Kristin Neff, PhD, is currently an Associate Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin. She is a pioneer in the field of self-compassion research, conducting the first empirical studies on self-compassion nearly twenty years ago. She has been recognized as one of the most influential researchers in psychology worldwide. She is the author of the bestselling book Self-Compassion.  Along with her colleague Chris Germer she developed the empirically-supported Mindful Self-Compassion program which is taught all around the globe. They also co-wrote The Mindful Self-compassion Workbook and Teaching the Mindful Self-compassion Program. Her latest book is Fierce Self-Compassion: How Women Can Harness Kindness to Speak Up, Claim Their Power, and Thrive.