Biographies

Board Members

Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi, Chairperson
Bhikkhu Bodhi is an American Buddhist monk originally from New York City.  He obtained a PhD in philosophy from Claremont Graduate School in 1972.  In late 1972, he received monastic ordination in Sri Lanka, where he lived for over twenty years.  He was the editor for the Buddhist Publication Society in Kandy, Sri Lanka, from 1984 until 2002.  He has edited Ven. Nyanamoli’s translation of the Majjhima Nikaya (Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha), translated the Samyutta Nikaya (Connected Discourses of the Buddha), and compiled an anthology of suttas from the Pali Canon (In the Buddha’s Words).  In 2002 he returned to the U.S.  He now resides at Chuang Yen Monastery near Carmel, NY.

W. David Braughton, Vice-Chairperson
David is president/CEO of the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay, a large, multi-service agency bringing help, hope and healing to individuals and families facing serious life challenges resulting from abuse, sexual assault, depression, suicide, financial distress, mental illness or general life problems.  David has worked in human services for over 35 years and related to a range of human need including refugee resettlement, employment, and youth services.  He has a Masters in Social Work from the University of Chicago.

Marcie Barth, Secretary
Marcie Barth is a designer and art director with more than 25 years of experience, including her role as partner in the design and marketing firm Barth and Co. She has been an active Buddhist practitioner since 2001. For several years she planned and coordinated Dharma programs, events, and retreats for Bodhi Monastery in Lafayette, NJ. From 2002 to 2009, she was a member of the Yin Shun Foundation, an organization founded on the vision of Ven. Master Yin Shun, promoting the study and practice of Buddhism as an integral whole rather than that of a particular tradition. Marcie is currently on the board of directors of Flowering Lotus Meditation and Retreat Center in Magnolia, MS. She also serves as a mentor with the Buddhist Correspondence Course, a program for prisoners sponsored by the Buddhist Association of the United States at Chuang Yen Monastery in Carmel, NY.

Thomas Spies, Treasurer
Tom is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) with 25 years experience in fields of public and private accounting.  He is currently CFO of CSI Management Group, Inc., a professional employer organization in NJ.  He is a member of American Institute of CPA’s and NJ Society of CPA’s.  He has been treasurer of the Kinnelon, NJ Democratic Committee since 2004.  He is currently a member of the Buddhist Peace Fellowship, National Resource Defense Council, NJ Audubon Society, and UNICEF.

George Clapp
George is Chief Scientist in Applied Research at Telcordia Technologies with more than 25 years experience in data communications and high-speed networking.  He has been a lay attendee and volunteer at Bodhi Monastery for five years, where he assists in the development and maintenance of the web site for the monastery.

Charles Elliot
Charles is an attorney with 30 years of experience in public interest litigation on behalf of environmental organizations and victims of environmental pollution. He is Chairman of the Easton (PA.) Planning Commission, and a member of NRDC, Human Rights Watch, and Human Rights First. He received his J.D. degree from the University of Pittsburgh and a Diploma in Human Rights and Humanitarian Law from the Academy on Human Rights, Washington College of Law, American University. He serves as a Trustee of the Tibetan Buddhist Learning Center, Washington, N.J.

Thomas Moritz
has been a librarian and knowledge manager since 1975 working in the public and private not-for-profit sector primarily in the natural sciences. He attended the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown and received his MLS frpm Pratt Institute (where he later served as visiting Associate Professor). He has traveled worldwide for 25 years advocating for open and effective sharing of knowledge in service of biodiversity conservation and protected areas. He is a current member of the World Commission on Protected Areas and former member of the Species Survival Commission. A longtime Buddhist practitioner, he is currently affiliated with the Thai Forest Tradition (Ajahn Chah).

Patricia Price
Patti has 28 years experience with domestic and foreign education and human service non-profit organizations.  She is currently working at Moravian College as the Director of Planned Giving.  Previous to this she worked for 11 years at CARE International raising funds and awareness for programs empowering and assisting women and children in Africa and Asia.  She has earlier experience with the Bureau of Women’s Affairs, Kingston, Jamaica.  She is a member of the board of directors at Temple Covenant of Peace, Easton, PA.  She is active with the local chapter of Amnesty International and with a community shelter, daycare, and wellness program celebrating 100 years of service.

Sylvie Sun
As a student and disciple of Master Sheng Yen, Sylvie has been practicing Chinese Ch’an Buddhism since 1989. She has been a volunteer with Ch’an Meditation Center in Elmhurst, NY and Dharma Drum Mountain for more than twenty years. As a volunteer, she has led the coordination of countless fundraising events and special programs, trained other volunteers, and helped to organize ties between the local chapters. She is always happy to share her experiences with people who are interested in practicing Dharma in their daily lives.

Executive Director

Kim Behan
Kim graduated with a Masters degree in Telecommunications from the University of Colorado in Boulder and worked as a software engineer with Bell Laboratories and its affiliates for more than 28 years. During her career, she was involved in the design and implementation of voice telephony and data applications. She recently retired from her work to devote her full effort towards helping the poor and underprivileged people of the world. Since 2005, Kim has been involved with fundraising to provide critical rice support to the “poorest of the poor” in the remote villages of Vietnam. She has also implemented programs to provide financial assistance to poor and handicapped children in various rural school districts. To broaden the scope and mission of her work, in May 2007, she and her sister, Dr. Bui Kim Hai, co-founded Wellness Global Foundation (WGF), a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that provides medical and educational assistance to the impoverished people of Vietnam. She is a founding member of Buddhist Global Relief (BGR) and during its first year served as Board member and Chair of the Hunger Relief Committee, before retiring from her job to take the position of BGR Executive Director. In this capacity, Kim manages operations, hunger projects, donor relations and fundraising efforts for Buddhist Global Relief.

Assistant Director

Carla Prater
Carla is a native of Southern California, transplanted to Brazil by missionary parents at the age of 12. She remained there for the next twenty years, and returned to school shortly after returning to the US in 1987, earning a Master’s in Urban Planning (1993) and a Ph.D. in Political Science (1999), both from Texas A&M University. During her time in graduate school, she began working as a research assistant at the Hazard Reduction & Recovery Center at Texas A&M, where she is now the Associate Director and teaches urban planning and emergency management courses in the Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning Department. She began practicing meditation under Ann Dingus with the Brazos Insight Meditation Society in 2000.