Meet the CoCo Family

ADVISOR

Denna is a fourth year at UC Berkeley pursuing a Psychology major and Spanish minor. She helped get CoCo started back in 2021, and her heart fills more and more as she sees the loving community expand. Denna hopes to bring all the healing practices she has learned from this outlet to the medical field, one day. From compassion to gratitude exercises, she trusts in the healing of connection to others and to our precious Mother Gaia. Her dream is to be an OB/GYN with holistic influences in supporting women’s health and equity.

Outside of CoCo, you can find Denna making art, connecting over deep conversation, dancing with friends, and being in nature!

Meditation practice has really changed who Denna is a person and she feels so much gratitude for her teachers and this community. As the tree of CoCo grows, Denna is overjoyed to see love revolutionize the world, one seed at a time.

CO-PRESIDENT

Laura is a fourth year mechanical engineering major & French minor. She is co-president of CoCo and DeCal delegate for the student-led course “Meditation and Mindfulness: Traditional and Neuroscientific Perspectives. She has been involved with the class since taking it as a freshman in its first iteration in Fall 2019 and helped to found Consciousness Collective.

Laura is also involved in other CoCo projects such as retreat planning, grant writing, and outreach. She has found deep joy in seeing the seed of CoCo grow on Berkeley’s campus and feels that mindful practice is innately tied to compassion for herself, others, and the Earth.

CO-PRESIDENT

Rune is a fourth year studying psychology & economics and co-president of this wonderful org. Within Coco, you can catch him at town halls, various movement classes, or working on research projects that investigate the role of meditation in promoting wellbeing / human-nature connectedness.

He feels incredibly grateful to be a part of this movement towards a more mindful atmosphere on campus. “Returning to the meditation decal and witnessing our collective wisdom be realized is a powerful experience.”

On campus he also supports the board of psychedelic sciences @ berk & sits by trees. Off campus he is often noodling around with an alternative rock band, training capoeira, or taking any semi-sane excuse to experience adventure.

FOUNDER / ADVISOR

As a current graduate student at UC Berkeley, Harrison teaches and directs research exploring community-based meditative training in higher education—and the resultant benefits for mental health, altruism, and environmental sustainability.

Harrison has been teaching & organizing at the intersection of contemplative traditions, science, art, and ecology for over a decade, both in the U.S. and internationally. He founded the nonprofit Kila Collective to help support the integration of traditional wisdom with modern educational institutions.

In another domain, Harrison has also worked extensively in harm reduction, peer-support training, and psychedelic science, such as with the Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics and Zendo Project.

RESEARCH COMMITTEE

Ali is a Senior Transfer student studying Cognitive Science & Data Science and is part of the research committee within CoCo! He works on research projects investigating the role of meditation concerning mystical experiences and promoting well-being / human-nature connectedness.

He is super thankful to be able to contribute to some of the fantastic work that CoCo is doing. And grateful to be able to be part of a community that provides space for discussions on topics in meditation, neuroscience, philosophy, and various contemplative practices.

He is also a DeCal facilitator for Intro to Psychedelic Sciences! Which he recommends everyone take! On campus, he can be found taking naps on the grass near the glade. Off-campus he is either climbing at Ironworks, trying to play jazz guitar, finding random books to read at Moe’s, or staring into space.

MOVEMENT AND THE ARTS COMMITTEE

A 4th year studying Society and Environment, Clara is a huge believer in the power of the body and the breath. She hopes to provide space for students to explore and experiment with what living an embodied life means to them. Outside of CoCo, you can find Clara knitting, farming, drinking coffee, and moving her body in the great outdoors.

RETREAT COMMITTEE

Amisha is a 2nd year student studying Philosophy & Economics. She is the Retreat Coordinator and a facilitator for the Decal course called Meditation and Mindfulness: Traditional and Neuroscientific Perspectives. She feels grateful for having found the Consciousness Collective community at Berkeley and the unique sense of warmth and genuineness that it fosters between and within everyone involved.

GARDENING COMMITTEE

Thea is a fourth-year at Berkeley studying Environmental Sciences, and the Gardening coordinator for CoCo! She is a lover of nature and building connections with other CoCo community members. You can find her in the garden every week practicing mindfulness with other garden-goers, giving back to the Earth.

RESEARCH COMMITTEE

Matthew is a 4th year Psychology Major. He is part of the CoCo Research Committee, where they undertake research projects related to meditation. Currently, he is working on investigating whether the amount of time of meditation practiced has any effect on wellbeing — particularly the mood, attitude and behavior of the participants.

Matthew plans to continue meditation research in his graduate education and professional career in future and also intends to spend one or two months living as a monk in Asia after completing his undergraduate education.

In his free time, he plays tennis, watches YouTube videos, does photography and intends to revamp his blog and YouTube channel sometime in the future.

TREASURER

Aengus is a fourth-year at UC Berkeley studying Philosophy. He is the treasurer for CoCo and one of the facilitators for the DeCal, Meditation and Mindfulness: Traditional and Neuroscientific Perspectives. As treasurer, he deals with managing CoCo’s funding so that, as an ASUC (Associated Students of the University of California) sponsored student organization, we can run events and projects for the Cal community.

Upon graduating, Aengus plans to pursue a Philosophy PhD with a focus in Philosophy of Mind. Exploration through the natural sciences, psychology, and philosophy into the nature of consciousness is very important to him. He greatly values the community, and the exposure to mindfulness, that CoCo brings to the Berkeley student body. In his free time you can find him in nature, exercising, learning about new topics, meditating, or simply thinking about life.

PARTNERSHIPS & COLLABORATION COMMITTEE

Gabrielle Cooke is a psychology student at Berkeley interested in clinical studies, disabilty studies, and psychedelic science. As the board representative for partnerships and collaboration, Gabrielle deals with affairs related to social engagement and community. She will be planning many events throughout the school year to get Consciousness Collective members and the general community engaged in mindfulness practices. She hopes to create a sense of unity in the Berkeley community through environmental activism, mindfulness, and equality.

IDEAS ON CONSCIOUSNESS DECAL

Beata is a Cognitive Science major passionate about computer science, philosophy of mind, design, and social entrepreneurship. She is co-facilitator of the Ideas on Consciousness DeCal, which familiarizes students with philosophy of mind theories, implications, and ethics for the future in a discussion based, socratic-inspired environment. She is very grateful to have found a community whose mission is to spread mindfulness and has learned so much from the people and members already. She is amazed by the growth of CoCo in the past year and is thrilled by the future impact it will have on the students at Cal and others!

PUBLICITY COMMITTEE

Maddy is a first year Urban Studies major. As head of the publicity team, Maddy sends out the weekly newsletter and designs graphics for the CoCo Instagram. She first became involved with CoCo in Fall of 2022 when she was seeking out a community of warmth and mindfulness and found it to be a great & compassionate space. Outside of CoCo, you can find her napping outside, helping with archival research, and taking any opportunity she can to travel!