Candidate for
Director; Cambria Community Services District

Valerie Malhotra Bentz, Ph.D., is Professor, Human and Organization Development, Fielding Graduate University, where she served as Associate Dean for research. She taught in the doctoral program in sociology at Texas Woman's University for twelve years. Her books include Mindful Inquiry in Social Research (with Jeremy Shapiro) and Becoming Mature: Childhood Ghosts and Spirits in Adult Life. She is a Fellow in Contemplative Practice of the American Association of Learned Societies. Valerie was editor of Phenomenology and the Human Sciences, (1994-1998). She has served as president and board member of the Clinical Sociology Association and the Sociological Practice Association. She founded and co-directed with Dr. Linda Wing and Dr. Lianzela an action research team and center in Mizoram, India. Valerie was co-founder of the Creative Longevity and Wisdom program at Fielding. She has experience as a practitioner of psychotherapy, yoga instruction, and body-spirit integration. Her current interests include sociological theory, consciousness development, Vedantic and Buddhist theories of knowledge, and social somatics. She has written a philosophical novel, and plays piano and bassoon.