Mindfulness First

01/23/2026

We are excited to share that we are looking for Curriculum Accessibility Specialists to support our curriculum adaptation and development through our Making Mindfulness Accessible (MMA) Project.

We are seeking experts. through professional or lived experience, to help us adapt our K-12 mindfulness curriculum for students with low-incidence disabilities, specifically those who are Blind/Low-Vision, Deaf/Hard of Hearing, and Deafblind.

This is a Remote (USA) 1099 contract role with an anticipated total time commitment of approximately 85 hours from March to June 2026. If you are passionate about inclusive education and have experience with low-incidence disabilities, we would love to connect with you!

Link to Job Description and Application: https://www.mindfulnessfirst.org/careers

Image Description: A "We're Hiring" announcement. At the top, a vibrant row of sharpened colored pencils in rainbow order (blue, green, yellow, orange, red) points downward toward a white square note pinned with a teal pushpin. The note is centered on a light teal background and says "WE'RE HIRING!" in thin, black, all-caps font. The bottom right features the Mindfulness First logo—a teal infinity-style heart symbol above the organization’s name.

01/01/2026

Happy 2026! What intentions are you setting for a happy, healthy year ahead?

For us, our intention is to create greater Accessibility in our curriculum, especially for underserved communities, such as students who are Deaf/Hard of Hearing, Blind/Low Vision, or Deafblind.

That intention will take a village, so we gratefully thank our Community Partners and Accessibility Specialists!

Keep an eye out for exciting Making Mindfulness Accessibility (MMA) project coming soon!



Image Description: A teal square graphic featuring the Mindfulness First logo (an infinity-style loop) at the top center. Below the logo, the words "Happy New Year" are written in a large, flowing white cursive font. The central text is surrounded by a border of hand-drawn fireworks in varying shades of white, icy blue, and navy.

12/30/2025

We were honored to share the impactful work of Mindfulness First through two presentations at the 2025 Stanford University Contemplation by Design Summit!

1. Creating a Mindful School: A 10-Year Success Story

Mindfulness First Co-founder, and Executive Director Sunny Wight, Program Director Cayla Cole, and Principal Sean Hannafin presented the authentic,10-year journey of transformation at Crockett Elementary.

2. The Attuned Classroom: Elevating Mindfulness Teaching

Mindfulness First Executive Program Director, Christina Costelo led an interactive workshop sharing concrete, subtle skills for mindfulness instruction. Summit organizers called her contribution a "powerful addition," noting: "Your concrete suggestions on teaching in the mindfulness space were such a powerful addition to the summit... we are so grateful that we got such an applied perspective."

We are excited to announce that in the new year, we will be releasing a new K-12 Curriculum and companion training to share our best practices with educators everywhere!

Follow us for updates!

12/29/2025

In our partner schools, we’ve seen a 93% reduction in suspensions and a 95% drop in teacher burnout. This work isn’t just "nice to have"—it’s essential.

Help us bring mindfulness coaches and accessible mental health curricula to more schools in 2026.

Only 3 days left to make a 2025 tax-deductible gift!

Since 2013 Mindfulness First has impacted over 500K lives with life-skills in trauma, mindfulness and social-emotional skills. Be a part of our mission with a tax deductible donation!

12/23/2025

Team Member Spotlight: Steven Lopez, Mindfulness Instructor

We are excited to introduce our new Mindfulness Instructor, Steven Lopez, who is joining our team to support our Seeding Schools efforts and continued expansion of our mindfulness education programming in schools!

Steven brings over a decade of experience providing mindfulness and behavior support as a Youth Mentor and Community Service worker in the nonprofit industry, most recently working as a Behavior Wellness Coach. He has a passion for building engaging curriculum and is excited to contribute his ideas and experience to the team as we begin testing out the new curriculum developed through our Making Mindfulness Accessible project.

12/22/2025

At Mindfulness First, we’re starting the week with gratitude!😍

This December, we’ve raised $44,773 of our $75k End of Year Fundraising Goal - thank you! These funds are vital for our 2026 programming, ensuring that mindfulness education remains accessible to all.

Help us reach the finish line. Let’s bring more presence and peace to the New Year.

Be a part of our impact! Donate here: www.mindfulnessfirst.org/donations ♥️

12/17/2025

Mindfulness Coach, Andra, and Associate Mindfulness Coach, Khariah, recently launched mindfulness lessons for students in a few Special Education classes at Crockett Elementary.

During their first lesson, Coach Andra introduced the concept of mindfulness. A highlight was the Heart-Belly breathing practice. To give students an example, Coach Andra used a small stuffed animal on her belly to demonstrate how the belly expands and contracts with the breath. The students loved this activity, and every student volunteered to try it out!

The students eagerly shared their gratitude for the visit, and later, when asked by their teacher about how mindfulness was going, the class gave two thumbs up! The coaches are excited to continue with additional lessons to support students as they grow their mindfulness skills.

12/10/2025

We had such a wonderful time at the Arizona Health Equity Conference, sharing the important message, Mindfulness is not just self-care it’s a powerful leadership strategy!

Our incredible Mindfulness Coach, Andrea Passarella, joined forces with the brilliant Maria Molina, Program Director at the Mayo Clinic, to present "Mindfulness as a Leadership Strategy in Healthcare."

Together, we connected with healthcare professionals and change-makers, weaving together essential research, stories of program impact, and introducing actionable Mindfulness "Pocket Practices" designed to support leaders navigating tough systems and burnout. It’s all about creating space for more compassionate care.

A special moment? Hearing the surprise when attendees learned the history of Jon Kabat-Zinn's MBSR program roots in healthcare settings! It truly felt like a beautiful full-circle moment bringing these tools back to the environment where they began.

Thank you to everyone who joined us and shared their passion for health equity! We are grateful to be a part of such an impactful day!

12/08/2025

We are creating the first mental health curriculum for the Deafblind, Hard of Hearing, Deaf, Low Vision and blind students. We kindly invite you to be a part of this groundbreaking work through a tax-deductible donation - your end of year gift will help fund this transformative work in 2026! Visit our donation page to give, and on behalf of those we serve, thank you!

12/02/2025

Thank you for making our mission possible through your generous donations! When we all give, we create the impactful resources. On Giving Tuesday, our gift to you is a new, free practice - scroll down on our donation page to take a 'deep pause' :). Thank you for all that you do!

11/24/2025

📣 𝗘𝘅𝗰𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗻𝗲𝘄𝘀! 𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗠𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗣𝗶𝗹𝗼𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗔𝗿𝗶𝘇𝗼𝗻𝗮 𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗮 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻. 🎉 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝟱 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗴𝗮𝗺𝗲-𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲! 𝗧𝗼𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿, 𝘄𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗮 𝗳𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲! 🌟💜 #𝗠𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 #𝗘𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗲𝗱 #𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 #𝗧𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗧𝗵𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗱𝗮𝘆 #𝗚𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗳𝘂𝗹

11/03/2025

Our hearts are full of gratitude to the Rare Impact Fund team for hosting an incredible Partner Gathering on Thursday following the Rare Impact Annual Gala.

Our Co-Director of Programming & Marketing, Zenia Birdie, was honored to attend the Partner Gathering to share in the experience. We know what a huge undertaking a Gala is, so seeing the Rare Impact Team show up the very next day to host such an amazing, supportive gathering was truly appreciated!

We are so proud to collaborate with the Rare Impact Fund and their global network of partners. We're all working together to build a future where mental health is prioritized, seen, supported, and heard.

Selena Gomez