Faculty & Teachers

The core faculty is comprised of senior educators from Rigpa's Spiritual Care Program trained under the guidance of Sogyal Rinpoche, a world-renowned Buddhist teacher from Tibet and author of the groundbreaking bestseller, The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying. Rinpoche is also the founder and spiritual director of Rigpa, an international network of over 130 Buddhist centers and groups in 41 countries around the world. He has been teaching for over thirty years and continues to travel and teach widely in Europe, America, Australia and Asia. In 1993 he created the Spiritual Care Program for healthcare professionals with Christine Longaker.

The Contemplative End of Life Care program is based on The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying where the best of Rinpoche’s teachings are presented.

Together, the faculty and teachers bring to their work decades of experience in providing training and education in contemplative care for hospitals, nursing homes and hospices. The core faculty will be joined by prominent guest speakers in the fields of spirituality and end-of-life care.

Core Faculty:

Christine Longaker, Former Director and Staff Trainer at the Hospice of Santa Cruz County in California, Christine has provided hospice trainings internationally since 1978. She has been instrumental in developing Rigpa’s Spiritual Care Education Program, and serves as its International Education Director. She co-designed and serves as faculty for Naropa University’s accredited training in ‘Contemplative End-of-Life Care’, and is author of Facing Death and Finding Hope: A Guide to the Emotional and Spiritual Care of the Dying, which has been translated into nine languages.

Kirsten DeLeo, MA, International training manager and senior educator for the Rigpa Spiritual Care Education Program. Drawing from more than 15 years experience accompanying people in the last phase of life, Kirsten leads trainings for professionals and the public, and is faculty for Naropa University’s ‘Contemplative End-of-Life Care’ training. She is a counselor specializing in spiritual care, and in supporting people living with illness. Kirsten completed a three-year meditation retreat under the guidance of Sogyal Rinpoche and is a Senior Meditation Instructor in Rigpa.

Pam Russell, LMSW, Senior educator for the Rigpa Spiritual Care Education Program, Pamela is an end-of-life care social worker and bereavement counselor with over 20 years experience in elder care in long term care facilities. She is faculty for Naropa University’s ‘Contemplative End-of-Life Care’ training, and a meditation instructor in Albany, NY.

Dr Ann Allegre MD, FACP, Director of medical programs, Kansas City Hospice, medical director of palliative care, Providence Health, professor of
medicine, University of Kansas School of Medicine and educator for the Spiritual Care Education Program. She was awarded the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine “Project on Death in America Community Leadership in Palliative Care Award” in 2007, in recognition of her outstanding contributions to the advancement of the field of palliative medicine through the education and training of future leaders.

With Video Teachings from Sogyal Rinpoche:

Sogyal Rinpoche, World-renowned Buddhist teacher from Tibet and author of the groundbreaking bestseller, The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, Rinpoche is also the founder and spiritual director of Rigpa, an  international network of over 130 Buddhist centers and
groups in 41 countries around the world. He has been
teaching for over thirty years and continues to travel
and teach widely in Europe, America, Australia and
Asia. In 1993 he created the Spiritual Care Program for
healthcare professionals with Christine Longaker.  The
Program is based on The Tibetan Book of Living and
Dying and the best of Rinpoche’s teachings are presented.

Online Faculty:

Dr. Ira Byock, MD is Director of Palliative Medicine at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Centre in Lebanon, New Hampshire, Chair of Palliative Medicine and Professor, Departments of Anaesthesiology and Community and Family Medicine, at Dartmouth Medical School. Dr. Byock has been involved in hospice and palliative care since 1978, starting in his residency. He is past president (1997) of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. During the 1990’s he was a co-founder and principal investigator for the Missoula Demonstration Project, a community-based organization in Montana. From 1996 through 2006, he served as director for Promoting Excellence in End-of-Life Care, a national grant program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. He has authored numerous articles on the ethics and practice of hospice, palliative and end-of-life care. His first book, Dying Well (1997) has become a standard in the field. His most recent book, The Four Things That Matter Most (2004), is used as a counseling tool widely by palliative care and hospice programs. He was awarded the American College of CHEST Physicians Roger Bone Memorial Lecture Award (2003) and the Outstanding Colleague Award (2008) of the National Association of Catholic Chaplains.

Guest Faculty:

Bob Mischke, MD
Co-director for the Center for Spiritual Transformation near Idaho Springs, Colorado. Bob retired in 1992 in order to peruse meditation and contemplative practices more fully and has been facilitating contemplative practices for over 30 years, including the teachings of centering prayer, vipassana, the teaching of Buddha, Jesus, Thomas Keathing and Eckhart Tolle.