Dr. Pamela Ayo Yetunde
USA
Dr. Pamela Ayo Yetunde
USA
Dr. Pamela Ayo Yetunde is a woman of authenticity, compassion and great inner awareness.
She was born in 1961 in Indianapolis, Indiana. She grew up in a lower-middle class, almost all-Black neighborhood. She experienced being bussed into all-white schools as part of America’s journey towards integrating society. Despite these racial tensions, she played tennis and was popular in high school.
Dr. Pamela Ayo Yetunde graduated from Ball State University, and had the transformative experience of participating in a trip to Zimbabwe, Africa along with her History professor. Then she went to the Netherlands as an intern and worked on human rights issues. Dr. Pamela Ayo Yetunde returned to the US, and went on to study law. She graduated from Indiana University Law School.
After graduation she realized that her cousin was ill with AIDS. While some refused to visit him, she visited him in his final months. The truth of death, deepened her. After her cousin’s death, she declared her full commitment to life by coming out, an expression of her deep ability to love.
Dr. Yetunde entered the Zen Hospice Project in San Francisco. She learned about Buddhism, and caring for the dying. Then with great inner strength, and conviction to follow her dreams, she entered the Clinical Program at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center. Dr. Yetunde became a Hospice Chaplain, and began her M.A. in Culture and Spirituality at Holy Names University. In 2016, she went on to receive her Doctorate in Theology in Pastoral Counseling from Columbia Theological Seminary.
Her courage to seek, her intellectual acumen, her gift-givingnesss to society, resulted in her writing numerous books which integrate: Black studies, women’s studies, and Buddhism. She now stands for “Buddhist Justice.” In 2020, Dr. Pamela Ayo Yetunde co-founded the Center of the Heart, which offers spiritual and emotional healing experiences.