Archives: Authors
Alec Soucy
Alec Soucy is a professor of religious studies at St. Mary’s University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where he is also a research associate for the Centre for the Study of Sport and Health. An anthropologist of religion, he has focused his work primarily on Vietnamese Buddhist practices, exploring themes of gender, age, transnationalism, globalization, and neoliberalism.
La Sarmiento
La Sarmiento brings their experiences as an immigrant, nonbinary, Filipinx American to the Insight Meditation Community of Washington, DC, where they serve as the guiding teacher of both the BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ sanghas. A graduate of the Spirit Rock Community Dharma Leader Training, they are a mentor for both the Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program and Cloud Sangha and teach at retreat centers around the US.
Brenna Artinger
Brenna Artinger is an independent scholar and researcher with a master’s in Buddhist studies from the University of Oxford. Their work focuses on exclusion and extremism, with current emphasis on the intersection of Buddhism and queer theory in Pali vinaya texts. They also research and write on Buddhist nationalism and extremism in the US and southeast Asia.
Thomas Davis IV
Thomas Davis IV is a Mindful Awareness practitioner who emerged from the Contemplative Faith Community, where he served as a Lay Minister for over 10 years. His orientation to the Mindful Awareness practice began at the East Bay Meditation Center in Oakland, CA, where he was introduced to the Theravadan tradition of Vipassana in 2012. Thomas began his journey into Dharma Leadership in 2013. In 2017, Thomas graduated from the Spirit Rock Community Dharma Leader Training Program, The Sati Center Buddhist Chaplaincy Training, and was enlisted as one of the Spirit Rock Community Welcome Teachers for the Monday Night Dharma program. Thomas is also a Co-Founder and Teacher of the Insight Richmond Meditation Group. For more about Thomas Davis offerings visit avant-dharma.com.
Patrice Clark Koelsch
Formally trained with a Ph.D. in Philosophy, Patrice Clark Koelsch began sitting at Common Ground Meditation Center in 1995. Patrice is a graduate of Spirit Rock’s Community Dharma Leaders Program, and completed a year-long Buddhist Chaplaincy Training Program at the Sati Center for Buddhist Studies. She has practiced meditation at monasteries in Thailand and Myanmar. Patrice has provided hands-on care for persons in the last stages of HIV/AIDS, and worked for many years in HIV education and client support services. For the past two decades, she has been facilitating meditation groups in correctional facilities. Patrice has a special interest in antiracism work focusing on waking up to whiteness. Through Common Ground Meditation Center, Patrice has offered training in mindfulness and loving kindness for corporations, non-profit organizations, and educational institutions. She has also taught workshops on spiritual care for Buddhist and other religious organizations. Patrice is on the Board of the Minnesota Multifaith Network and is involved with ISAIAH and Faith in Minnesota in working for a multiracial democracy, a caring economy, and a just climate future.
Sam Ludlow-Broback
Sam Ludlow-Broback (<a href="https://twitter.com/SLudlowBroback">@SLudlowBroback</a>) is media relations intern at Springtide Research Institute.
thubten khandro
<a href="https://ratnadakini.org/about.html" rel="noopener">thubten khandro</a> is a Tibetan Buddhist yogini, dancer, poet, and translator. Born in Puebla, Mexico. Since 2013 she has been a student of Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche and belongs to the <a href="https://tergar.org/" rel="noopener">Tergar Meditation Community</a>. She has published two dharma poetry books, <i>bird yes </i>and <i>Sunbird</i>. Currently, she teaches yoga and shares poetry and dance through a monthly newsletter.
Marcella Prokop
Marcella Prokop (she/her) began her study of meditation and Buddhism in 2008. As a Colombian-American writer and educator, she is passionate about helping students find their voice, and she has been working to advance access to higher education for BIPOC communities for more than a decade. Marcella seeks to be a student of those she serves and has found that years of creative training and mindfulness practice support all parts of her being.