Susan Bauer-Wu, PhD, RN, is a contemplative scientist, clinician, organizational leader, and author. Her most recent book, A Future We Can Love: Effective Approaches to the Climate Crisis that Begin with Us (Shambhala 2023), was inspired by a conversation with the Dalai Lama, Greta Thunberg, and climate scientists and written while she was the president of the Mind & Life Institute. Prior to leading Mind & Life, which she did for eight years until December 2023, Susan was the Kluge Professor of Contemplative End-of-Life Care and Director of the Compassionate Care Initiative at the University of Virginia School of Nursing and associate faculty of Religious Studies. She completed a PhD in psychoneuroimmunology and post-doctoral training in behavioral medicine and was an early researcher and teacher of mindfulness, receiving a large grant from the National Institutes of Health in 2005 while at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School, and completing teacher training in mindfulness-based stress reduction at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in 1999. She is also the author of Leaves Falling Gently, and through her professional practice, Coming to Life, Susan works directly with individuals and groups to guide them in preparing for death while affirming life.