Judson Brewer MD PhD is a thought leader in the field of habit change and the “science of self-mastery”, having combined over 20 years of experience with mindfulness training with his scientific research therein. He is the Director of Research and Innovation at the Mindfulness Center at Brown University, associate professor in psychiatry at the School of Medicine, and a research affiliate at MIT. A psychiatrist and internationally known expert in mindfulness training for addictions, Brewer has developed and tested novel mindfulness programs for habit change, including both in-person and app-based treatments for smoking, emotional eating, and anxiety. He is the author of The Craving Mind: from cigarettes to smartphones to love, why we get hooked and how we can break bad habits (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2017).
Novelette DeMercado came to the Dharma in 2005 when she sat her first retreat, with no prior meditation practice, at IMS. The practice has been a mainstay since then and core essence of her life. Understanding the fluidity of what it means to cultivate an inclusive and welcoming environment is an interest and an element of her practice life. Novelette has served in the capacity of POC Coordinator & Affinity Group Leader at Cambridge Insight Meditation Center since 2008, is a member of the Inclusion Advisor Council at her place of employment, and a Multicultural Competency Committee member at the National Wellness Institute. She is a National Board Certified Health & Wellness Coach and Certified Worksite Wellness Specialist.
Rosalyn Driscoll (Acting Co-Chair) is a visual artist whose work explores the experience of the body, the somatic senses and perception, drawing on her Buddhist practice in the Theravada tradition since 1971. She participated in the first ISPP at BCBS, and was instrumental in producing the Dharma and Arts symposium in 2016 and subsequent courses for the Dharma and Art program at BCBS. She is a member of Sensory Sites, an international art collective based in London, committed to multisensory, site-specific installations and research into aesthetic perception. Her work has been exhibited in the US, Europe and Asia, and received awards and fellowships from the Dartington Hall Trust, UK, New England Foundation for the Arts, Massachusetts Cultural Council, and Helene Wurlitzer Foundation of New Mexico. Driscoll has presented worldwide at conferences for neuroscientists, philosophers, designers, art educators and people involved with disabilities.
Sensei Koshin Paley Ellison, MFA, LMSW, DMin, co-founded the New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care, the first Buddhist organization to offer fully accredited clinical chaplaincy training in America. Koshin leads the Buddhist Track in the Master in Pastoral Care and Counseling with NYZCCC’s education partner, New York Theological Seminary. He is co-editor of Awake at the Bedside: Contemplative Teachings on Palliative and End of Life Care. He is a Senior Soto Zen Buddhist Monk, Soto Zen Teacher, poet, ACPE chaplaincy supervisor, and Jungian psychotherapist.
Cheryl Giles is the Francis Greenwood Peabody Senior Lecturer on Pastoral Care and Counseling and a licensed clinical psychologist who has been a member of the Harvard faculty since 1997. Professor Giles teaches courses on spiritual care, trauma and resilience for caregivers, and compassionate care of the dying. Her primary research interests are identifying the role of risk and resilience in developing healthy adolescents and exploring how Buddhist Chaplains can be a spiritual ally in relieving the suffering of those who cope with health care disparities and other forms of oppression. Professor Giles is the co-editor of The Arts of Contemplative Care: Pioneering Voices in Buddhist Chaplaincy and Pastoral Work (Wisdom Press, 2012) and co-editor with Pamela Ayo Yetunde of Black and Buddhist: What Buddhism Can Teach Us about Race, Resilience, Transformation, and Freedom (Shambala, 2020).
Joseph Goldstein is a co-founder and guiding teacher of IMS. He has been teaching vipassanā and mettā retreats worldwide since 1974. In 1989, he helped establish BCBS and, more recently, IMS’s Forest Refuge. His books include Mindfulness: A Practical Guide to Awakening, One Dharma, Insight Meditation and others.
David Green (Acting Co-Chair) is a retired attorney living with his family in Providence, Rhode Island. He grew up in western Tennessee and graduated from the University of Tennessee School of Law. He’s been active in state and regional service leadership roles for family alcohol recovery organizations for the last fifteen years. His meditation and Buddhist practice includes graduation from the Mindfulness Clinic at UMass.; completion of the Dedicated Practitioners Program Five at Spirit Rock (DPP5); and completion of the Nalanda program and reunions at the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies (BCBS). He is a member of the Cambridge Insight Meditation Center and the Insight Meditation Community of Providence. He enjoys the outdoors, especially fishing, canoeing, and hiking.
Anurag Gupta is the Founder and CEO of Be More America, a social enterprise that trains professionals in evidence-based mindfulness strategies that eliminate conscious and unconscious biases. He has also developed programs to foster critical thinking among Burmese youth; supported women’s groups to express grievances to international treaty bodies; provided counsel to criminal justice projects at the Vera Institute of Justice; and served as a Fulbright Fellow in rural South Korea. Anurag is a 500-hour certified yoga teacher and a graduate of Spirit Rock’s Mindful Yoga & Meditation Training (MYMT). He has a JD from NYU School of Law and a master’s from Cambridge University. He was introduced to mindfulness through his family and has sat numerous retreats in North America and Asia.
Nidhi Kohli is Head of Media for the U.S. Fashion, Watches & Fine Jewelry divisions at Chanel. Prior to joining Chanel, she was Director, North America Advertising at Tiffany & Co. Nidhi began her career in media planning on the ad agency side, where she worked with clients such as AT&T, DeBeers, Kellogg’s, Kraft, Unilever. She attended Spirit Rock’s Mindfulness Yoga & Meditation Training (MYMT) program and is currently attending a 200hr teaching mindfulness program in NYC.
Robert Kolodny PhD is an organization development consultant working with a wide array of human systems in the public, non-profit/voluntary and business worlds. His work is guided by two visions: the building of more satisfying and inclusive workplace communities and the creation of more just and democratic ways of governing in the public realm. He is currently devoting the bulk of his time to large-scale social movements directly addressing the climate and ecological crisis. Bob is a veteran Vipassana practitioner, having sat his first retreat at IMS in 1992. Over the years since then he has consulted to IMS, BCBS and other Buddhist centers on their development, growth, and human dynamics. Bob has been on the faculty at Columbia University, the New School, the Gestalt Institute of Cleveland and the Gestalt International Study Center. He has taught at a number of other educational institutions around the world.
Rachel Lewis began practicing insight meditation in 2003, while completing her physics PhD at Yale. Since 2011, she has taught dharma and meditation classes and retreats in British Columbia and beyond. She completed the IMS/IRC 4-year teacher training in 2021, and is a guiding teacher of the British Columbia Insight Meditation Society. Her dharma teaching interests include the power of music, humour, and creativity to increase our capacity for learning, as well as the way that practice supports and is supported by social justice work. You can view Rachel's website at rachelmeditates.ca.
Jessica Morey is the lead teacher of Inward Bound Mindfulness Education, a nonprofit organization bringing in-depth mindfulness and compassion training to teens, young adults and the parents and professionals who support them. She began practicing meditation at age 14 on teen retreats offered by IMS. She is currently in the IMS 2017-2021 Teacher Training Program. Jessica has attended longer retreats in Asia and the US, and is a founding board member and lead teacher for iBme teen retreats. Before joining iBme, Jessica worked in clean energy and climate policy and finance. She holds a BA in Environmental Engineering and Masters degrees in Sustainable Development and International Affairs. She loves dancing, yoga, and being outside pretty much whatever the weather.
Kevin F. F. Quigley started studying Buddhism in college. He was struck by Buddhadasa Bhikku’s teaching linking dhamma to making social change. As a Peace Corps Volunteer in Thailand, Kevin had the opportunity to learn from individuals in the forest monk tradition, including Ajaan Chah. He has held leadership roles at non-profits, in government, at a foundation and has also served on numerous boards. Most recently, Kevin was president of Marlboro College, where he helped orchestrate the merger with Emerson College.
Peace Twesigye is the Program Manager of Buddhist Studies at Union Theological Seminary. Peace assists in designing and overseeing curriculum in Buddhist Studies. Peace supports and creates spaces for contemplative practice that serve as a basis for students' active engagement in and service to the Union community as well as supporting academic advisement of Buddhist students. Peace Twesigye organizes and manages public and private conversations and events as part of the Thích Nhất Hạnh Program for Engaged Buddhism at Union Theological Seminary to further expand its public offerings in socially engaged Buddhism. Peace is currently in the Insight Dialogue Teacher Development Cohort led by the Insight Dialogue Community Teachers Council. Peace also serves on the board of Barre Center for Buddhist Studies, and serves as a practice leader and event manager at New York Insight Meditation Center as well as enjoying the opportunity of offering reflections and programs in other spaces when invited. Peace Twesigye has two master's degrees; the first in violin performance, and the second in education, with a specialization in students with disabilities, and is committed to the path of being a lifelong student
Dr. Jacqueline Vischer has degrees in Psychology and Architecture. She recently retired as an Environmental Psychologist specializing in a field she helped found called Workspace Psychology. She has published several books, book chapters, and numerous articles on her work; and her consulting firm, Buildings-In-Use, advised a wide range of organizations internationally on managing workspace comfort, designing innovative workspace, and planning workspace change. She is Professor Emeritus at the University of Montreal, where she co-founded the Interior Design Program. Jacqueline has been an active Zen practitioner since 1998, first as a member of the Montreal Zen Centre and subsequently with the Kwan Um School of Zen, where she was recently named Dharma Teacher. Since her retirement, Jacqueline has obtained a Master’s degree in Creative Writing and is learning to write poetry. She has two grown children, and two small grandchildren that she loves to spend time with.
