
MEDITATION TEACHERS
We tend not to be aware that we are thinking or daydreaming; we tend to be in a rather vague, hazy state. Now, the meditation training lets these thoughts and mental images become quite clear.
Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche

Al San Valentin
Board Member, Meditation Teacher
Al has been a student of meditation in the tradition of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche since 2016. They are particularly interested in how race, gender, and LGBTQIA+ representation intersect with Buddhism as it continues to establish in the US. Al received their Meditation Instructor certification through...

Bill Moriarty
Board Member, Meditation Teacher
Bill Moriarty’s first introduction to Buddhism was experiencing the gap when a childhood friend told the story of the Buddha saying “I am awake.” Ten years later he read a book by Lama Surya Das and started attending classes at the Philadelphia Shambhala Center. Bill took refuge vows in 2009, and co...

Corina Benner
Meditation Teacher
Corina was introduced to meditation and the Dharma while enrolled in her first yoga teacher training course at OM Yoga Center in NYC in 1999. Since then she has taken Refuge and Bodhisattva Vows; participated in many trainings and retreats; contemplated, debated and shared the teachings with just ab...

Ellen Clay
Meditation Teacher
Ellen Clay is a lifetime educator who has studied Buddhism as a householder since 2013. She is certified as a meditation teacher through Dharma Moon and Tibet House. Her daily practice and study has shifted the way she sees and interacts with the world towards kindness and compassion.

Jacqui Merrell
Board Member, Meditation Teacher
Jacqui has been practicing meditation since 1993. Her initial training was in the Theravadin/insight meditation and Shambhala traditions. Since 2006, her primary training and practices have been in the Kagyu, Sakya, and Nyingma traditions. She received her certification as a mindfulness meditation i...

Jeremiah Fruchtman
Board Member, Meditation Teacher
Jeremiah has been a student of meditation in the tradition of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche since 1995. Jeremiah is a father, poet, veteran, and Philadelphia Cabinetmaker.

Kaya Fruchtman
Meditation Teacher
Kaya is a dedicated practitioner of meditation and a student of Buddhist teachings in the Kagyu-Nyingma. She discovered her passion for these practices at the Philadelphia Shambhala Center and has been committed to her personal growth and spiritual development ever since.
As a student at Swarthmore...

Margie Strosser
Meditation Teacher
Margie Strosser has been a meditation practioner for more than ten years and is a member of the Shambhala Meditation Center in Philadelphia. Certified as a Mindfulness Meditation teacher through Dharma Moon and Tibet House, Margie is a practicing social work psychotherapist with a background in ho...

Michael Madden
Meditation Teacher
A seasoned student and explorer of the beneficial features of this consciousness raising practice, Madden is a retired Penn State University professor of human development and psychology. With over 30 years experience in Shambhala meditation practices, his inspiration and understanding guides him in...

Sandra Kerr
Meditation Teacher
Sandra Kerr has worked as a professional in higher education settings for 25 years. She has been a Buddhist practitioner since 2006, and is a Vajrayana student within the traditions of Tsoknyi Rinpoche and Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche. In February of 2022, she completed training as meditation instructor...

Stephanie Tade
Board member, Meditation Teacher
Stephanie has been practicing and studying in the Kagyu-Nyingma lineage since 2006, and received her meditation instructor certification through Dharma Moon and Tibet House. Like so many, she has taken a long and winding road on her spiritual path. As a child, she found her home in nature, and with ...

Susanna Lack
Meditation Teacher
Susanna has been practicing meditation for almost 30 years through the Shambhala, Nyingma, and Kagyu lineages. She has worked with all ages over the years, 6yr olds - adults, teaching meditation and meeting individually with students. As a clinical psychologist, Susanna was able to develop mindfulne...
