The Semester Intensive faculty is comprised of both core and visiting faculty. Core faculty members are Kripalu Center senior teachers with rich backgrounds in yoga and meditation, psychology, spiritual philosophy and contemplative traditions, holistic health, social activism, management, and education. Throughout the semester, students also study with visiting faculty and Kripalu staff and speakers that are nationally and internationally recognized for their work. Core faculty lead semester-long classes that are augmented through the four months by many other internationally and nationally renowned visiting faculty and guest speakers representing a variety of views on traditions of holistic health modalities, exploring and offering numerous approaches from around the world.
We are currently developing the Fall 2008 faculty list.
Nina Dawe, MEd, received her degree from Harvard Graduate School of Education in administration, planning, and social policy in 1989. Her passion for education was sparked 10 years earlier when she spent a year teaching in Haiti at a school that she helped to establish. In 1985, she pursued her interest in higher education as the assistant dean of students at a small college in New Jersey, and later she comanaged resident life at Tufts University. In 1992, she cocreated and directed the Berkshire Community School, a progressive alternative for the local home-schooling community. She then transitioned from education administration to experiential teaching and consulting. For the past 10 years, Nina has worked as president of her own company, Creative TeamWorks, Inc., specializing in effective communication and team building for corporate and educational clients, including the New England Journal of Medicine, Fleet Bank, Tommy Hilfiger, Northern Berkshire Health Systems, Berkshire Gas, Williams College, Bennington College, and Hoboken Charter School. Currently, Nina serves as the Director of Human Resources and Staff Development for Kripalu Center.
Gabrielle Durocher-Radeka, Assistant Director of the Institute for Integrated Leadership, Kripalu Center, is a certified teacher with a decade of experience in both alternative education and public schools. Trained in the High/Scopes method of experiential education, she has worked with students from elementary to college levels in locations ranging from Guatemala to Croatia to Detroit, Michigan. She was a student and subsequently an instructor at the New England Literature Program, an experiential education initiative at the University of Michigan. In addition to her work in the classroom, Gabe has focused on teacher education and the development of hands-on curricula exploring gender issues and social movements as part of her ongoing endeavor to expand and evolve existing models of public education. She is deeply committed to working with students from backgrounds that have been marginalized and underserved. She believes that rigorous holistic educational projects that focus on community-building and self-development can serve as powerful tools for individual and social change.
Richard Faulds, MA, JD, has practiced yoga and meditation in close association with Kripalu Center for more than 25 years. As a Kripalu Center staff member, Richard has assumed many roles over the years: legal counsel, president, and senior teacher. He currently serves as Chair of the Kripalu Board of Trustees. After working as a legal services attorney, he joined the staff of Kripalu in 1981 and served as Kripalu’s legal counsel. As president of Kripalu from 1998 to 2001, Richard worked to facilitate Kripalu’s transition from an ashram to a holistic educational center. He earned a master’s degree in counseling and human development in 1996, and he has written numerous articles for Kripalu publications. He is the author of Sayings of Swami Kripalu and Kripalu Yoga: A Guide to Practice On and Off the Mat.
Grace Jull, MA, LMT, has been teaching experiential workshops internationally for more than 20 years. She is a senior faculty member at Kripalu Center and the originator of PranaQuatic Bodywork. David Greenberg has described Grace as “the Mary Oliver of the yoga mat.” Her popular CD Turning Water into Words and accompanying training are widely used as resources for supporting yoga teachers in developing their language skills. She is working on a book entitled The Aesthetic of Yoga Asanas.
Holly McCormack, Director of Kripalu Center’s Institute for Integrated Leadership, has worked professionally with young adults for more than a decade. Before coming to Kripalu, Holly served as director of Field Work Term, an experiential career development semester at Bennington College. Prior to her tenure at Bennington College, Holly worked with Cooperative Association of States for Scholarship, a youth-leadership partnership program between USAID and Georgetown University, counseling young adults from Latin America and the Caribbean in personal and professional development. She copresented at the Summit of Emerging Visionaries, a young-adult conference held in conjunction with the United Nation’s Millennium Peace Summit of Religious and Spiritual Leaders. Holly received a degree from Babson College in entrepreneurialism and continues to apply her entrepreneurial skills toward creating new initiatives for young leaders through Kripalu’s Semester Intensive. Holly is also a nationally certified massage therapist and a Kripalu-certified holistic lifestyle teacher.
Randall Williams, MA, is long-term Kripalu staff member and Kripalu Yoga teacher trainer who has a graduate degree in Jungian and yogic psychology. An inspiring teacher, he is the producer of an acclaimed audio CD Gentle Yoga: Blade of Grass.
John Bagnulo, PhD, teaches nutrition and fitness in Kripalu Center’s Healthy Living programs. He holds a doctorate in food and nutrition sciences from the University of Maine and a Master of Public Health from the University of North Carolina. John served as nutritionist at Canyon Ranch in the Berkshires and is currently on the faculty of the Center for Mind-Body Medicine. A frequent lecturer on topics including weight loss, detoxification, and chronic disease treatment and prevention, John is also a passionate mountain climber who reached the top of Mt. Everest in 2006 as part of a two-man team.
Deb Howard, has 20 years’ experience in the world of natural foods and started her first natural foods cafe when she was 21 years old. Since then she has been a resident of Kripalu Center and a caterer, taught cooking classes, and opened her second restaurant, The Love Dog Cafe—an organic restaurant and tea shop once located in Lenox, Massachusetts. Deb is presently the Executive Chef of the Kripalu Kitchen. Her approach to food and cooking is grounded in a deep belief that love is the main ingredient in a healthful diet.
Stephen Cope, MSW, LICSW, is the Director of the Institute for Extraordinary Living at Kripalu. He is a psychotherapist, a national best-selling author, and a senior instructor in Kripalu Yoga. During the summer of 2005, he launched a pioneering music and consciousness program in conjunction with the Tanglewood Music Institute to study the effects of yoga and meditation on performance. Stephen is the author of Yoga and the Quest for the True Self; Will Yoga and Meditation Really Change My Life?; and The Wisdom of Yoga: A Seeker’s Guide to Extraordinary Living. Stephen was named one of the “top 25 innovators in yoga in America in the last 25 years” by Yoga Journal in their 25th anniversary edition.
Kate Feldman, MSW, LICSW, is a psychotherapist with a background in Gestalt, Imago, and Family Systems therapies as well as EMDR therapy, yoga, and meditation. She is codirector of the Conscious Relationships Institute in Durango, Colorado. Kate has 30 years’ experience developing and presenting training curriculums in the private and public sector. A graduate of Smith School of Social Work, she specializes in work with communication, self-awareness, and intimate relationships. As a founding member and longtime leader at Kripalu Center, she has served as the Director of Staff Training and Development, Director of Facility Operations and Staff Development, a senior trainer and program developer, Administrative Director, and Personnel/Human Resources Coordinator.
Joel Feldman, CPCC, certified coach, mediator, and consultant, has been counseling and training couples, individuals, and work teams for nearly 30 years. A founding member of Kripalu Center, he is codirector of the Conscious Relationships Institute in Durango, Colorado. An experienced business professional, Joel coaches managers and executives, helps teams collaborate, and trains individuals and groups in interpersonal skills. Recent clients include the Massachusetts Teachers Association, Mead Specialty Paper, and Nexus Management Limited. At Kripalu, Joel was the Director of the International Network, Director of Organizational Development, and Director of Personnel, as well as senior trainer and program developer. He is also certified as a clinical Imago Relationship therapist and as an Adizes organizational development consultant and trainer.
Hilary Garivaltis, DAy, is the Dean of the Kripalu School of Ayurveda. She studied at the New England Institute of Ayurvedic Medicine and holds a certificate from the Rishikesh College of Ayurveda in Rishikesh, India.
Steven Hartman has been a student and teacher of yoga for 25 years. From an early age, he has been dedicated to the pursuit, education, and the practice of spiritual wisdom from a variety of traditions. He is a former longtime resident of Kripalu Center. Along with being a facilitator of the Avatar Course for many years and a teacher of A Course in Miracles since 1976, he is a devoted scholar, teacher, and retreat leader. Steven has been trained in many transformational healing modalities, which he used in his 17-year private practice in Chicago, Illinois. Steven is currently the Director of Professional Training at Kripalu Center.
Mark Pettus, MD, is a board-certified internist and nephrologist with 20 years of experience, including postdoctoral training at Harvard Medical School. He is clinical associate professor of medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School and the author of two books, The Savvy Patient: The Ultimate Advocate for Quality Health Care and It’s All in Your Head: Change Your Mind, Change Your Health.
Noah Levine, MA, is author of the national best seller Dharma Punx. He has been practicing Buddhist meditation since 1988 and teaching since 1998. Trained to teach by Jack Kornfield, Noah lectures on Buddhism, teaches meditation retreats throughout the country, and leads mindfulness and recovery classes in juvenile halls and prisons. He has studied with many prominent teachers in both the Theravada and Mahayana lineages, holds a master’s degree in integral psychology, and is a member of the teaching staff at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Woodacre, California.
Carolyn Lundeen, RN, is a certified holistic health nurse, Phoenix Rising yoga therapist, and senior Kripalu Yoga teacher. With more than 26 years in the healing arts, including tenure at a Boston teaching hospital, she offers private instruction in breathing, meditation, yoga, and stress reduction, and gives workshops throughout the country. Her personal experience of breast cancer paired with eight years as an oncology nurse gives particular power to her mission of helping people remember their inherent wholeness. Her video, Kripalu Yoga Gentle, has won three prestigious awards.
Faith McClellan, MPA, Admissions Coordinator for the Semester Intensive, has worked for 10 years in nonprofit youth, social service, and leadership programs. She coordinated a youth theater program, served as a bilingual crisis counselor and immigrant health advocate, and coordinated a Ford Foundation leadership initiative. After earning a Masters in Public Administration, Faith founded and directed an employment and training program for low-income residents in Brooklyn, New York. Faith has lived in Guatemala and completed a solo trip around the world. She teaches Kripalu DansKinetics® and believes in the arts as a tool for community transformation.
Patrick O’Shei, MS, serves as the Director of Operations for Kripalu Center. He earned a degree in paper science and engineering from SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry and a Master of Science in Applied and Mathematical Statistics from the Rochester Institute of Technology. He served as a faculty member at Empire State College and has worked as a consultant to educational institutions, nonprofits, and businesses. A certified Kripalu Yoga teacher, he is also a master tutor in the Massachusetts educational system.
Garrett Sarley is a founding member of Kripalu Center and currently serves as its Chief Executive Officer. From 1975 to 1995, Garrett held a number of leadership positions at Kripalu, including Chief Operations Officer. Then, for 10 years, he directed the Omega Institute for Holistic Studies. He and his partner, Ila Sarley, authored the books The Essentials of Yoga and Walking Yoga.
Jill Satterfield is the founder of Vajra Yoga, which synthesizes yoga and Buddhism. She has been practicing hatha yoga for more than 28 years and teaching for 17. She has been a student of Buddhism for over a decade. Jill was recently featured in Shambhala Sun as one of the four leading yoga teachers in the country. Currently, she is writing a book on yoga for meditators, which is being sponsored by the University of Colorado’s Medical Department.
Don Stapleton, PhD, is one of the founding members of Kripalu Center. He has served as the Chief Executive Officer, Director of Programs and Staff Development, and Chairperson of the Board of Trustees. Before he came to Kripalu, he received his doctorate in art education at Penn State, taught art education and human development at the University of South Florida, and worked as a field faculty member at Goddard College. He currently serves as Kripalu’s Dean of Yoga Teacher Education and directs the Nosara Yoga Institute in Costa Rica. He also works as field faculty for Prescott College. He is the author of Self-Awakening Yoga: Expansion of Consciousness Through the Body’s Own Wisdom.
Claude Stein is a multiplatinum vocal producer and voice consultant. With degrees in music and analysis as a foundation, he has 23 years of experience blending psychology and voice training. He has coached at the Juilliard School, the Actors Institute, and the Nordoff-Robbins Center for Music Therapy at New York University. His clients include Fortune 500 corporations and artists who appear on Atlantic, Island, Warner Bros., and RCA Records.
Jeff Triplat is a shamanic practitioner and filmmaker whose offerings draw on sacred feminine and masculine mystery teachings; theological, indigenous, and Reiki initiations; yoga, qigong, integrative bodywork, quantum physics, and holistic medicine. His work supports a heart-centered approach to wellness based on bioenergetic integration, expanded awareness, personal authenticity, and conscious participation.
Angela Farmer, yoga teacher of 35 years
Richard Freeman, Ashtanga Yoga teacher
Tama Keives, author of This Time I Dance!
Caroline Myss, author, personal growth expert, and medical intuitive
Amadea Morningstar, Ayurvedic educator
Pragata, qigong teacher and therapist
Genpo Roshi, author and Zen teacher
Priti Robyn Ross, yoga teacher and yoga therapist
Marcela Villalobos, healer and medicine woman
Alberto Villoldo, shamanic teacher, founder of the Healing the Light Body™ School