Michele Pola, Ed.D.

Michele Pola, Ed.D., currently offers mindfulness classes and nature experiences as a certified Awake in the Wild (2023) teacher through author and meditator, Mark Coleman. Dr. Pola is also a Mindfulness Mentor (2024) through Banyan with Tara Brach & Jack Kornfield. In 2018, she completed a year-long teaching certificate at the Mindfulness Awareness Research Center (MARC) of the Semel Institute of Neuroscience and Behavioral Medicine at UCLA. Dr. Pola’s career as a teacher, principal, and executive director of Houston A+ Challenge, now Texas A+ Challenge, and chief of staff to two Houston ISD superintendents, has given her a perspective for making the practice of mindfulness practical and applicable. She remains an active member of the American Leadership Forum (ALF) and has served on numerous professional boards in the public and non-profit sectors of education.