Our Staff

Finance Director

My mother, Pearl Olson, started practicing with Trungpa Rinpoche's sangha in 1975, so I'm a member of the generation referred to as the "dharma brats". While I dabbled a little in meditation in the 1990s, I didn't seek out a sangha until after my mother passed away in 2009, and a friend told me about the Westchester sangha that was just starting at that time. My sister, Carolyn Kanjuro, was also a devoted practitioner from a young age, so I have a strong familial connection: the experience of the devotion they both embodied. When I started practicing with the Westchester Meditation Center, I wasn't planning on becoming a Buddhist. It just occurred naturally as a mix of the truth I felt from the teachings and my familial connection. Thirteen years later, the Dharma feels immense and personal and very workable, just like my life. I'm very grateful to have found the Westchester sangha.

Design Consultant

When I started meditating five years ago I was looking for a way to be less agitated in my life and as I age. I was shocked to find how thoroughly and beautifully the WMC teachings and discussions dovetailed with how I see the world and what I value, and my astonishment has not diminished since then. Recognizing how we create our own distress/neuroses has been one of the greatest gifts, and the combination of meditating daily, attending classes, and reading has set me on a path that feels wise and hopeful, and is well worth the effort and time.

Audio Manager

Meditation brings clarity, loving-kindness, balance, joy, and insight to my life. Like many people, I began my meditation journey in search of some calming respite from the stressors of day-to-day life. As my practice has deepened in the last few years, meditation continues to serve this original purpose, while also serving to unmask and activate deeply-rooted feelings of compassion, courage, and rich understanding. More and more, the wonderful benefits of daily meditation practice permeate my life off the cushion as well, inspiring me to live a life guided by insight, empathy, awareness, and caring.