Michelle C. Chatman, PhD, is a cultural anthropologist, community ritualist, vocalist, educator, and an initiated devotee in the Orisha/Yoruba spiritual tradition of West Africa. She is an Associate Professor at the University of the District of Columbia (UDC) where she initiated a contemplative pedagogy movement and now serves as the founding director of the Mindfulness and Contemplative Action (MICA) Lab, an applied research lab and experiential classroom. 

Michelle’s research focuses on healing-centered social change, youth justice, decolonial/liberatory education, and Black family well-being. She is the founder of the Black Mindfulness Summit and was a member of the inaugural class of the Transformative Educational Leaders Program. She is the outgoing board chair of the Center for Contemplative Mind in Society and was named one of the 10 Powerful Women in the Mindfulness Movement 2022 by Mindful.org.