Our Beloved Community
Ending all forms of -isms in our lifetimes is going to take all of us
About Anu
Anu Gupta (he/el) is a lawyer, educator, scientist, and the Founder of BE MORE with Anu. He founded BE MORE in 2014 after witnessing the social and financial harms of bias to individuals, organizations, and communities firsthand. He foresaw the numerous possibilities available when people have access to mindfulness practices and scientific wisdom. He synthesized his skills as an attorney, research scientist, and a meditation teacher to build programs centered on advancing equity and belonging unlike any that existed before. Anu has logged over 10,000 hours of meditation and developed BE MORE’s approach after 15 years of research that was funded by the National Science Foundation, Nathan Cummings Foundation, the American Heart Association, among others.
He has brought BE MORE’s data-driven, human-centered, and science-backed approach to over 300 organizations reaching over 50,000 professionals – from lawyers, doctors, and engineers to rabbis, Buddhist monks, and frontline activists - impacting over 25 million lives.
A peer-reviewed author and the principal investigator behind BE MORE’s research, Anu is a sought-after expert in breaking bias, behavior change, and well-being. He has extensively written and spoken about this work, including on the TED stage, SxSW, the Oprah Conversation, Fast Company, and Newsweek. Prior to founding BE MORE, he worked as an attorney, a research scientist, and a middle school teacher in the United States, Europe, and Asia. Anu is a trained mindfulness and yoga teacher (500-hours) and his meditations can be found on the Insight Timer, Open, and the Ten Percent Happier meditation apps. He also serves as a Systems Designer for Penn State Dickinson Law’s Antiracist Development Institute (ADI) and lifetime fellow of the Mind & Life Institute.
Anu obtained his JD from NYU Law, where he was a Root-Tilden-Scholar, an MPhil in Development Studies from Cambridge University, and a BA in International Relations & Islamic Studies from NYU. Follow him @anuguptany.
Our Team & Advisors
Caroline Horste, MA, MBA, PMP | Director of Operations & Strategy
Caroline (she, her) is an entrepreneur and project manager with a background in higher education. After completing her MA in Counseling, she spent 6 years coordinating large-scale events and supervising student teams at Eastern Michigan University, during which time she earned an MBA and a Project Management Professional certification. In 2020, she founded a small consultancy that supports subject matter experts and small business owners through project management, systems & process development and data analysis. She is thrilled to be at BE MORE with Anu, where her work supports her lifelong commitment to using her skills to advance equity and education.
Asa Angel | Operations Coordinator
Asa (she, they) is a seasoned professional with ten years in education policy, having worked in Miami, Washington D.C., and New York City. Her career spans government roles, equity leadership at the NYC Department of Education, and collaborations with initiatives like Justice x Design. Alongside her professional journey, Asa has grounded herself in practical studies, including time spent with experts like Ram Dass and the H.H. Dalai Lama. Excited to contribute to BE MORE with Anu, Asa is committed to advancing equity and education through a down-to-earth approach. Her impact extends to over 5,000 individuals and collaborations with organizations like Wisdom 2.0, Earth Activist Training, and Newport Hospital, showcasing her dedication to tangible positive change.
Josh Babcock, PhD | Community & Communications Coordinator
Josh Babcock (he/him/his) is a storyteller, designer, marketing-communications professional, researcher, and educator with over 10 years of experience across the higher ed and nonprofit sectors. Josh has supported organizations in the U.S. and Southeast Asia to advance their commitments to intercultural communication, DEIB, and antiracism. He has held positions and research affiliations at the Equity Institute, Active Minds, University of Chicago, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, National University of Singapore, Singapore University of Technology and Design, and Brown University, among others. Josh’s peer-reviewed research has appeared in leading anthropology, linguistics, and media studies journals, and he regularly collaborates with artists and media producers in the Asia-Pacific region (recently The Junction Podcast, Australia, and Channel NewsAsia, Singapore). Josh has also worked as an organizer for labor, abolition, and antiracist change in Chicago. For him, Breaking Bias is material and personal, and he is excited to bring both his professional experience and his personal background as a queer, mixed-race person living with disabilities to support the urgent work happening at BE MORE with Anu.
Ray Mancini, MA & Lina Fenequito, MFA | Design
Ray Mancini (he, him) and Lina Fenequito (she, her) make up Good World Media, a full-service UX and creative agency that empowers ideas with design. They specialize in creating extraordinary user experiences to help our clients build audiences, increase awareness, achieve goals and ultimately change the world for the better.
Ray (Creative Director) has over two decades of experience in website, UX/UI, and print design. He earned a BFA from Syracuse University’s School of Visual & Performing Arts, Computer Graphics Major, and a Master’s Degree in Communication/Interactive Design from Pratt Institute. He has taught as an Adjunct Professor at New York University and the Fashion Institute of Technology. Lina (Project Manager and Technical Lead) worked at Ogilvy, Organic Online, and R/GA, and was also an adjunct professor at the Parson’s School of Design. Lina attended Duke University, earning a degree in both computer science and visual arts, and went on to achieve an MFA in Design and Technology from Parsons School of Design. Upon graduating she joined the Americorps program Public Allies, where she worked as an organizer for a youth outreach program in Chapel Hill, NC, and served on the alumni board in NYC.
Monica Gragg, MA, ABD | Content & Learning Strategy
Monica (she, her) is deeply passionate about the adult learner and providing opportunities to help people grow in their personal and professional life. Monica made a career out of service and travel, from managing the entertainment department on cruise ships to developing educational programs in China, Japan, and Australia for the world's largest education network, Laureate. Her Ph.D. studies in educational technology inspired her to pursue eLearning full time and have produced more than 200 online courses. Monica enjoys growing the Gragg Family Fund she co-founded with her sister and is a nationally ranked Strongman athlete.
Stanley O. King II, PhD | Business Development
Stan (he, him) is a neuroscientist, strategist, and social entrepreneur. His interest in science, commercializing early stage technologies, impact investing, and venture creation has led him to roles at the interface of business strategy, product management, technology licensing, entrepreneurship, economic development, and biomedical research. Stan has a Ph.D. in Neuroscience and Behavior from the University of Virginia, a B.S. in Psychology with a minor in Biology from Florida A & M University, and a professional certificate in Social Enterprise Management and Impact Investing from Middlebury Institute for International Studies at Monterey.
Jermaine Reid, MA | Marketing & Communications Strategy
Jermaine (she, her) is a marketing communications strategist and advocate for women's health. She has 15 years of professional experience creating brand awareness and driving growth in both industry and academia. She has served in many committees and boards; her most rewarding community involvement is serving as a volunteer ambassador for The Fibroid Foundation. Jermaine has an M.S. in Management from Brandeis University and a B.S. in Management with a concentration in Energy and Environment Resources from Bridgewater State University.
Shanti Hubbard, JD | Legal Counsel
Shanti (she, her) is a founding partner of Chan Hubbard PLLC, a woman of color owned law firm based in NYC. Shanti assists businesses and entrepreneurs in the areas of corporate law, contract, employment, privacy and intellectual property. She is a fearless advocate who started her legal career fighting for clients as a public defender in the Bronx and is committed to providing top flight legal services at affordable prices. Shanti has represented clients in a wide array of matters, from counseling startup founders in formation and fundraising to securing and protecting trademark rights. Shanti earned her J.D. from NYU School of Law and B.A. from Harvard College.
Christine Magyar | Accounting & Finance
Christine Magyar (she, her) is a senior finance executive with strategic, analytical and leadership skills honed over 20 years in various roles. She manages all aspects of BE MORE with Anu’s finance function, including controllership, treasury operations and strategic planning. Christine received her Master of Science in Accountancy degree from the University of Notre Dame and her Bachelor of Science degree from Boston College. She is a licensed CPA in Massachusetts.
Advisory Board
Chairperson, Solutions Journalism Network
Founder & CEO, Strugatz Ventures
AI Engineer, Spotify
Founder & CEO, Move The Crowd
Principal, AB InBev
Founder & President, Equal Justice Initiative
Senior Minister, Middle Collegiate Church
Founder & Senior Teacher, Insight Meditation Society
Founder & CEO, Charter School Business Management
Science Advisors
Ed Liebow, MA, PhD
President, American Anthropological Association
Sophie Trawalter, MA, PhD
Professor, Social Psychology, University of Virginia
Norm Oliver, MD, MA
Deputy Commissioner, Virginia Dept of Health
Nilanjana Dasgupta, PhD
Professor, Psychology, UMass - Amherst
Bonnie Duran, DrPH, MPH
Professor, Public Health, UW - Seattle
Judson Brewer, MD, PhD
Professor, Neuroscience, Brown University
Our Values
“Our goal is to build a beloved community. This will require qualitative shifts in our hearts, and quantitative shifts in our lives.” - Dr. Martin Luther King. Jr.
Be Mindful
Mindfulness is conscious awareness and presence. Mindfulness infuses everything we do so we see things as they are.
Be Wise
Wisdom is equal parts science-backed and compassion-based. Wisdom is the basis for our approach and offerings.
Be Clear
Clarity is facing and feeling the truth without any contamination. Clarity is what our community experiences through our approach and offerings.
Be Compassionate
Compassion is a genuine commitment to the well-being of others. Compassion is our learning container and it supports growth, transformation, and collaboration in our community.
Our Research
We define bias as a learned habit that distorts our decision-making, whether we are in the exam room, the classroom, or the boardroom.
Based on our fifteen years of research and development, we believe organizations need to train their teams in breaking bias to sustainably advance diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB). We designed all of our DEIB Solutions based on iterative studies with focus groups of scientists, advocates, and senior leaders. We continuously enhance our solutions through ongoing research.
Learn more about our research and our product portfolio.
We are grateful to the following institutions who supported our research efforts.
