Joanna Macy Center for Resilience & Regeneration

A more resilient world begins now, with each one of us.

Naropa University’s Joanna Macy Center seeks to advance Dr. Joanna Macy’s work and vision by empowering present and future generations to build a more resilient world that works for all.

Dr. Joanna Macy urges individuals to commit to climate action while acknowledging the reality of climate grief. Her approach, as enacted by the Joanna Macy Center, reaches individuals through three main channels.

First, we focus on the root teachings of Dr. Joanna Macy. Known as The Work that Reconnects, this body of knowledge invites individuals to take part in the healing of the world.

Second, we continue Dr. Joanna Macy’s Nuclear Guardianship work, educating the public and future generations about the dangers of radioactive materials and the moral necessity of their containment, promoting education and advocacy around nuclear proliferation.

Finally, we take on the deep work of Liberation Dharma, using Buddhist teachings to draw connections between personal liberation and the transformation of society. We create opportunities for research on her theories of the confluence of Buddhist teachings, general systems theory, and the resulting social impact.

Dr. Joanna Macy reacts to the creation of the Joanna Macy Center for Resilience and Regeneration.

Tricycle Talks · Joanna Macy: The Work of Our Time

Dr. Joanna Macy’s Work & Teachings

As a scholar of Buddhism, general systems theory, and deep ecology, Dr. Joanna Macy’s work has never been more relevant than it is today. Her work digs deep into the need for environmental activism, offering paths of action rooted in Buddhist spirituality and contemporary science.

In countless ways, Dr. Macy has enriched the Naropa community and empowered the world to turn despair into action. The following roles are only a fraction of Dr. Macy’s contributions to Naropa and the world:

She is the author of twelve books, including the groundbreaking Despair and Personal Power in the Nuclear Age and, in 2020, A Wild Love for the World. She is also well-known as a translator of Rilke.
She is an environmental activist who posits that the work of healing the Earth starts with healing the individual. This work is encapsulated in The Work that Reconnects, a transformational body of practice that offers a personal and collaborative framework for facing the crises of our time.
She is an eco-philosopher with more than five decades of Buddhist scholarship behind her unique approach to widespread systems change.

The Work that Reconnects helps people discover and experience their innate connections with each other and the self-healing powers of the web of life, transforming despair and overwhelm into inspired, collaborative action. Learn more.

Nuclear Guardianship combines art, science, and remembrance to address the seemingly intractable human-caused problem of nuclear contamination with wisdom and creativity. Based on the pioneering work of eco-philosopher Joanna Macy, Rocky Flats: A Call to Guardianship applies the ideas and ideals of Nuclear Guardianship at the site of the now closed Rocky Flats nuclear weapons manufacturing plant near Boulder, Colorado. Learn more.

The Changemakers

Dr. Joanna Macy’s work is carried on at Naropa by faculty and staff who are deeply dedicated to ecological justice.

Michael Bauer

Director of the Joanna Macy Center for Resilience and Regeneration

Michael Bauer has demonstrated a fierce commitment to sustainability and community resilience through both his professional work and his personal life.

Stephen Polk

Faculty Lead at the Joanna Macy Center for Resilience and Regeneration

Stephen Polk has worked primarily on a community level addressing issues ranging from anti-oppression and truly affordable housing, to the construction of regenerative systems in communal settings.

Seann Goodman

Director of Mission, Culture, and Inclusive Community

Seann Goodman serves to keep the Joanna Macy Center for Resilience and Regeneration aligned with the purpose, vision, mission, and values of Naropa University.

Creating Resilient Futures

Deeper Relationships

The goal of the Joanna Macy Center is to help Naropa students, faculty, and the broader community develop deep and loving relationships with themselves, each other, and nature. These healing connections inspire us to join together in collaborative action. As Dr. Macy reminds us, we are all interconnected, and this interconnectedness is the key to our healing.

Sustainability & Social Justice

The Joanna Macy Center exemplifies The Naropa Difference through its unified model of contemplative practice, sustainability efforts, and social justice. This unique alchemy of intentional practices calls students and faculty to unlearn institutional and cultural -isms, listening to disaffected voices and centering our sustainability work so that it is regenerative for all.

In Dr. Macy's Words

“Being fully present to fear, to gratitude, to all that is—this is the practice of mutual belonging. As living members of the living body of Earth, we are grounded in that kind of belonging. Even when faced with cataclysmic changes, nothing can ever separate us from Earth. We are already home.”

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