Youssef Mahmoud is a Tunisian diplomat, academic, and international peacebuilding expert with over three decades of experience in United Nations peace operations and policy reform. He is known for advancing a people-centered and preventive approach to peacebuilding, emphasizing sustainable peace through inclusion, local ownership, and institutional resilience.

During his UN career, Mahmoud served as United Nations Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator in Cambodia and Guyana, and held senior leadership roles in peace operations, including Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of MINURCAT in Chad and the Central African Republic, as well as Executive Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of BINUB in Burundi. At UN Headquarters, he served as Director in the Department of Political Affairs and Head of the Office of the Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, contributing to global political strategy and conflict response.

He played a key role in major UN reform processes, including the High-Level Independent Panel on Peace Operations (HIPPO) and the global study on UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security. In 2019, he led an independent strategic review of the UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), focusing on improving effectiveness and alignment with local realities.

He currently serves as Senior Adviser Emeritus at the International Peace Institute in New York and Visiting Professor at the African Leadership Centre, King’s College London, where he supports research, mentoring, and leadership development in peacebuilding and governance.

Michael N. Nagler is an American scholar, peace activist, meditation practitioner, and one of the leading contemporary teachers of nonviolence. He is Professor Emeritus of Classics and Comparative Literature at UC, Berkeley, where he co-founded the Peace and Conflict Studies Program in which he taught the immensely popular nonviolence course that was webcast in its entirety as well as PACS 90, “Meditation” and a sophomore seminar called “Why Are We Here? Great Writing on the Meaning of Life” for fifteen years. 

For more than five decades, Nagler has dedicated his life to studying and teaching the philosophy and practice of nonviolence inspired by Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. He is the founder and president of the Metta Center for Nonviolence, which promotes nonviolent education and social transformation.

He is the author of numerous influential books, including “The Search for a Nonviolent Future” (2001), which received a 2002 American Book Award and has been translated into Korean, Arabic, Italian, and other languages, “Our Spiritual Crisis: Recovering Human Wisdom in a Time of Violence” (2005) and “The Nonviolence Handbook” (2014); “The Third Harmony: Nonviolence and the New Story of Human Nature” (2020). “The Upanishads” (with Sri Eknath Easwaran, 1987), and other books as well as many articles on peace and spirituality. He is also the recipient of the 2007 Jamnalal Bajaj International Award for promoting Gandhian values outside India. 

Dr. Debashish Banerji is a scholar of Integral Yoga, Indian philosophy, psychology, and art history. He currently serves as the Haridas Chaudhuri Professor of Indian Philosophies and Culture and Doshi Professor of Asian Art at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS), San Francisco, where he is also associated with the East-West Psychology Department. 

Through his extensive writings and lectures, he bridges ancient wisdom and modern thought, revealing how the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita, the Upanishads, and other spiritual traditions offer profound insights into human unity and spiritual evolution. His work has contributed significantly to the dialogue between Eastern wisdom and contemporary approaches to education, culture, and global transformation.

Dr. Fred Luskin is a psychologist, author, and educator specializing in forgiveness research, positive psychology, and stress reduction. He is a Senior Consultant in Health Promotion at Stanford University and the Director of the Stanford Forgiveness Projects, where he has developed evidence-based programs on forgiveness, emotional healing, and resilience. His work integrates psychological science with practical tools that help individuals reduce suffering, release resentment, and cultivate inner peace.

He is the author of “Forgive for Good” and “Forgive for Love Has No Limits”, in which he presents forgiveness as a learnable skill that supports emotional wellbeing, healthier relationships, and reduced stress. Through workshops, lectures, and training programs delivered internationally, Dr. Luskin teaches practical methods for transforming emotional patterns and developing compassion, gratitude, and psychological flexibility. His approach bridges clinical psychology with contemplative and mindfulness-based practices, making his work widely used in wellness, education, and peacebuilding contexts. He is also on the faculty of SYHET – Sivananda Yoga Health Educator Training.

Silvia Nakkach, MA, MMT (Saraswati Devi), is a Grammy-nominated musician and a renowned vocal artist. She is a former clinical psychologist, an author, a world-wide sound and music educator, and a Nada Yoga scholar and yogini. She is a pioneer in the field of sound and music therapies, and an academic consultant and the creator of many certificate programs on Sound, Voice, and Music in the Healing Arts across the world. A leading voice in the field of music in consciousness and shamanic practices. She has released 16 CD-Albums. She is the director and founder of the international Vox Mundi School of the Voice, and among other books, Silvithe author of Free Your Voice. voxmundiproject.com

Acharya of the West Coast (USA) and of Vietnam, Japan, China, and Taiwan
Swami Sitaramananda is a senior teacher in the International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres and a direct disciple of Swami Vishnudevananda. Originally from Vietnam, she studied and worked in Canada before joining the Sivananda organization in the early 1980s. She received sannyasa initiation in 1985 in the Saraswati order and was later appointed as an acharya. She is currently Acharya for the USA West Coast and East and Southeast Asia.
She has taught yoga, meditation, and Vedanta philosophy for more than 40 years. Her teaching work has included Yoga Teacher Training Courses, meditation retreats, and study programs in North America, Europe, India, and Asia. Swami Sitaramananda has served for many years as director of the Sivananda Ashram Yoga Farm in California and has led the development of Sivananda Yoga Ashram & Centers in Vietnam and other parts of Asia. Since 2015, she has been a member of the Executive Board of the International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres. She is based between the Yoga Farm in California and the Sivananda Yoga Resort and Training Center in Vietnam.
She is the founder and principal teacher of the Sivananda Yoga Health Educator Training (SYHET), a yoga therapy training program accredited by the International Association of Yoga Therapists.
She is the author of many books translated into many languages: “Essentials of Yoga Practice and Philosophy”, “Learning Selfless Love”, “The answer lies within”, “Guru’s Grace”, “Karma Yoga Manual”, “Positive Thinking Manual”, “Meditation Manual”, “Sadhana for Self Healing” ,”Wisdom from the Self – 71 quotes cards”.

Swami Sankarananda is a simple pilgrim. Driven by a longing for something real and enduring, he left behind his former self-centered life and traveled to India. Following Divine guidance, he returned in 2013 and embarked on a pilgrimage of more than 7,000 miles, including a coast-to-coast crossing of the United States, which he completed in early 2016. Carrying no money and relying entirely on faith and grace, Swami Sankarananda discovered beyond a shadow of doubt that peace is here and now—not something to be found in the external world, but the very nature of our own Self.

Walking in the footsteps of Peace Pilgrim and grounded in the lineage of Swami Sivananda, Swamiji’s teachings are not about adhering to rigid dogma, but about actionable steps you can take—right now—to transform stress into equanimity and fear into faith. Swami Sankarananda founded the Divine Grace Yoga to help guide all he encounters toward real and lasting peace. Through satsangs, workshops, and “Be Still and Know” silent retreats, he shares the practical application of Yoga in daily living, offering tools to help quiet the mental chatter and touch the profound stillness that resides at the core.

Swami Jnaneswariananda is the current Acharya of Sivananda Ashram Yoga Ranch in Woodbourne, New York & of Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Center New York. She is senior teacher of Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Center since 1995. She has been director of centers and ashrams in Canada and Italy. She teaches Hatha Yoga, Meditation, Anatomy and Vedanta at the Teacher Training Courses in North America, Italy and India. Swami Jnaneswariananda took the vows of Sannyas in 2001. Her understanding of the impact of stress and methods for building stress resilience is brilliant.

Swami Sivasankariananda is the current director of the Los Angeles Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Center and is a member of the Board of Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Center California. She completed her TTC at the Yoga Farm in 1997 and ATTC there in 2008. Swamiji has been on yatra in north and south India and Mount Kailas. She loves to teach and is particularly fond of the Bhakti Yoga practices. She took sannyas in 2017 and is a certified yoga therapist, specializing in chronic pain care. She is on the faculty of the Sivananda Institute of Health & Yoga (SIHY) and a teacher in the Sivananda Yoga Health Educator Training program. She served as director of the San Francisco Center from 2015 to 2019.

Sarahjoy Marsh, MA, E-RYT 500, C-IAYT is a yoga teacher, yoga therapist, and author with extensive training in yoga, counseling psychology, and interpersonal neurobiology. With over 30 years of yogic study and 25+ years of teaching experience, she integrates classical yoga with Western psychology, mental health counseling, neuroscience, kinesiology, and body-based therapeutic approaches.
She is the founder of Amrita Yoga, a therapeutic vinyasa system that combines yoga philosophy, Ayurveda, pranayama, mindfulness, physical therapy principles, and modern neuroscience. Sarahjoy has developed comprehensive training programs including 200-hour, 300-hour, and 800-hour yoga therapy certifications, and pioneered the first Yoga Alliance–certified teacher training program conducted in a U.S. prison.

She is the founder of Living Yoga and the DAYA Foundation, organizations dedicated to bringing trauma-informed yoga, mindfulness, and recovery tools into prisons and underserved communities, as well as supporting individuals affected by addiction, trauma, chronic illness, and mental health challenges. Through her Yoga for Recovery methodology (presented in her book Hunger, Hope & Healing), she supports people in restoring self-worth, stability, and the capacity to thrive.

Lila Lolling is a Certified Yoga Therapist, 800-hour certification accredited by the International Association of Yoga Therapy (IAYT). E-RYT500 – Senior Sivananda Yoga Teacher, and Continuing Education Provider YACEP. She is on the faculty of Sivananda Yoga Health Educator Training. Founder of the DeafYoga Foundation and a speaker at the United Nations International Day of Yoga on the theme of Yoga for Peace, Lila has dedicated her life to making yoga accessible and relevant to modern seekers. She is author of “Walking the Ancient Path of Yoga”, a training manual for YTT’s.

Her teachings emphasize the sacred relationship between human consciousness and the natural world, inviting students to rediscover reverence, interconnectedness, and ecological responsibility. Through the lens of yoga philosophy and emerging insights into mind-body integration, she guides individuals toward greater harmony with themselves, their communities, and the living Earth. She invites students to experience nature not as separate from human life, but as an extension of it, fostering ecological sensitivity and inner awareness. Her work integrates scientific understanding with contemplative inquiry, encouraging a more holistic perception of life.

Dr. Ramkumar is an experienced Ayurvedic physician and one of the founding visionaries and Medical Directors of Vaidyagrama Ayurveda Healing Village in Coimbatore, India. He is part of a group of traditional Vaidyas dedicated to reviving authentic Ayurveda through a living, eco-conscious, and spiritually rooted healing model.
Vaidyagrama is widely recognized as a “living Ayurveda village,” designed to integrate classical Ayurvedic medicine, sustainable living, ecological responsibility, and spiritual practice into a unified healing environment. Within this system, Dr. Ramkumar contributes to both clinical leadership and philosophical direction, emphasizing Ayurveda not only as a medical system but as a way of life aligned with nature, dharma, and holistic well-being.
His teaching emphasizes the eternal Ayurvedic vision that true healing arises when the individual is restored to equilibrium on all levels—physical, mental, environmental, and spiritual. Through his lectures, training programs, and international workshops, he shares this wisdom with students and practitioners across the Americas, Africa, Europe, Australia, and Asia, inspiring a deeper understanding of health as happiness, contentment, and inner harmony, and life itself as a sacred journey toward wholeness.

Mary Thompson is a world-class Ayurvedic teacher, practitioner, and mentor, recognized as one of the early pioneers of Ayurveda education in the United States. With over two decades of teaching experience, she is known for her heart-centered approach in guiding students and practitioners worldwide as they step into their professional paths in Ayurveda. She is an Ayurvedic Practitioner, Certified Clinical Ayurvedic Specialist, and Panchakarma Specialist, and serves as a senior teacher at the California College of Ayurveda, from which she graduated in 1997 as part of its first graduating class. She is also a founding board member and former Secretary of the California Association of Ayurvedic Medicine (CAAM). She is also part of the faculty of SYHET, since its inception for 10 years.
Mary further expanded her clinical and philosophical foundation through studies in India at the International Academy of Ayurveda in 1999, where she engaged in experiential learning across Ayurvedic schools, clinics, and hospitals. In recognition of her contribution to Ayurvedic education, she received the Charaka Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2008 and was honored with the title “Ayurvedacharya.” Today, she continues to teach internationally, supporting students with compassion and clarity, and transmitting Ayurveda as a practical and transformative path of balance, healing, and conscious living.

Dr. OmPrakash is an Ayurvedic physician from Thanjavur, South India, who graduated from Coimbatore Ayurveda College in 2009. He further specialized in Clinical Orientation at FRLHT, Bengaluru, and studied Sanskrit at Sanskrita Bharati, Tamil Nadu. After seven years of clinical practice at Vaidyagrama Ayurveda and serving as Assistant Medical Officer at an Ayurveda Dispensary near Kanyakumari, he returned to Vaidyagrama in 2023 as a physician and faculty member. His heart beats for the healing power of herbs, as evidenced by his extensive field surveys and studies around Kanyakumari from 2016 to 2023. Beyond his professional pursuits, Dr. OmPrakash finds solace and rejuvenation in the embrace of nature. He is an avid nature walker and a passionate advocate of forest bathing, recognizing the profound impact of nature on holistic well-being. Dr. OmPrakash is a maestro when it comes to Skin and Allergy specialties, bringing a unique blend of expertise and compassion to every patient.

Swami Narayanananda is a senior teacher in the International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres. Born in London, England, he joined the Sivananda organization in 1999.
He received sannyasa initiation in 2009 in the Saraswati order. His teaching includes Hatha Yoga, pranayama, meditation, Vedanta philosophy, chanting, and classical yoga scriptures. He also teaches communication skills informed by Nonviolent Communication. He has served in several Sivananda centers and ashrams in North America, including the Sivananda Ashram Yoga Farm in California, the Sivananda Ashram Yoga Ranch in the Catskills, New York, the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Center in New York City, and the Chicago Sivananda Yoga Center. Since its establishment in 2017, Swami Narayanananda has served as director of the Sivananda Yoga Resort and Training Center in Vietnam. He regularly teaches in Sivananda Yoga Teacher Training Courses in Vietnam and has also taught in courses in China, while also teaching programs in South Korea and Japan.

Di Strachan is the award-winning consultant, coach and trainer and the owner and director of Positive Futures, and one of the guides for the 2021 Women’s Leadership Circles! She strengthens businesses, organizations, communities, and individuals through effective communication, visionary planning, leadership coaching, and training. She leads collaboratively to build sustainable resources, economies, and positive futures. For the past 25 years, Di has provided county, state, and national workshops, along with marketing and development services. She has helped people to lead more effectively in their own lives and for others. Her realms of expertise include; leadership development, stewardship and resource management, marketing, meeting facilitation, management training, communications, and strategic media relations.

Swami Adiparashaktiananda took sannyas in 2017. He is a dedicated sadhaka, practitioner, and teacher. He graduated from Sivananda Yoga Teacher Training Course (TTC) in 2009 at the Sivananda Yoga Farm in Grass Valley, CA. He is the current assistant director of Sivananda Ashram Yoga Farm and leads daily meditation & satsang when he is at the ashram. He has been traveling yearly to Vietnam as Swami Sitaramananda’s assistant and has been teaching the Hatha Yoga classes for the TTC. He has also been traveling to China and Japan to help spread classical yoga knowledge. As a firm believer in the therapeutic benefits of yoga asana, pranayama, and meditation, Swami Adiparashakti is a calm Peace teacher & radiates joy and enthusiasm. He teaches a number of courses including Pranayama Intensive, Hatha Yoga Sadhana, Bhagavad Gita, and Sadhana Intensive. At the Yoga Farm he helps to maintain the garden, the orchard and the grounds as well as the website and marketing.

Assistant Director of the Sivananda Yoga Resort & Training Center, Đà Lạt, Vietnam. A devoted yogini with more than 10 years of yoga practice and teaching experience. She teaches at Sivananda Teacher Training Courses in Vietnam.

Chanda Hinton is an advocate and educator specializing in accessible and adaptive yoga for individuals of all abilities. Her work is deeply rooted in inclusivity, compassion, and the belief that yoga is a universal practice that can be adapted to every body and every condition. Drawing from her own lived experience with disability, she has become a leading voice in creating safe, empowering, and trauma-sensitive yoga environments. She trains teachers and communities to understand movement, breath, and awareness in ways that honor individual needs. Her teaching reflects the essence of yoga as union—removing barriers between body, mind, and spirit—and opening pathways for dignity, self-acceptance, and embodied well-being.

Bidyut “B.K.” Bose, PhD, is founder and executive director of Niroga Institute, a nonprofit organization that brings Transformative Life Skills—yoga, breathing techniques, and meditation—to students, vulnerable youth, cancer survivors, seniors, and people battling addiction.
Bidyut “B.K.” Bose earned a doctorate degree in computer science from University of California, Berkeley, and spent many years in research and development in Silicon Valley. He has multiple patents to his credit, and has presented at international conferences and at universities around the world. As a child, he learned yoga and meditation from his father, and later studied with monks in the Himalayas. Inspired by the twin ideals of self-realization and selfless service, he founded Niroga Institute in 2005, and his research interests are now centered on the scientific application of Transformative Life Skills and developing cost-effective architectures for lasting social transformation.

Srinivasan (Mark Ashley) has been a dedicated practitioner and educator in the yoga tradition since 1978. A direct disciple of Swami Vishnudevananda, he has served as a senior Sivananda Yoga Vedanta teacher and has been a lead Yoga Teacher Trainer since 1982, instructing on all aspects of the yogic path.
Srinivasan brings both practical and scholarly insight into the Hindu scriptures, with a particular focus on the Bhagavad Gita and the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. His teaching expertise spans the full breadth of the tradition, including:
● Philosophy & Practice: Vedanta, Raja Yoga psychology, and meditation.
● Ethics in Action: The application of Karma Yoga in modern life.
● Devotional Path: The practice of Bhakti Yoga and its parallels in other traditions.
Srinivasan’s unique perspective is rooted in a life of “lived pluralism.” He is an Interfaith Minister trained under Rabbi Gelberman and is an active member of the United Methodist Church. By integrating his identity as a Christian practitioner with his profound roots in the Sivananda lineage, he offers seminary students a rare and seasoned perspective on interfaith dialogue, spiritual discipline, and the universal search for Truth.

Stephen Longfellow Fiske is an American musician, author, poet, and interfaith minister with extensive experience in peace education and nonviolent activism. He is the founder of the Jerusalem Prayer Project, an international initiative that uses music, film, and interfaith dialogue to promote reconciliation, understanding, and cooperation across religious and cultural divides, particularly in contexts of conflict. Fiske is the author of The Art of Peace: A Personal Manual on Peacemaking and Creativity and The Call to Interfaith, in which he explores sacred activism, emphasizing the integration of inner transformation, creativity, and spiritual practice as the foundation for social engagement and peacebuilding. As a performer and educator, he has collaborated with numerous peace, environmental, and interfaith organizations, combining music, storytelling, and contemplative practice as educational tools. His work consistently highlights nonviolence, interfaith unity, social responsibility, and the role of inner development as the basis for sustainable peace.

In 2005, Rev. Jere Farrell stepped into leadership as our senior minister. With a background as a Catholic priest, Rev. Jere brought a deep sense of reverence, wisdom, and compassion to the community. His journey from traditional ministry to Unity’s inclusive, practical spirituality resonated with many and helped the congregation grow in both size and spiritual depth. Under his guidance, Unity in the Gold Country became known as a place where everyone—regardless of age, background, or belief—could feel seen, valued, and inspired.
Rev. Jere retired in 2024, leaving a lasting legacy of faith and unity. He now serves as Minister Emeritus, continuing to hold a special place in the heart of the community.
Today, Rev. Anand Anma leads Unity in the Gold Country into its next chapter. With a passion for inclusivity, youth and family programs, and community engagement, Rev. Anand carries forward the spirit of our founders while embracing the evolving needs of our growing congregation.
As we honor our past, we remain grounded in the timeless principles of Unity—love, oneness, and the sacred presence of the divine within and around us. We invite you to join us as we continue this beautiful journey together.

Ramana Erickson has taught Kirtan, Sanskrit and Yoga philosophy courses for more than thirty years in the United States, India, and Japan.
Born in the U.S., Ramana first started practicing yoga and singing kirtan at the ripe old age of 10 under the tutelage of Swami Vishnudevananda at the Sivananda Ashram Vrindavan Yoga Farm in Grass Valley, California. At 13, Ramana became the youngest hatha yoga student to graduate from the Sivananda Yoga teacher training course, taught by Swami Vishnudevananda himself. Ramana’s mother, Swami Shraddhananda, served as one of the first directors of the Yoga Farm.
In 1976, Ramana and family moved to Swami Muktananda’s ashram in Ganeshpuri India. It was here that Ramana spent his high school years, and where he practiced all aspects of kirtan music: singing, tabla, harmonium, hand cymbals, and other percussion instruments. He also immersed himself in the study of Sanskrit, Yoga Sutras, Vedic chanting, Vedanta, Kashmir Shaivism, Vedic puja, and Yoga, and was guided in his studies by Swami Tejomayananda, a Sanskrit and Vedanta scholar and early close disciple of Swami Muktananda.
In 1988, Ramana met Mata Amritanandamayi (Amma) and stayed in her ashram, in Kerala, South India. He has now been her devotee for more than 40 years.
Ramana continues to teach Kirtan, Sanskrit and Yoga philosophy at Yoga studios, Ayurvedic schools, and other spiritual institutions throughout the Bay Area.
He has played tablas for many Western Kirtan artists such as Krishna Das, Jai Uttal, Jahnavi Harrison, Mangalananda, and many others.