Leadership – Napa Valley Insight Meditation

		Mike Coughlin is a public school administrator, trained mediator, and has been practicing mindfulness in the vipassana tradition for 20 years. He has received training through Spirit Rock Meditation Center, Mindful Schools and is a Certified Mindfulness Facilitator through the Semel Institute for Neuroscience & Human Behavior at the University of California, Los Angeles. Mike has over 25 years of experience working with high-risk youth, most specifically in residential and day treatment programs, as well as years of mediation experience in Alternative Dispute Resolution. He has a focused interest in exploring how mindfulness and compassionate awareness can lead us to a more expansive and grounded relationship with our human experience, both as individuals and as engaged members within our communities.
		Debbie Darrin has explored various aspects of mindfulness and meditation since the early 1980’s. Vipassana practice and the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh originally drew Debbie into the journey of practical, embodied and heartfelt practice. In 2014 she learned about and began attending Napa Valley Insight Meditation sangha and became an active member on the NVIM board in 2017. Debbie regularly attends residential and non-residential insight meditation retreats, continuing to nurture her personal practice and to grow her teaching experience. In 2021 she graduated from the 2-year Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program developed and offered by Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach. Debbie facilitates weekly mindfulness talks and meditations as well as offering daylong retreats. She believes that the heart practices of lovingkindness, compassion, joy and equanimity play a significant role in balancing, healing and navigating a complex world.
		Barbara Dondero has been practicing insight meditation since 1989, initially with Joseph Goldstein and Jack Kornfield, and later with Michele McDonald for many years. She regularly attends retreats at IRC, Spirit Rock and Vallecitos. She has been a part of the board of NVIM since its inception and considers it an honor to be a part of this dynamic sangha. She is a retired RN and nurse practitioner who currently volunteers with Providence Hospice and other programs. She is a graduate of the Sati Buddhist Chaplaincy program. Barbara is strongly interested in the potential of developing loving kindness and wise awareness to create deep change in ourselves and the world.
		Erika Gottl is the Treasurer of Napa Valley Insight Meditation. She previously co-founded two highly successful entrepreneurial companies and has held the positions of CEO for 10 years and CFO for 11 years. She has been part Napa Valley Insight Meditation for the past three years. She had an individual meditation practice prior to joining NVIM and has participated in numerous day long retreats at Spirit Rock Meditation Center. She is also a graduate of James Baraz’s five month “Awakening Joy” course.
		Forrest Hill has been practicing Insight Meditation since 2004 and is a founding member of Napa Valley Insight Meditation. He has served as a facilitator at NVIM since its inception in 201l. Forrest is currently enrolled in the Community Dharma Leaders Program, a Buddhist teacher training program at Spirit Rock Meditation Center. He has a PhD from MIT in Biological Oceanography and currently works as a socially responsible financial advisor. Forrest is passionate about prison reform and has led financial literacy programs for inmates at San Quentin Prison. He believes insight meditation can foster greater awareness, wisdom and kindness in our daily lives, and teach us how to respond more compassionately to the world around us.
		Chuck Peckinpaugh is a public school teacher who has been practicing meditation at NVIM since 2015. In addition to teaching he has been actively involved in the trades, specializing in carpentry, for over thirty years. Chuck is passionate about fine art. He has explored bronze and ceramic sculpture, painting and various drawing mediums. His affinity for writing includes fiction and poetry. He is also a guitarist and a songwriter. The practice of mindful meditation energizes Chuck on his path to awakening. The Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha guide him on his journey.
		Lori Stelling is a life coach and meditation teacher dedicated to sharing the ways meditation and daily life practice, combined with circles of caring community, support the arising of the qualities of fierce compassion, engaged hope, courage and joy essential to playing our part in the healing of ourselves, our communities, and our world. Lori has practiced Insight Meditation since 2002 and served as a local teacher and board member for NVIM since 2014. She is a Certified Mindfulness Meditation Teacher through UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center (MMTCP2) and has been engaged in on-going Buddhist Studies, for over two decades, through Sacred Mountain Sangha, Spirit Rock Meditation Center, teachings from Ayya Anandabodhi, Ayya Santacitta, Joanna Macy, and others. Lori offers life coaching for women, and community meditation classes for adults of all ages, through her local business, BlueWater Coaching. Learn more at… http://bluewatercoaching.net
		Edward Tcheleshev: Full of gratitude and a spirit fueled by transformation, Edward is a Yoga Instructor, dedicated meditator and a devoted advocate for recovery. Yoga and meditation were beacons of light in times of darkness. It offered solace and strength, and showed how to embrace vulnerability and use the breadth to meet challenges. It was through this transformative experience that he found his calling and is pursuing his Masters of Divinity at the Institute of Buddhist Studies in Chaplaincy continuing his journey of compassionate service and spiritual growth.