After completing the teacher training in 2016, she was authorized as a dharma teacher in the Western Theravada Buddhism lineage by a collective of the most senior teachers in this tradition, including Joseph Goldstein, Jack Kornfield, Carol Wilson, Guy Armstrong, and Phillip Moffitt.

In addition to guiding the spiritual affairs of the Dharma Center, Erin also teaches residential retreats, including month-long retreats and occasionally the three-month course at IMS, and mentors students from across the country. She serves on the Spirit Rock Teacher Council, as guiding teacher of Vallecitos Mountain Retreat Center in northern New Mexico, as well as guiding teacher of Albuquerque Insight Meditation Center. She is also a member of the core faculty teaching the sixth Community Dharma Leaders (CDL) program at Spirit Rock.

As part of her commitment to fostering communities of belonging, Erin is devoted to decentering whiteness and heteronormative culture. She has taught classes that help practitioners understand and deconstruct whiteness in their own minds here in Durango and acts as a resource for other dharma teachers around diversity and whiteness. In 2018, she was part of a team of teachers that developed the groundbreaking Race and Dharma course for the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies. Erin is also committed to practicing and sharing the depth of the dharma, including teachings on emptiness and not-self, and loves mentoring students over time as their practices deepen and mature.

Erin’s approach to sharing the dharma is also influenced by her ongoing experience as a student of the Diamond Approach by A.H. Almaas and by her love of embodiment, wild nature, and socially engaged practice. She is thrilled to be training with Thanissara and Kittisaro through the Dhammapala Training, which is designed to bring forth an embodied bodhisattva ideal within the lineage of Theravada Buddhism.

Erin offers practice interviews to committed students on a sliding scale. Please contact her at treaterin@gmail.com.

She is a graduate of Spirit Rock Meditation Center’s Dedicated Practitioner Program and the Advanced Practitioners Program, a course of deepening study of the Buddha’s teachings for senior students of the dharma. She is also a lineage student of James Baraz. Maureen holds a master’s degree in clinical social work from Smith College and is a certified Hakomi therapist. For over 25 years, she has worked as a mindfulness-based psychotherapist for children, adults, and families, specializing in trauma, somatic release work, and deep psychology.

Since 2005, Maureen has served the Dharma Center in a variety of roles—teaching meditation in the Teen Program, the Family Program, and serving on the board of directors. In her role on the Dharma Council, Maureen offers meditation and dharma talks and teaches classes and non-residential retreats. She also mentors various groups, including our kalyana mitta (spiritual friends) groups such as Mindfulness-Based 12 Step, the Family Program, the Mid-Gen group, and our volunteer groups.

Maureen has been influenced by Theravada teachers of Southeast Asia as well the Mahayana traditions of Asia, such as Chinese Chan and Japanese Zen. Important teachers in her development include James Baraz, Jack Kornfield, Guy Armstrong, Roshi Bernie Glassman, and Stephen Batchelor (Secular Buddhism). As a wife and mother of two children, Maureen is deeply committed to the path of awakening as a householder. Guided by both her spiritual practice and her experience in depth psychology, Maureen enjoys teaching embodiment practices that lead to awakening. Maureen offers practice interviews on a dana (donation) basis. You can contact her at mofcyr@hotmail.com or 970-749-1691.

Katherine served on the DDC’s Dharma Council from 2000 to early 2017. In her role as community dharma elder, she continues to offer dharma talks and occasional daylong retreats, meet with practitioners to discuss their practices, and mentor spiritual friends (kalyana mitta) groups. Katherine also continues to guide Sati Sundays, a program that includes sitting meditation and a discussion of Buddhist topics at 9 a.m. on the second and fourth Sundays of each month. For many of the past 17 years, Katherine also served on the DDC’s board of directors.

Over the years, Katherine has attended many silent meditation retreats including two two-month retreats and ten one-month retreats. She has also volunteered with the local Hospice of Mercy since 1997 and is interested in ecumenical outreach in the greater Durango community.

If you would like to reach out to Katherine for a practice interview, which she offers on a ­dana (donation) basis, please email her at katgb@frontier.net or call her at 970-769-3417.

He is also a graduate of Spirit Rock Meditation Center’s Community Dharma Leaders (CDL) program, which trains leaders to share the dharma in their communities.

Bill served on the Dharma Council and the board of directors since the early 2000s. In early 2017, he transitioned from acting as a community dharma leader to being a community dharma elder, stepping back from the more active day-to-day operations of the center. He continues to offer occasional dharma talks, classes, and daylong retreats. He also conducts sessions with individuals to discuss their dharma practices.

Over the years, Bill has attended many silent meditation retreats including numerous four- and six-week retreats. He also has a passion for practicing in wild nature and acted as a wilderness guide for the Animas Valley Institute. For seven years, he led an annual wilderness retreat for the Dharma Center and loves the way practice in the wild supports the development of an open, receptive awareness and softens the everyday egoic self. Bill has also served as a chaplain for the Hospice of Mercy in Durango.

If you would like to reach out to Bill for a practice interview, which he offers on a dana (donation) basis, please email him at william.p.ball@gmail.com or call him at 970-749-7425.