Panelists

	George H. Rutherford, Ph.D. Dr. Rutherford served for 30 years as the Principal of the Fletcher-Johnson Educational Center (K–8) in Washington, D.C., where he introduced the Transcendental Meditation technique to hundreds of students and teachers as part of the school’s “quiet time.” He is currently Principal of the Ideal Academy Public Charter School (K–8) in the Washington, D.C., where a two-year research study is under way on the effects of the TM program on student stress, behavior, and academic performance.
	Carmen N’Namdi Ms. N’Namdi is Co-founder and Principal of the Nataki Talibah Schoolhouse of Detroit (K–8); Chair of the Board of the National Charter School Institute; and Member of the Board of the Michigan Association of Public School Academies. The Nataki School is an award-winning middle school where hundreds of teachers and students over the past nine years have learned the Transcendental Meditation technique as part of Nataki’s Wellness Program.
	vernon a. barnes, ph.d. Dr. Barnes is a research scientist at the Georgia Institute for Prevention of Human Diseases and Accidents, Department of Pediatrics, Medical College of Georgia in Augusta; and principal author of a landmark study published by the American Journal of Hypertension showing lowered blood pressure in at-risk teens who practice the Transcendental Meditation technique.
	alarik arenander, ph.d. Dr. Arenander is a neuroscientist, Director of the Brain Research Institute, and an expert in the neurobiology of brain development and mind-body health among children and adolescents. Dr. Arenander has conducted pioneering brain research at the University of California at Los Angeles, Penn State University at Hershey, University of Wisconsin at Madison, and Maharishi University of Management in Fairfield, Iowa.
	Sarina Grosswald, Ed.D. Dr. Grosswald is an expert in cognitive learning; President of SJ Grosswald & Associates, a consulting firm in medical education in Arlington, Virginia; and Director of Continuing Medical Education for the American Medical Women’s Association. She is also Project Director for a major research study now under way on the effects of the Transcendental Meditation program on ADHD and other learning disorders.
	ralph wolff Mr. Wolff is the President and Executive Director of the Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), which accredits 150 colleges and universities serving over 800,000 students. He has devoted the past 30 years to exploring the power and potential of our educational systems. Mr. Wolff is a national advocate for the use of the Transcendental Meditation program at all levels in education.
	ashley deans, ph.d. Dr. Deans is a quantum physicist, lifelong educator, and director of the award-winning Maharishi School (K–12) in Fairfield, Iowa, where students and teachers practice the Transcendental Meditation technique as part of its “Consciousness-Based” curriculum. The school graduates ten times the national average of National Merit Scholar Finalists, has seen 95% of graduates accepted at four-year colleges, and has had grades 10–12 consistently score in the top 1% of the nation on standardized tests of educational development. The school has no entrance exams and offers open enrollment, accepting students from a wide diversity of backgrounds.

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