Meet Our New Deputy Executive Director, Denise Clegg

The Garrison Institute is pleased to announce that Denise Clegg has joined our staff as Deputy Executive Director of Development and External Relations. Denise has worked in development and communications for more than twenty years, and brings a wide range of experience working with contemplative science, practice and positive social change.

Before joining the Garrison Institute, Denise was Managing Director of the Center for Neuroscience & Society (CNS) at the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to CNS, she launched and managed the Penn Positive Neuroscience Project and served as Program Officer for the Templeton Positive Neuroscience Awards, which funded several new studies on the positive effects of contemplative practices and interventions. She also served as a member of the Penn Resilience Program training team, working with educators and human service providers in the United Kingdom and Australia, and as an Assistant Instructor for undergraduate and graduate courses in positive psychology at the University of Pennsylvania. Throughout her career, Denise has had a special interest in contemplative research and practices. She served as a mindfulness meditation facilitator at the University of Pennsylvania, and has given lectures introducing the science, practice and benefits of contemplative practices to academic, professional and public audiences.

Denise has led fundraising and communications programs in social change organizations for state, national and international organizations including the International Campaign for Tibet, the Drug Policy Alliance and the American Civil Liberties Union affiliates of New York and New Mexico. She holds a masters degree in Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania.