Compassion at Work

November 13 - 14, 2014

San Francisco, USA
Who Cares? The Youth Gathering
November 12, 2014

Welcome
A very warm welcome to this third Empathy and Compassion in
Society Conference.
One really inspiring aspect of life these days is the increasing
interest in so many places in compassion. It seems that more and
more people are finding ways to answer the urgent and vital need
to infuse compassion into every aspect of our lives. We hope that
this conference will encourage anyone seeking to bring a more
compassionate culture into their organizations, wherever they work
and whatever their role or expertise.
Cultivating compassion can begin by becoming aware of our own
minds, and finding stability amongst our teeming thoughts and
emotions, as we cultivate compassion towards ourselves as human
beings. Then, as we can see from scientific and medical research,
developing a genuine concern for others brings all kinds of benefits.
Compassion makes us kinder, healthier and less stressed, and it
offers us a greater sense of perspective about our own problems. It
breeds in us the courage, confidence and inner strength that come from facing difficulties and being present with
sufferingours or someone elses. In fact, compassion seems to hold the key to happiness. Two thousand years
ago, the Roman philosopher Seneca wrote: No-one can live happily if he is just focused solely on himself, and
turns everything into a question of his own utility. You must live for your neighbor if you would live for yourself.
This conference will explore what happens when we put compassion at the center of our professional lives, in
our place of work. Do empathy and compassion hold the key to creating a saner and more successful workplace
culture? If so, what kinds of training and techniques are available to us? How do we maintain our best intentions?
What does a compassionate society look like, and how do we go about creating the environment for change?
Above all, altruism and compassion correspond to reality. In countless ways, we are all of us deeply
interconnected, and fundamentally we are all the same in longing for happiness and fearing misfortune. At the
heart of compassion lives a recognition that others are just like us, so that true compassion is something we
generate for everyone, based on the mere fact of their being alive. A mark of our progress then is when we
can step outside of our comfort zones and feel the same compassion for people who have harmed us or who
we cannot stand as we do for our loved ones. Working life certainly gives us plenty of opportunities to practice
compassion!
How wonderful it is that in schools, prisons, hospitals, businesses and organisations of many different kinds,
people are discovering how to put into live action a more compassionate and altruistic vision. For one thing
it shows how limitless this vision can be. And perhaps there is nothing more important today than enacting,
cultivating, exploring and speaking about compassion. For compassion matters, and, just like Martin Luther King
Jr. once said, Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.

Patrick Gaffney
President, The Tenzin Gyatso Institute

Schedule
THURSDAY

FRIDAY

10:00 am Welcome

10:00 am Welcome

can we live a compassionate life ?

can compassion change the way we work ?

Karen Armstrong Can We Live a Compassionate Life?

Mayor Greg Fischer Public Life: Can Compassion be

the Unifying Value of a City?

Julia Kim M.D. Bhutan and GNH: Putting Compassion

and Wellbeing at the Heart of Economy and Society

Mayors Greg Fischer, Tom Tait, Marilyn

Strickland & Edwin Lee A Call to Action by a Summit
of Policy Leaders

Arturo Bejar Applying Compassion to Serve the

People who use Facebook

Angelica Berrie How a Culture of Generosity can

Transform our World

11:30 am Networking Break

11:15 am Networking Break

11:50 am Dr. Paul Gilbert and Dr. Yotam Heineberg Why We

Choose Compassion, Why We Dont, and What We Can

Do About It

11:30 am Arturo Bejar, Charles Halpern, Kirsten DeLeo & Daniel

Schuessler Moderated by Julia Kim M.D. Compassion

at Work: A Force for Change

Dr. Daniel Siegel Interpersonal Neurobiology: Why

Compassion is Necessary for Humanity

Dr. Rick Hanson Feeling Loved

1:15 pm Break for Lunch

2:30 pm Concurrent Workshops: Tools to Cultivate Self
Compassion and Compassion for Others (Session 1)

Roman Krznaric Ph.D. Empathy: Why It Matters, and

How to Get It
Michael Imperioli Compassion: the Heart of a Spiritual
Journey

1:15 pm Break for Lunch

Dr. Eve Ekman Cultivating Emotional Balance (CEB)

2:30 pm Concurrent Workshops by Sector: Business,

Education, Caregiving & Law

Dr. Daniel Siegel Interpersonal Neurobiology: Why

Compassion is Necessary for Humanity

Daniel Schuessler & Rosa Kocher Ethical DecisionMaking: Applying Human Values in Society

Paul Gilbert, O.B.E. Introduction to the Practices of

Compassion Focused Therapy

Vinciane Rycroft CONNECTED: Making Compassion

Relevant for Teens

Kirsten DeLeo Why Care? - Cultivating and Sustaining

Compassionate Presence in the Face of Suffering

Charles Halpern and sujatha baliga Compassion and

Law Building a More Just, Compassionate, and
Mindful Society

3:45 pm Break
4:00 pm Concurrent Workshops: Tools to Cultivate Self
Compassion and Compassion for Others (Session 2)

Dr. Paul Ekman How to Respond to Anothers

Emotions, Especially When Things are Tough

Dr. Rick Hanson The Strong Heart

Dr. Yotam Heineberg Getting in Touch with Our Values

5:15 pm Break
5:30 pm Dr. Paul & Dr. Eve Ekman Dialogue on the Future
6:00 pm Tenzin Gyatso Institute Networking, Reception and

Awards Event

3:45 pm Break
4:00 pm Tom Williams, sujatha baliga & Professor Steven

Goodman Putting Forgiveness & Compassion in Action

Jack Heath Bringing Reflection into the Workplace

David Rand Closing Statement by the Tenzin Gyatso

Institute

See workshop locations in your welcome folder.

Overview
Empathy and Compassion in Society A Message from David Rand:
2014: Compassion at Work
Look at what people are reading
Gives professionals a new perspective on the human
capacity to cultivate empathy and compassion, in any
situation or circumstance.

A Summit of Leaders
This year, we will explore how compassion can be a
unifying value and bridge differences in public discourse
and policy

The latest research on empathy

andcompassion
The science of what motivates us, why we decide to
make compassionate choices, and to what effect on
our mental and physical health.

Tools to cultivate these social skills

in our professional life
Compassion at Work is a highlight of this 2014 event,
and we will explore how compassion enhances
organizational and personal well-being
We will also address the key questions of what helps us
to stay aligned with our human values when faced with
ethical dilemmas.

Remember, compassion
is not a sign of weakness;
it is a sign of strength.
THE DALAI LAMA

and it's evident that compassion has

entered the mainstream of modern
life. Research and science are
investigating wisdom traditions and
practices that put empathy, altruism
and compassion at the center of life,
regardless of beliefs or background. The results of
this 'meeting' are having ripple effects in unimaginable
ways. On behalf of the Tenzin Gyatso Institute, we
are delighted you've chosen to spend time with a
remarkable group of speakers, colleagues and guests;
together we can learn how these values can unify and
bridge differences, promote our 'common humanity'
and create a more compassionate and merciful world.
Indeed: 'Compassion at Work'

David Rand
Executive Director, The Tenzin Gyatso Institute

Program
Thursday, November 13
10:00 am - 6:00 pm

Why We Choose Compassion, Why We

Dont, and What We Can Do About It
Dr. Paul Gilbert & Dr. Yotam Heineberg

Can We Live a Compassionate Life?

KAREN ARMSTRONG

Karen Armstrong is a provocative, original thinker

on the role of religion in the modern world. With her
call to action, she challenges individuals, businesses
and communities to join her in building a Charter for
Compassion to restore the Golden Rule as the
central global religious doctrine.

Public Life: Can Compassion be the

Unifying Value of a City?
Mayor Greg Fischer

When Mayor Fischer took office, he established three

goals for Louisville. He said that to reach their full
potential as a great 21st century city, they must be a
city of lifelong learning, a much healthier city, and an
even more compassionate city. All three of these goals,
which have come to be known as the three "pillars"
of the administration's initiatives, are aimed at both
improving the individual lives of residents and building
an even more vital, dynamic and innovative economy.
Mayor Fischer will discuss the role of compassion as
the foundation for effective governing.

A Call to Action by a Summit of

Policy Leaders
Mayors Greg Fischer, Tom Tait, Marilyn
Strickland & Edwin LeE

Dr Gilbert will outline how evolution of the human brain

has caused serious problems for humanity. He will
then outline how compassion offers a solution to those
problems. However, compassion has facilitators and
inhibitors and fears of compassion are one of the most
important inhibitors.
Dr Heineberg will outline the main forms of fears of
compassion and provide an outline of current research
on fears of compassion. Different interventions are being
developed that work to alleviate fears of compassion.
Dr. Gilbert will describe web and mp3 file based
programs for non-clinical populations. Dr. Heineberg
will present the online Compassion Development Dyads
project, and other web based projects for broad nonclinical populations.

Interpersonal Neurobiology: Why

Compassion is Necessary for Humanity
Dr. Daniel Siegel

Presenting a view from the weaving of all fields of

science into one framework called interpersonal
neurobiology, Dr. Dan Siegel will explore how kindness
and compassion are a natural outcome of the process
of integration. Integration is the heart of health. And
integration is the heart of compassion. Creating a more
compassionate world is creating a healthier earth

Feeling Loved
Dr. Rick Hanson

We need compassion
because life is hard.
Paul Gilbert, OBE

Studies show that feeling cared about by others helps

us be empathic, compassionate, and kind ourselves especially if we are in a caring profession and
thus vulnerable to burnout. In this brief, experiential
presentation, well explore and internalize five ways to
feel cared about - for our own sake, and for the sake of
others as well.

Program
CONCURRENT WorKshopS (SESSION 1)
tools to cultivate self - compassion

&

compassion for others

Cultivating Emotional Balance (CEB)

Dr. Eve Ekman

This training builds specific scientifically and

contemplative informed skills of emotional regulation,
professional empathy, mindfulness of everyday
thoughts/emotions/moods, self-compassion, and
identifying meaning and purpose in work and life.
This training will teach participants skills of emotional
awareness through mindful engagement with their
emotions, from the triggers to emotions to the
embodied and psychological sensations of emotion
and results of emotional expression and behavior.
The training is highly experiential and will involve basic
education on relevant scientific research of emotion,
stress, mindfulness practices, group discussion, and
skill building group exercises.
In addition to developing emotional awareness this
training addresses root causes of professional and
personal stress. When people feel overwhelmed by
the stress burdens of their relationships and work they
may feel their only option is to emotionally disengage.
This disengagement can have a negative impact
on communication, cooperation and empathy with
co-workers and friends and can reduce feelings of
satisfaction and meaning. This workshop builds skills
to facilitate the regulation of emotions before they
become over aroused and create stress. The goal of
the training is to help participants cultivate sustainable
empathy and reconnect to meaning in their work and
individual lives.

Interpersonal Neurobiology: Why

Compassion is Necessary for Humanity
Dr. Daniel Siegel

In this worksop, a view from the weaving of all fields

of science into one framework called interpersonal
neurobiology will be presented to explore how
kindness and compassion are a natural outcome of
the process of integration. In this perspective, we
see integration as the basis of health. Defined as the
linkage of differentiated parts of a system, integration
is both a structural realitya noun and a functional
processa verb. For example, all forms of regulation
in the brain, including the regulation of attention,
emotion, thought, behavior, and relatedness, have
both structural and functional neural correlates. The
outcome of integration is harmony, whereas a system
that is not integrated moves toward chaos, rigidity, or
both. Beyond just being within us, integration can also
be seen as being between us. Integrated relationships
are filled with honoring of differences and the linkage of
compassionate communication. In a fascinating way,
integration interpersonally promotes the activation and
growth of integration neurologically. Integration between
cultivates integration within.
Kindness can be defined as how we honor and support
one anothers vulnerability. In this open, authentic state,
our inner needs and fragility are realized. Compassion
can be defined as the empathic feeling and
understanding of anothers internal state of suffering,
and the wise and skillful means of imagining and
enacting ways to help reduce that suffering. In this way,
both kindness and compassion can be seen as acts of
integration. Preliminary studies of the neural correlates
of compassion support the notion that a range of
activated circuits are linking widely separated areas
in the brain within a person, and within the nervous
system of the other. In this way, integration made
visible is kindness and compassion.

Program
As integration can also be seen as the heart of health,
we can see how mindfulness (which increases the
connectome or the integrated state of the brain)
supports a range of physiological enhancements
including immune function, telomerase levels, and
epigenetic control of regions of the genome that
help prevent certain inflammation-related disease.
Integration is the heart of health. And integration is the
heart of compassion. Creating a more compassionate
world is creating a healthier earth. With this scientific
framework inviting a range of people into the journey,
lets work together to cultivate our connections,
kindness, and compassion!

Introduction to the Practices of

Compassion Focused Therapy
Paul Gilbert, O.B.E.

This workshop will give participants an introduction to

the basic ideas of how compassion focused therapy
started and then provide experiential opportunities
to explore some of its compassionate mind training
practices. These will include attention insight and
training, soothing breathing rhythm, development
of compassionate imagery and compassionate self.
Compassionate self practices use method acting
techniques, with training given to inner voice tone, facial
expressions and body posture and can be used to work
with other aspects of the self such as angry or anxious
self and self-criticism. Compassionate mind training
can be used profitably with the clinical and non-clinical
populations to improve well-being.
Objectives:
Participants will have insight into the nature of
compassion focused therapy
Participants will have personal experience of some of
the main practices used in compassionate mind training

WorKshopS (SESSION 2)
tools to cultivate self - compassion

&

compassion for others

How to Respond to Anothers Emotions,

Especially When Things are Tough
Dr. Paul Ekman

For the first time training is offered in how to respond

to another persons emotions in the most constructive
fashion. Examples will draw from family life in which a
parent tells an adolescent offspring that because of a
babysitters sudden illness, the adolescent must cancel
his or her plans to go out bowling, and instead babysit
a younger sibling. When the adolescent responds with
sadness the participants will be asked to figure out
what is the best response to that sadness, and how
it differs if there is a close or strained relationship with
the parent. After feedback about their choices, they will
see the adolescent respond with anger, and again the
participants must themselves figure out what is the best
response to that anger, and why.

The Strong Heart

Dr. Rick Hanson

Its been said that there are two wolves in the heart
one of love and one of hate and that everything
depends on which we feed each day. This metaphor
echoes the finding from evolutionary neuropsychology
that our human, hominid, and primate ancestors
survived and passed on their genes in large part by
empathizing, cooperating, and bonding with us
while also fearing, exploiting, and aggressing upon
them. We see these dynamics as well in everyday
relationships, including in couples, families, schools,
and workplaces. Its relatively straightforward to be
compassionate and caring toward others, or to be firm
and assertive but its an uncommon achievement
to integrate the two wolves, to combine strength
with heart. In this presentation, we will draw upon
methods from positive neuroplasticity to turn everyday

Program
experiences into lasting mental resources that enable
you to stay present with others while remaining
centered in yourself, to respect the needs of others
while honoring your own, and to assert yourself with
both kindness and confidence.

If you can change your

brain, you can change
your life. Dr. Rick Hanson
Getting in Touch with our Values, and our
Best : Learning to Manage our Threat System,
and Further Connecting with our Soothing,
Safeness & Self-reassurance System
Dr. Yotam Heineberg

Dr. Heineberg will offer a set of practices, drawn from

the Compassion Development Dyads program, aimed
at enabling a meaningful experiential process, through
both self-work and dyadic interactions. Participants
will be invited to get in touch with their core values in
various ways, and link up their sense of being at their
best, with being in touch with what is most present
and alive for them, to facilitate greater self-congruence,
awareness and self-acceptance.
A second practice will be offered to get participants in
touch with their three systems of emotional regulation:
threat, drive and soothing. Participants will become
more mindful of their emotional processes, and discuss
inspiring stories of overcoming challenges, by moving
from their threat system into their soothing, reassurance
self-compassionate system. Concrete coping skills and
resources will be offered, in order to further cultivate a
resilient life of congruence and reassurance.

Dr. Eve and Dr. Paul Ekman

Dialogue on the Future
Dr. Paul Ekman & Dr. Eve Ekman

FRIDAY, November 14
10:00 am - 5:30 pm

Bhutan and GNH: Putting

Compassion and Wellbeing at the Heart of
Economy and Society
Julia Kim M.D.

How we measure "progress" in society is a clear

indicator of our priorities. The remote Himalayan
country of Bhutan has attracted global attention for
measuring "Gross National Happiness" (GNH) - a
way of guiding the country's development in a way
that balances economic growth, social wellbeing,
and environmental sustainability. What opportunities,
challenges, and lessons are emerging for other
communities and countries? Can "what we measure"
shift the way we make decisions and move us towards
a more compassionate economy and society?

Applying Compassion to Serve the

People who use Facebook
Arturo Bejar

Supporting a community of 1.3 billion people

has unique challenges, and often there are
misunderstandings, or people can be intentionally
or unintentionally hurtful to each other. Arturo Bejar,
director of engineering for Facebooks Protect and Care
team, will be talking about lessons from applying the
science and wisdom of compassion to social services
and other current forms of communication.

How a Culture of Generosity can

Transform our World
Angelica Berrie

A philanthropist's vision of how ordinary citizens, practicing

compassion and empathy in our everyday lives, can
create the world we want with radical acts of kindness.

Program
Philanthropy is the gift of who you are, a way of being
that reveals the power of one to make a difference,
regardless of your means. As such, everyone can be a
force for good by giving of our fullest self.
Fostering a culture of generosity within our education,
healthcare and government systems can transform
institutions and communities to create a values-driven
society with compassion at its core.

Compassion at Work: A Force for Change

Arturo Bejar, Charles Halpern, Kirsten DeLeo &
Daniel Schuessler, Moderated by Julia Kim M.D.

Empathy: Why It Matters, and How to Get It

Roman Krznaric Ph.D.

Drawing on his new book, Empathy: Why It Matters,

and How to Get It (Perigee/Penguin, Nov 2014),
popular speaker and co-founder of The School of Life
Roman Krznaric explores how empathy the art of
stepping into the shoes of another person and seeing
the world from their perspective is a powerful tool
for individual wellbeing and social transformation.
Discussing everything from developments in
neuroscience and industrial design to empathy teaching
in schools and human libraries, he shows how
empathy has the power to transform relationships, from
the personal to the political.

Putting Forgiveness and Compassion

in Action
Tom Williams, sujatha baliga & Professor
Steven Goodman,

moderated by

Andy Fraser

Bringing Reflection into the Workplace

Jack Heath

For so many of us, our working lives are constantly

busy and always rushed - many of us are digitally on
24/7. Since the early days of the internet, Jack Heath
has built in a period of formalized, paid leave for staff
Reflection Leave - in each of the organizations he
has led. Jack will provide an oversight of this simple
but powerful program with stories from people it has
benefited in the hope that other organizations might
consider taking up the initiative.

You have to work closely

with the people you are
serving. Youre not doing
things for people, but
youre doing things with
people. Jack Heath

Compassion: the Heart of a Spiritual Journey

Michael Imperioli

Michael Imperioli's career has been marked by

memorable movie and television roles that belie his
deeply personal, life-long search for meaning and
value. Michael will discuss how this journey led him to
discover Tibetan Buddhism, and how its practices now
affect his work and craft, family life and his relationship
to the world at large.

Program
Concurrent Workshops
by sector
business

Ethical Decision-Making: Applying Human

Values in Society
Daniel Schuessler & Rosa Kocher

This Tenzin Gyatso Institute workshop is based on the

Dalai Lamas book Beyond Religion: Ethics for a Whole
World, a compelling vision for universal secular ethics,
based on compassionate intention and discernment. The
workshop combines presentations, guided reflection,
the framework itself and a checklist. Participants work
with a current issue they are dealing with.
education

CONNECTED: Making Compassion

Relevant for Teens
Vinciane Rycroft

In this workshop, Vinciane Rycroft will share her

experience of investigating compassion with teenagers.
She will give examples from the CONNECTED
curriculum which she has developed jointly with other
Mind with Heart educators, and refer to examples
of their interventions in schools. She will also guide
participants through simple, practical tools for changing
perspectives in the way we interact and work with
colleagues and students.
caregiving

Why Care? - Cultivating and

Sustaining Compassionate Presence in
the Face of Suffering
Kirsten DeLeo

Compassion, most everyone agrees, is a marvelous

idea. Practicing compassion in action, however, is much
more challenging and difficult. Caring for others who are
suffering day to day, we can quickly come up against our

own physical, mental and emotional limitations. Can we

practice compassion without burning out?
Current research in neuroscience elucidates the
mechanisms of empathy and compassion and
provides a new framework for healthcare education.
This workshop offers hands-on experience in how we
can train in compassion using practical tools inspired
by the contemplative tradition of Tibetan Buddhism,
with its long-standing and effective methodologies for
deepening the human capacity for compassion. This
workshop presents on the ground examples from
two unique compassion skills-training programs: (1) a
training for residents working in inner-city hospitals in
the US and Australia and (2) an international certificate
program in contemplative end-of-life care for hospice/
palliative care workers.This workshop will be valuable
not only to healthcare, but anyone aspiring to live and
act compassionately.
law

Compassion and Law Building a More

Just, Compassionate, and Mindful Society
Charles Halpern and sujatha baliga

Over the past decade, a group of lawyers and legal

educators, grounded in mindfulness practice, have
introduced empathy and compassion as an important
component in legal education and in the functioning
of legal institutions, from policing to courts to prisons.
President Obama has stated that empathy would be a
central consideration in his selection of judges. In this
workshop we will review these activities and suggest
what shifts mindfulness and compassion might lead to
in the future legal order. We will focus, in particular, on
changes in legal education and in core processes in the
criminal justice process, focusing on restorative justice.

Speakers & Facilitators

Angelica Berrie is President of the
Russell Berrie Foundation and Chair of
the Shalom Hartman Institute of North
America, which makes transformational gifts to seed innovative philanthropic ventures that express Russ
Berries entrepreneurial spirit. She
helped found Gildas Club of Northern New Jersey and
became Board Chair of Gildas Club Worldwide, a free
social and emotional support network of clubhouses
across North America for families living with cancer. She
is also on the Board of the Joint Distribution Committee
and Vice-President of Ofanim, a nonprofit organization
in Israel whose mission is to deliver high-quality supplemental education to children in the periphery using
mobile classrooms.
Arturo Bejar works at Facebook on
social tools to help protect and support the people who use Facebook.
This includes developing tools designed to help resolve conflicts between individuals such as bullying or
misunderstandings.
Charles Halpern is the director of
the Berkeley Initiative For Mindfulness
In Law at the University of California,
Berkeley and author of Making Waves
and Riding the Currents, Activism
and the Practice of Wisdom (2008).
A leader in bringing mindfulness into
the study and practice of law, he has been an innovator
in legal education, a pioneer in the public interest law
movement, a creative philanthropist, and a long-time
meditator. From 1989-2000, he served as founding
President of the Nathan Cummings Foundation, stimulating the development of a program in contemplative
practice. Charles was the founding chair of the Center
for Contemplative Mind in Society. Over the last 15

years, he has led meditation retreats and workshops for

lawyers and judges all around the country, and chaired
conferences on The Mindful Lawyer (2010) and Mindfulness in Legal Education (2013).
Daniel Schuessler currently serves
on the Investment Committee for the
Terton Sogyal Foundation, devoted
to preserving the wisdom tradition of
Tibet and specifically to securing the
future of Sogyal Rinoches work and
vision. Daniel was a founding partner
of Bayswater Asset Management, a commodity trading
advisor which had peak assets under management exceeding $1 billion USD. Prior to Bayswater, he worked
for Mellon Capital Management, a leading quantitative
asset management firm, where he served as the firms
Director of Hedge Funds and Global Strategist. Over
the past 15 years, Daniel has developed a style of decision making, stemming from meditation and practical
study, that has transformed his approach to business.

Creating a more
compassionate world
is creating a healthier
Dr. Dan Siegel
Earth.
Dr. Daniel J. Siegel is currently
clinical professor of psychiatry at the
UCLA School of Medicine, where
he is on the faculty of the Center for
Culture, Brain, and Development and
the founding co-director of the Mindful Awareness Research Center. He
received his medical degree from Harvard University
and completed his postgraduate medical education at
UCLA. Dr. Siegel is also the Executive Director of the

11

Speakers & Facilitators

Mindsight Institute, an educational organization that
offers online learning and in-person lectures focusing on
how the development of mindsight in individuals, families and communities can be enhanced by examining
the interface of human relationships and basic biological processes.
Eve Ekman is currently a Post Doctoral Scholar at UCSFs Osher Center
for Integrative Medicine. Ekmans
research interests were inspired by
her experience as a medical social
worker in the emergency department
of San Francisco General Hospital coupled with her training in the applied emotion
regulation and mindfulness intervention: Cultivating
Emotional Balance, CEB. At the Osher Center for
Integrative Medicine, Eve will continue to refine the
conceptual framework, research and training in the
areas of meaning, empathy and burnout. Her focus
will again be care providers, this time a study population of residents in training with a long term goal of
pioneering interpersonal training for medical education
to support empathic skills, experience of meaning and
managing burning out.
Committed to growing jobs and creating a culture of innovation, entrepreneurship, and transparency, Mayor
Greg Fischer was elected Louisvilles
50th mayor in 2010. Since taking office, Mayor Fischer has pursued three
top goals: making Louisville a city
of lifelong learning, a much healthier city and an even
more compassionate community. As a businessman
and entrepreneur, he brings a data-driven approach to
city government with a goal of making it more efficient
and accessible. Mayor Fischer was named a 2013
Public Official of the Year by Governing Magazine.

12

Jack Heath is CEO of SANE Australia.

A former Senior Adviser to Australian
Prime Minster Keating and Foreign
Minister Rudd, Jack established the
Inspire Foundation in 1996 to use the
internet to address Australias then escalating rates of youth suicide. He also
established Inspire in Ireland and the United States. In
2011, while CEO of the Inspire USA Foundation, he was
appointed to the Executive Committee of the US National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention. He attended
President Obamas White House Summit on Mental
Health in 2012 and now serves on the board of mental
health organizations and expert groups in Australia. A
survivor of child clerical abuse, he has been a mediocre
Buddhist practitioner for 20 years and lives in Sydney
with his wife Catherine and children Lucy and Jamie.
Julia Kim M.D. is a physician and
public health researcher with program,
policy and advocacy experience in
the areas of international health and
sustainable development and Millennium Development Goals. Her work
within UNICEF has focused on incorporating equity, wellbeing, and sustainable development
within the post-2015 agenda. Her interest in Gross
National Happiness (GNH) has included participation in
the 2012 UN High-Level Meeting on Happiness and
Wellbeing: Defining a New Economic Paradigm as well
as research and policy analysis on Health, Happiness
and Well-being: Implications for Public Policy (Centre
for Bhutan Studies and GNH Research). She is currently a Senior Program Advisor at the GNH Centre, and
a member of the International Expert Working Group
for the New Development Paradigm, convened by the
Government of Bhutan.

Speakers & Facilitators

Karen Armstrong is the author of
numerous books on religious affairs,
including A History of God, The Case
for God, and, most recently, Twelve
Steps to a Compassionate Life. Her
work has been translated into over fifty
languages. In February, 2008, she was
awarded the TED Prize and is currently working with
TED on a major international project to propagate the
Charter for Compassion, which was crafted by leading
thinkers in six of the worlds religions.

If we want to create a
viable, peaceful world,
we've got to integrate
compassion into the
gritty realities of 21st
century life. Karen Armstrong
Kirsten DeLeo, Ieads professional
seminars and public retreats in the US
and Europe. Kirsten has been active in
the hospice movement since the early
90s. She has developed and implemented contemplative-based curricula
for residents and healthcare workers
for hospitals and other institutions. Kirsten co-designed
and currently serves as senior faculty for Contemplative End-of-Life Care", a professional certificate program
launched in partnership with Naropa University in 2003.
Kirsten is a senior teacher in Rigpas Spiritual Care
program, inspired by the acclaimed classic The Tibetan
Book of Living and Dying by Sogyal Rinpoche, and under the patronage of the Dalai Lama. The program has
been offering secular contemplative-based training and
education for over 20 years.

Marilyn Strickland is serving her second term as Mayor of Tacoma. Born in

Seoul, Korea, she is a graduate of the
University of Washington and holds
an MBA from Clark-Atlanta University.
Prior to elected office, she worked in
both the public and private sectors.
Mayor Stricklands pro-growth agenda is focused on
entrepreneurship, improving education, transportation,
strengthening neighborhoods and attracting international investment. Her regional and national leadership
includes Sound Transit, the U.S. Conference of Mayors Advisory Board and the National Conference of
Democratic Mayors. Mayor Strickland has appeared
on NBC's Meet the Press and National Public Radio.
She is a Rose Fellow with the Urban Land Institute,
has been recognized by the National League of Cities
Women in Municipal Government for outstanding local
leadership, and received the 2014 Futurewise Community Champion Award.
Emmy Award winningactor,
Michael Imperioli has established
a successful career both in front of
and behind the camera. He is best
known for his role as Christopher
Moltisanti on the acclaimed seriesThe Sopranos,which earned him
a Best Supporting Actor Emmy Award, five Emmy
nominations, as well as numerous Golden Globe and
SAG nominations. The Hungry Ghosts, a New York
City-based feature which Imperioli wrote and directed, was released in 2009. In December 2009, he
starred in Peter JacksonsThe Lovely Bones, based
on the bestselling book, opposite Rachel Weisz and
Mark Wahlberg. Imperioli recently competed and won
Food NetworksChopped: Tournament of The Stars.
His winnings were donated to The Pureland Project,
which works to empower grassroots movements in
Tibet for environmental sustainability and community
wellness through experiential education.

13

Speakers & Facilitators

Paul Ekman, Ph.D. is a leading clinical
psychologist and pioneer in the study
of emotions. His 1970s research shows
that emotions are universal and the facial expressions associated with some
emotions are common to all humans.
Dr. Ekman worked for forty years at the
Department of Psychiatry of the University of California.
In recent years, he has engaged in discussions on the
nature and quality of our emotional lives and compassion
with the Dalai Lama, and they co-authored the book
Emotional Awareness. Dr. Ekman has also authored
an ebook entitledMoving Toward Global Compassion,
along with a series of webisodes featuring his one-on-one
discussions with the Dalai Lama. Visit paulekman.com

Whether we hope to
spot concealed emotions
or seek compassionate
connection, our ability
to see and respond to
others often unspoken
feelings is key. Dr. Paul Ekman
Paul GilbertOBE is head of the
Mental Health Research Unit, and
Professor of Clinical Psychology, at the
University of Derby in the UK, where
he developed Compassionate Mind
Training and Compassion Focused
Therapy. Professor Gilbert has published and edited 21 books, including the bestselling
Overcoming Depression, and The Compassionate
Mind. He is the series editor for a compassionate approaches to life difficulties series. He was awarded an
OBE in 2011 for his contributions to healthcare.

14

Rick Hanson, Ph.D., is a neuropsychologist, a Senior Fellow of the

Greater Good Science Center at
UC Berkeley, and a New York Times
best-selling author. His books include
Hardwiring Happiness, Buddhas
Brain, Just One Thing, and Mother
Nurture. Founder of the Wellspring Institute for Neuroscience and Contemplative Wisdom, hes been an
invited speaker at Oxford, Stanford, and Harvard, and
taught in meditation centers worldwide. He has several
audio programs and his free Just One Thing newsletter
has over 100,000 subscribers. www.rickhanson.net
Roman Krznaric, Ph.D, is a cultural
thinker and writer on the art of living.
He is a founding faculty member of
The School of Life in London, which
offers instruction and inspiration on
the important questions of everyday
life, and advises organizations including Oxfam and the United Nations on using empathy
and conversation to create social change. He previously
taught sociology and politics at Cambridge University
and City University, London. His new book is Empathy:
Why it Matters, and How to Get It (Perigee Books/Penguin, Nov 2014). His other books include How Should
We Live? Great Ideas from the Past for Everyday Life
(Krznaric writes with passion and lucidity Wall Street
Journal) and How to Find Fulfilling Work (One of the
best psychology and philosophy books of 2013 Brain
Pickings). His RSA Animate on empathy, The Power of
Outrospection, has been viewed by over half a million
people. www.romankrznaric.com

Speakers & Facilitators

Empathy isn't just
something that happens
between individuals. It
can also flower on a
mass scale and start
shifting the contours of
society itself. Roman Krznaric
Rosa Kocher has worked for over
15 years with the Women's Health
Resource Center at California Pacific
Medical Center in San Francisco. She
serves cancer patients, pregnant and
postpartum women, and provides
palliative and end-of-life care with her
hands-on massage skills. Rosa has taught meditation
and contemplative compassion, practices she successfully integrates into her role as Facilitator for Rigpa's
Spiritual Care Program, her work with women, and her
service as a Community Mediator with the San Francisco Community Boards.
Professor Steven Goodman is Research and Program Director and Core
Faculty for Asian and Comparative
Studies at the California Institute of
Integral Studies. He received his Ph.D.
(1984) in Far Eastern Studies from the
University of Saskatchewan, Canada,
specializing in Tibetan Buddhism under the guidance of
Herbert V. Guenther. He has lectured on Buddhist and
comparative philosophy for over 30 years in the United
States, Asia, and Europe. In 1994 he was awarded a
Rockefeller Fellowship for the study of Tibetan mystical
poetry at the Rice University Center for Cultural Studies.

Professor Goodman serves as a Board Advisor to the

Khyentse Foundation, and is on the Working Committee for the 84000 Translating the Words of the Buddha.
He is the co-editor of Tibetan Buddhism: Reason and
Revelation. His most recent book, The Buddhist Psychology of Awakening: Explorations in the Abhidharma,
is forthcoming, Shambhala Publications.
sujatha baligas work is characterized by an equal dedication to victims
and persons accused of crime. A
former victim advocate and public
defender, sujatha was awarded a
Soros Justice Fellowship, which she
used to build a successful restorative
justice diversion program for young people. sujatha is
a frequent guest lecturer at universities and conferences, has been a guest on NPRs Talk of the Nation and
the Today Show, and her work has been profiled in the
New York Times Magazine. She speaks publically and
inside prisons about her personal experiences as a
survivor of child sexual abuse and her path to forgiveness. Today, sujatha is the director of the Restorative
Justice Project at the National Council on Crime and
Delinquency, where she helps communities implement
restorative justice alternatives to juvenile detention and
zero-tolerance school discipline policies. She is also
dedicated to advancing restorative justice to end child
sexual abuse and intrafamilial and sexualized violence
in the US and South Asia. sujatha earned her A.B. from
Harvard and Radcliffe Colleges, her J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania, and has held two federal clerkships.
Tom Tait was elected to serve as
Mayor of Anaheim in November 2010,
campaigning on a platform of bringing
the core values of freedom and kindness to the culture of the city and upholding public safety and civic upkeep
as the city of Anaheim's top priorities.

15

Speakers & Facilitators

Under Mayor Taits leadership, the city has implemented
several initiatives that support an agenda of freedom
and kindness. In February 2011, the city of Anaheim
dedicated the entire month to encourage random acts
of kindness and used it as a springboard for making
kindness contagious throughout the year. Mayor Tait
has also led the creation of the Hi Neighbor program
which encourages neighbors to get to know one another, ultimately leading to stronger, more resilient communities. This program has gained national attention from
the Community and Regional Resilience Institute (CARRI), a federally-funded research organization supporting
communities in their resilience building efforts. Mayor
Tait has a B.S. from University of Wyoming and an MBA
and JD from Vanderbilt.
Thomas M. Williams is a member of the Kentucky law firm of Stoll
Keenon Ogden where his legal practice focuses in management-side labor
and employment law. Multiple times
he has been recognized as one of the
top 50 lawyers in the Commonwealth
of Kentucky by Super Lawyers. Tom was a founder
of Restorative Justice Louisville, Inc. and now serves
as its Board Chair. He has served as President of the
Louisville Bar Association and Board Chair of Leadership Louisville being recognized by that organization as
one of Louisville Connectors. Tom was instrumental
in having a marker dedicated to Martin Luther Kings
I Have a Dream speech at the Lincoln memorial. He
advanced a similar resolution naming Thomas Merton
Square in Louisville. Tom served on the Steering Committee for the recent visit of His Holiness the Dalai Lama
to Louisville. He now serves as co-host of the Partnership for a Compassionate Louisville. For that work, he
received the Jack Olive International Heart of Compassion award from the Charter for Compassion International. Tom and his wife, Sarah, have three children, Lilly,
Lincoln and Nelson.

16

Vinciane Rycroft, LLM MSc, is

the director and co-founder of Mind
with Heart. She worked for 10 years
in charities committed to environment sustainability and environmental education, designing innovative
award-winning projects. Since 2006,
she has been coordinating education programs on
meditation and compassion. As director of Mind with
Heart, she offers workshops for teenagers, develops
curricula and trains the trainers jointly with the Mind with
Heart team. She also initiated and organized the first
two Empathy and Compassion in Society conferences
in London. www.mindwithheart.org
Dr. Yotam Heineberg works with
and studies former gang members
who are now active as peacemakers
for CCARE, the Centre for Compassion and Altruism Research and
Education at Stanford University. His
goal is to decipher processes of heroic
transformation from violence to peace and understand
how people transform from a life of violence to become
healers in their communities. The research also surveys
Israelis and Palestinians who were once combatants
and who now collaborate as peacemakers.

I pledge to spend the

rest of my life focused
on developing and
promoting ways to
increase compassion
among millions of people
worldwide. Dr. Yotam Heineberg

Partners
Empathy and Compassion IN Society
is a project of:
The Tenzin Gyatso Institute,
named after the 14th Dalai Lama, has
been established to put into action
his principles and ideals, including
the values of compassion, religious
harmony and universal responsibility. The Institute
works in particular to further the dialogue between the
Tibetan Buddhist wisdom tradition and the humanistic
and scientific traditions of the West, through the
Tenzin Gyatso Scholars Programme. The Institute
also promotes the practices of training the mind in
compassion, for which the Dalai Lama is recognized
around the world. www.tenzingyatsoinstitute.org

In Partnership with:
The Charter of Compassion is a
cooperative effort to restore not only
compassionate thinking but, more
importantly, compassionate action
to the center of religious, moral and
political life. Supported by leading thinkers from many
traditions, the Charter transcends religious, ideological,
and national differences and activates the Golden Rule
around the world. The Charter for Compassion is the
result of Karen Armstrongs 2008 TED Prize wish and
is made possible by the support of the Fetzer Institute.
www.charterforcompassion.org
Action for Happiness is a movement
of people who are taking action in their
personal lives, homes, workplaces
and communities, to help create a
happier society for everyone. We are
bringing together thousands of like-minded people,
including parents, teachers, managers, community
leaders, volunteers, policy makers, health and wellbeing
experts and many others too. We provide information,
inspiration and resources to help them make a
difference, all based on the latest scientific evidence.
www.actionforhappiness.org

The Spiritual Care Programme

has been training health and social
care professionals in compassionate
presence worldwide since 1993.
Our professional training curriculum
focuses on the application of mindfulness, meditation
and compassion in care work and in self-care. We
offer a range of seminars and online courses and work
with hospitals, hospices and universities. More than
30,000 professionals and volunteers have attended
our courses. As well as training those working and
volunteering in all aspects of care, particularly endof-life care, we are committed to supporting people
facing difficulties, illness, death, or bereavement, and
their families. We are an outreach program of Rigpa, an
international network of Buddhist centers, and we offer
an approach that emphasizes universal principles which
resonate with people from all traditions and walks of life.
www.spcare.org
Students for Happinessis a nonprofit discussion forum, which aims
to put happiness at the heart of
intellectual discourse amongst students
and young people. We are educated
on an infinite array of subjects but we are rarely taught
anything about happiness and wellbeing. In response
to this educational deficit,Students for Happinesslooks
to provide you with invigorating and thought-provoking
intellectual discussion surrounding this crucial topic.
www.studentsforhappiness.co.uk
Mind with Heart is a UK-based
charity dedicated to equipping young
people with the social and emotional
skills necessary to their wellbeing and
to building a more sustainable society.
We offer a complete social and emotional learning
curriculum, a whole-school approach to cultivating
mindfulness and empathy, trainings and events for
all education professionals, and packs and videos
to support youth and student events on the role of
empathy and compassion in society.

17

Partners
The Mind with Heart curriculum and trainings offer
research-based tools, designed and delivered by
trainers with over ten years experience in practicing
these tools and presenting them in an education
context. Its network of educators is currently active
mainly in the UK, France, Ireland and Australia.
Mind with Heart also initiated and organized the
Empathy and Compassion Society conference.
www.mindwithheart.org.uk

Supporting Partners:

Periwinkle
Far ms

18

The Foundation for Developing

Compassion and Wisdom is an
international NGO that promotes
peace in the world through Universal
Wisdom Education, a system of inner
development that enables people of all ages, cultures
and traditions to lead a happy and meaningful life and
be of service to others. It offers practical tools and
programs that help us explore reality, understand our
mind and emotions, and grow to embody the universal
human values of kindness, compassion, altruism and
joy. www.universalwisdomeducation.org

Notes

19

An Evening Honoring Compassion

The Tenzin Gyatso Institute invites you to a reception on Thursday, November 13 at 6pm, following the day's
presentations at the Empathy & Compassion in Society conference, at Fort Mason.
Celebrating the Compassion Week 2014 Awards recipients, guests will have the opportunity to network
with fellow Empathy & Compassion in Society conference speakers and supporters while enjoying music,
hors d'oeuvres and wine in the Golden Gate Room.
Tickets are $30 per person and can be purchased at the Empathy & Compassion in Society conference
registration table. Proceeds will go directly to The Tenzin Gyatso Institute so that TGI can continue to
spread the Dalai Lama's message of compassion to the world.

Compassion Week Awards recipients include

the following organizations & individuals:
ORGANIZATIONS:

INDIVIDUALS

AIDS/LifeCycle

Greg Fischer, Mayor

Category: Community Services

Louisville, Kentucky

Chinatown Community Development Center

Category: City Leadership

Category: Community Building

Joan Blades, Co-Founder

Dignity Health

MoveOn.org, MomsRising.org,, LivingRoomConversations.org

Category: Health Care

Category: City Leadership

Horizons Foundation

Joan Brown Campbell, Board President

Category: Community Catalyst

One Billion Rising

Category: Social Justice

Category: Lifetime Achievement

Libby & Len Traubman, Founders

Special Thanks to the Event Sponsors:

Charter for Compassion International

Jewish-Palestinian Living Room Dialogue

Category: Interfaith Reconciliation

DETAILS:
Date:
TIme:

Thursday, November 13
6:00pm to 8:00pm

Location:

Golden Gate Room

Ticket price:

$30 per person