Board of Directors

Christine Allen has worked in the investment industry for over 25 years and is currently on sabbatical focusing on her family and the dharma. She was introduced to CIMC 10 years ago upon moving back to Boston from New York and has found being part of the center and the board to be a life transforming experience. Christine has served on the CIMC Board since 2012.

Betty Burkes has been an educator/activist for five decades. She has been a Montessori teacher for children, a peace educator with the United Nations, and educational consultant with Rethinkers in New Orleans. Her activism has been expressed internationally and nationally with the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom and as a columnist at the Cape Cod Times. She began her meditation practice over 40 years ago with Phiroz Mehta at the Buddhist Society in London, and with Krishnamurti during his residences near London. Since 2001 those seeds of mindfulness and loving kindness have been nourished at CIMC. Betty has served on the CIMC Board since 2012.

Terry Clewley has worked at MIT for over 15 years, and is currently Sr. Administration and Human Resources Manager for the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, where he oversees the human resources function as well as administrative computer systems support. Terry is a staunch advocate of mindfulness training in the workplace. He found his way to CIMC by way of MBSR training at MIT, and was thrilled to discover this lovely oasis in the heart of the city where he lives, works and plays. Terry has served on the CIMC Board since 2015.

Alison Ford practices meditation and has studied the dharma since 2009, encountering CIMC in 2010. Currently working as a Major Gifts Officer at the American Red Cross, she has a passion for creative collaboration, discovering needs and requirements to implement and realize integrated solutions. Intensely interested in the diverse cultures of the world, current global affairs and serving the dharma, Alison ardently supports CIMC’s mission to offer the Buddha’s teachings to those who seek it while providing a contemplative refuge in the midst of an urban environment. Alison has served on the CIMC Board since January 2016.

Jeff Goding helps leading executives and their organizations identify and overcome various forms of self-limitation. He started exploring meditative traditions in 1990, and began developing a more disciplined Vipassana practice after being introduced to CIMC in 2008. He continues to be attracted to all that enables us to cultivate our inner capacity to live wisely and well. With a little adventure travel, cooking and painting without a recipe, and improvisational storytelling on the side. Jeff has served on the CIMC Board since 2013.

David Gumpert is an activist writer who reports on the struggles over corporate control of our food. He writes a blog — www.thecompletepatient.com — and has authored three books on food politics: The Raw Milk Revolution; Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Food Rights; and The Raw Milk Answer Book. He became involved in meditation and yoga in 1993 at Kripalu and began coming to CIMC in the late 1990s. David began spending large amounts of time in New Hampshire in 2008 and joined Valley Insight Meditation, a small sangha in Hanover and Lebanon, NH, where he served as on the board for five years. David also enjoys bicycling, hiking, and cross country skiing. David has served on the CIMC Board since 2014.

Barry Jacobson has been attending CIMC and IMS for about 20 years. He has spent the bulk of his professional life as a business consultant and database designer/implementer, focusing on the practical and useful implementation of technology. He has been an active yoga student for over 40 years, starting at Reed College in 1970, and keeps discovering how little he knows. Over the last decade Barry’s had the luxury of not working full time, and has traveled extensively, including trips to India, China, and recently, Peru. He lives in Lexington with his wife Gail Martin and is an active fan and promoter of her new career as a singer-songwriter. Barry has served on the CIMC Board since 2014.

Emily Kales is a clinical psychologist specializing in eating disorders, Lecturer in Psychology at Harvard Medical School, and on the faculty of both Northeastern University and the Graduate Consortium of Women’s Studies. She recently published a book on the body and popular culture called Body Shots: Hollywood and the Culture of Eating Disorders. Shortly after moving to Cambridge from NYC, Emily founded and directed Feeding Ourselves, a program about mindfulness, eating, and the body which in turn led her to Larry Rosenberg and meditation practice (even before there was a CIMC!). In addition to being a longtime member and supporter of the center, Emily has been a frequent retreatant at IMS and other Vipassana centers here and abroad. Emily is very grateful for the opportunity to contribute to the continued growth of CIMC in our community and beyond. Emily has served on the CIMC Board since 2014.

Ann Lammers has worked at WGBH for nearly 25 years as the Director of Corporate Marketing. Prior to WGBH, she worked at Harvard University’s Center for International Affairs. She began a meditation practice over 30 years ago and has been practicing at CIMC since 2009. Ann enjoys travel, the theater and yoga. Ann has served on the CIMC Board since 2014.

Zeenat Potia is the Associate Director of Communications and Content Strategy at Harvard Business School. She manages content creation and distribution, external media relations, and internal communications. Prior to HBS, Zeenat worked at Oxfam America, in the book publishing industry, and as a newspaper reporter. She grew up in Mumbai, India, and came to the dharma more formally at CIMC; which she considers her spiritual home. Zeenat is a certified yoga instructor through YogaWorks, trained by Natasha Rizopoulos. She lives in Cambridge with her partner and their two daughters. Zeenat has served on the CIMC Board since 2012.

Tom Roose participated in his first Vipassana retreat in 1977 at IMS. He has been involved with CIMC since moving to the Boston area in 1994, and is very grateful that the center provides a space for practice right in the midst of daily life. He works for Hewlett Packard with a focus on international marketing and business development. He is a hospice volunteer, plays guitar and banjo, and loves to hike and bike and travel. Tom has served on the CIMC Board since 2009.

Erika Smith first encountered the dharma and meditation at CIMC in 2008. She has since been a dedicated member and practitioner. Erika is the Dean of Academic Services and an affiliated researcher at the Institute for Child, Youth, and Family Policy at Brandeis University where she has worked for 17 years. As Dean, she manages the units that provide academic advising and academic support services for the university’s undergraduates. She runs a beginners’ faculty/staff meditation group on campus, and has started to explore the practice of mindful leadership. Erika joined the CIMC Board in 2017, and is excited to serve the community and the Center in this way.

Peter Warren has had a regular meditation practice for over 20 years, including numerous retreats. He has been studying the dharma since 1974, and has been a member of CIMC since 1998. He has recently retired from a bioinformatics career in research labs and biopharma, developing software and doing biological data mining and analytics. His most recent work was at Boston Children’s Hospital, writing software to elucidate the structure of complex protein-bound sugar molecules, which have key biological roles such as immune system functioning. Peter is chair of the Planning Committee for his neighborhood at Moon Hill Road, a mid-century modern enclave in Lexington developed under Walter Gropius. In all of the above, and throughout many years as an improvising musician, one thing has always stood out for Peter: the way new ideas and solutions emerge organically when people mindfully enter the space of possibilities together, with mutual respect and curiosity. Peter hopes to continue learning to engage with others and with everyday life from that place of stillness, love and compassion. Peter joined the CIMC Board in 2017.