Biographies of 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 is an art director with over 20 years experience with a graphic design and marketing communications firm in New Jersey.  She has planned and coordinated Dharma programs, events, and retreats for the past seven years for Bodhi Monastery in Lafayette, NJ.

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.

Janemarie Berry, Recording Secretary
Jane is an IT systems programmer with 15 years experience in systems and applications, instructional technology, and libraries in a liberal arts environment at Lafayette College, Easton, PA.  She has been a lay attendee and volunteer at Bodhi Monastery in New Jersey for five years.  She spent six years volunteering in human rights and peace education and outreach focused on the use of torture by governments and paramilitary groups and the rights of indigenous people.  She was previously a group coordinator for Amnesty International in Lehigh Valley, PA.

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.

Mary Houtsma
Mary has 20 years of experience providing direct service, program development and administration, and advocacy for victims of family violence.  She is currently employed by Partners for Women and Justice to establish New Jersey’s first Family Justice Center in Essex County.  She has provided ongoing support to Save the Children through a sponsorship program for ten years.  She has participated in social work services to abandoned & orphaned children residing in Childlife Shelter, Thailand, through Anatta World Health & Education Outreach.

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.