The Better Mind explores emerging research in neuroscience and reveals how unconscious processes may affect decision-making. Brain imaging and decision-making studies can explain how we determine intelligence, veracity, threat, and competence. The goal – to identify ways to ensure sound decision-making and fairness guided by science.

Kimberly Papillon is a nationally recognized expert on medical, legal and judicial decision-making. She has served as regular faculty at the National Judicial College since 2005. She has delivered over 300 lectures nationally and internationally on the implications of neuroscience, psychology and implicit association in the analysis of decision-making in the fields of medicine, business, education and the justice system.  She has lectured to medical students and faculty, as well as physicians nationwide and in Australia on the neuroscience of decision-making in differential diagnosis and treatment. She has been appointed to the Georgetown University National Center for Cultural Competence’s “think tank” for physician education.

She has provided presentations to the judges of the High Court of New Zealand, the Supreme Court of Victoria, Australia, the U.S. National Council of Chief Judges of the State Courts of Appeal, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California, the D.C. Court of Appeals, the United States Courts for the Ninth Circuit and the Tenth Circuit, the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, and numerous other national judicial organizations. She has delivered lectures to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the United States Department of Justice, the United States Department of Education and the judiciaries of New York, California, Texas, Idaho, Louisiana, Arkansas, Indiana, Tennessee, Utah, Nebraska, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Vermont, Washington, Ohio, Arizona, Alaska and New Mexico.  She regularly lectures to attorneys in private firms and corporations.  She lectures to the American Bar Association as well as sate and local bar associations.

She has been appointed to the National Center for State Courts, National Training Team on Implicit Bias a “think tank” for national judicial education.  She has produced documentaries on neuroscience and judicial decision-making which have received national recognition. Her academic article on neuroscience and decision-making was published in Court Review, the peer-reviewed journal of the American Judges Association.

Ms. Papillon is an attorney who previously served as a Senior Educator for the California Judicial Council.  Prior to that she worked as an attorney in large law firms representing Fortune 500 Companies, government entities and tech start-ups.  Kimberly has a BA degree from U.C. Berkeley and a JD degree from Columbia University School of Law.

Ms. Papillon lectures to city, county and state law enforcement nationwide.  She lectures to leaders in police departments as well as police officers. She lectures to federal, state and county prosecutors and public defenders throughout the U.S.