Debra was first introduced to meditation in college. Over subsequent decades, she experimented with a variety of eastern meditation practices, living at a yoga ashram, and attending Vipassana retreats. Reflective Meditation is the first meditation practice to really stick in a meaningful way. Debra is retired and happily spends time in her pottery studio. She…
Karen Teipel (KT) Waters, M.A., Ed.D. has worked for many years as a counselor in various mental health, social service, and educational settings. Kt has explored meditation, along with other paths of personal and spiritual growth, throughout her life/career. She found a home with Reflective Meditation where she continues this exploration and development that nurtures her…
Jane is currently retired. She started her career working in the field of affordable housing in Boston, Massachusetts, working for one of the original large owners of affordable housing. She moved back to her hometown of Portland in 1975 and continued her interest in providing much-needed housing in North and Northeast Portland. Jane became committed…
Charlotte August is grateful to have found a home with Reflective Meditation practice after seeking a resonant sangha and practice for decades. She was delighted to discover Pine Street Sangha and a deep resonance with Reflective Meditation and teacher, Nelly Kaufer, in late 2018 — where journaling is welcome and curiosity flourishes. Aside from serving as a…
Pam Crow, LCSW, is a psychotherapist in private practice and a published poet. She has been a meditator with the Pine Street Sangha since 2005, using meditation both in her therapy work and as a practice of self-care. Pam has taught workshops both locally and nationally for the past 30 years to mental health professionals.…
Moline has been practicing Reflective Meditation since 2009. In 2019, she began providing administrative support to the sangha, which has evolved into a position as the General Manager. Additionally, she teaches yoga and TRE through her studio, Harmony Yoga in NE Portland. She brings her passion for Body/Mind modalities and love of community to the…
Penny Ruff is a mother and grandmother, a social justice activist, a labor and community organizer and an artist. She has lived, labored and loved in Portland, Oregon for longer than she can claim to have done anywhere else. Drawn to meditation and the Dharma since early adulthood, Penny had become certain she could not…
Nelly Kaufer, LPC is the founder and lead teacher at Pine Street Sangha. Nelly was introduced to Vipassana (Mindfulness) meditation in 1978 on retreats taught by Ruth Denison and began teaching women meditation soon thereafter, as there were no female teachers in her community at that time. She co-authored A Woman’s Guide to Spiritual Renewal…
Generosity of spirit is something I admire in the people around me. Openness, creativity and bright energy seem to accompany those individuals who embody generosity. Some people have difficulty being generous with their money because they believe personal finances are separate from their life energy. This belief intrigues me … how can anything be separate…
Pam Crow is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who works in a private practice and as a consultant to the CARES NW program in Portland. Pam met Nelly Kaufer in 2005 when both attended a conference on Buddhism and Psychotherapy and she has been studying with Nelly ever since. Writing poems, making quilts and traveling are…