About Lesley

I offer creative writing and mindfulness instruction to people of all ages, including K-12 and university students, adult learners, and incarcerated juveniles. I lead group workshops and provide individual coaching for 1-1 clients.

For over 30 years I’ve worked as an instructor and editor. I hold an B.A in English from Reed College, an M.F.A. from UMass, Amherst (English and Creative Writing) and several California teaching credentials. I received a certificate as Outstanding Instructor for my work teaching creative writing at UMass, Amherst. I was a Fulbright Scholar to Mexico and am currently a member of the Los Angeles Editors and Writers Group.

I began my practice and study of mindfulness meditation over 20 years ago. In 2016 I became a certified mindfulness instructor. Although my own practice is rooted in Vipassana meditation and Theravada teachings, my classes and workshops are non-secular. I incorporate foundational mindfulness practices with Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) as well as Trauma Sensitive Mindfulness and the teachings that inform James Baraz’s Awakening Joy program. I am a member of the International Mindfulness Teachers Association.

My approach to teaching and facilitation reflects my core belief that everyone deserves a safe environment where they can experiment, learn, and develop their craft and practice. I respect and honor the courage it takes to sit with oneself and to create.

For writers and artists: There are stories only you can tell. Poems only you can write. Art only you can make.

For meditators: There is a way in to quieting the mind, practices that encourage a kindness to oneself many of us rarely learn.

For everyone: There is a knowing and creative vision that is unique to you, as well as a way of being that fosters an embodied awareness that all living things are connected. We are not alone.

Allow me to offer you new ways of exploring the landscape of your own mind, your own heart, your own imagination.