CO-FOUNDER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
For over 20 years, Prentiss has worked to design and deliver workshops, retreats and educational programs that have reached thousands of people in Asia, Europe and North America. A 10 year Hindu monk, Prentiss studied closely with the late Bhakti Tirtha Swami, serving as his secretary and editor. He has lead community building initiatives funded by the University of Michigan and the United Nations, and was a Key Holder for NYC’s first social impact oriented Co-Working Space, Impact Hub.
CO-FOUNDER, CULINARY DIRECTOR
Divya Alter is the Chef Co-owner of Divya's Kitchen, an Ayurvedic restaurant in Manhattan. She is also the author of What to Eat for How You Feel: The New Ayurvedic Kitchen (Rizzoli, 2017). As the Co-Founder and Director of Ayurvedic Health and Culinary Arts at Bhagavat Life, Divya has been teaching Ayurvedic vegetarian cooking in New York City since 2009. Divya has cooked in yoga ashrams and temples in India, Europe and the US for 30 years. Her cooking practice began in her mid-twenties when she moved to India, where for five years she studied yoga, philosophy, and Sanskrit at the Vrindavan Institute for Higher Education. As an Ayurvedic nutritional consultant, Divya is a student of Vaidya Ramakant Mishra of the Shaka Vansiya Ayurveda lineage.
ASSISTANT CULINARY DIRECTOR
Katerina is a culinary and yoga instructor. Prior to moving to New York, Katerina was a chef and kitchen manager at an Ayurvedic retreat center on Kauai. She had previously worked in research at Penn State looking at the impact of diet on mental health. When she began studying yoga and Ayurveda, she immediately connected with the wisdom in both modalities and decided to change career paths. Over the past five years, she has completed more than 1,000 hours of training in Ayurveda, yoga, and women’s health.
ATTORNEY
Jeff has practiced law for thirty years, working with entrepreneurs, investors, companies, investment funds, and joint ventures in various industries including not-for-profit organizations in connection with business structuring. Jeff was previously General Counsel of a multimillion dollar venture capital firm with operations in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. He has served on the Board of Directors of both public and private companies.
CPA
Michele brings vast expertise as a business advisor regarding all aspects of taxation with a concentration in trusts and estates. Michele’s areas of expertise include but are not limited to: succession planning including estate and gift, trust, private foundation, individual, small businesses, investment partnerships, and tax controversy. In addition to being a Partner at FRB, Michele leads Schlereth Tax and Accounting Group LLC, a full service tax and accounting firm.
CHAIR
Lorna is the Founder and CEO of Blue Rose Compass, a nonprofit which impacts conflict regions by identifying brilliant young adults and arranging scholarships for them to world-leading universities. She is also the Founder and CEO of GritTekkie, a company that aims to fill staffing needs in technology for leading companies worldwide by unlocking access to highly talented, skilled, credentialed pools of labor drawing from underserved groups.
VICE CHAIR
Lisa served as a senior executive with operational and legal experience in both the executive and legislative branches of the U.S. Government. Lisa has led workshops and been a featured speaker on leadership, personal development, and mindfulness at executive and judicial symposia across the country. Lisa is International Coach Federation accredited and holds coaching certifications from the Coaches Training Institute and the Strozzi Institute.
TREASURER
Shawn has a passion for sustainable enterprise and has spent much of his career supporting such organizations in a finance or accounting capacity. Shawn holds a Master's degree in accountancy, an MBA in sustainable innovation and is a CPA in both New York and California.
SECRETARY
Savenaz is the Director of Operations and Strategic Development at the Reiss Center on Law and Security, a non-partisan multidisciplinary research institute at NYU School of Law. In that capacity, Ms. Bakhtiar oversees the operations, finances, and administration of the Center and works closely with Center and Law School leadership, advising the Center’s executive team and stakeholders on strategic decisions.
BOARD MEMBER
Emilie has dedicated her life to understanding the connections between people and food, and supporting people to live vibrantly. She is a graduate of the Natural Gourmet Institute for Health and Culinary Arts and received her M.S. in Food Studies from NYU. Emilie has spent extensive time working in food projects in France, and has worked at a number of restaurants that emphasize conscious cooking.
