Dianne R. Costanzo, PhD

Biography: Dianne R. Costanzo is an adjunct professor at Dominican University and is on staff at the Institute for Spiritual Leadership. Costanzo received a PhD in literature and a masters in pastoral atudies from Loyola University Chicago. In addition, she studied at the Institute for Spiritual Leadership in Chicago. Costanzo is a teacher, poet, and spiritual director. For over twenty-five years, she has taught literature, writing, and spirituality at the college level and to adults. A believer in the synergy of body, mind, and spirit, she is a student and certified instructor of Aikido, a Japanese martial art, and holds the rank of yondan, fourth-degree black belt; she is also a senior instructor of IMPACT Chicago, Self-Defense. Costanzo also has a private practice in spiritual direction and leads retreats, days and evenings of reflection, and workshops. In the fall of 2004, she opened an Aikido dojo, One Point Center, in Oak Park, Illinois. Costanzo is the author of Seeding Your Soul: Six Considerations for Spiritual Growth (Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers, 2005).