MENLA STAFF

Menla’s management team, support staff, and long-term volunteers are comprised of a caring, hard-working, dynamic group of individuals who work at Menla due to its special environment, mission and cause, and opportunities to be exposed to a wide variety of spiritual and healing traditions.

Our staff is committed to excellent customer service and to the understanding that everyone we serve at Menla is visiting for unique reasons, often having to do with deep inner work, and need the thoughtful loving support of our entire team.

Please note: only the Management Team is featured below.

Nena vS Thurman

Executive Chairwoman

Nena is the Executive Chairwoman of Tibet House US and Menla. She has been married to Robert Thurman for over 50 years, and together they have raised four children, including Tibet House US Executive Director Ganden Thurman and renowned actress Uma Thurman. She was a successful...

Michael G. Burbank

Executive Director

Michael has been a student of Robert Thurman and HH the XIV Dalai Lama for 25 years, since his undergraduate years studying Eastern religions and cultures at Columbia University in the 90s. In early 2002 he was invited to help the Thurmans start up the newly acquired Menla retrea...

Lynn Schauwecker

Managing Director

With an extensive fundraising and marketing background, Lynn began working for Tibet House US in 1999 in Development as well as heading up the Annual Tibet House US Benefit Auction. In 2004 she organized the Global Women’s Gathering at Menla which initiated the International Co...

Amber Hallinan

General Manager

With over Fifteen years experience in the hospitality industry, Amber joined Menla’s Front of House team in August of 2015 after wanting to shift out of restaurant management onto a path that aligned with her spiritual goals and life interests. She became Front of House Ma...

Pamela Kalechofsky

Group Booking Manager

Pamela joins the Menla administrative team with an extensive background in arts administration, education, and movement. She is an RYT-500 certified yoga instructor, dance educator, and choreographer. In addition, she offers several modalities to assist in healing, including Reik...

Alicia Ojeda

Executive Chef

Originally from Los Angeles, Chef Alicia grew up surrounded by the rich cultural and culinary heritage of her Mexican family. She is classically-trained in the culinary arts with a career spanning more than 25 years. Among the many roles she has played professionally, she has alw...

Golriz Jahangiri

Spa Manager

Golriz has over five years of teaching and managerial experiences in ashrams, holistic retreat centers, and yoga studios in New York City, Upstate New York and Chicago. She is a certified 500 HR RYT teacher and an advanced Pranic (Energy) healing and Shamanic practitioner. Her pa...

David Giangreco

Facilities Manager

Born and raised on Long Island, David has built his career on hard work and attention to detail. Working on projects ranging from multi-million dollar estates to his own home, his focus is on preserving the beauty of historic Americana elements of the Hudson valley. David joined ...

Justin Stone-Diaz

Director of New Media

Justin Stone-Diaz is a first generation digital native working with online communities creating inclusive content since 1984. A long time student of Lama Karma Rinchen and Anam Thubten Rinpoche, Justin has worked as a digital personal assistant to Sharon Salzberg, Gelek Rimpoche ...

“About a three-hour bus ride from Port Authority Bus Terminal to Menla. As the landscape changes from cityscape to mountains, and as you witness your cell phone signal strength dwindle to “no service,” you quite literally unplug yourself from the mundane hustle and bustle of everyday life back to simplicity of nature.”

Nina D.

“Being able to come to a place like this, being around so many open minded people, and being able to volunteer and give back to a place that gives people so much, has truly been an unforgettably life changing experience that I continue to be grateful for.”

Shayna D.

“This was hands down the best spiritual retreat experience I’ve had since I left my teacher’s ashram. Omega, Kripalu, Esalen don’t compare to the lovely energy happening at Menla. The small, intimate facilities allow them to make delicious food, very sattvic & each meal feels restoring to vitality. The staff is very kind and helpful. Everyone we met seemed to have a fullness of heart and a strong dedication to be of service to the place & the guests. The environs are gorgeous! The hiking trails are well marked. I could spend 100 days here & never wish for the outside world. I cannot recommend this place more.”

Aimee S.

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