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Shambhala Leadership

The Shambhala Board of Directors

The Shambhala Board comprises 9 members currently holding a three-year term. The Board holds the legal and fiduciary responsibilities to govern “Shambhala Global”—a term that refers to the combined operations of the non-profit organizations Shambhala USA, Shambhala Canada Association, and Shambhala Europe Gmbh.

The Shambhala Board is always interested in hearing from members of the Shambhala community and they can be contacted at [email protected].

Scope of Work 

  • Ensuring the Shambhala organization maintains the purposes of the organization and is compliant with its legal obligations.
  • Ensuring the Shambhala organization is financially solvent.
  • Supporting Shambhala Regions, Centers, and Groups around the world in continuing their work.
  • Supporting the ongoing work of Shambhala Global Services Team so they can support the global community. 
  • Communicating important developments and decisions in Shambhala to the community.
  • Ensuring Care and Conduct Policies are properly followed and administered.
  • Releasing to the community all reports of legal and ethical issues within bounds of confidentiality.

Shambhala Board Members

Koen Braak

Koen Braak got connected to Shambhala Netherlands in 2011 and is currently active in the Stockholm Center and Shambhala Europe while living in Gothenburg, Sweden. Koen’s career started as a saxophone player and music teacher. After finishing his master studies in Ethnomusicology and Arts Policy & Management he worked for international non-profit organizations with skills in fundraising, international project management and financial administration. He currently works as an Analyst for the regional government being responsible for analysis and evaluation in the fields of Culture and Regional Development. Besides studying Buddhism and practicing meditation, he loves ice-skating and running.

William Clark

William Clark connected with Shambhala in 1992 in New York City. He has served in various roles there and Karmê Chöling Family Camp. He is a former director of the Association of American Literary Agents and founding director of its charitable arm, Literary Agents of Change. He is an avid runner and jazz fan. He lives in Brooklyn, NY with his wife Sara and their daughter, Edie.

Jason Elias

Jason Elias is a photographer, creative director, and partner at the production company Easy Tiger. He also hosts and produces the Big Deep podcast, which explores people’s dedication to the ocean. Jason is a long-time Shambhala member, having held a number of leadership positions in the Los Angeles community. He is an avid scuba diver, loves to adventure travel, and enjoys a good tequila. He lives in Venice CA with his wife, Jessica, and their awesome kid, Arlo.

Susan Engel

Susan Engel connected with Shambhala while living in Vermont in 2001 and is currently a member of the Minneapolis Center. She lived at Dorje Denma Ling from 2009 – 2013, serving as the Finance Manager, Chagdzö and Assistant Director, and was also a member of the Treasury Council and the European Treasury Council in recent years. Her professional career has mainly been in finance and operations, for both private sector and nonprofit organizations. She has a BA from the University of Virginia and an MBA from Yale.

Mary Fahrenfort

Mary Fahrenfort became a Shambhala member in the early eighties, doing seminary in 1985. From the start, she fulfilled various functions in the local and European sangha – including governance. When the crisis broke out, she started working in the Process Team, particularly in the Governance group. When the crisis abated she switched to working for Shambhala Europe, and at present still holds a seat in SEAG – the European advisory group – supporting the work of the new European director.
Her professional career has been in health care organization, especially around communication – the subject of her PHD being doctor-patient communication. She did consultancy work for hospitals as well as for the National Health Department.
She has a husband – best known in Shambhala for his excellent financial management – and a son and a daughter who each have a son and a daughter; multiple blessings.

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Lilly Gleich

Lilly Gleich joined Shambhala in Chicago in the early eighties. After Seminary in 1985, she served as the Shambhala Training Director there. After a career as an independent video producer, she moved to Nova Scotia in 1988 to work at Vajradhatu Recordings. She has served Shambhala in various capacities including roles as a Kasung, teacher, meditation instructor, and council member. She is a retired psychologist with experience in counselling, program planning, and community consultation. Currently she holds the post of Desung for Dorje Denma Ling Land Centre. She has extensive experience as a board member for non-profit organizations with skills in grant-making, human resources, and media. She lives with her husband in rural Nova Scotia down the road from Dorje Denma Ling.

Peter Nowak

Peter Nowak joined the Vajradhatu Sangha in 1984 in Vienna, Austria. After meeting Trungpa Rinpoche he became Director of the Vienna Dharmadhatu in the late 1980s. He holds a PHD in applied linguistics with a focus on patient-centred communication in health care. Since 1990 he conducted research and organisational development initiatives for the Austrian health care system, some in collaboration with international research networks and for the World Health Organization. He taught at several universities and is now department head for “Health and Society” at the Austrian Public Health Institute. He has three adult children with his first wife and lives now with his second wife and his stepson in Vienna. Practicing Scorpion Seal is his grounding and joy.

Susan Ryan

Susan is a long-time businesswoman and practitioner. After receiving her MBA from Kellogg School of Management, she went on for 22 years to be a banking executive for a number of major corporations and then for 13 years until the present, run a family commercial real estate company. Her experience as a dharma practitioner began after meeting Trungpa Rinpoche in 1974. She subsequently served the sangha as Co-coordinator of the Chicago Dharmadhatu, Kasung, Co-Ambassador of the Vancouver Dharmadhatu, Senior Teacher, Chair of the Boston Design Committee, Member of the Boston Shambhala Board of Trustees and Core Member of the Shambhala Trust. She is a member of both the Boston and New Haven, CT Shambhala Centers, dividing her time between the two cities.

Dr. Cynthia Sagers

Dr. Cynthia Sagers is an educator, scientist, and higher education leader. She became Vice President for Research at Arizona State University in September 2018 and has led the growth of the research enterprise to record levels of scholarly achievement and a global reputation for innovation and entrepreneurship. Dr. Sagers previously served as Vice President for Research and professor of biology at Oregon State University, and Associate Vice Provost and professor of biology at the University of Arkansas. She is the former chair and long-term member of the board of directors for the Organization for Tropical Studies and has served and counseled numerous economic development agencies on matters of university innovation and commercialization, and federal agencies on science and technology policy. Sagers currently holds the rank of Full Professor at Arizona State University. Dr. Sagers completed a Ph.D. at the University of Utah and was a post-doctoral fellow at UC Berkeley before joining the faculty of the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Arkansas. She has earned recognition as a research fellow with the National Science Foundation, the Smithsonian Institution (Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama), and the National Research Council working at the US Environmental Protection Agency (National Health and Environmental Effects Research Lab (NHEERL), Corvallis, Oregon.

Kiri Westby

Kiri Westby (She/Her) is a mom, an activist, a writer, a wife, a teacher, a student, and a Boulder-born Buddhist (affectionately known as a “Dharma Brat”). Throughout her childhood, Kiri attended Shotoku, Rights of Passage, Sun Camp, Rights of Warriorship, Shambhala Training, and several programs with various Tibetan Buddhist teachers. Kiri has been part of organizing and teaching at Shambhala Family Camp for the last nine consecutive years. Kiri’s activism work has taken into numerous war zones around the world. Kiri currently works as a professional writer, splitting her time between Boulder, Colorado and Bucerias, Mexico, and serves on the Board of Directors of September School, a private high school/middle school in Boulder. Kiri’s first book, Fortune Favors The Brave: An Extraordinary Memoir, was published by Simon & Schuster in 2020.

Shambhala Board Committees

Shambhala Board Members, along with the Executive Leadership Team and Shambhala Global Services team members, sit on various committees. Please click here to read about the purposes of these committees.

Archive of Shambhala Board Communications

To view an archive of all Board communications to the Shambhala community, click here.

Shambhala Board FAQs

For ongoing and updated responses to questions being asked of the Shambhala Board, click here.
Pour des réponses continues et actualisées aux questions posées au Conseil d’administration de Shambhala, cliquez ici.
Para acceder a respuestas actualizadas y continuas a las preguntas realizadas al Consejo de Shambhala, hacer clic aquí.
Para respostas contínuas e atualizadas às perguntas feitas ao Conselho de Shambhala, clique aqui.
Per le risposte continue e aggiornate alle domande poste al Consiglio di Shambhala, cliccare qui.

For an archive of Shambhala Board activity and communications, please visit the Shambhala Board website.

Shambhala Global Services

Shambhala Global Services (SGS) is the central administrative body within Shambhala. It supports the activities of Shambhala Centres, Groups, practice and retreat centres, and community members worldwide.

Executive Leadership Team

David MacLellan, Finance Director

Contact: [email protected]

David is responsible for the day-to-day management of financial transactions and procedures for Shambhala Global Services (SGS), administering of accounting operations to meet legal requirements, management of cash controls, and financial reporting to the Board of Directors, consolidation of financials of all North American Shambhala Centres/Groups/Divisions, annual Charity Returns, focal point for annual independent audit, tax filing, insurance for Shambhala, SGS staff payroll, donation receipting, Centre and Group transfers payments, and primary contact and support for Centres using Xero. As a member of the Executive Leadership Team, he is also responsible for overseeing the operational aspects of the areas of Legal, HR, IT, and the Shambhala Archives. David is from Halifax, Nova Scotia and is a proud father of a son, who is his heart. He has been involved with Shambhala since 2004. He spent three years living at Dorje Denma Ling as both the Kitchen Manager and then transitioning into the Finance Manager, and has also worked in the finances for the Nalanda Translation Committee and Kalapa Publications. A lifetime Dorje Kasung, he went to university for Anthropology, where he spent a brief time doing archaeology in Italy working on a Roman villa and graveyard. He likes to dabble at painting and playing pool.

Faradee Rudy, Development Director & Shambhala Online Team Lead

Contact: [email protected]

Faradee is responsible for: donor communications and overall messaging; the annual Shambhala Day campaign; major gifts, planned giving and fundraising events; coordination of an ongoing revenue generation training for Shambhala leaders; and support of Land Centres and local Centres and Groups with fundraising initiatives, including Harvest of Peace. As a member of the Executive Leadership Team, she is also responsible for overseeing the operational aspects of the areas of Practice & Education, Shambhala Online, and Communications. She is also the liaison for Shambhala Land Centres. She has held high-level leadership positions in not-for-profit organizations over the last 20 years, including the position of Executive Director for the Center for Living Peace in Irvine, California. She was also the Development Director for Shambhala Mountain Center and lived there from 2004-2008. Faradee lives on the Isle of Wight in the United Kingdom.

Tara Templin, Director of Community Care and Conduct

Contact: [email protected]

As the Director of Community Care and Conduct, Ms. Templin supports the community, Board, and Process Team in adopting and updating a Code of Conduct, along with implementing associated trainings. Ms. Templin is also responsible for maintaining a reporting structure for those who have experienced harm, as well as vetting and background checks. As a member of the Executive Leadership Team, she is also responsible for overseeing operational aspects of the areas of Leadership Support, Shambhala Europe, Translations, and Touching The Earth. She is also the liaison for the Process Team. Ms. Templin comes to Shambhala with over 15 years of leadership and management experience in nonprofits in Canada and internationally, primarily focused on protection and inclusion of people living in vulnerable situations and/or experiencing social oppression. She has worked as an Executive Director, Community Developer, Training and Programming Specialist, and Project Manager before joining Shambhala. She is fluent in Spanish and French, and the mother of three “crazy and cute” girls.

Shambhala Global Services Contacts

Ivan Tröscher, Shambhala Europe Managing Director[email protected]
David MacLellan, Finance Director – [email protected]
Frederick Meyer, Co-IT Director – [email protected]
Matilda (Tillie) Perks, Shambhala Archives Director [email protected]
Faradee Rudy, Development Director & Shambhala Online Team Lead – [email protected]
Jeff Scott, Practice and Education Director – [email protected]
John David Smith, Co-IT Director – [email protected]
Tara Templin, Community Care and Conduct Director[email protected]
Natasha West, Communications & Marketing Director – [email protected]
Irene Woodard, Coordinator of Shambhala Touching the Earth Collective [email protected]

Shambhala Global Services infographic

Positions Available

View Shambhala’s contractor procurement policy.

Technical Support Assistant

The Shambhala Global Services IT Department is hiring for a Technical Support Assistant position. Please view position details here.

Blog Contributor

Shambhala Global Services is looking for additional contributors for the shambhala.org blog. This blog is public-facing, and is a home for articles that are broadly helpful and interesting to people both in our community and who are finding Shambhala for the first time.

You must be willing to learn the specifics of blogging online, including how to choose and organize article topics, how to write for online readers, and how to work with search engines. We are excited to offer ongoing training and feedback in these areas, so prior blogging experience is not needed, as long as you are willing to learn and work within the form.

If you’re interested, please share a simple biography or resume, and a writing sample, to [email protected].

2024-03-18 23:20:51