Volunteers

Aggie Favilla is a recent graduate of New York University, holding a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and Dramatic Writing, with a minor in Child & Adolescent Mental Health Studies. As a member of her Delta Gamma Sorority, Aggie took part in volunteering for Service for Sight fundraisers and activities, further developing her passion for service.

She is very passionate about spreading mental health awareness and educating children about mindfulness practices. When she was in high school, she recommended mindfulness meditations to her friends, as she believed they could offer a sense of peace amid the stresses of student life. Currently, she is in training to also become a RAINN volunteer, dedicating herself to the cause of preventing sexual violence and providing support to survivors and their loved ones.

Christine Gindi, MDiv, MA, SEP is an educator, writer, somatic therapist, and mindful diversity facilitator. Her professional background is interdisciplinary, spanning the fields of somatic psychology, ecotherapy, theology and ethnic studies. She earned a Master of Divinity degree from Harvard University where she focused on health, healing and religion. Her Masters degree in Counseling Psychology from John F. Kennedy University specializes in somatic psychology.

Christine served on the United States Association of Body Psychotherapy Board of Directors and wrote her own regular column for Somatic Psychotherapy Today magazine. As an adjunct professor, Christine taught graduate somatic and multicultural psychology courses at the California Institute of Integral Studies. She has given academic lectures and led experiential workshops on somatic psychology at numerous universities and organizations. Christine has been a repeated presenter at the biannual United States Association of Body Psychotherapy conference. At Harvard University, she presented at the Center for the Study of World Religions. Not only has she been a conference presenter, she has also played an active role in planning and organizing the CIIS JFK somatic psychology conferences. She has years of experience assisting and coordinating Somatic Experiencing® trauma healing trainings, as well as promoting these trainings focusing on minority recruitment. She holds multiple certificates in the healing arts and trauma healing modalities. Christine has served on the John F. Kennedy Diversity Council and professionally trained to become a mindful diversity facilitator. Christine has led many diversity workshops and co-taught the mindful diversity teacher training program.

Christine’s formal and informal education about the nuances of lived multicultural experiences profoundly influenced her career trajectory. She is the proud daughter of North African immigrants who fled religious persecution of their Christian Orthodox faith. Her close knit family and friends taught her the importance of peoples’ ancestries, family traditions and our shared precious humanity. Many diverse communities and mentors fostered Christine’s development of cultural humility, deep listening and the moral action to help people experience safety, belonging and dignity. She feels deeply indebted and humbled by her intimate glimpse into how people model humanity from surviving catastrophic circumstances to simply living their everyday lives. Christine is passionately committed to equity, diversity and inclusion. She strives to be a bridge builder and peace maker through compassion, empathic curiosity and mindful communication.

Kara Gately is a Binghamton University alumna. She has a Bachelors of Arts in Psychology and a minor in Economics. Kara has worked with numerous nonprofits in the past. She volunteered at the Crime Victims Assistance Center as a crisis counselor and Justice and Unity for the Southern Tier (JUST) as a social media coordinator and research assistant.

Additionally, Kara is very passionate about spreading awareness for mental health issues and promoting positive psychology. She uses mindfulness everyday to ground herself and remain grateful. By meditating, journaling, working out, and creating art she has found numerous ways to stay in the present moment and wants to share this skill with those around her. She believes cultivating compassion for ourselves and others is the single most important thing we can do to create a healthy mind and body.

Dr. Jen Dall is a certified yoga teacher and ADHD Coach who has taught both general and special education students in Southern California for over 25 years. She earned a doctorate in educational psychology from the University of Southern California and is always looking for ways to share her passions.

Jen recently left teaching to coach students with ADHD and teach mindful yoga full time. As the founder of ADHD Holistically, LLC, she understands the benefits of a mindfulness practice for all, particularly students and teachers in these difficult times.

Michael Breidbart has spent most of his professional career in the Financial Industry, most recently as an Operations Principle for a Financial Advisory Firm. He strives to find an ability to find new, efficient, and practical ways to implement an effective workforce, and happy clients.

Michael has always been obsessed with learning how the mind works. He completed Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction training at New York Insight Meditation Center and has attended multiple mindfulness retreats. In his spare time, he enjoys reading about the science of human consciousness and Quantum Physics.

Meditation and mindfulness techniques are integral in Michael’s daily life. He incorporates these tools when he wakes up, during the middle of a stressful day at work, or when he notices he’s getting into his own head. Michael is excited to be part of Mission Be’s foundational learning to provide service to his community. Michael lives in Plainview, NY with his wife Alyson, and their two children.

Natasha Cruz is a John Jay College of Criminal Justice alumna. She has graduated with a Bachelors of Arts in Forensic Psychology. She is familiar with comprehending individual behavior, in terms of its biological, cognitive, social, and emotional components and their interaction, and its effect on the broader community.

In addition, Natasha is planning on earning her Masters in Mental Health Counseling. She believes there is nothing more important than being there for others. Moreover, as a first-generation college student, and daughter of Dominican immigrants, Natasha believes in empathy and always lending a helping hand. Therefore, she is excited to help bring mindfulness into the Hispanic/Latinx community with the leadership of Mission Be.

Karen Tietjen Allen has studied mindfulness, meditation, and yoga for over 20 years. Prior to that, she worked as an attorney specializing in immigration law, and continues to volunteer in the field.

She received Mindfulness and Meditation Teacher Certification through the McLean Meditation Institute and Certification as an MMI Mindful Trainer to teach Mindfulness in the Workplace. She has also received Chopra Meditation Teacher Certification. Additionally, she is enrolled in a Master’s degree program in Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine.

For many years, she has dedicated herself to volunteering in the community with an emphasis on helping the homeless, the elderly, and families, including those with children facing critical illnesses. Raised in Chile and Mexico, she has a keen interest in helping Spanish-speaking populations.

Her intention is to offer mindfulness and meditation training so that others may experience the benefits of stress-reduction and increased well-being and live productive, positive, and peaceful lives.

Traci spent more than 30 years as an educator across the country in various roles. From pre-k to high school, in public schools and private ones, large and small, she had the opportunity to experience schools from the inside and to see the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Her mindfulness journey began in earnest when she discovered yoga and then participated in a mindfulness summer course for educators. Adding even small mindfulness practices to her life has allowed her to interact with the world in new and beautiful ways.

She has recently embarked on a new adventure, coaching clients who have ADHD to help them find the tools and strategies that empower them to thrive. She is the founder of Strategic Connections coaching and is also working with a colleague to build a coaching and support program specifically for high school students in International Baccalaureate programs who have ADHD.

These three roads merge as she sees mindfulness as a real and meaningful solution to the foundational problems in education and for people who have ADHD. Helping teachers react to students’ behaviors thoughtfully rather than emotionally and giving students the skills to face the world with mindfulness strategies can transform our dysfunctional system. In very real ways, the work of Mission Be brings together Traci’s passions around educating our young people to create a better society.