Brandel holds a Master’s in Public Health (MPH) from Columbia University and is a graduate of Warren Wilson’s MFA Program for Writers. As a public health professional, she has run an HIV prevention program in Africa, designed harm reduction strategies for intravenous drug users in Central Asia, and developed materials to help cancer patients in the U.S. make informed decisions about their treatment. She is co-author of a parenting book influenced by the RIE philosophy of infant-toddler care and is a published poet and essayist. She divides her time between Mexico and Washington, D.C. where she volunteers for Insight on the Inside, which shares meditation practices with people who are incarcerated or transitioning from homelessness, returning citizens, and others. She is also is a contemplative coach through the Dalai Lama Fellows, a program that supports young social innovators. Brandel studied Compassion Cultivation Training with founding faculty while a fellow at Stanford University.