Teachers



Acharya Larry Mermelstein

Acharya Larry Mermelstein became a close student of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche in 1971 and he was later empowered as a senior teacher, or “acharya,” by Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche. He has been the executive director of the Nalanda Translation Committee for over 30 years and is a long-time consulting editor to Shambhala Publications.

David Rome

David Rome is a British-born philosopher, writer, and speaker, best known as an interpreter and populariser of Eastern philosophy for a Western audience. Born in Chislehurst, England, he moved to the United States in 1938 and began Zen training in New York.

Dina Falconi

Dina Falconi is a clinical herbalist with a strong focus on food activism and nutritional healing. An avid gardener, wildcrafter, and permaculturalist, Dina has been teaching classes about the use of herbs for food, medicine, and pleasure, including wild food foraging and cooking, for more than twenty years. She produces Falcon Formulations natural body care products and Earthly Extracts medicinal tinctures. She is a founding member of the Northeast Herbal Association, a chapter leader of the Weston A. Price Foundation, and an organizer of Slow Food-Hudson Valley. She is the author of Earthly Bodies & Heavenly Hair: Natural and Healthy…

Irene Woodard

Irene Woodard is a long time student of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche and The Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche. She is currently the Head of Practice and Education at Sky Lake. She was a Resident Director for Shambhala Training in NYC for 5 years and Warrior of the Center for 5 years. She is a Kado student, a Kasung, a florist, and a mother of two.

Lama Tsultrim

Lama Tsultrim Allione, author and international teacher, is the founder and spiritual director of Tara Mandala. In 2009, Lama Tsultrim was selected by an esteemed committee of Buddhist scholars and practitioners to receive the International Outstanding Women in Buddhism Award given in Bangkok, Thailand.

Sakyong Mipham

Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche is the head of the Shambhala Buddhist lineage and Shambhala International, a worldwide network of urban Buddhist meditation centers, retreat centers, monasteries, a university, and other enterprises, founded by his father, Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche. Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche is a high lama in the Nyingma lineage of Tibetan Buddhism.