Tiara A Cash

Tiara Cash, MA, MS, CWP is a current doctoral candidate at Simon Fraser University and the Owner/Founder of Crowned Vitta LLC - a multi-disciplinary company serving communities through the concepts of mindfulness, meta-awareness, and meaningful self-relationships and relationships with others. Born and raised in Memphis, TN, she is a Black American & Indigenous (Unenrolled Chahta & Cherokee descendant) queer woman, and a former student-athlete who holds a Bachelor’s degree in Exercise and Wellness from Arizona State University and two Masters degrees, from Western Illinois University in Kinesiology (dual concentration in Sports Psychology and Fitness/Wellness Management) and in Psychology from Simon Fraser University, respectively. She is also a 2022 Vanier Canada Graduate Scholar.
Academically, Tiara has been granted scholarships, grants, and awards for her research in Life Transitions and her work with mindfulness in the student-athlete population, mindfulness and equity/social justice, and creating transformative art with a foundation of mindful practice. For the last 3 years, she has been invited nationally and internationally (i.e., UK, Netherlands, Denmark) to present her research. Her career focuses include: the strategy of prosocialiality to help buffer life transitions, and delving into the intersections of mindfulness in systemically marginalized and unrepresented populations.
Additionally, Tiara is a certified Koru Mindfulness Instructor with a 20-year personal practice of mindfulness and meditation. As a practitioner, she has worked in various settings including higher education, athletics, and the non-profit sector. Featured on NPR (National Public Radio) as an expert, Tiara is also the creator of the Equitable Mindfulness Framework which is foundational to the work she utilizes for contentious conversations across social differences. She currently uses these concepts to curate conferences, create presentations and workshops, and conduct trainings on mindfulness and equity through her business and as the Culture and Equity Specialist at ASU’s Center for Mindfulness, Compassion, and Resilience.
Importantly, Tiara has also worked in many community settings as an accomplice, including: speaking and coordinating anti-Black racism events, supporting anti-pipeline movements, and being present on many advisory committees that support systemically and intentionally marginalized groups (i.e., PoGM, 2SLQBQQIA+, Disabled communities, and many more.)