Committee | Sakyadhita Australia

Committee Members

Helen Richardson, President is a long-time student of Buddhism. She has been a member of the Buddhist Society of Victoria since 1984; at one time serving on the Committee and as Vice President. She was also on the Buddhist Council of Victoria Committee. She was instrumental in the formation of Sakyadhita Australia. In her professional life Helen was a producer at ABC Radio for 39 years and before that was at the BBC.

Venerable Thubten Chokyi, Vice President and Spiritual Advisor.

Ven Chokyi is a nun in the Tibetan tradition. She is based at Chenrerzig Institute in Queensland where she is the resident teacher, leading the foundation studies program.. She is currently Chair of the Australian Sangha Association. She was ordained in 2006 by Lama Zopa Rinpoche. Prior to ordination she taught at University and in the community sector.

Ven Chokyi is also International Director of the Liberation Prison program

Sharon Thrupp, Treasurer is the Director of Ekno Travels, a travel company based in Australia and India. For two decades she divided her time between Nepal and India where she studied Buddhism and lived and worked in Dharmasala, India having direct access to the Tibetan buddhist teachings, including the Dalai Lama and other renowned teachers such as Sakyadhita President Jetsuman Tenzin Palmo

She has now returned to Australia and regularly attends her local Buddhist centre, Chenrezig Institute on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland.

Vikki Sarac, Membership Secretary. Vikki first became interested in Buddhism through her study of Japanese Tea Ceremony. While studying at university, she attended the Sydney Zen Centre. A number of years later after returning to Australia from overseas, she visited Chenrezig Institute (CI). It was there that her interest in Buddhism was reignited Since then she has studied regularly at CI as well as with a number of Buddhist centres around the world. These days she is a volunteer in the Chenrezig Library.

In 2015 she joined Sakyadhita Australia and attended her first international conference. It is an honour for her to be on the Sakyadhita Australia Committee.

Sky Dawson trained is an Occupational Therapist in Western Australia and worked with children for 20 years then lectured at Curtin University of Technology. She also worked hospice and palliative care and did research in this area for 9 years. She sat her first meditation retreat in Perth, Western Australia in 1981 and has travelled to the NSW, Burma and the US for short and long vipassana retreats.

She has been teaching meditation part-time since 2005 in the USA and Western Australia after completing a 5 year meditation teacher training programme. She retired in 2009 to focus on teaching meditation and lived at the Insight Meditation Society in Massachusetts from 2010 to 2014 as a resident teacher

Meg Adam, Secretary. Meg is a returning committee member of Sakyadhita Australia, having previously been the Secretary and Vice President. Meg took some time away from the committee to complete her second PhD, ‘The Enlightened Mother in Australian Tibetan Buddhism’. She is a long-time student of Tibetan Buddhism and was previously a volunteer at Dewachen Study Group in Mackay Qld. Having moved multiple times, and with no centre in her current location, her recent studies are online at various centres and groups throughout Australia.

Lindel Greggery is based on the Sunshine Coast and was introduced to Buddhism through meditation. Having worked in media and communications for decades, in 2014 she diversified her career into mindfulness training, joining Potential Project to bring greater mindfulness, selflessness and compassion to corporate environments. More recently Lindel has taught meditation and the mindfulness-based therapy ACT to support people experiencing cancer, chronic pain and burnout. Her ongoing learning includes attending talks and retreats with esteemed Tibetan Buddhism teachers at Chenrezig Institute, overseas, and online. Lindel is delighted to join the Sakyadhita Australia community and have the opportunity to contribute as a committee member.

Christine Jones is an experienced lawyer and dispute resolution practitioner. She became a student of Tibetan buddhism through her work as a practitioner of restorative and transformative justice promoting dialogue and healing in complex social conflict. She is an expert advisor to state and federal agencies on the design and implementation of restorative responses to institutional harm and injustice. She teaches dispute resolution and reflective practice in the QUT School of Social Work where she is a PhD candidate. Beyond her professional work, Christine holds directorships in community organisations focused on disability and mental health services, and palliative care. She is also a former commissioner of the National Mental Health Commission.