Kathleen Allen, Founder and CEO

“Chris’ Mom is a tiger!”

“I heard this from both the special education teachers and other parents while Chris was in public school”, says Kathleen Allen, Founder of Metta, Inc.  “If I saw that he needed something or was being bullied in any way, I jumped in right away like a warrior tiger.  I committed myself to help.”  With Chris’ intelligence and his Mom’s encouragement, Chris overcame his learning disabilities and blindness to earn his Masters of Arts degree. (See Chris Allen’s Biography under Metta Leadership.)  Children, especially those deemed to have a physical or cognitive disability face stress and challenges.  “I formed Metta, Inc. to give children with special needs tools to build their own self esteem.  I want them to have the happiest, successful life possible”, says Kathleen.  “I jumped right in, like a tiger, when I didn’t see a foundation out there like the one I envisioned for special needs children in 2018”.

“I see our children in pain today”, continues Kathleen.  Events happening in the world, challenges and strife faced at school or home, bullies in person and on-line.  Parents and teachers are stressed.  So it stands to reason that children learn to handle challenges by observing the adults in their lives.  And those adult behaviors and habits may not be effective.  History might be a class taught each year in school, but there is no class on how to be human.   “I see so many possibilities if our children were taught from early childhood how to love themselves and build their own sense of self.” says Kathleen.

Like many children growing up, Kathleen experienced negative comments from people in her life.  Her child’s mind internalized those statements of “you aren’t as good” which influenced her self-perception all the way into adulthood.  Through therapy and self-study, she came to learn how the verbal barbs of others took away some of the happy outlook that should be part of childhood and life.  As a mother of a visually impaired child who also had a cognitive learning disability, Kathleen saw again the harmful ways the words of others can shape a child’s behavior and being. “My son is smart and creative,” says Kathleen, “however I have to continually tell him because others have been critical in the past”.  

As noted on Kathleen’s biography under the Leadership section, she came to a point were she sold her successful glass company and turned to the thought of “what next?”  Kathleen says, “God told me that I would give something back to humanity.  I was not sure what or how.  So I explored.  I took a few one-hour Mindfulness practices classes.  I was so inspired by my instructor’s way of being that I registered for Mindfulness Certification Training (MCT). The understanding I gained resonated so strongly with me.  I needed to share it with others. To teach it.”

In the 40 hour MCT coursework, Kathleen found a purpose for herself plus a vision for how to help people like her son.  “The class tells you how the brain works which tells you how life works” she says.  “Then you can become aware of what is holding you back.  I was so impressed with the course that I made it my goal to become a teacher of Mindfulness classes and now I am”.  Her practice is called Life by Kathleen and her classes are held through the Dallas Yoga Center.

During this training, Kathleen also learned of the many avenues others in the class were planning to incorporate Mindfulness.  And, she was delighted to learn that Dallas even had a foundation for bringing Mindfulness into area schools.  But what about children like her son?  “I first thought of creating a foundation for the blind”, says Kathleen, but that quickly changed to include children with any special need.  “I know the struggles of Chris, being bullied, and dismissed by his peers in school.  I believe that if we can bring Mindfulness practices into early childhood education, it will help kids like Chris love themselves as they are.  They can develop a stronger sense of self because they know how to let the baggage of what happens or is said to them go.”

Kathleen stated, “I am a tiger warrior. I started this first of its kind foundation to help children learn to believe in themselves through Mindfulness.”  So Metta, Inc. came into being in 2018 to start children on the road to self-compassion at an early age.  “I watch the suffering of kids in school”, says Kathleen.  “Kids who have been hurt will carry those bad things with them. Mindfulness teaches you that your are not your emotions.  And Mindfulness practices teaches you to let bad emotions go. Thoughts and emotions are not YOU!  I want special needs children to be their own best supporter as they build their sense of self.  Mindfulness gives everyone the tools to be really present in life.  Kids can learn this quickly.”

Chris Allen, Executive Director
With 11 years’ Of experience as a professional mediator primarily in divorce and child custody cases, Chris now conducts the on – going business of METTA as executive director.  Legally blind since birth, Chris was diagnosed with significant learning disabilities due to neurological issues.  Despite these challenges, Chris’s inquisitive spirit along with his mother’s unwavering advocacy led him to graduate with honors from both high school and college and ultimately graduate with a Masters of Arts in dispute resolution from Southern Methodist University.  Chris says “as a mediator, I saw the pain that people experienced when dealing with conflict in their lives.  Learning about mindfulness has made me a believer in the benefits it provides for stress reduction and self-luv and healing.”  Chris joined his mother when she formed METTA because he believes that mindfulness can improve the quality of life for children with disabilities.  “As a child with learning disabilities myself, I know firsthand that the children we are helping have a unique set of stresses and challenges both at school and at home.  Mindfulness will give them a solid foundation and a set of tools that will aid them in dealing with life’s many challenges.”  Inspired by the positive impact that mindfulness had on both his mother and himself Chris completed the 8 week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Work Shop (MBSR) and the Mindfulness Certification   teacher Training (MCT) through The Dallas Yoga Center.  “These skills help me both personally and professionally as I work with METTA’S clients, vendors and other people.”  Chris’s passionate about advocating for people who are blind and visually impaired.   He currently serves as the 1^st vice president of the Dallas chapter of The American Council of the Blind. Chris has been chair of the scholarship committee for the last several years.  Chris also contributes articles to the quarterly newsletter of The American Council of the blind of Texas (ACBT) and he advocates on issues that are important to ACBT.

Sarah Sampson, Consultant
Sarah Sampson is a social-emotional learning educator who works with schools, businesses, and individuals using evidence-based mindfulness practices. As the former Social-Emotional Learning Facilitator for Keller ISD, Sarah led the district-wide implementation of SEL and mindfulness-based activities for over 34,000 students. She now leads mindfulness and social-emotional programming for the Dallas Yoga Center.  She began her educational journey by creating and teaching tools for healthy-self-expression and emotional intelligence as a K-4th grade theatre teacher.

Sarah is trained in MBSR (Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction) through the UC San Diego Medical School. As a certified social-emotional learning, restorative practices, and yoga teacher, Sarah has developed training, curriculum and workshops to empower educators and humans of all kinds nation-wide.