Caroline Welch is an author, attorney, and CEO and Co-founder with Dr. Dan Siegel of the Mindsight Institute in Santa Monica, California. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin Law School with a master’s degree from the University of Southern California, Welch started her career in law as a corporate litigator. She began her mindfulness practice forty years ago while working in Japan.
Welch’s first book, The Gift of Presence: A Mindfulness Guide for Women (Tarcher Perigee, March 2020), provides a timely, practical guide for moving from chaos to calm (TarcherPerigee, Penguin Random House 2020). Overwhelmed by the demands of family, work and multiple responsibilities, on top of enduring cultural expectations and gendered assumptions, many women find themselves feeling distracted and depleted. Welch combines cutting-edge science with inspiring stories collected in her interviews of a diverse group of over 100 women worldwide, paving a pathw
ay for enjoying more presence and deeper purpose in our lives.
Welch’s book has been widely acclaimed, described as, “A gift for us all—filled with practical insights about the power of mindfulness” and “a must-read for women of all ages” by Arianna Huffington and a “wise and clear book that shows us how mindful awareness can give us back our life,” by Tara Brach. Publishers Weekly praised Welch’s work as follows: “In The Gift of Presence … Caroline Welch … sets out to distill reams of peer-reviewed science about mindfulness into plain, clear advice.”
Sally Field was also among early endorsers: “If you have an ongoing mindfulness practice and especially, if you do not—like me—Caroline Welch’s The Gift of Presence is the book you didn’t know you needed…It’s like a cup of tea with a friend on a rainy afternoon—a very wise, gentle, informed friend. You simply walk away feeling better, glad to have it in your life and looking forward to opening it again and again.”
Welch and The Gift of Presence have been featured on O, The Oprah Magazine, Mind Body Green, Maria Shriver’s The Sunday Paper, the Being Well Podcast, The Brain Warriors Way Podcast and others.
Welch provides lectures and workshops to enhance well-being in our personal and professional lives. She and her husband, Dan, live in Santa Monica with their dog, Charlie, and two adult children. Welch also offers resources on her website for connecting with others, both in-person and virtually, including support for starting and running your own Presence Group.
For updates on Welch’s writing and speaking, please visit carolinewelch.com, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, or LinkedIn.