Rupert has a background in environmental and outdoor education. He has practiced in the Insight meditation tradition for over 30 years in Europe, America and Asia, and teaches in Europe and beyond. Rupert trained with The School of Lost Borders in contemporary wilderness rites of passage and now trains others in this work. He spent 4 years living and working at Ecodharma, a contemplative community in the Spanish Pyrenees dedicated to exploring the role of the Dharma in the movements for social justice and ecological sustainability. Rupert works with individuals and organizations offering a range of retreats and trainings exploring the intersection of contemplative practice and nature-based practice. https://www.handontheearth.org/

Bonnie (she, her) has been studying Buddhism and practicing vipassana meditation for over twenty years, having had the privilege to sit retreats with Sri Lankan, Tibetan, Zen, and Chan Buddhist teachers. She looks forward to applying her nearly three decades of experience teaching and mentoring college and graduate students to serve as an Inward Bound certified mindfulness teacher in the Contemplative Semester experience. Spending time in wild places with beyond-human friends, making music with other humans, and practicing qigong, Tai Chi, and yoga feeds her spirit. Contemplative practices for Bonnie are acts of connection, resistance, resilience, love, and freedom.

Maya (she/her) envisions a world where unconditional love and fierce ethical accountability converge. She hails from Brooklyn, NY and is pursuing a PhD in Urban Education at the CUNY Graduate Center. After graduating from the Harvard Teacher Fellows' founding cohort, she taught 7th grade history for six years, coached humanities teachers, and continues to mentor early career teachers through the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Maya's research explores teacher mentorship, community, and trauma-informed mindfulness as tools for transforming cycles of harm. Maya aspires to participate in educational havens of belonging that allow educators and students to bring their authentic selves. She is a graduate of the Inward Bound Mindfulness Teacher Training, and continues to train in Nonviolent Communication and Somatic Experiencing (a trauma healing therapeutic modality).

Shea (he/him) is a somatic therapist, meditation and communication teacher from Brooklyn, NY. Shea fell in love with the dharma when he was 19, and has practiced deeply in Insight, Zen and Plum Village Buddhist lineages for 16 years. Shea is currently a member of the Spirit Rock Community Dharma Leaders (CDL) program. He gets immense meaning, purpose and joy in supporting young people’s access to the dharma, helping lead programs he wishes he had when he was in his teens and twenties. He has worked with Inward Bound Mindfulness since 2017, serving as Mentor, Mental Health Coordinator, and now Teacher. Shea co-founded the Contemplative Semester and teaches meditation, Nonviolent Communication (NVC) and conflict transformation during the semester. At home Shea builds community through co-leading the Brooklyn Insight sangha, facilitating with All Kings, a mens healing group centering justice-impacted men, and supporting community conflict transformation with the NY Peace Institute.

Sarah (she/her) is a project-based learning specialist, liberatory design enthusiast, and abolitionist educator—committed to co-creating student-centered communities that foster holistic thriving. A former classroom teacher, she began cultivating her mindfulness practice during those formative years, finding grounding in meditation, yoga, and ancestral veneration. With over a decade of experience as an educator and leader, Sarah integrates mindfulness into her work, creating spaces that honor healing, curiosity, and collective liberation. Her spiritual practice is rooted in deep listening and connection to lineage, inviting others to explore what it means to live in right relationship with themselves and their communities. 

Ky (they/them) is a student of the dharma, various movement practices, and navigating relational dynamics and conflict with compassion. A first generation forest mischief fairy and kitchen-witch hailing from a western-facing bend in the Green River in Central Kentucky, they spend a lot of time observing landscapes, and cheffing up culinary masterpieces in the kitchen. They have a decade of experience in operations and project management in corporate and nonprofit settings, and are grateful that their skills in the muggle world can be of service to the magical liberatory practices of the Contemplative Semester. Ky also facilitates mindfulness classes for teenagers in the Connecticut River Valley of Massachusetts, and dances contact improvisation.

James (he/him) is a student of life with roots in Quakerism, Theravada Buddhism, and Catholic mysticism. James has trained and served as a spiritual care provider, meditation teacher, preacher, and facilitator of workshops and retreats in hospital, college, congregational, and other settings. James feels most energized working with young adults who, like everyone else, are just trying to find their way in a confusing world! On the CS, you'll find him teaching discernment practices to help us connect with our deepest source of guidance, and skipping around campus (his favorite way of getting around).

Angela (she/her) has been involved with CS since 2023. She began her work leading the Student Discernment Circle and helping with outreach. In Fall 2024, Angela was a student on the program, where she deepened her practice, reconnected with Mother Nature, and was wholeheartedly supported by the sangha to remain true to her authentic path. Angela is currently supporting the program through staff collaboration, student recruitment, and serving as an ambassador, sharing her passion and belief in what this program makes possible.

During this next session of C.S., Angela will be a residential assistant and a steady presence of love, appreciation, and clarity for both staff and students. Angela feels blessed to be part of a program that is actualizing a safe, supportive space for young people to be exposed to Buddhist meditation, earth connection, and living in sangha.

Spencer Huang is a CS alum and will be a residential assistant on the ‘26 semester. Spencer practices meditation in the Vipassana and Zen traditions. He finds deep soothing and wisdom in both lineages and their contemporary communities. He hopes to channel his contemplative practice towards his Somatic Experiencing and Internal Family Systems relational healing practices.

He is curious about the shamanic practices stewarded by the Indigenous people of contemporary Northeast America. He has a strong sense that these practices will play a vital role in his and his community's long-term health and happiness as creatures of Earth. He is also very excited to keep learning about the Maternal Gift Economy and Needs-based consciousness from Miki Kashtan, Genevieve Vaughan, and other teachers. He is integrating more and more of such heart orientations into his daily life.  

His recent favorite read is the Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer. Like Robin, he wishes to learn from and appreciate the more-than-human beings of our world.