About

I was trained as an electrical engineer and earned a master’s and doctoral degrees in psychology from the University of Fribourg. I completed three years of postdoctoral training at the University of California, Los Angeles and the University of Connecticut. Before joining Florida State University in 2017, I was a faculty member at Utah State University for two years and a visiting scholar at the University of Konstanz for one and a half years.

I grew up in a Christian environment and chose Matthew 10:39 as my confirmation verse: “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” This teaching on impermanence and the importance of acceptance and letting go has remained meaningful to me and my current focus on mindfulness.

During my studies at the University of Fribourg, I complemented my psychology major with a minor in modern philosophy and ethics, where I developed a particular admiration for Immanuel Kant’s categorical imperative. More recently, I completed the four-year Humanistic Buddhism–The Chan Teachings of Master Sheng Yen course with a term paper and a presentation on Yogacara as well as the assistant Chan teacher training at Chan Bern.