Staff & Governance

KCC has a small staff to manage operations and volunteer efforts.  The Director and Resident Lama report to the Board of Directors who are responsible for governance and financial oversight.  The Program Council works with the Resident Lama to develop the program of teachings and practices. Further committees oversee activities within their purview


Staff

Eric Triebelhorn, Resident Lama (he/him)

Lama Eric Triebelhorn first came to KCC not long after graduating from college and quickly immersed himself in the center’s activities. He served as Board president for four years and was the first caretaker of our retreat land, Ser Chö Ösel Ling. In 2002, he moved to India to study Tibetan language and practice with Kyabje Bokar Rinpoche. He requested and was finally granted permission to participate in a traditional Shangpa three-year retreat at Bokar Monastery, which he completed in 2008. Following retreat, Lama Eric translated for Khenpo Lodrö Donyö Rinpoche, Gyaltsab Rinpoche, and others and eventually served as an English teacher for the reincarnation of his teacher, Bokar Rinpoche. Lama Eric became KCC’s resident lama in January 2020.

Schedule an appointment to meet with Lama Eric.

Michael Conklin, Lama Emeritus (he/him)

Lama Michael Conklin served as KCC’s resident lama from 1993 until 2019. An early American student of Kalu Rinpoche, Michael was one of the founding members of Kagyu Droden Kunchab in San Francisco and participated in a three-year Shangpa retreat led by Lama Tsang Tsing from 1986-’89. During his time at KCC, Lama Michael led the project to build our retreat center and acquire a new Portland dharma center. Through his leadership, KCC maintained a close relationship to lineage masters Bokar Rinpoche and later Khenpo Lodrö Donyö Rinpoche. He led KCC’s first one-year and, with Lama Tara Goforth, three-year retreat.

Liza Baer, Executive Director (she/her)

Liza first came to KCC in 2014 for a weekend teaching on the Seven Points of Mind Training. Hearing teachings on the nature of mind, she knew she had found her home. Previously, Liza spent a year in Nepal and India where she attended teachings and retreats, took refuge with Tenga Rinpoche, and trekked in the Himalaya. From 2015-2018, Liza participated in KCC’s three-year retreat led by Lama Michael Conklin and Lama Tara Goforth. After completing retreat, Liza served as Associate Lama at Kagyu Sukha Chöling in Ashland, Oregon for four years. Liza’s background is in botany and ecology, yoga and structural bodywork, with a great love of pottery.

Cynthia Irvine, KCC Bookkeeper (she/her)

Cynthia began meditating in 2000, biking to a sangha in Southeast Portland. She found KCC just four blocks from her home when her husband brought their son to the KCC kids program, some time around 2007. Later, Kathleen Benz recruited Cynthia as a volunteer check writer, and over the years this has evolved into a paid position overseeing the finances of KCC. As a former librarian and current yoga teacher, she claims to have had no official qualifications for this job, and expresses gratitude for wonderful on-the-job training by a number of folks.

Wilder Lyon, SCOL Staff (they/them)

Wilder came to SCOL as a staff member at the end of 2019 after doing considerable volunteer work at both SCOL and the Urban Center in Portland. They began attending KCC in 2007, after many years of engagement in meditation and Buddhist study. Interest in the language led them to study Tibetan in Nepal. They have an M.S. in Biology, and spent many years working in the field and lab in Alaska and Oregon as a fisheries biologist.

Vicki Fields, SCOL Staff (she/her)

Vicki first took refuge at KCC in the early 90’s. Since that time, she has received teachings from all four schools of Tibetan Buddhism. Her home in Bend was a Rimey meditation retreat center. For the past several years she worked as an Oregon Fish & Wildlife Host Volunteer at wildlife areas and coastal hatcheries doing habitat restoration, salmon spawning, and public education. She has a BS in Social Science and worked many years as a social service manager for the state of Oregon. Presently she is in the OSU Master Naturalist Program and will complete her field work specializing in Columbia Gorge ecosystems. Vicki is grateful for the opportunity to combine these skills and experiences to serve SCOL.


Board of Directors 

The KCC Board of Directors nurtures the mission and vision by setting annual goals, establishing operating policy and monitoring the legal and fiscal health of the organization. The board holds an annual sangha meeting, an annual leadership retreat, and generally meets on the third Sunday of every month from 1:30pm – 4:30pm at KCC; all are welcome to attend.

Board Member Profiles


Program Council 

The Program Council supports the Resident Lama in setting opportunities for Dharma instruction and practice at KCC. The Program Council was initiated when KCC’s Bylaws were rewritten in 2002. The members of the Council are selected by the Resident Lama and are advisory only—in the end, all programming decisions are the responsibility of the Resident Lama.

Council Member Profiles