Sadhvi Siddhali Shree

Sadhvi Siddhali Shree is the first North American female Jain monk, a US Army Iraq-war combat veteran, a TEDx speaker, activist, podcast co-host, and an award-winning filmmaker. She has the background, expertise, personality and finesse to speak with a spirit of hope, trust, and possibility.

Driven by her deep-seated devotion to humanity, she uses her talents and skills to raise awareness about non-violence, personal and spiritual transformation, and social issues. With a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications from California State University, Long Beach and a background in web development, marketing, video production, and book publishing, she has helped spread the teachings of her spiritual mentor, Acharya Shree Yogeesh, which has touched and transformed millions of lives. Since 2008, she has served as the Spiritual Director of Siddhayatan Tirth & Spiritual Retreat a 250-acre retreat, ashram, monastery, and meditation park based near Dallas, Texas and is the executive director of Stopping Traffic, a non-profit organization which supports survivors of sex trafficking.

Shree is passionate about social movements that focus on non-violence, human rights, animal rights, gender equality, and anti-trafficking. Determined to bring about positive change and to help those who have suffered, she directed and produced two award winning documentaries: Stopping Traffic: The Movement to End Sex Trafficking and Surviving Sex Trafficking. Her current film project is For The Animals, which addresses the stray animal and overpopulation crisis in Houston. Multi-project oriented, she is also writing her third book, a spiritual memoir of her journey of becoming a monk.

Shree and her work have been featured on CNN, Good Morning America, TMZ, Newsweek, the Associated Press, Deadline Hollywood, The Daily Beast, Los Angeles Times, The NY Post, NowThis and Cheddar News, and she has been interviewed on multiple celebrity-hosted podcasts, including Alyssa Milano’s "Sorry Not Sorry," Jeannie Mai Jenkins’ "Listen Hunnay," and Marisol Nichols’ "The Hollywood Vigilante."