Valerie (Vimalasara) Mason-John, MA (hon. doctorate)

Valerie (Vimalasara) Mason-John, MA (hon. doctorate), is one of the leading African Canadian voices in the field of Mindfulness approaches for addiction and trauma. She is an ordained Buddhist, who has developed an accredited Mindfulness program for addiction, and co-founded Eight Step Recovery meetings that are hosted on several continents. She is the author of nine books, including her recent I Am Still Your Negro, An Homage to James Baldwin, which is a social justice poetic response to the inequities in society.