Christy Cassisa

Christy Cassisa, JD Associate Director for Operations and Development, UCSD Center for Mindfulness

Christy’s unique professional training includes science, education, and the law, and since discovering mindfulness meditation and experiencing the transformational effects of the practice for herself, she has made it her lifework to share it with others. Christy joined the UC San Diego Center for Mindfulness in 2013 as a volunteer, created and ran the Work-Life Integration Programs at the Center, and since then has been deeply involved in the effort to bring mindfulness to workplaces of all kinds. She currently serves the Center as the Associate Director for Operations and Development.

She has developed numerous mindfulness-based curricula and has delivered keynotes, workshops, and programs for a wide variety of organizations, including non-profits, educational institutions, law firms, and international corporations. She has also completed training to teach both Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction and Mindful Self-Compassion through the UCSD Mindfulness Based Professional Training Institute. As Founder and Director of her own venture, The Institute for Mindful Works, she partners with community experts to develop and deliver empirically-supported trainings to help people lead happier, healthier and more productive lives through mindfulness, emotional intelligence, and self-compassion.

Christy’s previous professional life includes coaching and consulting, as well as time served in corporate America, higher education administration, and in practicing law. Christy earned her law degree from the University of Missouri, Columbia School of Law and a BS in Life Sciences from Missouri Science & Technology, is certified to administer both the Myers Briggs Type Indicator® and the EQ-I 2.0, and is also trained as a professional coach. She lives in San Diego with her husband and two daughters, who helped lead her to mindfulness and continue to remind her every day of the challenge and joy of being present.