Nina Wise is a well-known performer who has devoted her career to investigating the relationship between art and spirit. Artistic Director of Motion, she is the recipient of multiple fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Marin Arts Council and has received seven Bay Area Critics Circle Awards. She is the author of A Big New Free Happy Unusual Life: Self-Expression and Spiritual Practice for Those Who Have Time for Neither. Her stories and articles have appeared in The Sun, Yoga Journal, Tricycle, Inquiring Mind and Whole Earth Review.
Nolitha is a Dharma teacher and board member at Dharmagiri Sacred Mountain Retreat Center, in SA that was founded by Kittisaro and Thanisara Weinberg. She has practised from 1997 under Kittisaro and Thanissara, who are of Ajahn Chah ‘s lineage. In her first retreat with these beloved teachers she discovered silence as a refuge and has never looked back. Nolitha completed the Community Dharma leadership program (CDL4) under Spirit Rock in 2014 and is at present a teacher trainee with IMS. Nolitha is a Psychologist in private practice and is trained in Karuna ( Group psychotherapy based on Buddhist principles) and Somatic Experiencing (SE). She is an executive coach and facilitator in leadership development. She offers in SA under Dharmagiri Race Work for reconciliation using Insight Dialogue principles. She has recently been appointed by Spirit Rock as a mentor for the TTCP program.
Noliwe Alexander has been a student of Vipassana meditation for over 15 years. Throughout this time of deep devotion to the Dharma, Noliwe has become a dedicated practitioner, teacher of various sitting groups around the Bay Area, facilitator of community workshops and Buddhist meditation day longs and class series programs. She is a Life & Business Coach dedicating both her coaching & Dharma practice to the POC, LGBT, At Risk and Elder communities. She is a graduate of Spirit Rock’s CDL4 program and completed EBMC’s Commit 2 Dharma program in 2010. Noliwe is a wisdom keeper and humbled by the presence of her ancestors spirit that lives within and walks beside.
Norman is a Zen priest and abbot, a husband, father, and a poet, a teacher with wide-ranging interests and passions. During almost 30 years at San Francisco Zen Center, he served as director, tenzo, tanto, operations manager and other positions. Norman retired as abbot of Zen Center in 2000 to take his teaching out into the world. He continues his involvement with the Zen Center as a senior Dharma teacher. Norman believes in the possibility of engaged renunciation: living a fully committed religious life that does not exclude family, work, and a passionate interest in the world. In addition to his teaching with the Everyday Zen sangha in the Bay Area, Norman is guiding teacher to four other groups: the Bellingham (WA) Zen Practice Group, the Mountain Rain Zen Community (Vancouver, BC., Mar de Jade (Mexico), and The New York Zen Circle (New York City).
Ofosu Jones-Quartey has been practicing meditation since 2000, with a focus on Vipassana in the Mahasi and Thai traditions, incorporated with Madhyamaka philosophy. He is a part of the Bhavana Society community and a student of Bhante Buddharakkhita, among others. Ofosu is also an accomplished musical artist and was a founding member of the Buddhist-inspired Hip Hop band, Shambhala. Ofosu is now a solo artist, making both pop and Buddhist-inspired music.
Developing a clear understanding of the teachings and learning to fully inhabit the body have been core parts of my Dhamma practice. These areas, as well a strong emphasis on the heart, inform and shape my teaching. The few years I spent training as an Anagarika in the Thai Forest monasteries broadened my understanding of the Buddha's teachings and instilled a profound respect for the Bhikkhu and Bhikkhuni Sangha. All along the way, I've been particularly interested in how other modalities like Nonviolent Communication and Somatics can support our growth in awakening.
Pamela is the author of the recently released book, A Bigger Sky: Awakening a Fierce Feminine Buddhism. She has practiced in the Soto Zen and Theravada traditions since 1987, is a guiding teacher at San Francisco Insight, and sits on the Teacher Council at Spirit Rock. Pamela is also a leadership coach and pioneer in bringing mindfulness programs into the workplace. She lives in San Francisco with her husband, Eugene, and little dog, Grover.
