Dr. Kolette A. Butler is a native Arizonan and a licensed attorney and psychologist in the state of Arizona. She earned her JD at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at ASU (and is friends with many Wildcats too!). After law school she clerked on the Arizona Court of Appeals, Division One with the Honorable Michael Brown. She then took a position with a national firm working on cases of Fortune 500 companies. During her legal career, a family circumstance prompted Dr. Butler to pursue a doctorate in psychology. She earned her PsyD from Midwestern University and opened a private practice focusing on forensic psychology, trauma and complex mental health issues.

Dr. Butler’s practice has evolved into coaching teens and adults to identify and leverage their strengths to create a life they are excited about living. She is passionate about human behavior and helping people transition from enduring life to enjoying life. She is a frequent presenter for groups such as the State Bar of Arizona and the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts and enjoys opportunities to share her discoveries with colleagues. Outside of work Dr. Butler thrives on nature, her people, poetry and quality time with her dog.

Hon. Donn G. Kessler (ret.) was a judge on the Arizona Court of Appeals from 2003 to June 2017. He is an adjunct faculty member of the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at ASU, teaching a course on mindfulness for the past five years. Prior to becoming a judge, Donn was Deputy Attorney General for the State of Hawaii, served in the Virginia Attorney General’s Office, and was an associate and later a partner or a shareholder in several firms and a staff attorney for the Arizona Supreme Court.

Donn began studying Buddhism and mindfulness in the 1990s. He presented at the national 2010 Mindful Lawyer Conference in Berkeley. Donn has presented programs on meditation and mindfulness at numerous Arizona State Bar Conventions, two Arizona Judicial Conferences, the Lawyers as Peacemakers and Healers Conference, the 2013 Finding Happiness in the Law Program, and the annual meeting of federal administrative law judges in Scottsdale in 2016. Donn was a founding member and is now emeritus board member of the Mindfulness in Law Society (MILS), a national group promoting mindfulness in the law. Donn was chair for MILS’s 2018 program on Mindfulness and the Path to Lawyer Well Being in Chicago, which was cosponsored in part by the ABA Center for Professional Responsibility and the State Bar of Arizona.