Metta Karuna McGarvey

Metta McGarvey holds a doctorate from Harvard Graduate School of Education in Human Development & Psychology and works as an educator, coach, and consultant supporting individuals, organizations, and teams in personal and professional development. Her work integrates decades of practice and teaching mindfulness and meditation, leadership, and social and emotional development to help adults build the inner resources to handle complex multifaceted challenges. These include managing stress, developing resilience and well-being, and enhanced communication and relationships. Her current work focuses on building community and addressing differences of power, position, and agency to promote healing and collaboration in civic and democratic processes. 

Together with former HGSE Dean Jerry Murphy she co-chaired Inner Strengths of Successful Leaders and similar institutes for Professional Education at HGSE. In addition she works as a coach for the Harvard Advanced Leadership Initiative Fellowship Program, is on the teaching team for The Spiritual Lives of Leaders at Harvard Business School, and has a coaching practice focusing on major life changes including terminal illness and end of life issues. 

McGarvey’s training includes cognitive and affective neuroscience and she is a co-author on the first neuroimaging study of meditators at Massachusetts General Hospital. Her professional experience includes work with nonprofit and social justice organizations and managing a campaign for U.S. Congress. 

She is an avid outdoors person who enjoys wilderness and solitude, has spent summers since 2002 assisting her biologist husband with research on shorebirds in the Alaskan and Canadian arctic, and lives on a small homestead in Vermont with her husband, cat, and golden retriever. Her master's degree is from Harvard Divinity School, and her undergraduate degree is from the University of Chicago.