JoAnna Hardy is an insight meditation (Vipassanā) practitioner and teacher; she is on faculty at the University of Southern California, a meditation trainer at Apple Fitness+, a founding member of the Meditation Coalition, a visiting retreat teacher at Insight Meditation Society, and a collaborator on many online meditation programs.

She was born into a Catholic family and has early memories of being drawn toward contemplation, quietness and inner reflection. All the while externally rebelling and pushing up against societal norms that keep many oppressed, marginalized and excluded.

Her inner turmoil led to causing external pain for herself and others. To help lessen her suffering she went on a search for some kind of peace. For years at a time she visited many different spiritual traditions, eventually finding her home in Buddhism and Vipassanā meditation.

She teaches: silent meditation retreats, social justice based meditation classes and workshops, youth work, online courses, and works with private students.

She coauthored Teaching Mindfulness to Empower Adolescents, alongside Matthew Brensilver and Oren Jay Sofer.

Her greatest passion is to teach meditation in communities that are dedicated to seeing the truth of how racism, gender inequality and oppression go hand in hand with the compassionate action teachings in Buddhism and related perspectives to social and racial justice.

She is the grateful mother to CJ and Harris and happily married to Andre.