Board of Directors

Lisa Caton is the founder and lead instructor of Mindful Guidance, the Director of the Center for Mindfulness and Compassion at The College of New Jersey (TCNJ), and a qualified Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) instructor.

She was trained through the Center for Mindfulness at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center and the Jefferson Mindfulness Institute at Jefferson Hospital in Philadelphia. Lisa earned a master of divinity degree through Princeton Theological Seminary and General Theological Seminary in New York City.

Her work has included mindfulness courses and workshops as well as a variety of other mindfulness and compassion based programs and retreats. She has worked with a wide range of populations at The College of New Jersey, Honor Yoga in Pennington, Urban Promise in Trenton and for other organizations in the Trenton/Mercer County area.

www.mindfulguidance.org

Ali Smith was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, he is a graduate of the Friends School of Baltimore and the University of Maryland, College Park, where he received a BS in Environmental Science and Policy with a Biodiversity specialization. Ali started his journey with contemplative practices as a small child, learning meditation from his father and attending the Kriya Yoga based Divine Life Church of Absolute Oneness run by Swami Shankarananda. He deepened his practice as a young adult, learning yoga, meditation, mindfulness, and breathwork from his teacher and godfather Will Joyner.

Ali has almost 20 years’ experience teaching yoga, mindfulness, and meditation internationally to a broad demographic spectrum that includes schools, retreat centers, wellness centers, mental crisis facilities, detention centers, drug treatment centers, the corporate setting, as well as private one-on-one sessions. He co-founded the Holistic Life Foundation in 2001. During his tenure as Executive Director, his leadership helped guide HLF to grow an organization that employed over 50 people, and served communities worldwide. He is a published author, written several curriculums, and is a pioneer in the fields of yoga and mindfulness in education, as well as trauma informed yoga and mindfulness, developing best practices that are used around the world. Ali has taught in seven countries on three continents.

His work has been featured on the CBS News, CNN, NBC Nightly News, PBS, as well as in Oprah Magazine and Forbes. Ali is also a co-host of the Look Again Podcast and Co-Owner of the Involution Group.

www.holisticlifefoundation.org

Sean Keagan Foley is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and holds a graduate degree in Social Work with concentrations in Management and Policy and Clinical Social Work. Sean also holds certificates as an Eagleton Institute of Politics Fellow, Union County Leadership Fellow, School Social Worker, Certified Clinical Telemental Health Provider, Certified Anxiety Treatment Specialist & holds a certificate in mindfulness-based interventions.Sean is also a candidate to be a Certified Personality Disorder Professional and a Certified Grief Counseling Specialist.

Sean has a wide range of experience working in various organizational and therapeutic settings. Some of his experiences include working with foster youth transitioning from high school into college, advocating and providing support for homeless families, teaching at Rutgers University at a program to foster academic success for vulnerable youth, and developing initiatives to reduce overdoses in Union County. Sean is also one of the first mental health professionals in the state to raise the alarm about the dangers regarding smartphone and social media overuse an issue he has been researching over the past 4 years. Sean is currently a psychotherapist who treats people of all ages who may be suffering from substance use disorder, trauma, social phobias, anxiety disorders, and depression.

www.iaddictednj.com