Sunny co-created Mindfulness First after experiencing a stress-related breakdown and illnesses from which she used mindfulness to recover and completely transform her life. Sunny has a Bachelors of Science (Honors) in Communications and Media Studies, 200 hour Yoga Teacher Training, AZ ACE’s Consortium Training, and Mindful Schools Fundamentals/Curriculum Training, with a prior career in PR and marketing. She is passionate about nurturing critical thinking in others and creating equitable and collaborative work environments; all by-products of mindful living. Sunny is married with 2 teenage children.

Kimberly co-founded Mindfulness First and has helped manage the organization since its inception. Kimberly attended the CA College of Arts and completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts at ASU. Kimberly is trained by the AZ ACEs Consortium in ACEs education.

Kimberly is experienced and adept at organization and management and supports all of the departments at Mindfulness First. She lives in Cave Creek, AZ with her family.

Christina Costelo is excited to be on the leadership team at Mindfulness First, bringing with her over a decade of mindfulness in education experience from having joined the founding team of Mindful Schools in 2012, helping transform the pioneering nonprofit from a local grassroots initiative into a global leader in mindfulness education by developing, managing and facilitating online and in-person trainings, residential retreats, and a yearlong Mindful Teacher Certification Program. With a Master's in Sociology from UC Santa Cruz and extensive training in educational leadership, MBSR, non-violent communication, and neurosomatics, she has used her unique expertise to evaluate over 500 educators' mindfulness teaching practicums across diverse international communities. Beyond her professional mindfulness work, Christina finds balance creating stained glass art, managing a local family entertainment business, and enjoying the natural beauty of the Pacific Northwest with her family.

Cayla works to integrate Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion into our Mindfulness Based Social and Emotional Learning approach. Cayla has written, taught, and created recorded both DEI curriculum and MBSEL.

A graduate of Northwest Missouri State University (NWMSU), she holds a BA in Human Services and a minor in Psychology. After battling with her own mental health struggles, she founded a mental health awareness organization at NWMSU in 2019, and led as their president helping advocate for increased mental health resources throughout the campus and community. Cayla further amplified student voices for institutional changes in support of NWMSU's minority populations, while working closely with the Diversity and Inclusion office at NWMSU as the Multicultural Representative.

Cayla believes that building communities where mindfulness is a daily practice will have a direct impact on our ability to foster more diverse, equitable, and inclusive environments. Since being introduced to the concept of mindfulness, she has seen how it has grown her own empathy and understanding of herself and others. She hopes to continue helping more people recognize the importance of mindfulness in connection with DEI to help improve their own lives and communities too.

Madicyn was born and raised in Arizona and graduated from Nothern Arizona University in 2016 with a bachelor’s in elementary education. She went on to teach third and fourth grade general education for several years. Madicyn developed a consistent mindfulness practice in 2020 after constantly finding herself overwhelmed with stress. This is where she found her passion for sharing mindfulness with students and teachers. Most recently, she spent some time in education administration for an EdTech company where she worked to coordinate tier 3 interventions and helped to create and streamlined Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) process for students.

Vee is a multi-passionate mama and wife raised in Los Angeles, CA, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in liberal studies with a concentration in human and child development at Cal State Long Beach. She then became an elementary teacher, where she witnessed many students experience struggles as well as experiencing personal burnout from stress. Ultimately, Vee decided to leave teaching to help find a solution better to serve the overall needs of students and educators. She discovered mindfulness after years of struggling with anxiety, depression, and a battle with cancer. She came across Mindfulness First shortly after starting her mindfulness coaching business and knew it was exactly what she had been looking for. It brings Vee so much joy to be part of our community.

Andrea is a certified mindfulness teacher, having completed a two-year, intensive training program in partnership with the MMTCP and The Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley. With 25 years of experience as an educator, she has taught a wide range of subjects to elementary, middle, and high school students. Her passion for emotional intelligence led her to serve as the Dean of Social-Emotional Learning and the DEIB Coordinator at an elementary school that supported students and families from kindergarten through 8th grade.

Additionally, Andrea designed photography workshops for high school students, where they learned the craft of photography while exploring the diverse cultural landscape of Los Angeles in a non-traditional classroom setting.

Andra’s passion for teaching can be seen across the span of her career. As a K-8 classroom educator for over 16 years, she loves connecting with kids and helping bring out the best in them. What she enjoys the most about teaching mindfulness, is helping others navigate through life with more resiliency by learning self-awareness of how their minds work and self-regulation of their emotions.

With a Masters in Education, she continues to deepen her education by pursuing a certificate in Social Emotional Learning and Character Development at Rutgers University.

As part of her ongoing efforts to support wellbeing, Andra has also worked throughout communities as a certified yoga instructor, including teaching yoga to children in after school clubs.

If she could describe her job in three words it would be critical, amazing, and rewarding. She enjoys going to shows, concerts, anything live and artsy, hiking, yoga, reading, and spending time with friends and family.

I was born and raised in Columbus, Ga and I enlisted in the unites States Air-Force where I served four years on active duty at Luke-AFB, AZ. After my service I became a certified trauma informed yoga instructor at SWIHA in Tempe, AZ. Since then I have taught over 10,000 hours of yoga at free and donation based community events as well as private events. I am currently a Psychology and Anthropology student at Paradise Valley Community College, and an inbound ASU West student. My greatest joy is being a mother to my son Jrue, who is the light of my life.

Debbie had the honor of teaching children from preschool to third grade for 19 years. During that time, she facilitated many staff development sessions on Thinking Maps, Write from the Beginning, Mindful Communication, and more. She also implemented a mindfulness program at their campus that included a mindfulness room for students. Debbie founded Myndfulness Matters, which supports mindfulness coaching for all ages. She hopes that by sharing the practice of mindfulness, she can help people of all ages with the power of loving and honoring themselves so they can indeed be in a space of service for others. 

Logan Mitchell (they/them) has been practicing mindfulness for over ten years and has been teaching with Mindfulness First since 2019. They graduated from Arizona State University with a BA in Philosophy and minor in Nonprofit Leadership and Management in 2020. Logan is currently pursuing a PhD in Philosophy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where their doctoral research focuses on the ethical dimensions of mindfulness.

Tony is an experienced Executive with a demonstrated history of transformation in the financial services industry and has 5+ years of community services experience, wellness ambassador and yoga teacher. Strong professional skilled in Business Planning, IT Strategy, Project Portfolio Management, Payments, and Business Intelligence. For 5-7 years Tony was Board Chair for the Diabetes Association in Phoenix. Tony has recently transitioned from working at General Motors as Chief Data Analyst where he was also a GM Disability Executive Champion, GMAAN Mentor, & Wellness Coach, to Head of Data and Analytics at Amerant Bank. Tony can often be found giving his time not just on the Board but also to serve as a volunteer Instructor at Mindfulness First corporate trainings.

Alisa is a Lawyer at Tiffany and Bosco who help families in transition due to death or incapacity. She practices primarily in the area of contested or complicated estate, trust, guardianship and conservatorship matters. She also serves as a mediator, settlement conference judge, neutral, guardian ad litem. Her clients are individuals, small businesses, fiduciaries, large corporations, and governmental entities. She also consults with civil attorneys whose clients die or become incapacitated during their matter, and will serve as an expert witness on certain topics. Alisa is also a yoga teacher and has taught mindfulness education for lawyers.

Emily is the Deputy General Council for Arizona Department of Child Safety and has a career dedicated to protecting all vulnerable populations through compassionate advocacy and educational tools. Emily hopes to use her legal knowledge and skills to create a more peaceful and just world for all.

Solutions-minded, curious, and inspired curriculum developer. I'm driven by a genuine interest in people, projects, and progress. I am extremely motivated to learn, improve processes, and plan.

Currently, Madeline design and develop compliance instruction to support mental health professionals in their employment and specific counseling skills. When she's not designing or facilitating trainings, she can be found working behind the scenes to author, edit, and publish essential agency content in our SharePoint site manual.

Formerly, Madeline taught English Language Arts at a high school for five years, including through the pandemic. Her proudest accomplishments while doing so (aside from leading and supporting her community of learners) were re-writing the district curriculum plan for multiple courses and modernizing the assessments and content therein. She loved adapting materials to meet learners' needs, a skill she continues to practice in my role at BJCBH.