RISE Summit

The 2025 RISE Summit focused on the cognitive dimension of resilience; that is, how accepting challenges, developing a growth mindset, and changing irrational thoughts can support our ability to move through expected and unexpected challenges. There will be a special emphasis on seeing failure as an opportunity for growth.

This two-part event, held on Wednesday, February 19, 2025 in the Light House, featured a lunch keynote session where a guest speaker shared with the community and a dinner panel session which featured another speaker who shared and then moderated a panel of Pepperdine students who shared their own stories of cognitive resilience.

Dr. Shauna Shapiro served as the keynote speaker for the 2025 RISE Summit lunch session. In this workshop, Dr. Shauna Shapiro—an internationally recognized expert in mindfulness and self-compassion—taught the Pepperdine community powerful practices to live a happier, healthier, more meaningful life, focusing on the cognitive dimension of RISE resilience. She shared recent discoveries in neuroscience and showed how we can re-architect the very structure of our brain to decrease stress, increase mental clarity, and strengthen resilience. Attendees learned how the practice of mindfulness deactivates the centers of the brain responsible for emotional reactivity, and helps engage the rational part of the brain so we can meet challenges with wisdom and grace, and embrace failures as opportunities for growth. Attendees learned the power of self-compassion, which helps to reduce perfectionism and self-criticism and strengthen a growth mindset. Dr. Shapiro offered a science-based roadmap for how to rewire our brains for greater calm, clarity, and joy as we build resilient lives and communities. 

Shauna Shapiro, PhD is a mother, best-selling author, clinical psychologist and internationally recognized expert in mindfulness and self-compassion. She is a professor at Santa Clara University and has published over 150 papers and three critically acclaimed books, translated into 23 languages. Dr. Shapiro has presented her research to the King of Thailand, the Danish Government, Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness Summit, and the World Council for Psychotherapy, as well as to Fortune 100 Companies including Google, Cisco Systems and LinkedIn. Her work has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Oprah, NPR, and the American Psychologist. Dr. Shapiro is a summa cum laude graduate of Duke University and her TEDx Talk, The Power of Mindfulness, has been viewed over 3.5 million times.

The 2024 RISE Summit focused on the spiritual dimension of resilience; that is, how adopting a faith perspective, engaging in spiritual practices, and belonging to a faith community can support our ability to move through expected and unexpected challenges. This two-part event featured a lunch keynote session and a dinner panel session.

In partnership with Pepperdine faculty Dr. John Peterson and the NetVUE Grant, the 2024 RISE Summit featured Dr. Deanna A. Thompson as the keynote speaker during the lunch session. Dr. Deanna A. Thompson is Director of the Lutheran Center for Faith, Values and Community and Martin E. Marty Regents Chair in Religion and the Academy, and she is the author of five books, including The Virtual Body of Christ in a Suffering World on how digital tools can help us better care for those who suffer and Glimpsing Resurrection: Trauma, Cancer, and Ministry about where the Christian  story meets those undone by serious illness. In addition, Thompson’s writings have appeared in the Huffington Post, Christian Century, Gather, and beyond.

The dinner session featured a panel of Pepperdine undergraduate and graduate student speakers who shared their own compelling stories of spiritual resilience. Following the time of storytelling, a Q&A session was moderated by Dr. Deanna A. Thompson.

The 2023 RISE Summit focused on the physical dimension of resilience; that is, how taking care of our bodies by engaging in movement, practicing healthy eating, and prioritizing sleep is key for our ability to bounce back from expected and unexpected adversity.

This two-day event featured a keynote speaker, sharing about the science behind taking care of our bodies, a panel formed by Pepperdine students, faculty, and staff, sharing their inspiring stories of physical resilience, followed by a Q&A session. While day one of the Summit was geared toward the graduate student population and day two to the undergraduate population, all students, faculty, and staff were welcome to attend either of the sessions.

The 2023 RISE Summit featured Dr. Donna Nofziger as the keynote speaker. Dr. Donna Nofziger is a Professor of Biology at Seaver College (Pepperdine University) and teaches classes in cellular, molecular, and developmental biology. She is a Los Angeles native who earned her undergraduate degree in biology at Baylor University and her PhD from UCLA as part of the Molecular Biology Institute. She has loved every moment of her 25 years teaching at Pepperdine and in particular enjoys sharing her enthusiasm for learning about the natural world with her students.

The inaugural 2022 RISE Summit focused on the cognitive dimension of resilience; that is, how expecting challenges, adopting a growth mindset, and changing irrational/unhelpful thoughts can support our capacity to make it through expected and unexpected adversities. "Metamorphosis" was the theme of the Summit, rooted in the idea that we are able to be renewed by the transforming of our minds and build healthier practices to help us be more resilient.

This inaugural event featured a keynote speaker presentation, dinner, and RISE’s brain bingo. Head coach emeritus and olympian Marv Dunphy and associate vice president Hung Le served as the dual keynote speakers for the Summit and shared their stories of transformation and resilience.