Karen Newton

Karen Newton is a Wellbeing and Resilience Integrator, teaching and consulting with organizations to integrate key frameworks into practical and accessible methods to operationalize mindfulness, resilience, and wellbeing in daily life. At the Earth & Spirit Center, Karen teaches the 4-week Koru Mindfulness course Basic Mindfulness for Stress Resilience, the 4-week Deepening Mindfulness for Resilience and Compassion course, and the 5-week Mindful Self-Compassion course. Karen and yoga teacher/musician partners teach ½ day silent retreats with seasonal themes. She also teaches a full-semester Mindfulness for Stress Resilience course at UofL and is collaborating with UofL research colleagues in CEHD and Psychology to develop a NIH-funded research agenda to study the Koru Mindfulness course outcomes.

Karen is a graduate of San Diego State University and completed her Master of Public Health degree in community health promotion and nutrition science at Loma Linda University, CA in 1981. Ms. Newton is a registered dietitian and nutritionist and her certifications include: Koru Mindfulness teacher, Mindfulness Based Eating Awareness Training (MB-EAT) teacher, Master Flash Nap Trainer, Food for Life Teacher, and Wellbeing Integration Coach.

Karen served as Director of Health Promotion in Wellbeing Central, a division of University of Louisville Campus Health Services from 2007 to May 2018. She directed development and implementation of the innovative resilience framework to support the academic grit and personal wellbeing of the UofL students, based on this mission: collaborating to build a community that values wellbeing and nurtures resilience.  From 2000- 2007, Karen directed chronic illness initiatives within UofL School of Medicine and also served as Director of Healthcare Services at The Healing Place for five years. Her mindfulness practices have supported all these efforts.