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Presenters and Moderator

Presenters:

Anna Maria Chávez, former CEO of Girl Scouts of the USA

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Anna Maria Chávez, a nationally recognized visionary leader, is the president and CEO of the Arizona Community Foundation. Growing up in Eloy, Arizona, she cultivated the servant leadership values that propelled her into a trailblazing career spanning education, government, technology and nonprofit leadership.

Chávez made history as the first woman of color to lead the Girl Scouts of the USA, where she revitalized the brand for the 21st century, earning recognition as one of Fortune’s “World’s 50 Greatest Leaders.” She has held leadership roles across public service and advocacy, including serving in President Clinton’s administration, as deputy chief of staff for Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, and as CEO of the National School Boards Association.

A Yale graduate with a juris doctorate from the University of Arizona, Chávez’s dedication to equity and empowerment has also been recognized by Forbes, which named her among its "50 Over 50 Women Leaders." She continues to drive impactful change through initiatives like Fearless Global Initiative, which she co-founded to amplify advocacy for girls.
 

Dr. Amishi Jha, Ph.D. ’98, director of Contemplative Neuroscience and professor of Psychology at the University of Miami

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Dr. Jha is director of contemplative neuroscience and professor of psychology at the University of Miami.  With grants from the Department of Defense and several private foundations, she leads research on the neural bases of attention and the effects of mindfulness-based training programs on cognition, emotion, resilience, and performance in education, corporate, elite sports, first-responder and military contexts.

In her laboratory at the University of Miami, she uses functional MRI, electrophysiological recordings and behavioral techniques to understand why our attention sometimes fails us, and if it can be trained for greater focus and less distractibility. She launched the first-ever study to offer mindfulness training tools to active-duty military service members as they prepared for deployment.

In addition to her own published body of research, her work has been featured at TED, NATO, the World Economic Forum, the Pentagon, and the UK Parliament. She has received coverage in The New York Times, TIME, Forbes, Mindful Magazine, NPR and more. In her national bestseller, Peak Mind (Harper Collins), she shares her discoveries on how attention can be trained for optimal performance and well-being.
 

Moderator

Pamela Wu ’95, director of news and media relations, UC Davis Health

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Pamela Wu’s career spans the fields of broadcast journalism, public relations, and communications training. Wu is the director of News and Media Relations for UC Davis Health. In 2021, she received an Emmy Award in the category of Health/Medical Long-Form Content. Wu continues her work in broadcasting as a substitute host for Capital Public Radio, Sacramento’s NPR station.