Meet the CCN Team
The Office Team
Our team feel at home in the Buddhist tradition, but are strong supporters of a non-sectarian and inclusive approach, very much in tune with that of CCN.
Meet
Dorje Gyalpo David Oromith
Operations Manager
David has kindly agreed to join our team in the role of Operations Manager. He lives in Wales and has been practising meditation since he was 18 years old, specifically in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition for 10 years, and has been a student of Lama Alan’s since 2017. It was during his time working in mental health services that he first trained as a meditation teacher. Alongside his work for CCN, David serves as a meditation guide and retreat leader in the UK through his organisation, Samadhi
Meet
Marie Dimond (Tashi)
Office Administrator
Marie first came across Buddhism through the teachings of the Dalai Lama and after visiting various temples across Asia. She has been a part of the Samadhi community for several years, practising meditation and the teachings following our shared lineage.
Experiencing the benefits to her mental health, she is very honoured to be able to share her skills and experience so others might also benefit from these contemplative practices.
Meet
Jasmine Mohtashami
Social Media/Communications Volunteer
Jasmine started practising Buddhism in 2019 after a retreat in Kopan Monastery, Nepal. After returning she soon found the teachings of Lama Alan Wallace, and through him, David. The practice has changed Jasmine’s approach to happiness and relationships so deeply that she was excited to give back to her teachers and community by volunteering.
After a few years in media marketing, Jasmine now works in communications in the migration sector. Apart from furthering her Buddhist studies she also enjoys writing, walking her pet ferrets and crafting.
Meet
Lama B. Alan Wallace, PhD (Honorary President)
Lama Alan Wallace serves as our Honorary President. One of the world’s leading scholars, writers, and teachers of Tibetan Buddhism and its relation to science, Lama Alan was ordained by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and devoted fourteen years to training as a Tibetan Buddhist monk.
He earned an undergraduate degree in physics and the philosophy of science at Amherst College and a doctorate in religious studies at Stanford University. He is the founder and director of the Santa Barbara Institute for Consciousness Studies and the Centers for Contemplative Research.
Lama Alan has become an outspoken advocate for a revolution in the mind sciences, one that will replace the current paradigm of materialist reductionism with a new paradigm in which objective research is augmented and completed by rigorous first-person, contemplative methods of inquiry into the nature and potentials of the mind.
Meet
Christopher Simpson (Chair)
Christopher is the CCN Chair.
He is an actor with a wide-ranging creative practice. His work has encompassed radio documentary, song-writing, mask making, and film making.
Embodiment, transformation and questions of presence have been a part of my enquiry for years, so perhaps it was only a matter of time before my engagement with the benefits of meditation became more focused.
Christopher is also a skilled TRE (Trauma Release Exercise) facilitator, with extensive experience guiding people from all walks of life. He is well-practised at leading groups and individuals through personal processes with warmth and sensitivity.
Meet
Dr. Clara Seeger (Vice-Chair)
Clara Seeger (PhD) is an experienced coach, corporate facilitator, online course creator, speaker and author, with a PhD on Hermann Hesse, an M.Sc in “Mindfulness: Neuroscience and Clinical Applications” and a corporate background in investment banking. Her approach marries ancient contemplative wisdom and meditation with findings from neuroscience, emotional intelligence and psychology.
Clara works with corporate executives and private individuals either on a 1-2-1 or a group basis to help them realise higher levels of sustainable wellbeing by cultivating a balanced mind.
Since meeting Lama Alan in 2016 Clara has immersed herself in the study and practice of Buddhist thought and meditation and has made it her mission to share the Dharma with a wider audience. She now uses Alan Wallace’s framework of mental balance as the guiding principle in her coaching and training work, helping leaders re-assess their aspirations and priorities, refine their attention skills, transcend unconscious bias and cultivate emotional wisdom.
Clara has just launched her first two online courses on sustainable wellbeing and is currently working on three further online courses dedicated to different aspects of mental balance.
Meet
Elizabeth West (Trustee)
Elizabeth was born in England in 1944, but spent most of her childhood in Southern Africa where she became a Catholic nun at the age of 18. After returning to the UK, she met two nuns of her order who taught yoga and Vedanta in a Christian context, which sparked her interest in Eastern religions and meditation. She spent nine months with them in India in Hindu and Christian ashrams.
This experience led to a transformation in her spiritual life, which eventually led her out of the convent and into Buddhism. During the transition period, Elizabeth worked for the Westminster Interfaith Programme in London and also gained an MA in World Religions. After this, she spent 10 years working for the World Community for Christian Meditation (WCCM), during which time she led a number of Buddhist/Christian retreats. Meeting His Holiness the Dalai Lama during dialogues with Fr. Laurence Freeman, the head of WCCM, was the final step into Buddhism.
Lama Alan Wallace became her teacher in 2007, and this led to the founding of CCN which attempts to bring together the various strands of her life: Buddhism, Interfaith dialogue, and the interface between Buddhism, science and secular spirituality. Above all, her motivation is personal transformation through spiritual practice, and to help others by bringing these teachings to bear on the darkness we face in the world.
Meet
Diego González (Trustee)
Meet
Natalia Bojanic (Trustee)
Natalia Bojanic has facilitated meditation sessions in a wide range of settings, from fitness studios to law firms and has worked with companies across different industries, such as lululemon, Amex and CancerCare. Her teaching background is diverse, combining ancient wisdom from Tibetan Buddhism with secular mindfulness from Search Inside Yourself, a Leadership Institute born at Google and developed by thought leaders in emotional intelligence and mindfulness.
Natalia has learned from nuns and monks in Nepal and with business leaders in Silicon Valley. She is currently studying for a Masters in Psychology & Neuroscience of Mental Health at King’s College London.
Natalia is grateful to have studied and practised under the guidance of esteemed meditation teachers such as Jack Kornfield, Tara Brach, Charles Knoles, Dr B. Alan Wallace and has qualified as a mindfulness and meditation instructor.
She is also co-founder of Form Nutrition, a B Corp using business as a force for good and a startup described by The Telegraph as a ‘game-changing’ brand. Previously she was a PR Director in the luxury industry, working for brands such as LVMH and Land Rover.
