International CBCT® Certified Teacher
Corina Aguilar-Raab is a CBCT® teacher, clinical psychologist, psychotherapist and a post-doctoral associate at the Institute of Medical Psychology, University of Heidelberg, Germany. In her research, she is working towards the implementation of CBCT in the fields of clinical psychology and psychotherapy emphasizing how positive social interactions in close relationships can be improved. Currently, she teaches CBCT to healthy and depressed couples, evaluating health beneficial effects. She is a long-term practitioner of Indo-Tibetan Buddhism and a member of the supervisory Board and the division management of the area `Buddhism¿ at the Tibethaus Germany; www.tibethaus.com). She gives lectures and leads meditation sessions and day- and week-long retreats for different target groups teaching health professionals of palliative care and clinical psychology, yoga- and schoolteachers, medical and psychology undergraduate and graduate students.
Neha Bhatia is a Senior CBCT® Instructor with over a decade of work experience in the corporate and non-profit sector, she is deeply passionate about working with Children and Youth. Having worked in Training and Development and the Executive Search business in the past, Neha gets her energy from engaging with people and facilitating groups. In her previous assignment, Neha has engaged young change leaders to discover and chalk out their social impact journeys through Self Change. Neha currently leads Co-leads the Operations at SEE Learning India to support schools and organizations to implement SEE Learning in their context. She is a co-chair of UNESCO MGIEP’s Global Collective Working group for SEL. Neha holds a Post Graduate Degree in Commerce (Business Management) from University of Mumbai.
Contact: neha.bhatia@seelearningindia.com
Contact: valentin.conde@gaiamais.org
Geshe Dawa was born in Mexico City. He was a Buddhist monk for 15 years receiving full monastic vows (Gelong vows) from His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Geshe Dawa learned Tibetan language in the College for Higher Tibetan Studies SARAH in Dharamsala India and later traveled to South India to join Drepung Loseling Monastic University where after more than a decade of advanced studies, he graduated as the first Hispanic Geshe ever. During H.H. Dalai Lama´s visit to Mexico in 2013, Geshe Dawa collaborated as his assistant translator.
Contact: gld.liberacion@gmail.com
Chandra Chiara Ehm is a CBCT® teacher and doctoral researcher associated with the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes in Paris, France and the Ludwig-Maximilans Universität in Munich, Germany. In her research, she focuses on the relationship between theoretical models and their application in the context of Tibetan Buddhist monastic communities. Being familiar since her childhood with the Indo-Tibetan tradition, she has a keen interest in introducing CBCT® to students and young adults to equip them with tools for self-reflection and self-acceptance – to work responsibly for their wellbeing and ethical concerns. She lectures and leads meditation sessions and retreats for different target groups.
Contact: chandrachiaraehm@gmail.com
Javier González Gavira graduated with master's degree in public law from the University of Seville. He has been a former professor of Law UCA University (Algeciras Campus) HH.RR.'s and legal advisor at public institutions, schools, and NGOs for more than 30 years. He facilitates the SEE Learning® Program for high school teachers and is a founding member and Secretary of the Institute for Social, Emotional, and Ethical (SEE) Learning®, IE3S, (SEE Learning Spain).
Javier is a certified meditation guide and other contemplative practices for more than 10 years, and an FPMT registered teacher, which aims to combine the best of Western contemplative science with the ancient meditation practices of the Nalanda University tradition (India).
Contact: javierg@javierg.net
After a decade of studying compassion and wisdom with monks from the Buddhist monastery on Prince Edward Island (www.gebis.org), Michael Gaudet, when first exposed to the programs offered by Emory University, recognized the potential impact of both CBCT® and SEE Learning® for people on PEI and across Canada. With certification in both CBCT® training and SEE Learning® teacher training, Michael’s goal (along with others) is to faithfully promote and deliver these programs, and to support those who have engaged with them. Michael’s motivation is to help those who through their work experience a distancing of the heart and to help them learn skills for strengthening and maintaining their innate kindness. Honored to be associated with others who have taken up this rewarding challenge, Michael has the deepest respect for everyone.
Contact: michaelgaudet53@gmail.com
Vanashree Ghate is Founder, Director of the HEAL Foundation – a not-for-profit organization that conducts Arts-Based Therapy (ABT) & Mindfulness Courses aimed at healthcare professionals. She is a counselor, Arts-Based Therapist and ABT Educator, and holds a master’s in Marketing Studies from Mumbai University. Vanashree’s interest in Buddhist Studies began in early 2003. She is a Vipassana meditation practitioner, student of Venerable Mingyur Rinpoche and Geshe Dorji Damdul, and holds a PG Diploma in Buddhist Philosophy from Tibet House, India. Vanashree trained in Positive Neuroplasticity with Rick Hanson. She brings passion and insights from her decades of personal and professional experience in meditation and mindfulness practices, as well as work as a therapist.
Contact: vghate9@gmail.com
Ruchi Ghose is a certified CBCT® teacher and a SEE Learning® trainer. Her personal experiences over the last decade have nurtured within her a deep conviction that “we can learn to be resilient and happy” and of the need to teach children this skill in schools. Having experienced the transformative power of CBCT® in her own life, she wishes to make this available to as many people as possible in the microcosm she inhabits and feels deeply grateful to be able to do so. Ruchi is a Founding Director of Viridus Social Impact Solutions, a Bangalore-based organization working to support wellbeing. An alumnus of UCLA, Ruchi has over 3 decades of experience, particularly in education and the social sector. Having worked as a teacher and with the Azim Premji Foundation, much of it has been in design and educational change deeply rooted in schools.
Contact: ruchi.viridus@gmail.com
Gonzalez is a licensed psychologist from the University of Valencia, where he specializes in advances in research and treatment in psychopathology and health and sports psychology. In 2011¿2013, he participated in a research project titled ¿Benefits of a Support Program for Family Care-Givers of Patients at the End of Life." During that period, he was a member of partnerships between the University of Valencia and different clinical institutions in Spain. Currently, his work is focused on analyzing the psychological benefits of CBCT® for breast cancer survivors as part of his doctoral work. Gonzalez is also founding partner of Ment i Vida, where he combines clinical and research work.
Contact: info@mentivida.com
With extensive experience of working with children, adolescents and youth from low-income backgrounds, Ravi Gulati has been building and nurturing an extraordinary learning community of across-age learners through Manzil – a non-profit he co-founded with his mother and her friend 25 years ago. Manzil has directly touched the lives of maybe 20,000 young people, some of whom have over the years set up a number of social entrepreneurial and intrapreneurial initiatives. Beyond Manzil, Ravi is engaged with many youth who are passionately working on a gamut of social issues. He also co-founded three other non-profits: ComMutiny-The Youth Collective, Safe in India Foundation and Creatnet Education.
Contact: ravi@manzil.in
Suparna Gupta has been a child rights practitioner for the last two decades. She is the founder of Aangan, an Indian nonprofit that works on child rights. Suparna holds an MPA and fellowship from the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, as well as a fellowship from Ashoka for Social Entrepreneurship, and is most recently a teacher of CBCT® (Cognitively Based Compassion Training). She has focused on models/programs that build trust and dialogue between marginalized groups and local officials across the country, in order to address serious child harm - including trafficking, child marriage and hazardous labor. Her writing on these themes has been published by NDTV, India Development Review, The Wire, Harvard University South Asia Institute and The Washington Post.
Contact: suparna@aanganindia.org
Amaral de Souza (aka Lama Rinchen Khyenrab) graduated in agronomic engineering from UENP Brazil, with postgraduate work in biotechnology and agribusiness from Cornell University. He has a master's in institutional psychology from UFES Vitória . A fully ordained Buddhist monk, Amaral de Souza teaches philosophy, psychology, and Buddhist meditation at the Sakya Center, Brazil, and teaches CBCT® to postgraduates studying palliative care, integrative care, and other fields of medicine at different educational institutions in the area of health and education.
As a Buddhist philosopher and educator, Kim is a Research Professor at the Humanities Institute of Chonnam National Univ. He is also the SEE Learning facilitator and is implementing SEE Learning into the school environment.
He grew up in an East-Asia Buddhist background, his main field of study and research is Indian Middle-way school and formerly worked for ‘The Translation Institution for Tibetan Buddhist Canon’ which was sponsored by H. H. Dalai Lama at Dongguk University around 2014. Currently, He is exploring CRM (Community Resilience Mode) of the Trauma Resource Institute.
Contact: mtwisedom@gmail.com
Flávia is from São Paulo, Brazil. She graduated in nursing from the Federal University of São Paulo with a master in health sciences and human rights activism. She has worked with vulnerable populations in the fields of health, education, social and environmental for the past 20 years. She works at the Brazilian Institute for Community Studies and Support and develops research related to contemplative practices and social technologies. Flávia emphasizes meditative practices and compassion for everyone, anywhere.
Contact: flacrik@gmail.com
Vivek Kumar is the Co-Founder and CEO of Kshamtalaya Foundation, supporting communities to revive the spirit of learning in schools and outside. Core to their program is a curriculum that provides space for self-directed learning, systems thinking & mindfulness. Their Learning Festivals aim to make education a community driven agenda. Vivek replicated the Gandhi Fellowship in Uganda and is interested in mindfulness, systems thinking and theatre. He is an Engineer, a graduate of Tata Institute of Social Sciences, and alumnus of Gandhi Fellowship. Vivek has been recipient of Wipro Founder's Fellowship, Changeloom Fellowship, Acumen Fellow and Gratitude Fellow for the year 2020. He is a certified CBCT® instructor from Udaipur, India.
Contact: vivek@kshamtalaya.org
Elisa Victoria Aquino Laterza had completed the SEE Learning® program at Emory University and decided to go even deeper into the CBCT® Teacher Certification program. Born and raised in South America, educated at London School of Economics (UK) and Belgium, traveled extensively around the world, currently living in Venice, Italy where she is developing the Compassion Boats initiatives. EVAL is a lawyer specialized in international relations, former career diplomat, and corporate business development manager. Now, she is working with the international nonprofit sectors in the arts/cultural, human rights, and higher education fields. She offers CBCT® in English, Spanish, Italian, and French.
Contact: info@compassionboats.com
Hana Levine is an all-faith Spiritual Care Provider (SCP-C) practicing both in person and virtually via zoom. Hana incorporates CBCT® into her private practice with clients facing various life challenges, including those suffering complex grief following the sudden traumatic loss of a close relative. She has found CBCT® to be an appropriate clinical resource, as well as an effective tool for self-care. Her vision is to incorporate CBCT® at the training level for care providers. Currently, Hana is offering CBCT® as a practice that precludes empathy-fatigue, especially during the current world health crisis.
Contact: hlevine@012.net.il
Enkhsaruul is currently a medical student at the Mongolian National University of Medical Sciences (MNUMS). He is interested in specializing in neurology. As the first certified CBCT® instructor in Mongolia, Enkhsaruul hopes to cultivate compassion for the sake of his profession as a doctor. Additionally, he wishes to start the spread of CBCT® to the communities of Mongolia and to assist internationally.
Contact: lenkhsaruul@gmail.com
Certified CBCT® teacher by Emory University, Atlanta GA. International football coach at Katwijk Netherlands, Ayamonte, Spain, and Brazilian football clubs, where mind training could be successfully applied. Born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1977, Graduated in Computer Science at Universidade Católica de Pernambuco, post graduated in Physical Education. Specialist in mind training and skills development, The understanding of awareness, heedfulness, mindfulness, and emotional control can make a real difference in our life in this so challenging world.
Contact: samprasoctavian@gmail.com
Reshma Piramal is a Senior CBCT® Instructor and co-heads operations at SEE Learning India. SEE Learning is Emory University’s K-12 education program that promotes Social, Emotional and Ethical Learning in educators and their students. She is committed to fostering a compassionate culture in schools through training of teachers and their students. Reshma is a trained Developmental Speech and Language Pathologist. She cochairs UNESCO MGIEP’s Global Working Committee for SEL.
Contact: reshma.piramal@seelearningindia.com
Shashi Nair is a certified CBCT® instructor and a seeker, practitioner, and teacher in inward journeys of wellbeing, and outward journeys of complex systemic change. Blessed with the good fortune to experience deep states of wellbeing and appreciating the struggles of so many adults, youth, and children to move to such states, he feels deeply compelled to work in this area. Since 1996, when his journey into contemplative practices began, Shashi has explored Siddha Samadhi Yoga and Vipassana, before settling on CBCT® as his practice of choice. He is a Founding Director of Viridus Social Impact Solutions and co-initiator of the Wellbeing Movement. An alumnus of IIT Madras and IIM Bangalore, Shashi has 27 years of corporate experience and over 15 years of experience in the social sector, particularly school education systems, having worked in Azim Premji Foundation and Azim Premji University.
Contact: shashi.viridus@gmail.com
Hugo Téllez Sánchez has been a businessman and Buddhist practitioner for more than 10 years, a student of Venerable Geshe Sherab Choephel since 2014 and administrative collaborator at the Drepung Loseling Mexico Monastery since 2018. During these years as a student of Venerable Geshe Sherab Choephel, he has developed a continuous practice in Mindfulness, Analytical Meditation and the central themes of study of Tibetan Buddhism. He is part of the teaching staff of Drepung Loseling Mexico teaching secular mental training courses based on the Tibetan Buddhist tradition of love and compassion. He is a founding partner of the "SociHabilidad" Project aimed at education in values and management of emotions. He completed his CBCT teacher certification in 2023.
Contact: hutscbct@gmail.com
Pooja Singh is a founding member and Design Team Lead at the Kshamtalaya Foundation, an organization based in Udaipur Rajasthan, India. She holds a bachelor’s degree in mass communication. Pooja completed her Gandhi Fellowship, working for the principal leadership program in five schools of Gujarat after which she taught at the Riverside school, Ahmedabad, where she learned the importance of child centric pedagogy and theory of multiple intelligences in action. Pooja has more than seven years of experience working in the development sector and is also a trained Therapeutic Movement Facilitator from Creative Movement Therapy Association of India (CMTAI) and UNESCO. At Kshamtalaya, she has been working as a SEE Learning® (Social, Emotional, Ethical Learning) practitioner and facilitator since 2019, and acquired certification as a CBCT® instructor in 2021.
Contact: pooja@kshamtalaya.org
Bruno Vichi is a certified CBCT® teacher from São Paulo, Brazil, and graduated with degrees in both law and psychoanalysis. During the past 20 years, he has worked as a lawyer, mediator, and therapist. Previously a student of Tibetan language and Buddhist philosophy at the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives in Dharamsala, India, he is one of the first Brazilians to complete a traditional three-year-long retreat held at Kagyu Pende Gyamtso in Brasilia, Brazil.
Contact: brunovichi@gmail.com
Francisco J. Villalón L. MD. MBA is a physician, researcher, president of Ilusioname Fundación in Chile, and an academic at Diego Portales University. He is researching wellness and contemplative sciences to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions based on compassion and mindfulness in physicians and university students. Francisco carries out compassion and mindfulness programs for the community, as well as for physicians in conjunction with the Chilean Medical College.
Contact: villalon.fj@gmail.com
Ofer Yifrach is a Professor of Molecular Neuroscience and Biophysics and a member of an interdisciplinary center for brain sciences at Ben-Gurion University in Israel. His lab focuses on understanding the molecular basis for electrical signaling in the nervous system. He leads a learning and practicing mindfulness community at his university, teaches CBCT® in the community and currently explores the possibility of implementing CBCT® in the university setup, with the aim of supporting scientists’ wellbeing and scientific excellence. Ofer sees CBCT®, with its roots in modern science and ancient Eastern wisdom, as a system of contemplative inquiry exercises that allows one to examine the effects and consequences of mindfulness for “self” and for the “other” in his/her own world.
Contact: ofery@bgu.ac.il
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