Dr. Vaishali Mamgain received her PhD in Economics at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. She is currently an Associate Professor of Economics and the Director of the Bertha Crosley Ball Center for Compassion at the University of Southern Maine. A pioneer in the field of contemplative education she facilitates Compassion Training workshops in the US and abroad. When COVID-19 forced an online transition, she was teaching Economics and Happiness – a contemplative class she had developed during a fellowship with the American Council of Learned Societies. Currently, she serves on the Board of Directors of The Center for Contemplative Mind in Higher Education and the Courage of Care Coalition. She practices in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition under the tutelage of Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche and from 2014-2017 she did a 3-year meditation retreat at Samten Ling Retreat Center in Crestone, Colorado.