Claire Stanley, Guiding Teacher and Co-founder
Claire attended her first seven-day meditation retreat in 1986 at Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts. After fifteen years of practice, she received training through the Community Dharma Leader program in the teaching of meditation and scholarly inquiry. That three-year program took place at Spirit Rock Meditation Center with Jack Kornfield and her mentor was Gil Fronsdal. Her main teachers have been Joseph Goldstein, Sharon Salzberg, Carol Wilson, the Venerable Sayadaw U Janaka, and the Venerable Tsoknyi Rinpoche. In 2001 and 2002, Claire traveled extensively in Asia and ordained as a nun for three months in Burma. In 2004, Claire completed six months of intensive silent meditation practice at The Forest Refuge program of Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts. She has been teaching Vipassana meditation in the Southern Vermont area for ten years.

Former Associate Professor of Applied Linguistics for fifteen years, she now teaches meditation and reflective inquiry in the context of Buddhism throughout New England. Claire is passionate about the development of kindness of heart and its role in all aspects of daily life through the investigation of non-harming and non-violence in thought, word and action. She holds a Ph.D. in Educational Studies with a specialization in reflectivity.

Jack Millett, Teacher and Co-founder
Jack Millett has been a student of Buddhist meditation for sixteen years. He began his studies at SN Goenka's center in Shelburne Falls, MA and then continued studies at Insight Meditation Society in Barre, MA. His main teachers have been Carol Wilson, Steve Armstrong, Joseph Goldstein, the Venerable Sayadaw U Janaka and the Venerable Tsoknyi Rinpoche.

In 2001-2002 Jack traveled extensively in Asia completing a three-monthly retreat in Burma, a pilgrimage to major sites of the Buddha with Tsoknyi Rinpoche, and a one-month retreat at Tsoknyi Rinpoche's monastery in Katmandu, Nepal. In 2004, Jack sat a six-month silent meditation retreat at the Forest Refuge in Barre, MA.

Former Associate Professor in the Master of Arts in Teaching program at the School for International Training, he now teaches courses for language teachers and teacher educators in reflective inquiry, feedback, and supervision through the Teacher Training Institute at the School for International Training.

Cheryl Wilfong, Teacher and Co-Founder
Cheryl Wilfong attended her first 10-day retreat at Insight Meditation Society in 1977. She has a Master's degree in Counseling Psychology from Antioch New England, with a concentration in Mindfulness and completed an internship with Jon Kabat-Zinn's Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program.

Cheryl is currently enrolled in the Community Dharma Leader training program, sponsored by Spirit Rock. She attends retreats for 4 to 6 weeks every year, usually with Taraniya (Gloria Ambrosia), Andrew Olendzki, or Leigh Brasington.

Since Cheryl is a devoted gardener, she is currently working on a manuscript about gardening and meditation. She is also the author of Following the Nez Perce Trail: a guide to the Nee-Me-Poo National Historic Trail with eye-witness accounts, 2nd edition.