Robbie Watkins (Center Director)Robbie Watkins first studied with Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche at Kopan Monastery in 1980. He became a member of Kadampa Center in 1993. After serving as Spiritual Program Director, he became Director of the Center in 1998. He is involved in leading both the Discovering Buddhism and Basic Programs at the Center. During his spare time, he works as a family physician in Cary. |
Stephanie "Steep" Smith began coming to the Kadampa Center a few months before Geshe Gelek arrived (1999). Her first volunteer job at the center was on the weekly clean-up crew and the opportunities to help have only grown from there. Stephanie gets paid to work as a custody mediator at the Wake County courthouse. |
David Machles (Treasurer)David has been a member of Kadampa Center for only a few years, but suspects he has been a Buddhist all of his life. He has read and studied Eastern philosophy since childhood. He has previously served on boards in a number of non-profit organizations. He has a degree in nursing, a Masters in Public Health and a Doctorate in Adult Education. He and his wife Karen own a business providing safety and health management consulting. They have twins in college and live in North Raleigh with their 2 dogs and cat. |
Barb Baranski (Secretary)Barb started coming to Kadampa Center with the first round of Discovering Buddhism classes that started in 2003. She currently manages the Communications Committee and puts together the Sunday Program each week. She lives in Raleigh with her husband Chris and two dogs, and is a Project Manager for hesketh.com, a small web development company. |
Ven. Lhundub Tendron (Co-Spiritual Program Coordinator)Venerable Lhundub Tendron has been coming to Kadampa Center since 1998. Before becoming a nun she worked as an editor of an anti-racism website. She became a nun in 2002 and went to Chenrezig Institute in Australia to experience life in a nuns' community. Ven. Tendron completed the FPMT Basic Program at CI in 2007 and now assists Geshe Gelek by leading a discussion group for the Basic Program and fills in for Geshe-la when he is away from the Center. She also teaches Discovering Buddhism. |
Julie Jones (Co-Spiritual Program Coordinator)Julie has participated at Kadampa Center since 1993. She is currently Spiritual Program Coordinator and leads Discovering Buddhism courses. She started practicing Zen Buddhism in 1985 and after, attending teachings by His Holiness in 1988, made Tibetan Buddhism her primary spiritual path. She is the principal of Mayin, LLC, a real estate finance and development consulting business. |
Sharla FloraSharla's first visit to the Center occurred on a day in 2003 when she and her sister, Denise, stumbled into a teaching by Ven. Robina. Feeling immediately at home, Sharla has come to the Center as often as possible since then. She says she is honored to serve as a board member and is thrilled to be part of the Kadampa Center community. You may recognize her in one of her favorite roles, as aunt to Caeman, a regular attendee of the children's program. Professionally, Sharla spends much of her time in Durham working as a substance abuse counselor. |
Alex Semilof, PhD has 20 years experience as a Human Resources/Training professional and is currently the International Human Resources Specialist for RTI International. Dr. Semilof is a recipient of a Masters of Arts in Liberal Studies degree from Duke University where the focus of his studies was Tibetan Buddhism. He has recently received a Ph.D. in the same field. Dr. Semilof is also the co-founder and co-director of The Himalayan Society, a small non profit dedicated to the preservation and sharing of Himalayan heritage. |
Suzanne Weigand was introduced to Buddhism and to Kadampa Center at the same time back in 1996 by long-time friend of the Center, Teri Beckman. Suzanne has been a member since 1997 and functioned as bookkeeper for the Center from 1998 to 2004. She now is very grateful to have the chance to serve the Center again as a member of the Board. She lives in Cary with her husband, Ken, and her cat, Shorty. |