Judy Lief served as the president (dean) of Naropa Institute from 1980 to 1985. She has been deeply involved with the university since its founding and has served in a variety of roles: staff, adjunct faculty, Bali study-abroad director, and trustee.
Judy received her BA from Luther College, spent a year as a Fulbright Scholar in Lucknow, India, and did graduate studies at Columbia University.
Lief is a senior student of Naropa’s founder, Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, who encouraged her to become a dharma teacher. She has been teaching in-person and online courses Buddhist psychology and meditation ever since. Her podcast, Dharma Glimpses, has listeners in over fourteen countries.
In addition to teaching, Judy worked with Chögyam Trungpa as one of the primary editors of his many books, including his three-volume masterwork, The Profound Treasury of the Ocean of Dharma. Lief is a writer and a published author. Her book, Making Friends with Death: A Buddhist Guide to Encountering Mortality, offers a contemplative approach to death and working with the dying.
Judy has an ongoing interest in health and in global issues. As a member of the Madison-Deane Initiative, she advocated for better end-of-life care. As a leader for the annual Courageous Women, Fearless Living retreat she worked with women touched by cancer. As a founding member of the Contemplative Alliance, she worked with an interfaith alliance of leading contemplatives to apply a contemplative approach to global issues.
Judy and her husband Charles Lief are a truly “Naropian” family. They have both served as Naropa leaders and their two daughters are both Naropa graduates.
