Leah Weiss Ekstrom is a Contemplative Educator whose research and teaching focuses on the application of meditation in secular contexts. Leah has engaged in extensive retreat practice in the Kagyu/Nyingma traditions of Tibetan Buddhism. She is also trained as a clinical social worker, having worked with refugees in India, Nepal, and the United States.

She has taught clinicians in a variety of settings including Harvard-affiliated hospitals, the Boston Center for Refugee Health and Human Rights, the Alzheimer’s Association, and the National HIV/AIDS Conference. In 2008, Leah co-founded the Foundation for Active Compassion, a nonprofit organization that offers meditation practices to people involved in social service and social change work in an effort to provide tools for prevention and healing from burnout and compassion fatigue.

Currently, Leah is Director of Compassion Education at Stanford’s Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCARE). She is on the cusp of completing her doctoral degree in Theology and Education.

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TED has created a program called TEDx. TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. Our event is called TEDxTraverseCity, where x = independently organized TED event. At our TEDxTraverseCity event, TEDTalks video and live speakers will combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events, including ours, are self-organized.