The Semester Intensive team is comprised of core and visiting faculty, and program staff. Core faculty members are Kripalu Center senior teachers with expert backgrounds in yoga and meditation, psychology, spiritual philosophy and contemplative traditions, holistic health, social activism, management, and education. Core faculty members lead semester-long classes that are augmented through the four months by many other internationally and nationally renowned visiting faculty and guest speakers. Semester Intensive staff members offer expertise in residential management, student development, civic engagement and community building, and help to create, facilitate, and counsel the community-living portion of the program. Together, this team makes the Semester Intensive’s unique living and learning environment possible.
Nina Dawe, MEd, Program Manager for the Semester Intensive, 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 homeschooling community. She then transitioned from education administration to experiential teaching and consulting. For the past decade, 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. Before joining the Semester Intensive team, Nina served as Kripalu Center’s Director of Human Resources and Staff Development.
Richard Faulds, MA, JD, has practiced yoga and meditation in close association with Kripalu Center for more than 25 years. Richard has assumed many roles at Kripalu Center over the years, including President. He currently serves as Chair of the Kripalu Board of Trustees. In 1981, after working as a legal services attorney, he 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, and he has served, for many years, as a Kripalu senior teacher. 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 its accompanying training are widely used as resources for supporting yoga teachers in developing their language skills. As Kripalu’s Scholar-in-Residence, she is currently writing a book entitled The Aesthetic of Yoga Asanas.
Kristi Nelson, MPA, has worked in nonprofit leadership and development for the past 25 years, including spending a year as Kripalu’s Director of Development. She has worked throughout the country helping to raise millions of dollars for organizations committed to progressive social and spiritual change. For five years, Kristi had her own consulting and coaching company that focused on values-based organizational development and fundraising with leaders of organizations such as the Institute for Jewish Spirituality, Buddhist Peace Fellowship, Spirit in Action, and Resource Generation, among others. During this time she also helped to found the Soul of Money Institute. She also spent five years as the executive director of the Women’s Fund of Western Massachusetts. Kristi received her BA in women’s studies from University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and her master’s in public administration in 2007 from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. She is currently writing a book that advances a model to help individuals and organizations bring their financial practices and policies into alignment with their most deeply held values.
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.
Randal Williams, MA, is a senior teacher at Kripalu Center and a Director of Kripalu Yoga Teacher Training. Prior to Kripalu, Randal completed studies in Jungian depth psychology and yoga philosophy with specific interest in the nature and transformation of consciousness. Originally from rural Newfoundland, Canada, Randal also has a core interest in the environment and its role in facilitating wellness. As a student and educator, Randal values the balance of art and science—the distinction of dependable core dynamics in concert with the spaciousness for diverse human experience. He is an inspiring teacher, who leads challenging vinyasa practices as well as deep relaxation. Randal 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 degree 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, Executive Chef of the Kripalu Kitchen, 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. 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 Kripalu Center’s Institute for Extraordinary Living. He is a psychotherapist, a national best-selling author, and a senior instructor in Kripalu Yoga. During the summer of 2005, he pioneered a 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 issue.
Ethan Nichtern is the acclaimed author of One City: A Declaration of Interdependence and the founding director of the Interdependence Project, a nonprofit created to bring meditation principles to the arts, activism, environmental concerns, and responsible consumption. A teacher of Buddhist meditation and philosophy at New School University, he lectures regularly at Brown, Wesleyan, and other universities.
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 communication, self-awareness, and intimate relationships. As a founding member and longtime leader at Kripalu Center, she has served as Kripalu’s Director of Staff Training and Development, Director of Facility Operations and Staff Development, a senior trainer and a 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 Director of the International Network, Director of Organizational Development, and Director of Personnel, as well as a 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 Curriculum for the Kripalu School of Ayurveda. Hillary received her training in 1997 at the New England Institute of Ayurvedic Medicine, and at the Jiva Institute and the Rishikesh College of Ayurveda in Rishikesh, India. She is recognized by the World Health Organization and sits on the board of the National Ayurvedic Medical Association (NAMA). She provides one-one-one Ayurvedic consultations at Kripalu, teaches workshops on Ayurveda and Ayurvedic Bodywork nationwide, and runs Kripalu’s Panchakarma program. She also leads groups of students to India each year and facilitates their advanced studies.
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 Trainings and Associations 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 of experience 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 along 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.
Garrett Sarley (Dinabandhu) 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. For 10 years, he directed the Omega Institute for Holistic Studies. He and his partner, Ila Sarley, the President of Kripalu, 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, sponsored by the University of Colorado’s Medical Department.
Amba Stapleton ignites enthusiasm for yoga in her students by bringing her 25 years of study and practice into innovative classes that embody the energy and spirit of yoga. Her private clients have included Robin Williams, Demi Moore, and Woody Harrelson along with many other creative artists. Amba and Don Stapleton are the creators of Interdisciplinary Yoga Teacher Training and PranassageŽ Practitioner Training, registered with the Yoga Alliance at the 200- and 500-hour levels.
Don Stapleton, PhD, is one of the founding members of the 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 Pennsylvania State University, 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.
Coby Cozlowski, CPCC, Leadership Coordinator, is a dynamic workshop facilitator and professional life coach specializing in working with young adults who are ready to step into a life of choice, empowerment, and conscious living. She is the founder of Simple Rhythm Coaching LLC and cofounder of the Next Big Thing, a holistic leadership program for high school graduates. Coby brings more than a decade of experience in upper-level management, entrepreneurship, extensive travel, coaching, yoga, meditation and Ayurvedic studies. Coby did her coaching training and certification at the Coaches Training Institute, completing their year long experiential leadership program. She has also studied group dynamics and team development in Mexico on a three-month experiential outdoor trip with the National Outdoor Leadership School. She is an active member of the International Coaching Federation and coleader of the CALL of New England (an organization promoting conscious leadership). She also works as a certified yoga instructor and Ayurvedic consultant.
Nina Dawe, MEd, Program Manager. See bio under "core faculty" above.
Faith McClellan, MPA, Admissions and Recruitment Manager, has worked for over a decade in nonprofit youth, social service, and leadership programs. Drawing on her own passion for the performing arts, Faith coordinated an afterschool theater program for underserved youth in Connecticut. She spent five years in Brooklyn, New York, in the field of social justice, serving as a bilingual crisis counselor and immigrant health advocate, and coordinating Ford Foundation grassroots leadership initiative. After earning a masters in public administration, Faith cofounded and managed an employment and training program for low-income Brooklyn residents. Faith has lived and worked in Guatemala on two projects, a rural education project and an International Planned Parenthood research study on health access. Faith loves travel and completed a solo trip around the world prior to coming to Kripalu in 2006. She teaches Kripalu YogaDance™, ShakeYourSoul, and JourneyDancee™ and is committed to using the arts as a tool for community empowerment and transformation.
Holly McCormack, Director. See bio under "core faculty" above.
Micah Mortali, Student Affairs Coordinator, is a yoga educator who has spent his adult life in the service of creating a more just, compassionate, and inspired world. For the past 14 years Micah has been exploring yoga as a tool for living a more fulfilled life. This inquiry led him into the field of environmental sustainability where he served as environmental coordinator at Connecticut College, helping to lead the college toward its goal of being an environmental model for other institutions of higher learning. He then went on to serve youth at risk in the rural mountains of North Carolina. For the last four years, Micah has become an integral member of the Kripalu community, teaching guest yoga classes and leading Kripalu Retreat and Renewal workshops as well as hikes and kayaking tours. He has also taught yoga to children in area schools. Micah was recently a yoga teacher for Kripalu staff as part of a Harvard research study alongside author, senior Kripalu teacher, and Director of the Institute for Extraordinary Living Stephen Cope.
(from left to right) Rachael Emerson, Lauren Swanekamp, Chris Crotty, Moira McNairnay