Board/Staff
The Living Yoga Board of Directors
SARAHJOY MARSH, RYT-500, Founder of Living Yoga, is also founder and director of amrita: a sanctuary for yoga, and a well-respected and highly regarded yoga instructor. She has been teaching yoga classes, retreats, teacher trainings and workshops locally and nationally since 1994. She has trained over 300 yoga teachers. A dedicated servant of Social Justice, she has written extensively on the power of yoga in prisons, rehab centers, and for the community at large, and has been published in local and national magazines. Click here to read more. In 1998, Sarahjoy started Living Yoga by volunteering as a yoga teacher twice a week at Columbia River Correctional Institution. In 2001, she was recognized as volunteer of the year, an award nominated by and voted for by the inmates. Sarahjoy’s educational background includes studies in Transpersonal Counseling, Art Therapy, Group Dynamics, Yoga Psychology, Ayurveda, and specialty courses in Physical Therapy. In her free time, Sarahjoy enjoys digging in the garden, cooking, reading, compelling conversation, and bike commuting around town. She has been trying to learn Spanish for international travel experiences, though her Sanskrit is still better than her Spanish.
RICH DURANT, Board Chair, has over thirty years of experience in high-tech industry where he held various positions as an individual contributor, project manager, and manager. He is a Volunteer Yoga Instructor for Living Yoga, currently working with teen boys in treatment for drug and alcohol abuse and also men incarcerated in the Oregon Department of Corrections. Rich is a long-time yoga student and has been studying at amrita: a sanctuary for yoga in Portland, Oregon for the past eight years with Sarahjoy Marsh, and previous to his time here he studied at the BKS Iyengar Center of Boston with Karen Stephan. Rich designs, builds and flies kites. He makes many kites each year and attends kite-making retreats, teaches kite-making classes, and is the Webmaster for the Oregon Kitemakers Retreat. He is an avid outdoor person and enjoys hiking and camping in the beautiful Northwest, South America and Europe. He has also completed two wilderness, canoeing expeditions in sub-arctic and arctic Canada which were prepared for—and executed as completely self-contained trips.
SHERRIE BARGER, through her passion for yoga and commitment to social justice found her way to Living Yoga in 2004. Sherrie has practiced yoga for over 14 years and experienced the healing powers of yoga in her own life. She currently is enrolled in a teacher training program and volunteers teaching yoga at Depaul Treatment center and at Coffee Creek Correctional Institution with Living Yoga. In 2009 Sherrie was one of two organic gardeners selected as the Volunteers of the Year at Coffee Creek Correctional Institution for their work with inmates in developing an organic garden and teaching yoga. Sherrie currently works as a consultant in public schools and teaches a Capstone course at Portland State University about the issues faced by women in prison and how programs like gardening and yoga in prison benefit the inmates and society. She worked for 30 years as a teacher, counselor, principal and as director of curriculum in the public school setting. Her work was mostly in high poverty schools where she was instrumental in providing leadership for exemplary achievement. She has extensive experience in leadership and organizational change. In addition to yoga Sherrie enjoys gardening, tennis, hiking, biking, traveling and just about any adventure.
LESLIE BEVAN is currently the Manager of the Women's Business Center at Mercy Corps Northwest, where she teaches and counsels entrepreneurs in microenterprise. She has recently rejoined the Living Yoga Board of Directors, having served as Living Yoga's first paid executive director in 2006-2008. Before joining Living Yoga, Leslie was an Associate Dean in School of Nursing at Oregon Health and Sciences University where she provided leadership in research mission. Prior to her role as Associate Dean, Leslie served as a director for institutional compliance with regulations and ethical guidelines for the use of human and animal subjects in research, as well as overseeing the grant submission process ($250M grant portfolio) for the entire University. Leslie holds a PhD in Physiology from the University of Arizona, and has taken coursework in Portland State University's MBA program. In her free time, Leslie can be found cooking, gardening or planning her next travel adventure.
SUZANNE BIGELOW, ERYT-500, is the founder of Loving Touch Yoga and Live Long and Love It consulting. Suzanne is a Certified Purna Yoga Instructor and an active member of the International Association of Yoga Therapists. With over 17 years of personal yoga practice and 10 plus years teaching experience with a wide range of students, Suzanne has a deep respect for the power of yoga as a tool for personal transformation. As a practicing Yoga Therapist, Suzanne specializes in private therapeutics for structural integrity and rehabilitation, anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder. Live Long and Love It provides wellness education and consulting services focused on Postural Accountability and Sustainable Wellness. Suzanne served 3 years on the Board of Trustees with The Northwest Academy and was an active member of the development committee from 2007-2009. Prior to her career as a yoga therapist, Suzanne worked in Large Systems Sales and Marketing for IBM in Manhattan, NY and Orlando, Florida. When not expounding on the importance of postural prowess, Suzanne dreams about her next foreign travel adventure and indulges in the cultural diversity of Portland’s fabulous food scene.
KELLY BLUNT has over 25 years of leadership experience in strategic marketing and operations in healthcare, consumer products, professional service firms, and most recently non-profits. She is happy to have returned and settled back in Portland after a hiatus that took her to Chicago, Minneapolis, and Boston. She has studied yoga with Baron Baptiste and Lisa Black, and has been a volunteer instructor with Living Yoga since 2009. Kelly has her BS from the University of California and her MBA from Duke University. Her previous board experience has been with local arts organizations.
STEVE BUNNAGE, MD, Board Treasurer, is an administrative consultant to physician groups, hospitals, and Health Systems. A medical doctor board certified in the specialties of internal medicine and anesthesiology, Steve practiced clinical anesthesiology for 20 years at Providence Portland Medical Center. He was a founding member in 1989 of Oregon Anesthesiology Group, now one of the largest single-specialty physician groups in the country. He served as Regional Director of Anesthesiology for Portland area Providence Health System from 2001-2007. A long time student of yoga, Steve also enjoys gardening, fly fishing, golf, hiking, skiing and water sports.
KATE DESSOMMES has been practicing yoga since 1999. After completing a traditional 5 year yoga apprenticeship with teacher Luciana Proano, she completed a 9 month teacher training with Diane Wilson and began teaching yoga professionally in 2004. Kate has studied Iyengar style Yoga with Julie Gudmestad (Physical Therapist and Certified Iyengar Instructor with a specialty in Anatomy for Yoga) and at the Julie Lawrence Iyengar Center of Portland. Kate has traveled to study with internationally respected yoga instructor and author Donna Farhi, and John Friend founder of Anusara Yoga. Bob Smith and Ki McGraw of Seattle have also helped Kate expand her work and knowledge as a yoga instructor. Kate has been a volunteer teacher for Living Yoga since 2009 at the Portland VOA Men’s Residential Center and has been given great joy by the openness and warmth of the students at the VOA to embrace yoga with enthusiasm amidst serious adversity. Kate was raised in Southeast Texas and South Louisiana, the beauty of the bayou and the gulf coast as well as the harsh climate and diverse culture greatly affected her childhood. Kate attended Lamar University in Beaumont Texas and majored in Art History. Kate moved to Portland in 1999 after traveling around the country and is very grateful to life in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. Kate loves gardening, hiking, cooking and listening to live music in Portland with family and friends. Kate owns The Tualatin Yoga Studio and is currently teaching in public and corporate settings a blend of Anusara and Iyengar Hatha Yoga and Meditation.
HARRY DUDLEY, PsyD, is a licensed psychologist in private practice in Vancouver, Washington specializing in forensic psychology. He received his doctorate in 1988 and his dissertation research focused on pediatric neuropsychology. He was introduced to meditation in his early teens, and has had a long standing interest in the integration of Buddhism and eastern philosophy with neuroscience, psychology, and psychotherapy. Although he is a relative latecomer to the practice of hatha yoga, having been introduced to it by his wife Kathy several years ago, he has become an avid practitioner and counts as his primary teachers Sarahjoy Marsh, Mary Paffard, and Baxter Bell, MD. He has participated in the immersion and teacher training programs at Amrita. Harry also is particularly interested in yoga nidra, a process of meditation, and has achieved Level 1 certification in iRest Yoga Nidra, a western adaptation of yoga nidra developed by Richard Miller, Ph.D., which has been shown to be an effective treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder. He has also had training in Mindfulness Based Relapse Prevention and looks forward to future work with both iRest and MBRP. Harry is a Volunteer Yoga Instructor with Living Yoga, and is interested offering support to his community of fellow teachers and in working with Living Yoga in the development of program evaluation and outcome measurement procedures.
KIM HORTON, Board Secretary, is currently owner of Mindful Fitness, providing personal fitness training and yoga instruction in private, group and corporate environments. Kim has been practicing yoga for over 12 years and did a 2-year immersion, teacher training, and apprenticeship with Sarahjoy Marsh in 2005/06. She has been volunteering for Living Yoga since 2006, actively participating in fundraising and teaching at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility. Prior to following her passion for yoga and optimal health, Kim had a 13 year career in sales and marketing for several national apparel companies, including Unionbay and B.U.M. Equipment. She also owned and operated Port City Pasta, a gourmet Italian market in Lake Oswego, Oregon. Some of Kim’s other passions include cooking, cycling, hiking, gardening, and travel.
Staff
Amy Eaton, Executive Director
amy@living-yoga.org
AMY EATON, prior to joining Living Yoga, worked in both nonprofits and corporations in various capacities including community development, strategic planning, development and fundraising, and program management. She has more than twelve-years nonprofit experience primarily in human services with a focus on domestic violence and child abuse, but has worked in arts and education as well. Amy holds a Bachelors of Arts degree from the University of Montana and has taken extensive study from New York University in nonprofit management and fundraising. While in New York, Amy was selected to be a Fellow for Nonprofit Leadership Development Institute for the Baruch College, School of Public Affairs. In her free time, Amy enjoys all things French (especially Paris) but actively runs, paints, rides horseback, hikes, meditates, and goes to yoga class.
Nancy Williams, Volunteer Coordinator
nancy@living-yoga.org
NANCY WILLIAMS has been Living Yoga’s volunteer coordinator since January 2008. Prior to that she was a Living Yoga volunteer teacher at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility beginning in 2002. Before she joined the Living Yoga staff she worked at Leach Botanical Garden organizing office tasks and volunteer events. Nancy is a long time yoga practitioner and lifelong community activist and grateful to have the opportunity to contribute personally and professionally to Living Yoga’s mission. When she is not in the office or the yoga studio, she can be found on her bike, in her garden, at live music events or at home with her knitting needles.
