Host

The Managing Director of the Garrison Institute, Steve Varley.

Guest

Gretchen Steidle is the director of Garrison Institute’s Spirituality and Social Change initiative. She is the founder of Circles for Conscious Change as well as Global Grassroots, organizations that integrate mindfulness into social innovation. The author of Leading from Within: Conscious Social Change and Mindfulness for Social Innovation (MIT Press, 2017), Gretchen holds an MBA from the Tuck School at Dartmouth and a BA from the University of Virginia. In 2007, Gretchen was honored by World Business Magazine and Shell as one of the top International 35 Women Under 35, and in 2018, she was named one of Inc.’s Top 100 Leadership Speakers.

Read and download the full transcript.

Show Notes

• [01:02] Steve reflects on the Garrison Institute’s long-standing inquiry into the relationship between contemplative practice and social change. He introduces Gretchen Steidle and the launch of the Inner Works podcast series.
• [02:25] The origins of the Conscious Change Collective: a global, crowdsourced map connecting hundreds of organizations that integrate inner work into their approaches to social and systems change.
• [05:11] Gretchen reflects on her personal journey—from investment banking and business school to discovering breathwork as a transformative practice that reshaped her understanding of purpose, healing, and leadership.
• [07:20] How Gretchen’s work with women survivors of war in East Africa revealed the importance of mindfulness as a foundation for innovation, resilience, and sustainable social change.
• [09:14] The search for other organizations working at the intersection of contemplative practice and systems change ultimately led to the creation of the Conscious Change Collective.
• [12:36] Steve asks about the central question behind the Collective. Gretchen explains her desire to explore not only how inner work matters, but the mechanisms through which contemplative practice transforms individuals, organizations, and systems.
• [14:13] An inside look at the Collective’s interactive map, including the hundreds of organizations represented, the diversity of sectors and approaches, and how the platform enables users to explore theories of change, values, practices, and impact.
• [16:29] What distinguishes these organizations from traditional nonprofits: inner work isn’t an add-on—it is central to their theory of change. Gretchen shares the example of Mindful Badge and its work bringing mindfulness into law enforcement.
• [19:06] Surprising discoveries from mapping the field, including the emergence of a shared set of values that point toward a distinct contemplative paradigm for systems change.
• [20:17] Reflections on the inaugural Conscious Change Forum, where practitioners from around the world gathered to discover community, strengthen relationships, and imagine the future of this growing field together.
• [22:13] Gretchen describes the difference between simply teaching contemplative practices and embodying contemplative values through presence, dignity, compassion, and relational leadership.
• [25:00] Preview of the first Inner Works conversation featuring Susan Olesek and Alex Senegal of the Enneagram Prison Project, exploring how inner work transforms individuals and prison culture alike.
• [29:00] A preview of Gretchen’s conversation with Roshi Norma Wong, whose work on stewardship, community, and collective responsibility demonstrates how small groups can catalyze profound social transformation.
• [31:53] A preview of Gretchen’s conversation with Radha Ruparell of Teach For All, whose work explores relational intelligence, compassion, and the role of inner capacities in transforming education systems around the world.
• [35:28] A look ahead to a conversation with Roshi Joan Halifax, examining death, compassion, interconnectedness, and the profound shift that occurs when care is rooted in contemplative awareness.
• [39:24] Steve asks what message Gretchen hopes listeners working for social change will carry with them. She reflects on the patience required for generational change, the importance of recognizing our interconnected roles, and the invitation to embody the future we hope to create today.