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Nathan Smalley, Ph.D.

Nathan Smalley is drawn to how Zen practice lives in the everyday — in actual bodies, in ordinary cities, and in encounters that arrive without instructions. His approach to teaching sits at the intersection of Zen practice, philosophy, and pedagogy, and draws on twenty-five years of work in low-income schools as a classroom teacher, school founder, and executive leader. He brings a researcher's training in education, phenomenology and cognitive science to the practice — and cares too much about people to let them off easy. In his professional life, he leads Conscious Schools, an educational consultancy that has developed thousands of teachers and leaders across the country. He lives in Driftwood with his wife, Jessica, and their son, Parker.

Senior Teacher
Council 1