Kelly Meister

Short Biography

Kelly Meister graduated from Ohio University earning her Bachelor's degrees in World Religions and Philosophy. During her undergraduate work, she also studied for a year at the University of Bristol, England. Before beginning her graduate work, she spent a year in Thailand as a volunteer and Buddhist nun (mae chii), and has retuned since as a short-term student of Mahidol University and researcher. Currently, she is completing her Master's degrees in Religious Studies and Southeast Asian Studies at the University of California, Riverside. Her research includes the Abhidhamma-Jotika College in Thailand, Northern-Thai palm-leaf manuscripts focusing on the Abhidhamma and Buddhist cosmology, as well as Thai funerary texts, chanting, and ritual.