Chris Charles

Chris Charles (he/him) has been practicing in the Insight tradition for over 10 years. His first door into the formal dharma came through the People of Color and Allies Sangha where he learned to work with the dharma and engage with the issues that many of our marginalized communities deal with daily. Chris has found the People of Color Retreats that are offered at Spirit Rock Meditation Center to be an important way to deepen practice, recharge, and be in supportive community. He was a founding leader of the Seattle Teen Mindfulness Circle, where teens of all backgrounds came together to practice mindfulness in a supportive and grounded environment. In 2017, he completed the Spirit Rock Community Dharma Leaders program. Chris also works in Indigenous health and wellness research at the University of Washington. In his work with Indigenous communities from around the USA and beyond he has been able to work with a strength-based approach to support community-driven initiatives that center holistic community health. Chris endeavors to weave his experience as a Queer Indigenous person, with the radical love and kindness of the dharma into the work of social justice and liberation.