Emma Slade

Emma Slade, also known as Ani Pema Deki (born 16 July 1966), is a British yoga and meditation instructor, author, and charity founder best known for becoming the first Western woman to become a Buddhist nun in Bhutan. Slade was expanding her CFA certification when she was held at gunpoint and robbed while on a business trip in Jakarta. This experience inspired her to lean into the feeling of compassion and study Buddhism. Her autobiography, Set Free: A Life-Changing Journey from Banking to Buddhism in Bhutan, was published in 2017. In 1993 she earned first class honours at Goldsmiths, University of London for a Fine Art degree. In her final year at Goldsmiths, her father was diagnosed with lung cancer; he died when she was 26. Though she had planned to become an artist or curator, she decided to go into investment banking so she could "make a living and not lean on mum." She finished her business trip accompanied by a bodyguard before returning to work in Hong Kong. Shortly after, she was diagnosed with severe post-traumatic stress disorder. an organisation benefiting Bhutanese children. It became an official British charity the following year. Their first project included installing cold showers and toilets in the local monastery and improving education facilities in the rural village of Meritsemo, in Chukha. Opening Your Heart focuses on providing access to and training to ensure safe healthcare and education, disability aids and educational projects. The proceeds from Slade's autobiography entirely benefit the charity. She was the subject of a short film called Happiness by the Dalai Lama Centre for Compassion in Oxford. She was awarded the Points of Light Award from the British Prime Minister in 2017 for her service in Bhutan

Personal life Slade was in a long-term relationship with an English sculptor that ended in 2005, when she was informed she was unable to have children. She moved back to London to continue in the banking sector and had a brief relationship with another CFA, after which she found she was pregnant. Their son Oscar was born in September 2006. As of 2018, Slade lives in Whitstable, where she teaches yoga and meditation and manages her charity. She travels regularly to Bhutan.