Karen S. Newton served as Director of Health Promotion & Wellbeing in Campus Health Services from 2007 to 2018 as her team implemented a resilience framework to support the academic persistence and personal wellbeing of University of Louisville students. Inspired by her personal experiences with mindfulness and mediation practices through many years of her life’s ups and downs, Karen added Koru Mindfulness courses, retreats and drop-in Relax & Refocus sessions in 2015. Karen has also directed healthcare access initiatives for University of Louisville and at The Healing Place Recovery. Karen graduated from San Diego State University and completed her Master of Public Health degree in community health promotion and nutrition science at Loma Linda University, CA.
Karen’s current life is focused on her purpose and what she loves: family, travel, practicing and teaching. She teaches Koru and other courses at the Earth & Spirit Center Meditation School; Koru retreats at Speed Art Museum; and her Koru-based 14-week Mindfulness for Stress Resilience course in University of Louisville College of Education. She is collaborating with University of Louisville colleagues to develop a research agenda to study Koru Mindfulness.
Karen’s desire to serve as a Koru Trainer feels like the next right step because the personal benefits keep coming and her public health point of view and personal perspective resonate with the Koru Center’s commitment to social justice. Karen is committed to doing all she can to further the adoption of Koru Mindfulness courses in a variety of settings.
