Meet the Staff
Ethan Nichtern, Executive Director Ethan is the founding director of the Interdependence Project, which started in 2005 with a few people studying meditation together in the East Village and in September 2007 became a nonprofit organization dedicated to Buddhist-inspired meditation and psychology, integral activism, mindful arts, and meaningful media. Ethan thinks it’s pretty great how good things start out small. Full bio on the teacher's page
Patrick Groneman, Associate Director Patrick is a practicing artist and meditator, co-founder of the multi-media collective Wunderkrafthaus, and aspiring virtual cosmonaut. He studied Painting and Video at the Maryland Institute College of Art, and has studied Buddhism and Meditation at the ID Project, the Insight Meditation Society and NY Insight Center. He currently lives in Virtual Brooklyn, NY with aspirations of starting a community garden.
http://www.patrickgroneman.com
Lani Rowe, Outreach Director Lani is a Yale Ph.D. candidate in Political Science with a concentration in political philosophy and religion. She is a dedicated yoga practioner and runner who can occasionally be found experimenting in music composition and oil painting. Having been profoundly transformed by meditation practice, her enthusiasm and curiosity for all things mindful and Buddhist has inspired her abiding passion and involvement with IDP - a community to which she is deeply grateful and committed.
"Being selfless is not to be equated with annihilation of the ego, for that would be suicide, but with the mindful awareness that you are intimately and always indelibly connected to the needwantbeing of others around you. Interdependence is not normative, but a real fact of the human condition. To be selfless is really a misnomer. To be conscious of the karmic repercussions of your actions in the world? Pure sanity."
Ellen Scordato, Board Chair/ Teacher Ellen has practiced Buddhism in the Shambhala tradition since 2004. She enjoys study and practice with the IDP, attending Zen retreats, and hearing teachings from rinpoches and roshis. A yoga student for 12+ years, she graduated from Om Yoga teacher training in 2005, where she joined the IDP as it began. Currently the chairperson of the IDP board, she makes her living as the co-owner of The Stonesong Press, LLC , a book producer of high-quality nonfiction bestsellers for the popular market. She taught English at the New School for more than 10 years and is a published author. A graduate of Wellesley College, where she studied Classics and art history, she lives in Manhattan with her husband and cats.
Rafi Santo, Integral Activism Director Rafi has been a dharma practitioner since his father gave him a copy of Alan Watts' The Book in 1998, and has practiced in the Insight, or Theravada Buddhist tradition since 2002. He has studied and practiced in the major Buddhist traditions in Bodh Gaya, India on the Antioch Buddhist studies program, as well as in the specific Insight traditions of Mahasi Sayadaw in Burma and Ajahn Chah in Thailand. In addition to his work as the Interdependence Project's Director of Integral Activism, he is a co-founder of the New York Insight Young Adult Sangha. He has a deep love of the dharma, especially as it relates to our work to make the world more equitable and just place for all sentient beings. He keeps a personal blog where he discusses spirituality, activism, pedagogy, new media, cooking, or whatever is happening to strike his fancy at Empathetics.org.
Joshua Adler, Arts Director Joshua is a professional member of the International Expressive Arts Therapy Association, and a co-creater of the Time Interchange of New York. He is also an award winning filmmaker, photographer, teacher, and the Artistic Director of the Theatre Research Ensemble. For more info visit JoshAdler.net
Michael Carey, IDP Prison Project Director Michael sits at the Zen Center of New York City. He leads IDP’s Prison Project. He is the Director of the College Initiative, a non-profit reentry education organization that supports formerly incarcerated people in their pursuit of higher education. He was born in a very small town in Australia and lives with a five-year-old Zen master in Brooklyn.
Meredith Arena, Arts Facilitator is an artist, teacher, writer and sometimes performer. She has curated group exhibitions and regularly organizes large-scale art projects with children. She has exhibited work in New York, California and Mexico. She currently works with children and families in Bushwick, Brooklyn and facilitates the monthly writers group at IDP. She has been studying at the IDP since fall of 2008.
Jerry Kolber, Board Member, Grants Committee Jerry is an award-winning writer, producer, and executive producer of television series including Inked (A&E), Confessions of a Matchmaker (A&E), Gastineau Girls (E!), The Agency (vh1), and more than 40 episodes of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy (Bravo). In the last year alone Jerry wrote and Executive Produced a four hour documentary for fuse tv about the final world tour of seminal punk band NOFX (NOFX: Backstage Passport), the MSN.com 15 episode extreme adventure reality web series Fearless (25,000,000 views and counting), and a one hour special for Animal Planet about the world’s greatest animal communicator Sonya Fitzpatrick. He is currently producing a new prime-time reality soap opera about young adults reducing personal consumption and getting out of debt.
Antonella Pavese, Board Member, Membership and Outreach Committee Antonella Pavese is a geek and cognitive psychologist fascinated by the intersection of technology and human experience. She was born in Italy, and has lived in Oregon, Pennsylvania, and New York. She has been practicing in the Zen and Theravada traditions for more than 10 years, but her practice blossomed after she discovered the IDP and its supportive and stimulating Sangha. Antonella served as Board Member of the Philadelphia Buddhist Association in 2003-2004 and is deeply grateful to be able to contribute to the IDP. www.antonellapavese.com
Robert Chender, Board Member Robert is a student of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche and is a senior teacher at the Shambhala Meditation Center of New York. He also serves as director of the Contemplative Lawyers Group of the NY City Bar Association. He is currently particularly interested in the spiritual dimension of our daily work life, and in the relationship between Buddhist and shamanic practices. He and his wife Amy have two sons, one in college and one in graduate school, both happily close to home.
