Who We Are
Our Story
In 2015 after more than two decades of talks with scientists and educators about the promise of bringing compassion and ethics into K-12 and higher education, the Dalai Lama asked Emory University to create a curriculum for compassion-based ethics that would be universal in application and grounded in science, reflecting the Dalai Lama’s vision for a universal, non-sectarian, and science-based approach to the education of heart and mind. That year an Emory team led by Dr. Lobsang Negi created an initial framework and sample curriculum. With input from Dr. Thupten Jinpa, Dr. Robert Roeser and Dr. Daniel Goleman, author of “Emotional Intelligence,” the framework evolved further to align with the worldwide movement in Social Emotional Learning (SEL), while adding key additional components including attention training, compassion and ethical discernment, systems thinking and resilience and trauma-informed practice. These enhancements prompted Dr. Goleman to refer to SEE Learning® as "SEL 2.0." SEE Learning® has also benefited from the ongoing support and guidance of key SEL founders and researchers, including Linda Lantieri, Dr. Mark Greenberg and Dr. Kimberly Schonert-Reichl, as well as dozens of K-12 teachers and educators and other experts, such as Elaine Miller-Karas, director of the Trauma Resource Institute.
In 2017, Emory began offering SEE Learning educator preparation workshops. The first workshops were held in Atlanta, GA, Aspen, CO, Peoria, IL, Frankfurt (Germany), Dehradun (India), and Dharamsala (India), reaching over 500 educators who introduced the SEE Learning® curriculum into their classrooms and who also offered extensive feedback to the SEE Learning® team members developing the curriculum.
The global launch of SEE Learning® took place April 4-6, 2019, in New Delhi, India with His Holiness the Dalai Lama presiding over the event co-hosted by Emory University, The Dalai Lama Trust, and Vana Foundation. He was joined by fellow Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi as well as leading international educationists, education researchers, philanthropists, and policy leaders. More than 1200 people from thirty-seven countries attended.
Since the launch, individual educator preparation has largely shifted to "SEE Learning® 101," an on-line platform (seelearning.emory.edu). On-the-ground workshops are currently being conducted around the world to train facilitators who can train teachers in their respective schools, districts, and regions.
At present, SEE Learning® has well-established connections in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, India, Nepal, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Italy, United Kingdom, Sweden, Ukraine, Czech Republic, Mongolia, Russia, Jordan, Colombia, Brazil, Chile, and the USA. The SEE Learning® resource materials are rapidly being translated into additional languages.
Our People

Lobsang Tenzin Negi is the Executive Director of the Center for Contemplative Science and Compassion-Based Ethics at Emory University where he oversees SEE Learning® (Social, Emotional, and Ethical Learning), a program that develops and implements curricula for kindergarten through university level for the education of heart and mind among other initiatives. Lobsang was born in Kinnaur, a remote Himalayan region adjoining Tibet. A former monk, he began his monastic training at the Institute of Buddhist Dialectics in

Ryder Delaloye is the Associate Director for the SEE Learning Program. He is a practitioner of education and learning, his experience as a teacher and administrator spans from 2nd grade through graduate school. He has taught in public and private schools and universities both domestically and internationally. Prior to his role as the Associate Director of SEE Learning, his research and school engagement focused on whole school and district transformation, district leadership, sustainability education, civic education, and teacher and administrator SEL. Ryder believes that education is vehicle for interpersonal growth and societal change. He is grounded by his wife and children, with whom he loves to play and go on adventures in the mountains. He received his Doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Montana.

Brendan Ozawa-de Silva served as associate professor of psychology at Life University, and as associate director for the Center for Compassion, Integrity, and Secular Ethics at Life University. His research focuses on the psychological, social, and ethical dimensions of prosocial emotions and their cultivation, with a focus on compassion and forgiveness; and his chief interest lies in bringing secular ethics—the cultivation of basic human values—into education and society. He was the founding director of the Chillon Project, a higher-education-in-prison program, a Fellow of the Mind and Life Institute, and an associate editor for the Journal for Healthcare, Science, and the Humanities. Brendan holds doctorates from the University of Oxford and Emory University.


Iman Sebunya is the Senior International Program Coordinator for SEE Learning. She has worked in K-12 Education for ten years, in a variety of contexts and settings. She has been a teacher, teacher trainer, curriculum developer and director of therapeutic learning. Iman is very passionate about innovative models for educating the whole child, and believes in creating spaces where scholars are held in holistic, healthy, safe, secure, integrated and connected ways which in turn, allows scholars to rise to their full potential and further impact personal and societal change. She holds an MA in International Education Development with a focus in Peace and Human Rights Education from Teachers College, Columbia University. While there, her research was centered around non-formal religious education in Senegal and its role in promoting social cohesion in rural and urban settings.

Kimble Sorrells is the Program Coordinator for SEE Learning. He has worked in the non-profit sector, prior to joining the SEE Learning team, where they have over ten years of experience in program development and management. In addition to their non-profit background, Kimble is also an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ and a Registered Yoga Teacher through the Yoga Alliance. In this capacity, they have taught contemplative practices and developed education programs for children, youth, and adults. Kimble holds a Master of Divinity from Emory University and a B.A. in Religion from Berry College. Kimble’s professional interest lies at the intersection of spirituality and social justice work, and they are an active leader in LGBTQ+ advocacy and spiritual care in Atlanta.

Tyralynn Frazier is the lead Research Scientist with the SEE Learning Program. In this capacity, she works on the strategic development of implementation and evaluation goals and objectives that support evidence-based program planning. Her background is in the study of emotional self-regulation, and the importance of emotional regulation in the relationship between stressors experienced over the life course such as discrimination, violence, and trauma.

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