Board of Directors

Our governing body

The Board of Directors is the governing body of IMCW, a 501 C3 non-profit religious corporation. 

Board members serve as the stewards of IMCW, its resources, programs and activities. Officers include the President, Vice-President, Treasurer and Secretary. The Board meets quarterly to discuss issues, deliberate policy, and to vote. 

IMCW is committed to expanding the diversity of its board and committees, and especially encourages individuals from a diversity of races, sexual preferences, and ages to offer their services. 

You are always welcome to contact Board members to ask questions, offer suggestions, or give feedback and input.

Board Members

Chan Britton (President)

Chan Britton (she/her) began practicing meditation in 2008 with IMCW right around the time she began teaching yoga. She has participated in numerous residential silent retreats in the U.S. and abroad. The practice has been a source of clarity and inspiration and her true passion is watching the practice unfold both on the cushion and in daily life.

Chan has served in various roles within IMCW, including as a prior member on the Board of Directors, participation on various Board committees, as a mentor through IMCW’s mentoring program, and formally volunteered during the IMCW’s Wednesday night gathering in Bethesda, MD. She has also both participated in and served as a mentor in Jonathan Foust’s “Year of Living Mindfully” program.

She is currently enrolled in the Mindfulness Teaching Certification Program – an offering from Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach. She holds master degrees in public administration, policy, and nutrition. She works full-time in public health policy for the Federal government and her real job is mothering her young son, who also just happens to the best teacher she’s ever had. 

Image of IMCW Board of Director Booma Venkataraman

Booma Venkataraman (Secretary)

Booma (she/her) has been practicing Vipassana meditation for 7 years and has attended several residential retreats. Booma graduated from the 2-year Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program (MMTCP) in 2021.

Booma is born in Kolkata, India, and was drawn to the mystery of spirituality from a young age. She dedicated herself to Hindu meditation practices, including the reading of Bhagavad Gita. Her professional work brought her to the U.S. in 1997. In 2011, she moved to the Washington D.C. area, and she felt a strong urge to explore and enhance her spiri, motivating her to explore the Insight path. One Wednesday evening in 2015, she walked into Tara Brach’s sangha—the teaching was like a cool, clear, fresh fountain. This felt like “a spacious home” for Booma and there was no turning back.

Booma works for the Federal Government. She’s trained as an engineer and has a Master’s degree in business administration. She has held several leadership positions, including championing the promotion of diversity and inclusion activities at her work. She is delighted to serve as the IMCW board member. Booma sees this as an opportunity to deepen wisdom, collaborate, and serve all beings by the rippling of compassionate action.

Image of IMCW Board of Director Paul Beaton

Paul Beaton (Treasurer)

Paul Beaton (he/him) is dedicated to walking a path toward awakening and cultivating greater compassion and loving kindness for himself and for all others. Paul began his formal meditation practice in 2013 through one of IMCW’s neighborhood classes and began a yoga-based mindfulness of body practice in 2006. The dharma and IMCW have given so much to Paul—he is delighted to be able to give back through service on the IMCW board.

Image of IMCW Board of Director Anna Johns

Anna Johns

Anna (she/her) has been practicing yoga and meditation since 2001, when she began her training with Indian Master Kamal Srinivas followed by Therapeutic Yoga training at Duke University, Mindfulness Meditation Certification Program with Dr. Tara Brach and Dr. Jack Kornfield and Buddhist Chaplaincy program with Sati Center.

Anna is serving as a Chaplain (Clinical Pastoral Education Resident) at UT Southwestern Medical CenterShe is a teacher and board member at IMCW, the co-founder of IMCW’s Asian Sangha, and an assistant teacher with Inward Bound Mindfulness Education teen retreats.

Growing up in India, Anna watched her father meditate in the woods. The seeds were planted then, her spiritual path has continued, and her life and the lives of those she serves have been transformed through these practices. Anna continues to develop her practice through her ongoing mentorship with Jonathan Foust and Master Kamal.

Image of IMCW Board of Director Fred Persi

Fred Persi

Fred (he/him) began teaching Mindfulness Meditation classes to families and children in 2012 and has been teaching continuously since then. Recently he began teaching to children and adults in high risk communities and to 12 step groups. His dedication to these teachings is founded on the premise that all beings can be free.

Fred completed Year of Living Mindfully program in 2010 and graduated from The Meditation Teacher Training Institute’s two-year program in 2013. He has practiced Insight meditation for over 15 years and has attended numerous residential retreats.

Fred is an entrepreneur who has founded and managed several companies and continues to explore new business opportunities. As the son of a Foreign Service officer, he grew up in many countries, and was exposed to a variety of cultures and is fluent in Spanish. He currently lives in Washington, DC with his wife, teen son, cat and dog.

Image of IMCW Board of Director Silvia Pereira

Silvia Garcia-Pereira

Silvia (she/her) has been formally practicing Vipassana, Insight Meditation, for over 15 years. She graduated from the Year of Living Mindfully program in 2009 and in 2013 graduated from The Meditation Teacher Training Institute’s two-year program with teachers Tara Brach, Jonathan Foust, Hugh Byrne and Pat Coffey. That year, she also received a .b mindfulness in schools, teacher certification and has recently completed the Advance Practitioners Program at Spirit Rock Meditation Center, a one-year program for senior students of the dharma. She has been an IMCW Affiliate Teacher for several years.

Silvia holds an MFA in film and television from NYU and works as a video producer for Montgomery County Public Schools. She has contributed as video producer to several of IMCW’s videos and is happy to work on multiple video projects to spread her love for the dharma.

As a mother of two young adults, her practice is an integral part of daily life.

Image of IMCW Board of Director Stephen Gold

Stephen Gold

Stephen (he/him) started his journey in Vipissana meditation as one of Jonathan Foust’s early students in 2006. He is a graduate from the Year of Living Mindfully, has attended dozens of daylong and weeklong meditation retreats over the past 15 years, and is involved in three spiritual friends meditation groups, including administering one of IMCW’s virtual meditation groups.

A strong believer in the need to bring insight meditation philosophy and practices into the workplace, Stephen introduced mindfulness practices into his own nonprofit company in 2016, and has presented on the topic of mindfulness in the workplace to other companies and at conferences. He has an M.A. in history from George Washington University and a J.D. from George Mason School of Law.

Image of IMCW Board of Director Stig Regli

Stig Regli

Stig (he/him) is a teacher for IMCW. He has practiced Vipassana meditation since 1984 and facilitated sitting groups and classes since 1997. He was introduced to the practice in Thailand in accordance with the teachings of the Burmese Mahasi Sayadaw tradition. He has been guided by numerous Asian and North American teachers with his primary teacher being Tara Brach. Stig is grateful for finding sangha through engagement with IMCWs formation, previously serving on its first board and as vice president. In 2008 he completed the three-year Community Dharma Leadership program sponsored by the Spirit Rock Meditation Center. He is thrilled with now serving again on the board.

Stig retired from USEPA in March 2021 after working for 40 years as an environmental engineer, regulation manager, and senior policy advisor and receiving a Distinguished Career Service Award. His search for “right livelihood” prior to EPA is described in the book he recently co-authored: The Road Taken: The Remarkable Story of a Transcontinental Bicycle Odyssey. He and his wife, Melanie La Force, two daughters, and two dogs live in Arlington, Virginia.

Image of IMCW Board of Director Valca Valentine

Valca Valentine

Valca Valentine (she/her) is a public engagement strategist and former journalist developing and leading communications programs for a variety of government, corporate and non-profit organizations. From 1994 to 2012 she oversaw program and public affairs as Director of Communications within the DC Mayor’s Executive Office, was Senior Associate at Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide, and Strategic Communications Contract Manager for the Veterans Health Administration and most recently, Senior Technical Editor for General Dynamics Information Technology. Her roles included management of cross-functional teams, public awareness campaign development and relationship management strategies.

A co-founder of Mindful Living in DC, Valca is a 2019 graduate of the two-year Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program for Teaching Awareness and Compassion-Based Practices founded and taught by Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield. Valca’s mindfulness and meditation practice evolved from a desire for healthy responses and ease toward an individual and shared spiritual path of enlightenment.