OUR TEAM

REBECCA D'ONOFRIO

Program & Operations Director

Rebecca is the Program & Operations Director of Dharma Moon where they enjoy supporting other humans along their meditation path. 

They are a gender-queer neuro-diverse human being who is passionate about diversity, equity & inclusion and serves as an Education Advocate for transgender and neuro-diverse youth.

Rebecca also founded RDYoga, LLC, a company where they create tailored wellness programming for a variety of organizations to help transform workplace culture. 

 Rebecca is a dedicated Buddhist practitioner, having completed The Sacred Path of the Warrior, which is a series of in-depth trainings, courses, and meditation retreats based on the unique teachings of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche. 

Rebecca is passionate about providing care to actively dying people and provided hospice care and end-of-life services for many years. They are passionate about normalizing the concept of death in society and consider it a sacred transition.  

Rebecca is an avid hiker & nature lover and spends much of their free time exploring the White mountains region of New England with their family.

RENÉ FAY

Community Director & Teacher

René is the Community Director for Dharma Moon. They are a certified mindfulness meditation teacher and death doula, they studied comparative religion and gender studies, and they earned their black belt at 17. René’s career has a long and extensive history of advocacy, with a focus on collaboration with, support of, and focus on: at-risk youth; queer communities and people; intimate partner violence/sexual assault prevention and intervention; and grief and crisis counseling. René is passionate about making meditation and dharma teachings radically accessible and has personally used meditation to transform their relationship with their own anxiety and chronic health issues. Outside of work, they're likely to be knitting while trapped under a cat listening to podcasts.

BRITTANEY VALENTINO

Programs Coordinator & Senior Teacher

Brittaney is a Yoga and Meditation teacher and guide. Through her various works in the community, she has found a calling in correcting the social stigma associated with yoga and meditation for a more inclusive and healing environment for her students.

NEIL TAYLOR

Senior Teacher

Neil Taylor LMT, is a Meditation Teacher, Yoga Teacher and Bodyworker.  He has been studying with David Nichtern since 2013.  He teaches Yoga and Meditation in person and online in public classes, private sessions, workshops and teacher trainings.  In addition, Neil has a private practice as a bodyworker where he works with clients to help heal injuries and enhance overall wellness. 

SUSAN LAYDEN

Senior Teacher

Susan Layden is a senior teacher with Dharma Moon, serving as a lead assistant director of the 100hr Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Training, and a close senior student of David Nichtern’s for over 8 years.  She received her 100hr meditation certificate from David Nichtern and Kaia yoga. She is a yoga and meditation teacher.   She is a 500hr E-RYT with yoga alliance and holds a 100 certification from Little Flower Yoga to teach mindfulness and yoga to children.

 

Susan Layden is a 4th degree Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do and Hapkido. She has studied and taught under Grand Master Ik Jo Kang for over 18years. She is registered under Tae Kwon Do Jidokwan in Korea. She is the mother to  three adult daughters.  Susan is committed to her practices, her family and giving back to her community.

ETHAN NICHTERN

Senior Teacher

Ethan Nichtern is a Senior Buddhist teacher, author, and lecturer. For the past 19 years, Ethan has taught meditation and Buddhist psychology classes and workshops around New York City, North America and Europe, along with working with students privately.

He was formerly on the part-time faculty at Eugene Lang College at New School University and has lectured at Brown, Wesleyan, Yale, NYU, FIT, Antioch and other universities, and as well at many other meditation/yoga centers and conferences around the country and world.

Ethan is the author of the acclaimed book The Road Home: A Contemporary Exploration of the Buddhist Path and his most recent book, The Dharma of The Princess Bride: What The Coolest Fairy Tale of Our Time Can Teach Us About Buddhism and Relationships. He is also the author of One City: A Declaration of Interdependence, and the Novella/poetry collection, Your Emoticons Won’t Save You.

His podcast, The Road Home, available on iTunes and Stitcher.

JASMINE LAMB

Teacher

Jasmine is a seasoned entrepreneur, strategic marketing executive, and certified life coach, who has worked with scores of brands, artists, and creators. She has been a student of David Nitchtern for 3 years and became a Dharma Moon mindfulness meditation teacher following the completion of its signature MMTT certification in 2020. Over the last 8+ years, she has worked with some of the tech industry's top executives & CEOs to help them navigate challenging times and turn their vision into reality. Through her unique, multidimensional coaching style, Jasmine helps her clients & students develop clarity, strength, and stability to achieve their life goals and build purpose-driven careers. Ultimately, all of Jasmine’s work is rooted in her belief that personal development and self-discovery are key to collective progression, liberation, and social change. 

STEPHANIE BELHOMME

Teacher

Stephanie on-boarded as one of Dharma Moon’s Assistant Directors following the completion of its signature MMTT certification. She is one-third of the tri-part cohort spearheading conversations, thought-leadership, and a fresh take around experiences of Equity within the company, and beyond it.
 
By day she serves as a Salesforce Ecosystem Professional, and by night in the Spring & Fall she pays forward her talents & tech sector experiences to BMCC-CUNY college students as an Adjunct Lecturer. 

PANOS MAVROMATIS

Teacher

Panos has studied and practiced Tibetan Buddhism in the Karma Kagyu and Nyingma traditions since 2006, and counts David Nichtern and Ethan Nichtern among his mentors. He is a certified Dharma Moon and Tibet House meditation instructor, and joined the Dharma Moon Teacher team in 2021. Apart from meditation, Panos has been teaching and researching music theory and the psychology of music at New York University since 2003, where he directed the music theory program until 2021. In addition to music, Panos holds degrees in mathematics and physics and enjoys exploring connections between Buddhism and Western science.

SAMMY GOODRICH

Teacher

Sammy is a Meditation and Yoga Teacher. She began her more formal practice and study with David Nichtern in 2014 and has taught meditation in a variety of settings including high schools, wellness centers, yoga studios and a men’s medium security prison. Sammy is a wife, mother of 3 and the only one in her house to befriend their very grumpy cat, Pete. She is committed to her practices, her family and giving back to her community.

NOEL COAKLEY

Teacher

Noel Coakley is a psychotherapist, meditation teacher, and former elementary school educator. He has studied Tibetan Buddhism since 1997 and the Bön tradition since 2013. He is a father, husband, and friend to a dog named Clementine.

MICHAEL KAMMERS

Podcast Producer & Teacher

Michael Kammers is a lay practitioner in the lineage of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche who believes the path is the goal, the obstacle is the path and that society is our monastery. A student of David Nichtern trained at the Tibet House, Michael's voice as a contemporary practitioner and presenter of mindfulness is informed by his professional career as a musician and bandleader.

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