Susan Bauer-Wu has served as President of the Mind & Life Institute since 2015. Throughout her career, she has held leadership, academic, and clinical positions in nonprofits, health care, and higher education, with a focus on mind-body science and promoting well-being through mindfulness and other contemplative approaches. Susan is the author of Future We Can Love: How We Can Reverse the Climate Crisis through the Power of Our Hearts and Minds  (2023), inspired by a Mind & Life Conversation between the Dalai Lama and Greta Thunberg, and  Leaves Falling Gently: Living Fully with Serious & Life-Limiting Illness through Mindfulness, Compassion & Connectedness (2011).

Susan began her career as a registered nurse specializing in oncology and end-of-life care, and later received a PhD in psychoneuroimmunology. She has held faculty and leadership roles at the University of Virginia, Emory University, and Harvard Medical School/Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. In her free time, she is outdoors as much as possible, gardening and hiking the Blue Ridge mountains with her husband and their dog.