Joanne Braxton, Ph.D

Saturday Speaker

Joanne Braxton, Ph.D., is a poet and a scholar, a gifted pastoral care-giver, spiritual director, and a long-time student and teacher of contemplative traditions and spiritual practice, including spiritual life-writing. Joanne, who is also known as Sage, has a degree in spirituality and another in ministry as well as a doctorate in American Studies. Her current areas of research and writing include red-black spirit medicine, collective healing, and recovery from moral injury. Dr. Braxton has incorporated mindfulness in her teaching of writing for many years and is training to become a certified MBSR instructor through the Center for Mindfulness and Omega Institute.

Emerita Professor at William and Mary, she leads the Braxton Institute for Sustainability, Resiliency and Joy, a non-profit founded in 2012 with a group of young professionals who had once been her students. Through various programs, the Braxton Institute fosters physical, emotional, and spiritual sanctuary for care-givers and those building a more just, joyful and sustainable world. Joanne teaches and leads mini-retreats in contemplative practice at All Souls Church, Unitarian and directs the Braxton Institute Dialogues Series at the Potters House, both in Washington, D.C. She also serves as a wellness consultant to the National Institutes of Health.

Dr. Braxton will be leading Saturday's workshop titled “Cultivating Contemplative Practice for Social Justice Leadership.”