Rev. Dr. Shelley D. Best is an artist, activist, curator, yoga teacher, and mindfulness meditation teacher whose work lives at the intersection of creativity, contemplative practice, and cultural renewal. She is the founder of Creative Disruptor® and author of Creative Disruption: How Artists and Innovators Build Influence, Drive Change, and Shape the Future, a framework that invites artists, innovators, and spiritual seekers to reclaim imagination as a force for personal and social transformation. Rooted in an integrative, trauma‑aware yoga tradition, Dr. Best studied extensively with Anne Falkowski, creator of Samadhi Yoga Studio and long‑time director of Samadhi Yoga Teacher Training, whose hybrid style blends Kripalu and Forrest Yoga with body‑positive, trauma‑sensitive practice.  

Grounded in the Insight Meditation tradition, she has trained in mindfulness and compassion practices with Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach, and is certified in Yoga Nidra by Tracee Stanley. Her teaching lineage weaves together mindfulness meditation, gentle yoga, Yoga Nidra, sound healing, storytelling, and artistic practice to create accessible spaces where people reconnect with presence, embodiment, and their own creative wisdom. An experienced community leader and cultural innovator, she founded the 224 EcoSpace in Hartford, Connecticut—a community arts incubator and “living creative laboratory” for healing and social change. She holds degrees from Yale Divinity School and Hartford International University for Religion and Peace, and has decades of experience designing and leading retreats, workshops, and community programs that support courageous leadership, belonging, and spiritual renewal.