Kelly Bannister

Kelly Bannister has always been a somewhat unwieldy and fun-loving spirit who is enjoying being tamed, trained, unmade and remade through aikido and zen practice. She is a busy working professional who is working on being not too busy, a mom of 2 teens and wife for over 30 years, a daughter-in-learning of parents in their golden years, a respecter of the natural world, gardener, amateur photographer and a committed aikido and zen student-practitioner affiliated with Chosei Zen and the Institute for Zen Leadership.

She holds undergraduate and masters degrees in biochemistry and microbiology, a doctorate in botany (ethnobiology and phytochemistry) and a postdoc in applied ethics. For over two decades, she has been devoted to understanding how we can work well across different worldviews and knowledge systems to address pressing social and ecological issues and inequities of our time. She works as an independent consultant, facilitating teamwork and evolving policy and practice related to biodiversity and biocultural ethics. She also holds a part time position as Co-Director of the POLIS Project on Ecological Governance in the Centre for Global Studies at the University of Victoria (B.C., Canada). She completed the Zen Leader Instructor and FEBI programs with IZL in 2021, which infuses every aspect of her personal and professional life. She is unquestionably keen to be involved in anything IZL!