Faculty

JILL PENALOZA is a co-founder and executive director of 2XL Concepts, an advisory firm that trains CEOs and executive teams in the practice of heart-based leadership to create healthier, happier and more sustainable work environments. She is certified by the American Art Therapy Association and the American Group Psychotherapy Association and is a Certified Sheng Zhen Meditation teacher. Jill has more than 20 years of experience as an art psychotherapist and executive advisor, and maintains a private clinical practice in Annapolis, Maryland where she specializes in psycho-spiritual development and post traumatic wellness.

Jill believes that every person carries within the capacity for healing, and that her role is to help access this wisdom. Jill incorporates creative cognitive therapy, embodied mindfulness practices and expressive modalities to help groups and individuals access the wisdom of their “whole” brain-body to cultivate a more conscious, heart-centered way of being in each moment. One of the primary tools she uses is Sheng Zhen Meditation, a system of movement and non-movement with ties to the ancient practice of qigong, an internal healing art. Sheng Zhen Meditation has the healing power of Unconditional Love as its core foundation, and those who practice it experience the revitalizing of mind and body as the heart begins to open. For corporate clients, the enhanced sense of well-being results in improved productivity and increased organizational and group cohesion.

Prior to her corporate work and private practice Jill was a mental health staff clinician at Strong Memorial Hospital and a group program director at Genesee Hospital in Rochester, New York. She has worked with non-profit and private organizations across the United States and presented and taught at AACC Women’s Institute, Maryland Psychological Association, Rochester NY City School District, CHADD Maryland, and the Washington DC Department of Corrections.