Dalai Lama Fellows Program
Transforming the World Through Compassionate and Contemplative Leadership
The Dalai Lama Fellows (DLF) program at CU Boulder is led by the Crown Institute and offered to Leeds School of Business students. It is a local program, connected to the . DLF is a unique one-year leadership program for emerging social change makers designed to help them cultivate self-awareness, resilience, and compassion; broaden their cultural perspectives; learn how to engage with complex systems; and work with local communities in sustainable ways.
The is headquartered at the University of Virginia. In 2021, Dalai Lama Fellows entered a phase of joint stewardship among the , and the University of Colorado Boulder Renée Crown Wellness Institute. Faculty and staff at these two universities are working together to deliver the global fellowship program as well as create interlinked academic programs for undergraduates at each university.
The Dalai Lama Fellows (DLF) program at CU Boulder is hosted by the Crown Institute, and is a unique one-year leadership program for emerging social change makers. The curriculum, based on Head, Hearts, and Hands model, compassion, contemplation, and social justice, give you an opportunity to:
- learn leadership centered on compassion, contemplation, and social justice
- cultivate self-awareness, resilience, and compassion
- broaden cultural perspectives and practice engagement with complex systems
- work with local communities to implement sustainable practices
- engage in building caring communities, industries, and leaders
The DLF program focuses on entrepreneurship and social innovation, helping fellows develop their leadership skills and providing them with the tools to address mindfulness in their roles as the business innovators of tomorrow. Fellows will receive a stipend each semester; associated travel and participation expenses with the annual global assembly of fellows also are covered. Students need to be part of the Leeds School of Business. Please contact Shubham Sapkota at Shubham.Sapkota@colorado.edu with any questions you have.
Dalai Lama Fellows (DLF) is a community of leaders, social innovators and organizers who are committed to making the world a better place for all through leadership that is wise, caring, and sustainable. DLF embraces a “Head, Heart, and Hands” leadership model that holds self-awareness, emotional intelligence, compassion, and resilience as necessary skills for responding to the complex challenges of the 21st Century. The program engages the “head” by training the mind to cultivate awareness and understand systems, the “heart” by harnessing the wisdom of the heart in deepening compassion while working across differences and navigating uncertainty, and the “hands” by enacting wisdom and compassion in the change-making work the fellows do within their communities.
The application is currently closed.
If you have any questions, please contact shubham.sapkota@colorado.edu.
Dalai Lama Fellows 2024-2025
Dalai Lama Fellows 2023-2024
"I am very excited to be a DLF fellow because of the program’s focus on community and mindfulness. I hope to be able to contribute to this community and learn from my fellow peers in it as well."
"I look forward to making new connections globally and expanding my knowledge about different cultures and experiences. I'm beyond excited about this new opportunity to become a part of the DL Fellow community!"
"I'm excited to meet fellow social change makers and go on journey of learning about my own leadership and self-care in the social justice space."
"I hope to become a more holistic version of myself, capable of regulating my own emotions and leading a more mindful life. I am eager to learn more about how I can help others become centered after the trauma of losing a loved one."
"I’m excited about honing my leadership skills and applying that to my community. What gets me excited as corny is achieving things and watching people grow; I thoroughly enjoy mentorship. I’m most excited about being a Fellow because it gives me an opportunity to be an emerging leader."
Dalai Lama Fellows 2022-2023
“A big part of meditation comes from intentions. I have the intention to ground myself and become a better version that can deal with the complexity of our world.”
“The idea of using mindfulness to understand social justice and leadership spoke to my own interests. I have recently incorporated mindfulness into my life as a way to bring balance and compassion into my world. I hope to do the same within the fellowship.”
Affiliated Faculty
Contemplative Scholar
Program Leader
Faculty Fellow, Associate Professor at the Department of Theatre & Dance, DLF Coach
Outreach and Education Program Director
Institute Director and Founding Faculty Fellow, Professor in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience
Assistant Professor of Native American and Indigenous Studies, DLF Coach
Faculty Fellow, Professor in the School of Education, DLF Coach