Conference Speakers
Stephanie Witechowsky is a PhD student with Sofia University, a Student Services Associate, a Student Advisor to the Doctorate of Business Administration program, an Adjunct Faculty member for the Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, and the Masters of Counseling program in Psychology in China, and a teacher's aide in the Masters of Transpersonal Psychology program. She has founded the student newsletter, Sofia's Wisdom, in 2021, worked as a neurofeedback technician in 2025, and has worked as a massage therapist since 2021 in the Dayton, Ohio area. Her current research focus highlights the spiritual lives of autistic and neuro-diverse people, with a focus on the drive that moves individuals from one religious belief or practice to another, including grounding in metaphysical worldviews. Stephanie Witechowsky Shawn Shafner (he/they) is an artist, educator and activist based out of Washington, DC (Piscataway and Nacotchtank land). Founder of The People's Own Organic Power Project (www.thePOOPproject.org), he has created award-winning theater, film, podcasts and educational events to catalyze conversation about sustainable sanitation from the floor of the United Nations to the mountains of Rwanda. Shawn is also an accomplished theatre artist, mindfulness coach and holds an MFA in Social Practice from the Corcoran School of Arts & Design at GWU. He is devoted to manifesting a world of creativity, community and joy. Shawn Shafner
Ilja van de Griend
Ilja van de Griend, BSc, is currently completing a Master’s degree in Clinical Child and Youth Psychology at the Open University in the Netherlands and holds a degree in Business Economics (1994). She is a Transpersonal Psychotherapist and Trainer of Transpersonal Psychotherapists and has worked in Transpersonal Psychology since 2006, when she co-founded AlmaSoma, a Lisbon-based, EUROTAS-accredited institute for transpersonal psychotherapy training, where she continues to teach and train psychotherapists. Her professional journey in Pre- and Perinatal Psychology and Conscious Parenting began with her experience of motherhood and developed through longstanding study of the impact of early developmental experiences on human development. She is a certified Pre- and Perinatal Educator through APPPAH and an Integrated Prenatal and Perinatal Dynamics Practitioner through the Prenatal and Perinatal Somatics Institute. She is also a Certified Compassionate Inquiry Practitioner and continues advanced training in perinatal approaches and Nurture Neuroscience. Her professional and academic interests focus on the relationship between early developmental experiences and human development, particularly the prenatal and perinatal period, the transition to parenthood, and the integration of these perspectives into therapeutic and psychotherapeutic practice.
Caifang Zhu, PhD
Dr. Caifang Zhu is Chair of the Chinese-language PhD Program in Transpersonal Psychology at Sofia University and a recipient of the university’s Excellence in Teaching Award. He serves on the Board of the International Transpersonal Association and is an adjunct professor at the Buddhist Academy of China. He holds a PhD in East-West Psychology from the California Institute of Integral Studies, an M.T.S. from Harvard Divinity School, and a B.A. in English from Beijing International Studies University. An internationally published scholar with more than 30 academic papers, Dr. Zhu is also the Chinese translator of Jung’s Psychology and Religion: West and East. His research focuses on humanistic, transpersonal, and integral psychology; meditation and altered states of consciousness; and nonviolent communication. He developed Grounding and Communica- tion as an Integrative Therapy, formerly known as Meditation Initiated Integrative Therapy (MIIT). A longtime practitioner of meditation and tai chi, he previously chaired the Harvard Buddhist Community and served as Director of Community Service for Harvard Alumni for Mental Health. He is also a Certified Psychological Counseling Supervisor in China.
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