Our Teachers

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 meditation to women soon thereafter, as there were no female teachers in her community at that time. She co-authored A Woman’s Guide to Spiritual Renewal (HarperOne,1994), a book for which she interviewed women about their spiritual experiences. She completed two intensive teacher trainings, one in Vipassana with Jacqueline Mandell and the other in Recollective Awareness Meditation with Jason Siff. Nelly is a psychotherapist in private practice, integrating Buddhist psychology into her clinical orientation and has been teaching continuing education workshops for mental health professionals for about twenty-five years. Nelly and Linda Modaro of Sati Sangha wrote a book on Reflective Meditation titled “Reflective Meditation: Cultivating Curiosity and Kindness in the Buddha’s Company” Precocity Press, 2023

Susie Barrios, LCSW, has a long career as a social work educator, a trainer for mental health professionals and an individual and family therapist. She has been a meditator with Pine Street Sangha since 2014, when she joined a meditation group for therapists and uses meditation both in her social work practice and for self-care. She has continued her Reflective Meditationtraining and practice through the Teacher Training Program and trainings for other helping professionals

Contact Susie: susiebarrios@gmail.com

Katrina Gould, LCSW has been in private practice for over 25 years where she uses a somatic approach with couples and people with trauma. She worked before that with at-risk children and families. A Buddhist meditation practice has supported and deepened her life for most of her adulthood. She turned to Reflective Meditation with Nelly Kaufer in 2013 and was part of a meditation group for therapists for a number of years. She joined the Teacher Training program in the fall of 2018 when she began assisting at the ethics training for mental health professionals at Pine Street Sangha.

Contact Katrina: Katrina.Gould.LCSW@gmail.com

Arah Gould, LPC, is a psychotherapist in private practice and works with adoptive and foster families at a local non-profit. A longtime meditator and student of Buddhism and Reflective Meditation, she has been studying under the mentorship of lead teacher Nelly Kaufer at Pine Street Sangha for over a decade, with a special focus on the intersection of meditation and psychotherapy practice. Arah has a graduate degree in counseling psychology and has been in the psychotherapy field since 2004.  She is a mother of two teens, who keep her humble and continually learning. She is passionate about living life with greater awareness, compassion, and creativity—qualities that her reflective meditation practice help her cultivate and renew.

Contact Arah: arah@arahgould.com