About me

Biography

I now devote most of my time to teaching mindfulness and writing mindful children’s books, along with wisdom work advising, after a long career in book publishing and advocacy. I am an author with Milet Publishing, where I have a deep history. I founded Milet with Sedat Turhan in 1995 and directed the company with him for 15 years, based in London, Izmir and Chicago, growing it into a leading independent publisher of multilingual books, with a list of over 1000 titles in English and 23 languages. Over the years, Milet has broken barriers and uplifted readers and creators through its dedication to diverse literatures, languages, writers, illustrators and audiences.

As a publisher and editor for over three decades, I discovered and cultivated authors and illustrators; curated, organized and hosted many literary festivals and events; guest lectured and gave addresses at universities, including a commencement address; presented at numerous academic, professional and community conferences; and served on policy advisory committees and boards on literature, languages and education. As a freelancer, I developed, wrote and edited primary, secondary and higher education resources, and I edited scholarly books for university presses. I also taught adult literacy.

Alongside my work in books, I studied mindfulness and meditation, and years into my dedicated practice, I began offering guidance to individuals and groups. My mindfulness teaching work has grown now to encompass clients around the world. I continue to deepen my own practice through regular trainings and retreats.

Prior to my work in mindfulness and publishing, I worked in Washington, DC – with the International Organization for the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (EAFORD) and Without Prejudice, the EAFORD international review of racial discrimination; with the North American Coordinating Committee for NGOs on the Question of Palestine; and with the Jordan Information Bureau, where my jobs included: research, writing, editing, communications, policy analysis, media analysis, lobbying and advocacy. I worked with the Palestinian and Jordanian delegations to the Middle East peace talks in Washington. And I was an editor at The Jordan Times newspaper in Amman.

I have worked in film and media too, with the independent production firm NDF International in London, the London Film Festival, and the International Film Festival in Izmir. I helped establish the Human Rights Watch Los Angeles Film Club and was a lead organizer of the club for several years. I am a long-time board member and former judge of the Social Impact Media Awards (SIMA).

I have been a dedicated advocate for justice and liberation since the early 1980s, active in the anti-apartheid, Palestinian rights, Black lives, prison abolition, and animal rights movements, in Chicago, DC, Los Angeles and New York. I am currently based in Athens, Greece, working locally with community and refugee groups, and internationally, cultivating collective wellbeing and wise, compassionate action in the world through my mindfulness teaching and writing.

I studied political science with a concentration in Middle East politics at Northwestern University and the University of Sussex; Arab studies at Georgetown University; film and media studies at the University of London; adult education teaching and mindful awareness practices at the University of California, Los Angeles; and Buddhism and mindfulness at many meditation centers in the US and Europe.

I grew up in Chicago in a family of ten, in a strong community. I have been guided always by that ethos of the collective and the community. My commitment in everything is to show up, show love, and do the work, mindfully and compassionately.