Dena Merriam began working in the inter-faith movement in the late 1990s. She founded the Global Peace Initiative of Women (GPIW) in 2002, an organization chaired by a multi-faith group of women spiritual leaders. In 2008, Dena was one of the founding members of the Contemplative Alliance, which later became a program of GPIW. For over 40 years, she has been a student of Paramahansa Yogananda and a practitioner of Kriya Yoga meditation. Dena is also a long-time student of the great texts of the Vedic tradition. She is currently the Chair of the International Advisory Council of the Auroville Foundation in India. She has a master’s degree in sacred literature from Columbia University, specializing in the Vedas and the Bhagavad Gita