Board of Directors

Arinna Weisman has studied insight meditation since 1979 and has been teaching since 1989. Her root teacher is Ruth Denison who was empowered by the great Burmese lay teacher Sayagyi U Ba Khin. She is the founding teacher of Insight Meditation Center of the Pioneer Valley. She is co-author of the book, A Beginner’s Guide to Insight Meditation and a contributor to Women Practicing Buddhism: American Experiences, edited by Peter Gregory and Susanne Mrozik.

Nick Herzmark was a close student and friend of Ruth Denison from 1977. He helped build Dhamma Dena and traveled extensively with Ruth all over the world. A licensed psychotherapist since 1994, he blends mindfulness with western methods. In 1987, Ruth sent him to Sayadaw U. Pandita where he practiced until Ruth joined him to travel in SE Asia and China, studying and practicing together. He is currently a practitioner of Tibetan Buddhism and student of Ven. Tsoknyi Rinpoche.

Jamie Lin (she/her) is a librarian, educator, and designer whose professional interests lie in creating user-centered learning experiences and communities, and in finding and building connections between various sectors of the library field. She came to know Dhamma Dena through attending the center's first BIPOC retreat in 2019, volunteered to manage the second BIPOC retreat, and helped start the online BIPOC Sangha. Jamie lives in San Diego with her son, cat, and crested gecko.

Kelly Lockwood lives in San Francisco where she has been a core organizer of Bay Area Arinna Weisman retreats since 2008. She is the Finance and Human Resources Director for The Women's Building in San Francisco. Besides her love of numbers, Kelly has a teenager, an Art Degree and is a certified Music-Thanatologist.