2022 Interim Teachers Council
The BPF Board considers it wise to seek the counsel and guidance of teachers who are aligned with our mission and purpose. We are convening a Teachers Council to support us in navigating the transition that began in fall 2021.
The Interim Teachers Council is an advisory body that meets privately as a group three times between February and June 2022. In these meetings, BPF Board members will present both context and questions for the teachers to consider and discuss together. Teachers are asked to attend the three gatherings, consider any materials prepared or presented, and to give feedback and guidance on the Board’s questions and plans for the benefit of the larger BPF community and our shared aspiration for the liberation of all beings.
Our Buddhist lineages hold a tradition of reverence towards teachers. We also recognize that the tradition to regard teachers in an idealized seat of wisdom comes from patriarchal and hierarchical tendencies which can and have caused harm. These patterns of power become more complex within non-profit structures like BPF, where the Board holds primary power and responsibility of governance. This Council is intended to advise and provide guidance to the Board to ensure they are in alignment with the ethics and purpose of BPF.
Members of the 2022 Interim Teachers Council include:
Leslie Booker (she/her) brings her heart and wisdom to the intersection of dharma, embodied wisdom, and social justice. She shares her expertise nationally as a guest lecturer at conferences, universities, and dharma centers, on expanding our vision around culturally responsive teaching, and changing the paradigm of self and community care. Booker is a co-founder of the Yoga Service Council at Omega Institute and the Meditation Working Group of Occupy Wall Street. Booker is a co-author of Best Practices for Yoga in a Criminal Justice Setting, a contributor to Georgetown Law's Center on Poverty and Inequality's report: Gender & Trauma—Somatic Interventions for Girls in Juvenile Justice, YOGA: The Secret of Life, and contributed to Sharon Salzberg's book ‘Happiness at Work’. She is a graduate of Spirit Rock's Mindful Yoga and Meditation training (2012), Community Dharma Leaders' Training (2017), and their four year Retreat Teacher Training (2020). In 2020 she was invited in as a Sojourner Truth Leadership Fellow through Auburn Seminary, and was voted by her peers as one of the 12 Powerful Women in the Mindfulness Movement.
This is Booker’s third time being on a transitional council for organizations that are navigating change. Booker says that for her activism and Dharma has always been interwoven and she feels called to support BPF at this time. Find out more about Booker at lesliebooker.com.
Mushim (Patricia) Ikeda (she/her) is a Buddhist teacher and secular mindfulness teacher, author, mentor, and community activist. She teaches meditation retreats for people of color, women, and social justice activists nationally. She is a core teacher at East Bay Meditation Center near where she lives in Oakland, California. Mushim is the recipient of the Gil A. Lopez Award for a peacemaker of color from the Association for Dispute Resolution of Northern California, and the recipient of an honorary Doctor of Sacred Theology degree from the Starr King School for the Ministry. Mushim was named as one of the 26 "Great Teachers" in Lion's Roar magazine, January 2022.
Mushim was a former BPF board member in early 2000’s when one form of BPF died for another to be resurrected. As a former board, interim staff and community member, she cares deeply about the future of BPF and is encouraged to see another resurrection. Her website and blog can be found at mushimikeda.com.
Lama Rod Owens (he/him) is a Buddhist minister, author, activist, yoga instructor and authorized Lama, or Buddhist teacher, in the Kagyu School of Tibetan Buddhism and is considered one of the leaders of his generation of Buddhist teachers. He holds a Master of Divinity degree in Buddhist Studies from Harvard Divinity School. He is the co-author of the book Radical Dharma: Talking Race, Love & Liberation and he recently released the book Love and Rage: The Path of Liberation through Anger. Lama Rod is the co-founder of Bhumisparsha, a Buddhist tantric practice and study community. Has been published in Buddhadharma, Lion’s Roar, Tricycle and The Harvard Divinity Bulletin, and offers talks, retreats and workshops in more than seven countries.
Lama Rod has been involved with a range of BPF programs, most recently, “Dharma of Pose.” He is interested in bringing support and resources to BPF knowing we have an impact on the greater community. You can find out more at lamarod.com.
Dalila Bothwell’s (she/her) Dharma-meditation practice lives at the intersection of love for community, land, justice, and 12-step recovery. The granddaughter of Claudia and Gussie Pearl, she finds refuge and hope in the liberation teachings of revolutionary lovers - from the Buddha to bell hooks. During her nearly decade-long tenure as a Director for New York Insight Meditation Center, she learned the priceless value of sangha and the role relationships play in embodying the teachings and in creating kinder human beings. Dalila is a graduate of the Spirit Rock Community Dharma Leaders Program, formally educated in nutritional science and food studies and has served with the Buddhist Peace Fellowship, Insight Meditation Society, and Dharma communities throughout the US. She loves dancing furiously in her kitchen and walking in the desert with her handsome pup, Brisco; and she believes freedom is a holistic art.
Dalila brings her curiosity and ongoing connection to BPF as motivation to join the Teachers Council. Her website and blog can be found at dalilabothwell.com.