Project Directors

Margaret Fletcher has a great love and concern for our shared Earth. As a member of the 2022-2023 Eco-Advisory Group with the BESS Family Foundation, she has found great collegiality, support and inspiration to offer contemplative practices as healing and wellness for the interconnected web of life on Earth. Margaret is the originator of the MBSR & EcoAwareness workshop.

Margaret trained and is certified to teach MBSR through the Center for Mindfulness at UMass Medical School, where she also served as an MBSR Teacher and Senior MBSR Teacher Trainer. She trained with and is certified by senior trainers at Bangor and Oxford Universities in assessing MBSR teacher competency using the MBI-TAC tool, which she uses in mentoring mindfulness teachers. In 2019 Margaret co-founded East Coast Mindfulness with Rebecca Eldridge; Margaret continues to teach and train MBSR teachers through East Coast Mindfulness. Margaret holds a Master’s degree in Mindfulness Studies from Lesley University, and brings over two decades of experience in teaching meditation and mindfulness in corporate, small business, non-profit, church and community settings.

To learn more about Margaret Fletcher, visit here.

Trish Magyari brings a wealth of heart and experience to her new role. She has studied with Joanna Macy since the 1980’s and Dr. Macy’s “From Despair to Empowerment” and “Active Hope” courses continue to inspire her to enironmental advocacy/local action from her home on a Florida barrier island, teaching, and caring for the Earth. Trish is a Certified MBSR teacher (MBSR Professional Training with Jon Kabat-Zinn in 1999 and Teacher Development Intensive at UMASS 2000). Since 2014 she has been an MBSR mentor in the UCSD MBSR Teacher Training Program. She has a Master’s degree in Clinical Counseling (Johns Hopkins University, 2009) and a private practice focusing on anxiety, depression, chronic pain and trauma healing  She has been the lead teacher on numerous MBSR clinical trials and a pioneer in the field of trauma-informed mindfulness. She is also a Certified Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) teacher since 2015 and was a mentor in the 2-year Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program (MMTCP) from 2018-2025. She became an Insight Meditation Teacher under Tara Brach in 2005 and founded the Insight Meditation Community of Baltimore. She leads weeklong silent retreats in natural settings as well as daylong and weekend Eco-Mindfulness Retreats. Trish holds a professional certificate in Eco-therapy from Pacifica University and is currently enrolled in the year-long Earth Awareness Teacher Training (EATT). Her passion is to restore wholeness including a connection to ourselves, our communities, and to the natural world. 

Workshop Facilitators

Mark Dannenfelser is the founding director of the Mindfulness Center of Atlanta (2009). He is a certified Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction teacher, a licensed professional counselor, and a registered yoga teacher. The mission of the Mindfulness Center of Atlanta is to increase the well-being, healing and clinical outcomes of those suffering from chronic stress, illness or injury and the challenges of being human, using evidence-based, integrative, mind/body practices taken from the ancient spiritual traditions and modern psychology. Mark’s professional interest and passion is to support healing, integration and equilibrium within the individual, society and the natural world by increasing awareness of and care for our inner and outer landscapes.

Mark holds the Master Degree in Counseling Psychology from Montclair University and the Master Degree in Pastoral Studies from Spring Hill College. He holds the Certificate in Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction from the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society™ at the University of Massachusetts Medical School (Jon Kabat-Zinn, Saki Santorelli), the Certificate in Mindfulness Mentor Training from Banyan (Tara Brach, Jack Kornfield), the Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness Training from David Treleaven, the EMDR Training, Level I and II from the EMDR Institute (Francine Shapiro) and the Certificate in Spiritual Direction from Spring Hill College.

Toral Livingston-Jha, PCC (she/they) is a certified leadership and life coach, coach mentor, and MBSR facilitator based in Madison, WI. She is passionate about working with leaders and organizations deeply committed to making positive change and creating impact in their world. For nearly 30 years, that passion has translated into leading and coaching organizations, teams and coalitions focused on advancing environmental, social, and educational causes.

Prior to becoming a coach, Toral studied Biological Conservation, Environmental Studies and Women’s Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and spent nearly two decades educating communities about waste reduction as well as shaping and lobbying for producer responsibility legislation. After burning out from this work, she pivoted into personal and professional development; weaving together her interest in internal/external systems and commitment to transformational change. It is from this place of intersectionality that she supports her clients – environmental and social justice leaders, scientists, healers, advocates and educators.

Toral is a Certified Professional Coach through the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a credentialed Professional Certified Coach (PCC) through the International Coaching Federation. She also is a qualified Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) teacher with the Center for Mindfulness at the University of California San Diego. She offers adult MBSR through UW Health in Madison, WI with an emphasis on Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities. When she’s not partnering with her amazing and talented clients, students, and class participants, Toral delights in connecting with the world around her – gardening, camping, kayaking, and spending time with friends and family. To learn more about Toral, visit here.