Speakers
Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo
Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo (born 1943) is a bhiksuni in the Drukpa Lineage of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism. She is an author, teacher, and founder of the Dongyu Gatsal Ling Nunnery in Himachal Pradesh, India. She has been a leading proponent of full ordination for women in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. She is best known for having spent twelve years living in a remote cave in the Himalayas, three of those years in strict meditation retreat. Jetsunma was a key speaker in Geneva in 2002. https://tenzinpalmo.com/
Jana Long
Jana Long is the Executive Director and co-founder of the Black Yoga Teachers Alliance, and owner of Power of One Yoga, based in Baltimore, Maryland. She is a certified yoga therapist, Ayurvedic lifestyle consultant, meditation facilitator, mentor, and Master Gardener. Jana has traveled globally to study meditation and contemplative practice with a diverse yoga and spiritual community and has practiced yoga for 50 years.
Benedictine Sister Joan Chittister
Benedictine Sister Joan Chittister is a best-selling author, theologian, soul-stirring speaker, and spiritual guide. Sister Joan stirred many of us into action when she spoke in Geneva 20 years ago. She has a passion for God, for justice, and for life. The audience at the UN stood to applause when she said, ‘It is not about life after death, but about life before death.” She is a Co-Chair of the Global Peace Initiative of Women. https://www.joanchittister.org/
Ven. Dhammananda
Dhammananda Bhikkhuni was born Chatsumarn Kabilsingh and is a Thai bhikkhuni. On 28 February 2003, Kabilsingh received full monastic ordination as a bhikkhuni of the Theravada tradition in Sri Lanka helping to re-establish the Theravada bhikkhuni lineage in Thailand so that women may become fully ordained monastics. She is a prolific writer, authoring more than 100 books exploring the history of Thai Buddhism, including the role of women. Venerable Dhammananda was a key speaker at the GPIW gathering in Geneva and spoke at the Buddhist-Hindu Summit in Cambodia organized by GPIW.
Rev. Dr. Joan Brown Campbell
is the Chairwoman of the Global Peace Initiative of Women. Rev. Campbell is an ordained pastor and was the first woman General Secretary of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the US. Throughout her life, she has worked to infuse love into her interfaith and peacebuilding work. Her big powerful heart has been a source of peace for women living in areas of conflict including Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Israel.
Swamini Pramananda Saraswati
is also known as Ammaji and is a female monastic living on the banks of the holy Ganga. She works in peacebuilding and has traveled to many places around the world drawing from her knowledge of the Vedic texts and wisdom of the Himalayan culture. She is an author of many books and a gifted teacher generously sharing her knowledge at her ashram Purna Vidya in Coimbatore. https://purnavidya.org/
Acharya Judy Lief
Judy Lief is a Buddhist teacher, writer, and editor. She was a close student of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, who empowered her as a teacher. As well as traveling and teaching extensively Judy Lief is outspoken on climate and the Earth. She is active in the field of death and dying leading powerful retreats for those encountering death and mortality. She is the author of Making Friends with Death: A Buddhist Guide to Encountering Mortality. https://judylief.com/
Ven. Mae Chee Sansanee Sthirasuta
Ven. Mae Chee Sansanee Sthirasuta is a Buddhist nun, humanitarian, and peacebuilder from Thailand. She is a Co-Chair of GPIW and was there with GPIW from its earliest beginnings gently nurturing the work and planting many seeds. She is an artist and the powerful force behind Sathira Dhammasathan, an oasis of beauty and spiritual renewal in Bangkok. She is currently working with many students to regenerate a new project on 100 acres of land as a spiritual retreat, planting thousands of trees, orchards, and organic mandala shaped gardens about three hours from Bangkok. http://www.sdsweb.org/en/
Lama Palden Drolma
Lama Palden Drolma is the founder and Senior Lama of Sukhasiddhi Foundation, a Vajrayana Buddhist center in the Shangpa and Kagyu lineages. With gratitude to her gurus, Lama Palden trains and mentors students, sharing teachings and practices to bring about spiritual awakening. She is the author of Love on Every Breath that describes the profound practice of tonglen, an ancient practice perfectly suited to our modern times. https://lamapalden.org
Rev. Velma Union
Rev. Union holds a Master of Divinity and a Doctor of Ministry from Fuller Theological Seminary where she also served as the Director of African American Church Studies. She expanded her studies to include business and through her career amassed a wealth of knowledge in the fields of accounting, tax law, real estate, and economic development that she generously shares by mentoring young people spiritually and financially and supporting small business owners in the inner-city community of Los Angeles. She is the pastor at the Lord’s Church International and joined GPIW in 2002 in Geneva.
Lisi Ha Vinh
Lisi Ha Vinh and her husband Dr.Tho Ha Vinh were pioneers in the creation of the Global Peace Initiative and have walked alongside GPIW on this two-decade long journey. Lisi Ha Vinh is the Director of the Eurasia Foundation overseeing compassionate projects such as the Peaceful Bamboo Home in Vietnam for young adults living with disabilities. She is also engaged in educational training internationally in ecology, biodynamic farming, mindfulness, and ethics. The work of Lisi and Tho is deeply rooted in their meditation practice and the philosophy of Gross National Happiness. https://eurasia-foundation.org/en/
Dena Merriam
Dena Merriam founded the Global Peace Initiative of Women in 2002 to give a global voice to women spiritual leaders. She has been a student of Paramahansa Yogananda and a practitioner of Kriya Yoga meditation for more than 40 years. She is the author of My Journey Through Time - A Spiritual Memoir of Life, Death and Rebirth, The Untold Story of Sita, and When the Bright Moon Rises.
www.gpiw.org
www.denamerriam.com
