Our Team
The highly qualified instructors at the Penn Program for Mindfulness each have decades of experience in adapting an ancient science to modern needs.
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Michael J. Baime, MD, is director of the Penn Program for Mindfulness at the University of Pennsylvania Health System and has taught mindfulness-based stress reduction techniques since 1983. He teaches mindfulness-based stress management and communication techniques to faculty and students at the University of Pennsylvania school of medicine.
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Karen Bowles, MD, is a physician at the University of Pennsylvania. In addition to teaching in our public program, Karen also facilitates our courses for health care providers.
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Alexander deVaron, DMA, is on the music faculty of Swarthmore College and Temple University. He has been teaching mindfulness meditation since 1986. During this time his focus has been on how to apply the tools of meditation to the challenges of daily life.
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Maria Lynn Fanelli, MBA, MAMS, has been a strong advocate of health and wellness for individuals and organizations for over 20 years. In addition to teaching mindfulness meditation, she is also a Reiki Master and Energy Medicine practitioner in private practice. At Penn, Maria develops and teaches a variety of programs, with a focus on mindfulness training in corporate and workplace settings.
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Dan Gottlieb is a psychologist and marital therapist and has been in practice nearly 40 years. His career started in community mental health and substance abuse until his accident in 1979 made him a quadriplegic. Since that time, he has been in private practice. Since 1985, he has been hosting a radio show called "Voices in the Family" on WHYY FM, Philadelphia's NPR affiliate. He was a regular columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer from 1994 until 2008. He is also the author of four books.
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Robin A. Hall, BA is a marketing/media professional with a background in Pharmaceutical advertising. As Program Coordinator she assists with the execution of the day-to-day tasks that keep our Foundation programs running smoothly. In addition to that, she is responsible for securing promotion and advertising opportunities that contribute to increasing the awareness of, and participation in, the Penn Program for Mindfulness.
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Lawrence J. Ladden, PhD, is a licensed psychologist who teaches mindfulness as a foundation for therapeutic work. He is a licensed practitioner of the Systems-Centered approach a model for change consistent with the values and practice of mindfulness.
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Scott McBride, BA, is a stress management consultant with over 25 years experience teaching foundation and advanced levels of mindfulness and other stress reduction techniques. He has taught seminars throughout the United States and Canada.
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Gabriel Rocco, MA, is a psychotherapist in private practice. He often teaches mindfulness to cancer patients in treatment and leads programs for parents, healthcare workers and the general public. His study and practice of meditation also extends for over 20 years.
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Lori Volpe, BA, RYT, received training in teaching mindfulness at the Penn Program for Mindfulness and through a 7-day professional training retreat directed by Jon Kabat-Zinn and Saki Santorelli. Her meditation and yoga practice spans 18 years. Lori has extensive experience leading and facilitating groups for diverse organizations and, in addition to teaching meditation and yoga, is administrator of a non-profit meditation center.
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Mara Wai, M.Ed. is the Program Manager. She oversees program development and administration, teaches foundation and other mindfulness programs, and blends her yoga training to occasionally teach mindfulness-based movement workshops.
