Acharya Martin (Marty) Janowitz

Marty Janowitz has been a student of mindfulness, awareness, and Buddhism since encountering his teacher Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche at the age of 20. He is a senior teacher within the Shambhala Tibetan Buddhist lineage and committed to its vision of an integrated path of inner and societal transformation. In 1986, he and his family immigrated with Rinpoche, from Colorado to Nova Scotia, Canada in furtherance of this commitment. Central to his practice and learning has been restorative action towards sustainable and environmentally healthy communities that at their core express the heart of awareness. He has been involved in this movement for 30 years as a consultant and volunteer in Canada and internationally, and in recent years has been deeply engaged in Buddhist, interfaith and secular climate change action.

In Nova Scotia he currently serves as the volunteer Chair of the Nova Scotia Round Table on Environment and Sustainable Prosperity. He formerly served as President of the Nova Scotia Nature Trust, Executive Director of Clean Nova Scotia, and as a board member of the Nova Scotia Environmental Network. More broadly, he was Chair of the Authentic Leadership in Action (ALIA) Institute and is a trustee of Naropa University. In his work life, as a business and social entrepreneur, Marty focuses on ways organizations and communities can ‘walk the talk’. He consulted around the world on community, national, and organizational social responsibility through sustainable planning, systems, infrastructure, climate adaptation, and resilience. Over the past five years, Marty and his wife Susanna transitioned to a new base in central Mexico. He has also pursued training, certification and practice as an executive and life coach, drawing on the intertwined dimensions of his life experience.