CENTRE FOR COMPASSION AND WISDOM PROGRAM FACILITATOR BIOGRAPHIES

Guest facilitator bios will be included in the event descriptions.

Carmen Orlandis-Habsburgo Carmen has a background in theatre dance and movement, Goddess devotion and shamanism. She recovered from a long illness using Transformative Mindfulness which is now at the core of her practice. Carmen is a certified 5 Tibetan Yoga and Transformative Mindfulness facilitator, and completed the 16 Guidelines for Life Intensive in November 2008 with Dekyi-Lee Oldershaw and Alison Murdoch. Cynthia Nelson Cynthia, aka Sham Rang, has a B.Ed and is an experienced educator. Cynthia was propelled by a life threatening illness into a reassessment of her life and now views this illness as the true beginning of her journey into self-awareness and accessing the wisdom of her own body. She continues, with ever increasing awareness, to appreciate the richness and beauty of the physical experience. Certified to teach the 5 Tibetan Yogas and Kundalini Yoga, and to facilitate Transformational Fantasy and Transformative Self-Healing, she currently co-facilitates meditation courses for SIVAM and teaches yoga in Hamilton.

Craig Mackie, MA, MSW, is an experiential educator and international faculty member of Essential Education based in Toronto. He has worked with youth and adults in the field of addictions and mental health for the past 5 years and has trained over 200 facilitators in the 16 Guidelines (in the UK, France, US and Canada), including educators, therapists, social workers, and people in the profit and not-for-profit sectors. Essential Education has published his experiential therapeutic manual, “The 16 Guidelines at Pine River: Working with Youth in Groups.”

Dave Gould Dave has studied and practiced Dharma since 1984 and became a committed practitioner in the Tibetan tradition in 1993. He has done several month-long retreats with Lama Zopa Rinpoche and leads the Discovering Buddhism program in Hamilton.

Dekyi-Lee Oldershaw Dekyi-Lee is the co-author of the book 16 Guidelines for Life, developed Transformative Mindfulness, and international trainer of facilitators in 16 Guidelines for Life, Transformative Mindfulness and 5 Tibetan Yogas. She is a former Tibetan Buddhist nun and Founding Director of the Centre for Compassion and Wisdom and Lama Yeshe Ling Tibetan Buddhist Group.

Frankie Worobec Frankie is a retired nurse. She has had an interest in meditation for several years. She has completed a 10 week course in Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction

Hwiemtun Hwiemtun, is from the Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island, with a Coast Salish mother and Hawaiian lineage father. He spent many years learning traditional ways from local elders and grandparents, indigenous tribes of Canada, South America, Asia and the West Indies. He shares these teachings, stories and songs in schools and universities internationally and has led youth cultural exchange programs by taking Metis and Caucasian youth to share with tribes in Guyana, Dominica, Peru, Germany and the Amazon. He has been a custodian of the Maitreya Project Relic Tour in North America and Asia.

Dr. Gareth Sparham Dr. Sparham received a PhD in Asian Studies at UBC and was a Buddhist monk for 25 years, studying at the Institute of Buddhist Dialectics in Dharamsala, India. Dr. Sparham has translated a number of books including Khunu Lama’s ‘Vast as the Heavens, Deep as the Sea’.

Hart Jansson Hart began working in the humanitarian field after a 25-year career in telecoms software. Hart has been involved in micro-enterprise and nutrition improvement for the last six years with Malnutrition Matter which is currently involved in nutrition improvement projects in more than a dozen countries, primarily in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. Hart’s main experience is with nutrition projects in rural India, which began on a volunteer basis in 1989. Hart has been a meditator for over 30 years and has taken various teachings with Buddhist Masters including Lama Zopa, with an Advaita Master, Ramesh Balsekar (Mumbai) and with Dr. David Hawkins (Arizona). He is a trained 5 Tibetan Yogas and Transformative Mindfulness facilitator, and completed the 16 Guidelines for Life Intensive in November 2008 with Dekyi-Lee Oldershaw and Alison Murdoch.

Judy Mair Judy is a certified facilitator of 5 Tibetan Yogas and Transformative Mindfulness. She has been teaching 5 Tibetan Yogas classes in Hamilton and Burlington for over three years. Katie Keenleyside Katie is a former elementary teacher and is a certified facilitator of Transformative Mindfulness and 5 Tibetan Yogas, and is a Hatha Yoga teacher and Phoenix Rising Yoga therapist. Katie completed the 16 Guidelines for Life Intensive in November 2008 with Dekyi-Lee Oldershaw and Alison Murdoch Kelly Watt Kelly studied with Lama Yeshe in the 1970’s and brings many years of practice specializing in Vajrasattva.

Laurie Dolan Laurie has combined her career in the Corporate IT world with her interest in people engaging in their potential for a fulfilling life through developing her personal interests as a Certified Myers Briggs and Personality Dimensions Facilitator, and a CTI trained coach. Laurie is a certified 5 Tibetan Yoga facilitator and completed the 16 Guidelines for Life Intensive in November 2008 with Dekyi-Lee Oldershaw and Alison Murdoch. Laurie is currently the Centre’s Volunteer Coordinator, 16 Guidelines Program Coordinator and Program Co-director.

Lesia Tymochenko Lesia is an experienced educator and a certified facilitator of Yoga, 5 Tibetan Yogas, Transformative Mindfulness and Meditation. Currently she facilitates meditation classes and has completed the 16 Guidelines for Life Intensive with Dekyi-Lee Oldershaw and Alison Murdoch. Gen Ngawang Choklay Ngawang was born in Tibet, is a scholar monk trained at Kopan Monastery in Nepal then Sera Je Monastery in India. He has translated and taught in Germany and Spain; has lived and taught in the Toronto since 2005.

Roxanne Campbell Roxanne is a certified facilitator of the 5 Tibetan Yogas and Transformative Mindfulness.

Sharon Babineau, CD, is an inspirational speaker and trained Facilitator in Transformative Mindfulness and the 16 Guidelines for Life. She has facilitated seminars, support groups and workshops for over a decade, and shares personal life experiences, and her use of the 16 G’s to explain her inner strength. She believes we all have the ability to overcome even the most challenging times, and embrace a happy and meaningful life. These tools will help get you there. Sharon’s website is:  www.mindbreak.ca  

Sean Hillman Sean received his degree from U of T in East Asian Studies, was a Tibetan Buddhist monk for 13 years and studied at the Institute of Buddhist Dialectics in Dharamsala India. He now coordinates the Lama Yeshe Ling Toronto Study Group.

Sheilagh Mercer Sheilagh is a certified facilitator of Transformative Mindfulness and 5 Tibetan Yogas, as well as Hypnotherapy and Reiki. Sheilagh completed the 16 Guidelines for Life Intensive in November 2008 with Dekyi-Lee Oldershaw and Alison Murdoch. Sheilagh has over thirty years experience as an artist and art instructor in floral arts, illustration and wood carving and has taught in various places including Sheridan College.

Shelley Urlando Shelley is a certified facilitator of Transformative Mindfulness and Meditation. Shelley completed the 16 Guidelines for Life Intensive in November 2008 with Dekyi-Lee Oldershaw and Alison Murdoch. She has run experiential learning programs for youth, including Mindblast for Kids, Mindblast for Youth, 16 Guidelines Retreat for Youth, which incorporates a variety of fun experiential visualizations, meditations, simple breathing techniques, co-operative games, journaling and creative expressions through art that bring about a deeper understanding and meaning to life experiences.

Sonia Urlando Sonya is a high school student preparing to go into university in journalism. She is the first youth facilitator of Transformative Mindfulness in Canada, trained by Dekyi-Lee Oldershaw. She has co-facilitated teen retreats based on the 16 Guidelines for Life as well as Transformative Mindfulness.

Sonya Janssens Sonya is an Early Childhood Educator who has been working in the child care field for over 15 years. Sonya completed the 16 Guidelines for Life Intensive in November 2008 with Dekyi-Lee Oldershaw and Alison Murdoch. Her view of children as intelligent, capable and compassionate is reflected in the philosophy of the 16 Guidelines for Life and the program she has implemented into the child care program at the McMaster University Child Care Program.

Una West Una is a Holistic Practitioner and Workshop Facilitator, and is certified by Dekyi-Lee Oldershaw in Transformative Mindfulness and 5 Tibetan Yogas. Una completed the 16 Guidelines for Life Intensive in November 2008 with Dekyi-Lee Oldershaw and Alison Murdoch She has had her own private practice in Dundas for the past 13 years.

Valerie Spironello, is a registered social worker offering counselling, groups and workshops using a holistic approach through her private practice. She has studied meditation, and energy healing, training with teachers such as Dekyi Lee Oldershaw, Marco Mascarin, Michele Chaban, Jon Kabat-Zinn, Saki Santorelli, Tara Brach and Kumar Jeeva and has her second degree in the Usui Reiki method. Valerie uses talk therapy incorporating Transformative Mindfulness, meditation and visualization. She teaches in the Faculty of Health Sciences at McMaster University. She has a special interest in addressing compassion fatigue and promoting wellness for health care and social service providers. More information at www.choosewellness.ca.