Joan Halifax

Roshi Joan Halifax is a Buddhist teacher, anthropologist, author, and social activist whose work focuses on teaching contemplative practices to prisoners and dying people. She is the abbot and head teacher of Upaya Zen Center in Santa Fe, a board member and fellow of the Mind and Life Institute, and a Lindisfarne Fellow. She has also founded several organizations and initiatives, including the Zen Peacemaker Order, the Ojai Foundation, The Project on Being with Dying, and the Upaya Prison Project. In 2011, she was appointed as Distinguished Visiting Scholar at the Library of Congress, during which time she continued her research in the end-of-life care field, as well as on Buddhism in America. Halifax has taught at universities and hospitals around the world.