About Us

Shelly Dews Chigier

Shelly Dews Chigier, PhD, and her husband, Ben Chigier are the BESS Family Foundation’s trustees. Shelly was introduced to meditation through her yoga practice and has been a dedicated Vipassana practitioner since her first meditation retreat in 2011. She earned her BA at Arizona State University and her Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology at Boston College.

Shelly’s passion lies in combining insights from her personal practice with the latest research findings. In her role as Trustee of the BESS Foundation, Shelly is committed to mindfulness programs that are supported by the growing evidence base, as well as applied research programs that contribute to our understanding of mindfulness in practice.

Shelly and her husband have two grown children and live outside Boston. In her spare time, you can find Shelly and her dogs outside, walking on the beach or in the woods.

Jodi Castallo

Jodi coordinates grants and programs for the BESS Family Foundation. She worked in environmental non-profits for more than 15 years with a variety of communities around water and watershed issues. After becoming a bit burned out in the environmental field and studying mindfulness for several years, she decided she would make a career change so that she could share what has been so powerful in her life. For six years, she taught mindfulness to kids in grades 1 -12 in Rhode Island public and charter schools and taught mindfulness to adults in the corporate setting through workplace programs, retreat programs and community programs. Working for the BESS Family Foundation has been a great way to combine both her passion and expertise.

Jodi graduated from Bucknell University with an undergraduate degree in biology, then went on to earn her master’s degree in environmental science at Antioch New England Graduate School. She lives in Maine with her teenager, a dog, and three cats.