Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction Class Teachers
The Palo Alto Medical Foundation has a dedicated staff of mindfulness teachers who will help you connect your mind and body in new and exciting ways.
Here is some background information on our Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction Class teachers.
Browse Mindfulness Classes and Other Mental Health Events at PAMF
Renée Burgard LCSW - Palo Alto
Renée Burgard is a mindfulness-based psychotherapist, consultant, and educator in private practice at Mindfulness & Health in Palo Alto, CA. She teaches Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR) programs for Stanford University, Google, Inc., Apple Computer, the Palo Alto Medical Foundation, and for other schools, nonprofits, and corporations in the SF Bay Area; and serves as a senior MBSR instructor and mentor for teachers and psychotherapists in Northern California. She graduated with a B.A. from Stanford University, and an interdisciplinary Masters degree from UC Berkeley in Clinical Social Work and Health & Medical Sciences.
Her background includes extensive education in the sciences, including neurosciences. She received training in MBSR from Jon Kabat-Zinn; is currently in training for certification in Interpersonal Neurobiology with Dan Siegel, MD; and is an expert contributor on the topic of mindfulness for GoodTherapy.org. She received ordination as a lay monastic from Thich Nhat Hahn, and has been a practitioner of meditation and other mindfulness practices for many years.
Mindfulness. article written by Renée (.pdf)
(download Acrobat reader if you don't have it)
Julie Forbes, Ph.D. - Mountain View & Fremont
Julie Forbes, Ph.D. offers stress reduction, mindfulness, and mind/body programs and consulting to corporate and community organizations, groups, and individuals. In addition to Palo Alto Medical Foundation, she teaches on a regular basis at other medical centers throughout the San Francisco Bay Area; she presents workshops at corporate sites, including Oracle, Network Appliance, and Gilead, bringing over 25 years of personal experience working in high-tech companies; and with teachers, employees and students at local schools.
Julie began practicing meditation in 1985 and has been a student of Gil Fronsdal at the Insight Meditation Center since 1993. She has completed professional training in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction with Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D. and through the Stress Reduction Clinic at El Camino Hospital. She has been teaching Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction programs since 1997 and received a doctorate in psychology in 1999.
Julie is passionate about helping people develop skills to improve their well-being and quality of life.
Mark Neenan, M. Ed. - Santa Cruz
Mark Neenan holds a Masters of Education in Counseling and Personnel Services from the University Missouri, Columbia. He is a longtime practitioner and trainer of mindfulness meditation, yoga, and Qigong.
A former World Health Organization Researcher and Program Coordinator for UCSC's Disability Resource Center, he has served as a Stress and Pain Management Specialist for Stanford's Department of Psychiatry, Kaiser's Department of Psychiatry Redwood City, El Camino Hospital's Stress Reduction Clinic Mountain View, and the Meridian Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine Monterey.
Mark is a certified instructor of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction having interned at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center where he completed professional training under MBSR founder Jon Kabat-Zinn.