Dr. Pat Shoemaker taught in elementary, music, early childhood, and gifted education programs for twenty years. She has worked in post-secondary education for over thirty years. Dr. Shoemaker served as the Dean of the College of Education and Human Development at Radford University from 2006 to 2015, where she fostered the overarching theme of Mind, Body, Spirit, incorporating faculty development activities and campus workshops on mindfulness and socio-emotional development, and mindfulness in education, leadership, and organizational development. She recently retired as the Director of Peace Studies at Radford, and is Co-Coordinator of the Roots and Branches Commission, where she continues to teach classes in peace studies and mindfulness. Dr. Shoemaker’s research interests are in socio-emotional learning and developmentally-based education, and in contemplative practices in higher education, leadership, and organizational development.