley where she also studied Sanskrit and a Bachelor’s degree in History and Political Science from Amherst College. Her international outlook was enhanced by studying abroad at the London School of Economics and teaching at the Graded American School in Sao Paulo, Brazil after graduating from college.
“What makes Meena stand out? She is the real deal. She walks the walk. What she offers is not just theory, it's rooted in a deep practice that comes from decades of experience. Meena is very different—wise yet humble, powerful yet gentle. She truly knows how to support individuals in navigating the challenges that come when creating new ways of being at the personal, professional and systems level. Both myself and my community have been transformed by her books, talks and meditations. In showing up so embodied, her presence is a catalyst for so many to bring their full selves to all that they do.”
Sarah Sampson, Educational Leader
Meena lives in Southern California on the traditional territory of the Luiseño/Payómkawichum people with her husband, Emmy nominated filmmaker, Chihiro Wimbush and their young son, Kailash Sora Wimbush. Ten years before her son’s birth Meena made a pilgrimage to Tibet’s sacred Mount Kailash, her son’s namesake
At the Emmy Awards with Chihiro
Meena, Chihiro and Kailash
At Lake Manasarovar
At Mount Kailash
Touching the Untouchable
A film by Chihiro Wimbush & Meena Srinivasan
Bringing together their passion for education, media, mindfulness and social justice, Meena and her husband, Chihiro started A Lens Inside, a non-profit organization. A Lens Inside promotes a mindful sense through media and education. You can view their short documentary, Touching the Untouchable, and access the guide Meena created for education and engagement to accompany the film. Touching the Untouchable is the story of the empowerment of a Dalit, Untouchable, community in Tamil Nadu, India and their relationship with Venerable Pannavati, an African-American Buddhist Nun.
SPEAKING
Looking for a speaker or facilitator in the fields of Wellness, Mindfulness, or Emotional Intelligence to empower and inspire your team towards transformation?
COURSES
Earn 3-6 Graduate Level Credits while you transform your life and gain practical guidance on implementing Social and Emotional Learning into your school community.
BOOKS
You can take a deep dive into the topics of Social and Emotional Learning or Mindfulness in the Classroom through Meena’s acclaimed books written for educators.
Free resources
