Board and Staff
Email addresses and locations for our board and staff may be found on our contact page
Board of Directors
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Sharifin Gardiner (England)
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Lawrence Fryer (Germany) Lawrence Fryer has a mathematical background and works in the fields of industrial organization and computer applications. He has been involved in Susila Dharma for the last ten years, as a partner for projects in India and as treasurer of Susila Dharma Germany. Lawrence hopes to make a positive contribution by helping SDI strengthen its material basis to realize greater support for the network. |
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Lusana Blond (USA) Lusana Blond brings a background in organizational sociology and cultural anthropology to the board, along with her knowledge of international projects through her husband’s work with the World Bank. She is a former Susila Dharma USA Chair, and is a trustee of the L & D Blond Charitable Trust. |
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Arnaud DeLune (France)
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Lawrence Leetz (Netherlands) Lawrence is qualified as a teacher but is retired now. He has his degree in Spanish and loves to speak other languages. He has been involved with SICA and has now been doing SD work for more than 15 years. His SD activities are mainly focused in Argentina, Suriname and Colombia. Lawrence hopes to be a good communicator between SDI and projects. He hopes to be one of the catalysts in helping SD projects to eventually become self-sustaining. |
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Laura Lesley (England)
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Paloma de la Viña (Spain)
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Mardijah Simpson (Australia) Mardijah Simpson served as Australia’s Subud Brotherhood International Foundation representative (the predecessor to SDIA) encouraging local members to initiate social projects and support others in developing countries. She has worked in Sydney with Aboriginal people, migrants and refugees, youth, homeless and the aged. Now she is involved in cultural and environmental projects. Mardijah hopes to work closely with national Susila Dharma co-coordinators (and encourage more national committees in Asia to have Susila Dharma co-coordinators) to collaborate in developing even more effective information, sponsorship and support networks between members and projects. |
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Uraida Vacacela (Ecuador) Uraida
was born in Quito Ecuador. One of my dreams was to create a new kind
of school for native and peasant communities in my country. I found
out about Subud in 1985 while working in Pestalozzi School, where I met
Pedro. One of his dreams was to create a fair and cultural school for
his native community. We got married and in 1986 started Inka Samana,
an active, alternative, trilingual (Spanish, Kichwa and English) school
in Saraguro. Since that year we have studied and worked together. We
got a teaching major in 1992; a kichwa linguistic major in 1995; a
pedagogy major in l998. Then I got an English teacher major in 2003
and studied for a History of Education PhD in Salamanca Spain from 2004
to 2006 - I am now writing my thesis. We created Inka Samana’s
community-participative curriculum and also work with other schools
participative curriculum as consultants. Inka Samana has influenced
the National Native Education Direction in order to offer a
participative curriculum for native communities. One year after Pedro,
I became a Subud member in Amanecer during 1993 World Congress we
joined Susila Dharma as members with our project. |
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Osanna Vaughn (Germany) World Subud Association ChairladySpeaking four languages, Osanna is an avid communicator and actively encourages humanitarian service activities and projects. She hopes to support SDI in helping people develop a personal expression of charity and caring. |
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Haris Wolfgang (United States)
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Staff
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Virginia Thomas (Montréal, Canada)
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Rosanna Hille (Vancouver, Canada)
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Cassidy Jake Sterling (Boston, USA) In the 1960s Cassidy dropped out of high-school for a while before winding up in an experimental school in Vermont that concentrated on agriculture and environmentalism. In college, he trained as a classical singer and did graduate work at the Kodály School of Musical Training, where, as a student of Zoltán Kodály's Hungarian philosophy of music, he studied the relationship between acquisition of language and music. In the 70s and 80s he worked as a teacher and as a performer. However, in the mid-80's he began to concentrate more and more on environmentalism and economics. He went back to school and got a degree in environmental economics during the 1990s. Cassidy has worked in a number of non-profit organizations and picked up his skills in writing, editing, graphic design, desktop publishing, web mastering, and database design "by mistake." |
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Samuel Chapleau (Montréal, Canada)
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Solen Lees Gratiet (Brittany, France)
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Sharifin
Gardiner worked as a Rural Development Consultant in Africa, Asia and
the former Soviet Union with a special interest in micro credit. He has
been involved in Susila Dharma work for over 30 years. During his term
as chairman he hopes to oversee the expansion and strengthening the SDI
network, foster connections with entrepreneurs, health professionals,
and creative people of all disciplines and engage more young people in
humanitarian service work. By tapping into a diverse pool of talent,
SDI can combine professional excellence and sensitivity with a holistic
approach to caring for fellow human beings in accordance with inner
guidance.
Arnaud Delune graduated as
an Aerospace Engineer. After 25 years in the industry, he is now
lecturing in Energetics as well as advising in energy saving. He is
involved in higher technological education and very much interested in
training and empowerment programs. His Susila Dharma activities are
mainly focused on Africa, with the hope that it will be possible to
find a harmonious and integrated way to foster the African people's
efforts towards self-development as individuals and communities.
Laura
worked as a secretary before and after her marriage to Samuel Lesley.
In 1966 she was opened in Subud in Nantwich, Cheshire. She became a
helper in the Worthing Group. In 1987 she started a 4 year B.Ed. degree
course and qualified as a teacher. From 1991-1996 she taught in the
Special Needs Dept. of a large rural comprehensive school. After
retirement she became secretary to the Susila Dharma (Britain) Board
and subsequently joined the Board as a Trustee. Laura became Chair of
SD(Britain) at the National Congress in August 2004.
Paloma de la Viña began
working with SDI in 1989 when Varindra Vittachi (World Subud
Association) asked her to be the link between SDI, Subud International
Cultural Association, and himself. She has collaborated for many years
with the "Padre Garralda Foundation" (Madrid) in funding accommodations
for mothers in prison with small children. She continues as Susila
Dharma coordinator in Spain. Her new role will consist in acting as the
link between the SDI board and Susila Dharma projects in Latin America.
Uraida
was born in Quito Ecuador. One of my dreams was to create a new kind
of school for native and peasant communities in my country. I found
out about Subud in 1985 while working in Pestalozzi School, where I met
Pedro. One of his dreams was to create a fair and cultural school for
his native community. We got married and in 1986 started Inka Samana,
an active, alternative, trilingual (Spanish, Kichwa and English) school
in Saraguro. Since that year we have studied and worked together. We
got a teaching major in 1992; a kichwa linguistic major in 1995; a
pedagogy major in l998. Then I got an English teacher major in 2003
and studied for a History of Education PhD in Salamanca Spain from 2004
to 2006 - I am now writing my thesis. We created Inka Samana’s
community-participative curriculum and also work with other schools
participative curriculum as consultants. Inka Samana has influenced
the National Native Education Direction in order to offer a
participative curriculum for native communities. One year after Pedro,
I became a Subud member in Amanecer during 1993 World Congress we
joined Susila Dharma as members with our project.
World Subud Association Chairlady
Haris
Wolfgang has served for more than 35 years fulfilling numerous
positions on local, regional, and national committees for non-profits,
community development and caring services. With two decades of
experience as a Commercial and Residential Real Estate Broker, his
expertise includes business experience in design, marketing and
strategic planning/promotion on behalf of national corporations. On
the SD USA Board, he has served as liaison for SD projects Mithra
Foundation, Anisha, International Almoners, and Quest Integrative
Health Center (Project Quest)
Virginia was appointed
Executive Director in January 2007. Virginia is a Socio-Economist,
Researcher, Evaluator, Trainer, Mediator, Consultant specialising in
organisational management; human rights and gender
analysis/mainstreaming, democratic development and good governance;
violence prevention; program evaluation and performance monitoring;
program planning; special interest in women’s, children’s and minority
rights.
Rosanna was appointed SDIA
communications coordinator and continuity adviser in 2007. She has
worked with Susila Dharma for 20 years, first in Canada and
internationally as Chair (1993-2001) and Executive Director
(1993-2005). Rosanna is an manager, educator, writer, editor, community
developer, trainer and facilitator specializing in non-profit and
co-operative organizations. Rosanna has a special interesting in
capacity development strategies, evaluation and intercultural
communications and co-operation.
Samuel is the bookkeeper for
SDIA and deals with all financial transactions. Samuel also volunteers
as a English French translator.
Solen was appointed as UN connections, volunteer and translations coordinator in 2008. With a background in linguistic work (teaching and translating), she became interested in international development while living and travelling in Latin America and Africa. Solen has worked with humanitarian and environmental associations and has been on the board of Susila Dharma France since 2001 where she looks after communications and liaising with projects in South America. She currently lives in rural Brittany by the sea with her husband, two children and some cows.