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Home > Contemplate This! > Episode 20: Interview with Michael Poffenberger
Podcast: Contemplate This!
Episode:

Episode 20: Interview with Michael Poffenberger
Category: Religion & Spirituality
Duration: 01:00:11
Publish Date: 2019-10-02 06:07:12
Description:

Guest

Michael Poffenberger

Michael joined the CAC as Executive Director in 2014 after first serving on the Board of Directors. He is responsible for overseeing a multi-year strategy to develop CAC as the 21st-century platform for transformative spiritual teaching that builds upon Fr. Richard’s lifetime of work. He has led the organization through significant growth as the CAC seeks to scale its impact, integrate new teachers, and introduce future generations to the wisdom of the contemplative tradition.

Michael graduated from the University of Notre Dame, where he was first impacted by the teaching of contemplative activists such as Dorothy Day and Thomas Merton. He then spent 10 years doing advocacy and peacebuilding work in Washington, D.C. as Executive Director for Resolve. At Resolve, Michael led bipartisan coalitions and developed international campaigns to advance policy change for war-affected communities in Africa. He helped author and win passage of legislation focused on the prevention of violent atrocities and testified before both the US Congress and the United Nations Security Council.

Michael serves as Board Chair of Invisible Children and previously served on Notre Dame’s Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies’ Advisory Board. Outside of his work, Michael is a dad to his three-year-old daughter, Madeleine.


Michael Poffenberger is the Executive Director of the Center for Action & Contemplation in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and he is part of a younger generation of leaders seeking to integrate contemplative practices with compassionate social action. Michael was inspired in college by spending time with Saint Mother Teresa and her sisters of charity in Kolkata, India, and then learning about the work of Dorothy Day and the Catholic Worker Movement, and the writings of Thomas Merton on contemplation and social action. Prior to arriving at the CAC as executive director, Michael helped to found the Uganda Conflict Action Network, which is now called Resolve. At Resolve, Michael led bipartisan coalitions and developed international campaigns to advance policy change for war-affected communities in Africa. He helped author and win passage of legislation focused on the prevention of violent atrocities and testified before both the US Congress and United Nations Security Council. Michael has an impressive background, and he understands how important it is to ground our work of love and justice in the world in a spiritual practice that keeps us centered and humble.
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