We welcome your feedback and ideas related to KCC activities and programming! Feel free to contact the KCC board, Resident Lama, or Managing Director using the email addresses below:
Practitioners may also talk to any member of the board, the Resident Lama, or the Managing Director at public Sangha meetings that are routinely held at KCC. However, when seeking a response or making a formal request, we request practitioners send an email to create a written record.
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.
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.
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.
Tim has been a student of the dharma for over 30 years. He came to KCC’s Newcomer’s Night in August of 2009, and has been here ever since. Tim has served on the board of directors and the program council, facilitated a mind training study group since 2012, and has co-taught mind training retreats since 2018.
Craig returned to the U.S. from France in 2024 to reconnect with his country of origin after a life abroad. A dedicated Dharma practitioner of five years, he has lived, served, and practiced at retreat centers across Europe and is a certified mindfulness meditation teacher through Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach’s MMTCP. Before immersing himself in contemplative practice, Craig worked in journalism and communications for NGOs in Geneva and Brussels, focusing on peacebuilding and international development. He holds a BA in Comparative Literature and an MA in Development Studies. Now settled in Portland with his partner, he’s grateful to get to contribute his professional and spiritual background to KCC’s mission.
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.
Vicki first took refuge at KCC in the mid 80’s. Since that time, she has received teachings from all four schools of Tibetan Buddhism. Her home in Bend was a Rime meditation retreat center. Before coming to SCOL, 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. Vicki is in the OSU Naturalist Program and completed her field work specializing in Columbia Gorge ecosystems. Vicki has lived at SCOL since 2022 and is grateful for the opportunity to combine her ecology interests and Dharma background to serve our Sangha.
Bruce has lived in NE Portland for 29 years. He raised two sons with Caroline Nowosieski and mainly worked in info tech at Nabisco. He grew up in a small farming town in Iowa and then attended Idaho State University before serving two years in the Peace Corps (Tunisia) where he met Caroline. He has intermittently attended KCC since Monroe Street days and has volunteered as frequently as possible at SCOL over the years.
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 members can be contacted at:
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.