Since the 1990s Dena Merriam has worked to create a more inclusive and balanced interfaith movement, one that would give greater voice and leadership to women and well as the dharma based spiritual traditions. In 2000, she served as the Vice Chair of the Millennium World Peace Summit of Religious Leaders, which brought spiritual leaders to the United Nations headquarters in New York for the first time. Two years later she organized the Global Peace Initiative of Women Religious and Spiritual Leaders at the UN in Geneva. From that gathering the Global Peace Initiative of Women (GPIW) was born. Since then, Dena has traveled the world with a team of spiritual teachers, women and men, helping to foster dialogue in places of tension and conflict. In 2008, GPIW brought a group of spiritual teachers to the United Nations Climate Conference to lead a session on the spiritual dimensions of the climate crisis, continuing this effort each year at the annual UN climate conferences.

Although working actively for social change, Dena considers herself a contemplative.
For 45 years she has been a student of Paramahansa Yogananda and a practitioner of Kriya Yoga meditation. She holds a master’s degree from Columbia University in sacred literature and over the years has served on numerous boards of religious and spiritual organizations. In 2014, she was awarded the Niwano Peace Prize for her interfaith peace efforts. Dena is the author of My Journey Through Time: A Spiritual Memoir of Life, Death and Rebirth, The Untold Story of Sita, When the Bright Moon Rises: Awakening Ancient Memories, Rukmini & the Turning of Time: The Dawn of an Era and is currently working on a book entitled Dancing with Dakinis that takes place in 12th century Tibet. Dena is a frequent speaker on such themes as understanding karma and rebirth, learning from our past and how to set the blueprint for our future.
She is a former member of the board of Harvard University Center for the Study of World Religions and the International Center for Religion and Diplomacy. Dena was awarded the Niwano Peace Prize in 2014 for her global interfaith work.
Dena still lives in New York, enjoying her sons, grandchildren, and gardening, and continues to work around the world for peace.