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Join Ashley Judd and Janet Stone for a discussion on the power of stories.
Inspired by conversations about Janet's new book, Stories of Our Lives: Awakened Living through Sacred Mythology, Ashley and Janet will connect to explore the potency of story to connect us.
Stories help us see the bigger picture — understanding ourselves and each other with more clarity and compassion, and imagining new ways of being together in the world. Ashley's work in film and global travels illustrate the capacity for story to carry something greater than any one of us. Janet's storytelling, global teaching, and years in film production reflect that same love: story's ability to slip past the frontal lobe and land somewhere authentic, human, and more connected.
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Ashley Judd is an acclaimed actor, global feminist humanitarian, survivor leader, and New York Times bestselling author.
For more than two decades, Judd has persevered in advancing human dignity and freedom from violence, particularly for women, girls, and marginalized communities. Since 2004, she has collaborated with grassroots organizations, NGOs, multilateral institutions, and governments around the world, listening to those so often neglected, to promote healing, access to care, safety, equality, and justice.
Judd was named one of TIME's Persons of the Year for her role as a silence-breaker and change-maker in the #MeToo movement.
In 2010, she earned a Master's degree in Public Administration from Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. Her paper, "Gender Violence: Law & Social Justice," received theDean's Scholar honor at Harvard Law School. She is a Senior Fellow at the Women& Public Policy Program at the Kennedy School, where she teaches a seminar, "Male Entitlement to Female Bodies, and Systems of Female Obligation."
Judd's devotion to liberation was shaped by relationships and interdisciplinary learning. As an undergraduate at the University ofKentucky, she was deeply influenced by a cohort of women scholars across anthropology, art history, theology, and gender studies who modeled rigorous inquiry, collaboration, and the lived experience that intellectual discipline,,gentleness, and profound caring can, and must, coexist.
She especially learned from Barbara, the Black cook at her all-white sorority house, whose friendship and leadership demonstrated the intertwined oppressions of race, class, sex, and gender. The many hours they spent together in the kitchen were formative, nurturing the moral courage by which she hopes to live and be.
A survivor of child and adult complex trauma and deprivation, Judd has been in recovery since 2006. In 2022, the AmericanFoundation for Suicide Prevention recognized her with its Life Saver honor.
21 Down, her new movie, is scheduled for release in 2026.
Janet’s studentship began at 17 under the meditation teachings of Prem Rawat. His reverence for simplicity and finding joy in the rise and fall of life live on in her practice and teaching today. In 1996, she traveled to India, the birthplace of her grandfather, and became dedicated to the path of yoga. Janet blends the alchemy of her own practice with decades of studentship. She aspires not to teach but to allow the practice to emanate from her, letting awareness blend with movement and breath. Based in Bali and San Francisco, she leads immersions, retreats, workshops and more.
