JG Larochette
Founder & Director
JG@mindfullifeproject.org
JG is a graduate of Saint Mary's College in Moraga, where he received his B.S. in Psychology and was a 4-year scholarship player on the baseball team. After graduating from SMC, he felt a deep desire to work with children. At Age 22, he was hired to work as a Site Coordinator for Sports4Kids (now Playworks) at Laurel Elementary in Oakland and then Coronado Elementary in Richmond. In these early years, he built a strong connection eith the communities he served, and was focused on equity and creating a safe, fun, and engaging playground. After seeing immediate results on the playground and in seeing the affect it had on the school climate, he enrolled in the WCCUSD intern-credential program through Cal State University East Bay.
He received his Bilingual Teaching credential, and was highly motivated to bring the fun back into learning. His work in and out of the classroom was driven by the need to have high expectations for his students, and guide them into being leaders around the community. He built an invaluable relationship with the students, families and community. During this time he started to implement culturally relevant pedagogy, with an emphasis on the social-emotional aspect of the students.
In the last 10 years, he has led Mindful Life Project into being the biggest direct service mindfulness non-profit in the country. Mindful Life Project is highly regarded for its innovative direct service programs that specifically have been created to support students who have been exposed to high levels of adverse childhood experiences. He received his Mindfulness Certification by Mindful Schools in 2013.
JG brings a passion for providing youth deeply impactful services and programs that support student and educators mental and emotional well-being so that students can thrive socially and academically both at school and beyond. He is driven to work from a strong equity, social justice, and holistic lens in all the work he does. He is honored to have opportunities to work with schools, students and families. In creating Mindful Life Project he had the vision to provide programs in the lowest income and under-served schools, so that all students feel valued, empowered and given equitable educational opportunities. He is joined by an amazing and dynamic team that serves over 20,000 students in 9 Cities across the Bay Area and leads trainings and supports for schools across the nation.
Theresa Cabral
Director of Talent & Operations
Theresa@MindfulLifeProject.org
I found mindfulness, and rediscovered my meditation practice, after the birth of my son 6 years ago. Mindfulness absolutely provides the tools I need to navigate all of life's ups & downs. Having worked in education for many years and seeing first hand how impactful mindfulness can be for our youth makes me proud to be a part of MLP and support our staff in bringing this gift to our school partners.
Carolina Valverde
Director of Development & Marketing
Carolina@MindfulLifeProject.org
Since I can remember I have been interested in understanding how our minds work and how various experiences impact how we view the world. After graduating with a B.S. in Psychology during the recession, I began working in after school programs and saw how our education system had worsened for young people since I had been in school and how systems continuously failed chronically disenfranchised communities. I came to MLP after working in the after school space for 8 years and brought my passion for bringing access to mental health and wellness programming to communities throughout the Bay Area. Mindfulness is a skill that I myself use in my daily life, especially after experiencing high levels of stress and burnout working in education while simultaneously experiencing secondary trauma. After coming to MLP as a Program Manager, and later leading the programs team as the Senior Program Manager, I transitioned to be the Director of Development and Marketing in June 2020 as a way to give insight and first hand knowledge of our programs to funders and supporters. I am passionate about our programming and feel honored to have the opportunity to bring to life the deep impact I have seen first hand to our communities and stakeholders.
Mallory Servais
Director of Programs
Mallory@MindfulLifeProject.org
Mindfulness has helped me learn to live in the present moment, instead of worrying about the future or past. It allows me to be more intentional and present in my relationships, be more connected to my truest self, and to experience deeper and fuller joy. I'm inspired to share this practice with youth, who I honor & value as the great leaders & change-makers of our time and who deserve to feel the benefits of a mindfulness practice. In my mind I can envision a future where grounded, centered, and self-actualized practitioners of mindfulness throughout the Bay Area are living out the change they want to see in the world - for themselves but also for all of us as a community of shared practice.
Mallory Servais
Director of Programs
Mallory@MindfulLifeProject.org
Mindfulness has helped me learn to live in the present moment, instead of worrying about the future or past. It allows me to be more intentional and present in my relationships, be more connected to my truest self, and to experience deeper and fuller joy. I'm inspired to share this practice with youth, who I honor & value as the great leaders & change-makers of our time and who deserve to feel the benefits of a mindfulness practice. In my mind I can envision a future where grounded, centered, and self-actualized practitioners of mindfulness throughout the Bay Area are living out the change they want to see in the world - for themselves but also for all of us as a community of shared practice.
Haydn Griffith
Director of Finance and Data
Haydn@MindfulLifeProject.org
My role as the Director of Finance and Data at Mindful Life Project gives me the opportunity to use my finance background to support providing youth with critical skills for their lifelong development. Having seen the benefits of mindfulness in my own life in recent years, I often think about how much it would have helped to have these skills when I was growing up. Mindful Life Project drew me in as I get to work with a great team of folks who are excited to share these critical life skills with students from an early age.
Angelo Monsalve
Director of Patnerships
Angelo@MindfulLifeProject.org
I came to MLP because it is one of the largest direct service mindfulness providers in education. Scale, impact and a service driven mindset are what bring me to Mindful Life everyday. Mindfulness has helped me raise my awareness about who I am and how I show up/move in this world for others and for myself I am passionate about my job because I grew up in similar communities that many of our partner schools reside in. I want to show up for our kids/our future and disrupt an education system that is riddled with inequities and disparities. I am passionate about sharing the transformational tools of Mindfulness with youth and empower them to make better choices as they navigate the messiness of life and inspire them to show up in this world as their authentic, perfectly imperfect selves; unabashedly.
Davin Thompson
Mindfulness 360 Specialist
Davin@MindfulLifeProject.org
I am here at MLP because of a passion for community service and helping people. I enjoy working in the educational space and am excited to provide opportunities to introduce young people and adults alike to mindfulness. So much of our day-to-day experience is defined by external means. Mindfulness offers a lens from which the person can build a stronger bridge between internal life and external day-to-day life so we can become more intentional and holistic about the world we inhabit and how we interact with each other and ourselves. I’m passionate about this work because I have experienced the benefits of mindfulness practice and I think providing an opportunity for young people will create means for a brighter future.
David Flores
Lead Trainer
David@MindfulLifeProject.org
I am passionate about this work personally because it has given me the skills to access the present moment when thoughts and emotions feel overwhelming. I think all students, teachers, and parents deserve to have access to these life changing skills as well.
Jennifer Fogelman
Impact Specialist
Jennifer@MindfulLifeProject.org
I was intrigued to be a part of the MLP team due to the company’s alignment with my passions of how I want to show up in life. The impact of mindfulness as an everyday practice has allowed me to understand myself and my emotions on a deeper level. Mindfulness has also created deeper empathy in connection to the emotions of others how we can all support one another. I’m most passionate about the role I am in because it allows me to create connections within community in a sense of all together constant continued learning, growing, and developing more love to one another.
Karla Lara
Finance & Data Specialist
Karla@MindfulLifeProject.org
I came to MLP to contribute to the positive impact they are creating within communities by providing skills that lead to mental and emotional wellbeing. Being here at MLP has also improved my own mindfulness practice. Mindfulness has helped me grow my self-awareness to be more present, calm, responsive, and kind towards myself and others. Therefore, I am passionate about my job because it helps the organization strive to better the world and everything that lives on it one breath at a time.
Lealah Dickinson
Impact Specialist
Lealah@MindfulLifeProject.org
Hello beautiful communities,
Mindfulness has impacted my life in many beautiful ways. It has offered me many tools and practices that support my well-being through life's challenges and celebrations. Being present with what is and naming what I am grateful for, big or small, is truly a gift. I think these tools can be valuable and beneficial to all no matter what life has to offer them. I hope that I can teach and remind our youth of the profound power and inner beauty that they each hold.
Lizbeth Gonzalez Garcia
Impact Specialist
Lizbeth@MindfulLifeProject.org
I come to MLP because I am passionate about sharing tools that can support students to gain self awareness, confidence and empowerment. The tools that I have gained through practicing mindfulness have been of great benefit to my personal and professional growth and my hope is that others can experience those benefits as well.
LaReese Stitts-Hunt
Human Resource Specialist
LaReese@MindfulLifeProject.org
Bio coming soon!
MaryAnn McNamara
Development & Marketing Specialist
MaryAnn@MindfulLifeProject.org
My work with Mindful Life Project stems from my belief that mental health and wellness resources should be de-stigmatized and made accessible for all. My own wellness journey is rooted in mindfulness. Mindfulness allows me to appreciate the daily joys of life while also giving me strength and resiliency for those more challenging times. Mindfulness helped me become more in-tune with myself and my emotions, allowing me to better accept myself without judgement. My role at Mindful Life Project deeply connects to my passion of promoting the benefits of wellness and mental health, while also having the opportunity to connect with my community.
MaryAnn McNamara
Development & Marketing Specialist
MaryAnn@MindfulLifeProject.org
My work with Mindful Life Project stems from my belief that mental health and wellness resources should be de-stigmatized and made accessible for all. My own wellness journey is rooted in mindfulness. Mindfulness allows me to appreciate the daily joys of life while also giving me strength and resiliency for those more challenging times. Mindfulness helped me become more in-tune with myself and my emotions, allowing me to better accept myself without judgement. My role at Mindful Life Project deeply connects to my passion of promoting the benefits of wellness and mental health, while also having the opportunity to connect with my community.
William Gross
Impact Specialist
William@MindfulLifeProject.org
The opportunity to work for MLP was a blessing that landed in my lap! After years of working in education, I wanted to explore something new. Something that would challenge me, something that would provide room for growth, while allowing me to express my creative potential within. Working with youth has always been a passion of mine, however working with youth and teaching students mindfulness and skills to cope with their social/emotional wellbeing almost felt too good to be true, until I actually landed a position as a coach doing the work. The capacity to be an advocate for youth in this regard is something I will never take for granted.