Monika L. Son, PhD (she/her)

Dr. Monika L. Son is a Contemplative Practice and Thought Leader, Healer, Scholar, Life Transitions Guide, Embodied Leadership Coach, Trauma-Informed Facilitator, and a student of Soto Zen Buddhism and Chaplaincy. Dr. Son is known for her courage in embracing the edges of discomfort and uncertainty. Guided by heart-spirit, the ancestors, and deep connection to suffering in the world, her scholarship on identity is inspired by a central question: “How do I help others reclaim their whole selves, despite the projections of oppression, social rank and status, lineage and colonization?” Her work reflects a lifelong practice/inquiry that supports reclaiming inner agency through resourcing from a place of presence, relationship, resilience, somatic awareness, and an honoring of lineage/ancestors. In her over twenty- year career as an educator and leader in higher education, Dr. Son has found that contemplative based skills and practices are what seed and ground sustainable transformative change.  Her intention is to bear witness to and support women/femme change leaders who choose to bring fierce loving radical love and compassion to the spaces they impact.  A trained psychologist and somatic facilitator, she is skilled at supporting processes in discomfort and ambiguity around challenging dialogues about race, power, privilege, and oppression.