 | Khyentse Norbu – Chairman Khyentse Norbu, also known in the Buddhist world as Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche, is trained as a philosophy teacher. He graduated from various school in India and Europe. In addition to his formal education, Rinpoche has studied with some of the leading Tibetan Buddhist masters of the 20th century. He is the head of the Dzongsar Monastery and Dzongsar College and is currently responsible for the care and education of approximately 1,600 monks in six monasteries and institutes in Asia. Khyentse Norbu also oversees Siddhartha’s Intent and contemporary teaching and practice centers on several continents, as well as the non-profit organizations Khyentse Foundation, 84000, and Lotus Outreach. Rinpoche has also authored several books on following the Buddhist path in the contemporary world. Khyentse Norbu has directed several award-winning feature films including The Cup, Travellers and Magicians, Vara: A Blessing, and Hema Hema. |
 | Patty Waltcher – President Patty lives in Ojai, California with her husband, William Okin and has served on the Board of Directors of Lotus Outreach since 2004. She’s chaired fundraising since 2006, served as Vice President from 2009, and was elected President in 2011. She has served on nonprofit boards for more than 20 years, including Siddhartha’s Intent, the Ojai Music Festival, and Satdharma. Patty has 25 years experience teaching Buddhist meditation, a masters in Buddhist Studies, and currently works in real estate. |
 | Penelope Tree – Vice President Penelope was born in New York City, educated in the US and now lives in the UK She has two children, Paloma and Michael, and joined Lotus Outreach as a board member in 2003. She is also the UK representative for Lotus Outreach and the Khyentse Foundation. |
 | Ed Malley – Treasurer Ed’s professional career was in investment consulting and real estate. He earned his undergraduate degree in Finance from Santa Clara University and his MBA from American University. He has two grown children. Ed now teaches running. With previous board experience in both the public and private sectors, Ed has been on the board of Lotus Outreach and has served as its Treasurer since 2004. |
 | Germaine A. Hoston, Ph.D. A graduate of Princeton and a Harvard Ph.D., Germaine is professor of East Asian philosophy and development. An esteemed scholar and teacher, Germaine has served on the boards of numerous non-profit organizations, including the Asia Society. A member of the Board since 2008, she is Chair of the Audit Committee. |
 | Julie Chender – President, Lotus Outreach Society Canada Julie grew up in Denver, Colorado and attended the University of Colorado and New York University. For the past eleven years Julie has been involved in ALIA (formerly the Shambhala Institute for Authentic Leadership), both in coordinating and hosting events. In addition, Julie has served for the last five years as Executive Chair of Planned Parenthood in Halifax, Nova Scotia |
 | Sarah K. C. Wilkinson Born and raised in the US, Sarah has lived between Asia, Australia, and now London, where she lives with her husband and children and serves as a chaplain at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital. Sarah has degrees from University of the West, Columbia University, and Middlebury College. |
 | Elisabeth Roberts Elisabeth is a nurse specializing in maternal-child health. Currently working towards her Master’s in Global Health, Elisabeth takes medical trips abroad providing care to young women in marginalized communities. She is excited to join the board at Lotus Outreach International to support their mission. |
 | Carey Balogh Carey joined LO in 2019 and lives in NJ with her husband and two sons. She has a B.A. in Journalism from the University of Maryland and a Master’s in Fashion Promotion from the Marangoni Institute. Carey worked as a fashion PR executive in NYC and Milan, and co-founded a children’s play space in Brooklyn. While she currently runs Brand Groupies, her boutique branding agency, she also enjoys hosting the Brand Groupies Podcast and playing guitar in her mom-only band, Mamadrama. www.brandgroupies.com |
 | Agam Patel Agam Patel is the Associate Director at the University of California, Riverside- Palm Desert Center. He is fluent in English, Swahili and Hindi and has strong connections to India, Africa and the developing world. He was recruited as a volunteer in 2008, and has contributed to various committees within Lotus Outreach, including serving in the Executive Committee for over five years. |
 | Sei Chuan Yap Yap provides business advisory services to a wide range of companies, and has many years of internal audit and risk management experience. He is a member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA, UK) and Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA). He is an active member of Losang Dragpa Center and Tzu Chi Foundation in Malaysia. He joined LO in 2016 as a member of the audit committee. |
 | Anna Harper – Vice President, Lotus Outreach Australia Anna, a New Zealander, began involvement with Lotus Outreach in 2004 with a realization that girl’s education was pivotal to changing a countries socio-economic status. She has an M.A. specializing in Chaos, Complexity and Creativity. Anna has worked with private and public organizations including the United Nations, where she develops future leaders for many of the agencies in the Asia Pacific region. |
Our Staff
 | Glenn Fawcett – Executive Director Glenn has undertaken post-graduate studies in Poverty Reduction in Policy and Practice at the London University School of Oriental and Asian Studies. An Australian native, he first joined Lotus Outreach out of New Delhi as a volunteer in 1995. He became it’s Director of Operations in 1997 and has managed LO operations between India and Cambodia ever since. He loves spending time in the villages and communities we work in, has a strong sense of social justice, and is drawn to create social development approaches that impact at scale and are replicable. He has now spent more than 20 years in the field designing and monitoring Lotus Outreach’s village-based programs. |
 | Genevieve Waltcher – Director of Giving Genevieve is a graduate of Barnard College, Columbia University and holds an MFA in Theatre from Sarah Lawrence College. A team member since 2017, she is passionate about scaling LO’s work to help empower women and girls to ignite transformation in their communities. She is also a doctoral student at the University of Auckland. |
 | Maya Norbu – Associate Director of Media and Partnerships Maya joined the LO team in 2020. She has been familiar with LO’s work for a long time and is happy to be a part of the vision and ever expanding community. She is a graduate of Middlebury College and holds a degree in art and architectural history with a focus on architectural studies. |
 | Raksmey Var – Country Representative, Cambodia Raksmey completed her Master’s Degree in Gender and Development Studies from Asia Institute of Technology in Thailand. She has been with Lotus Outreach since October 2007. Raksmey oversees day-to-day operations in Cambodia. She enjoys working with children and young Cambodian women to inspire and empower them to realize their full potential and dreams through education. |
 | Pisey Chea – Project Officer, Cambodia Pisey successfully attained her BA in Biochemistry in 2016. After two years of working with youth, she joined Lotus Outreach Cambodia as a CATALYST Project Officer in March of 2017. Pisey canvasses all sectors to find free and subsidized training, internship and employment opportunities for our beneficiaries. She loves mentoring young women to help them overcome challenges in both education and life. |
 | Borika – Accountant, Cambodia Borika graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting in 2019 and had two years work experience in accounting when she joined Lotus Outreach Cambodia in June of 2020. Borika is responsible for all accounting and administrative work on the ground in Cambodia. |
 | Sabrina Rashi Nagpal, Executive Project Coordinator, White Lotus Trust, India After joining us in 2019, Sabrina currently assists with White Lotus Trust overall program development and implementation as an executive project coordinator for a host of Lotus projects including Education Quality Addition (EQU+), Kapadia Scholarships, and Urban Youth Project’s career counseling and the education hub’s development and initiatives in Delhi. |
 | Alexandra Land – Brand Illustrator Alexandra has been with Lotus Outreach for over 9 years. As a registered nurse with a BA in sociology, she is motivated to create opportunities for those who need it most. After spending 6 years in communication and partnerships at Lotus Outreach, she now helps Lotus Outreach communicate its brand and mission through illustration. |
 | Anna Shook – Store Manager and Communications Specialist Anna Shook joined LO in November of 2021. She is a committed team member who manages the store, admin, and email inquiries at LO. Anna also supports communications with donors, Art for LO, and annual campaigns. She is a mother of two and lives with her family in Ojai, California. |
 | Paloma Fataar – Art for LO Coordinator Paloma is a graduate of Bard College with a B.A. in Asian Studies and holds a Masters Degree in Traditional Chinese Medicine from Yo San University. She currently works as an Acupuncturist and Herbalist in Los Angeles. She joined LO in 2020. |
 | Vidyasagar Kadiyam – Web Architect Software Architect and Web Enthusiast, is a MFA graduate in Design & Technology from Parsons School of Design in NY. He works in the digital media space and online advertising. Besides being passionate about UX design and building web experiences, he loves tasting different cuisines and enjoys cricket. He has been with the LO team since 2018. |
 | Anastasia Mentar – Research Intern Anastasia is a senior student at UC San Diego with a major in International Studies – International Business and a minor in Education Studies. She volunteers as an after school tutor for high school students with the International Rescue Committee and plans to work in education throughout her career. |