Juan Carlos La Puente works in leadership development rooted in meditative, contemplative, and discernment practices. He supports leaders in different countries to create learning spaces based on collaborative practices. He lives in Portland, Oregon, and collaborates with the Oregon Synod as a Bishop’s Associate. After accompanying many leaders internationally, he authored “Mutual Accompaniment in the Divine Ruah: On Discernment and Spirituality at Uncertain Times” in 2023.

Namdrol Miranda Adams is Dean and a Founder of Maitripa College, a Buddhist graduate school in Portland, Oregon. She teaches Buddhism, contemplative pedagogy, and engagement with faith and service at Maitripa. Since 1998 she has dedicated her life to the study and practice of the Tibetan language and philosophy in the context of American higher education. She practiced and studied as a Buddhist nun for seven years, and completed her doctoral work in Education at the University of Portland in 2021. Her research is focused on contemplative education, epistemology and learning, and building sustainable and socially responsible institutions of higher education.

Chris Baskin is a potter based in Portland, Oregon, who makes atmospherically fired ceramics for utilitarian, aesthetic, and contemplative purposes. He completed a Master of Divinity degree at Southern Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1991 and a Master of Fine Arts degree at Alfred University in New York in 1995. Chris participates in Trinity Episcopal Contemplative Group, identifies ceramics as one of many contemplative arts, and engages art as a transformative spiritual practice.

Lynn Holt co-founded the Companioning Center, a contemplative spiritual formation and training center for soul companions and spiritual directors based on the Quaker tradition of deep listening, waiting silence, and discernment that supports faithful action in the world. Lynn has served in local congregations, overseas at the Ramallah Friends School in the West Bank, and as a graduate school instructor.  As a wisdom seeker, formation guide, supervisor, and soul companion, Lynn hosts contemplative spaces and practices for all seekers. A Recorded Minister among Friends, she has an MDiv from Portland Seminary and Certificates from the Mercy Center in Burlingame, CA, and Shalem Institute.

Patricia Hutchinson is a Franciscan Spiritual Director. She has been practicing Centering Prayer for over 20 years and is committed to its fundamental tenets: Silence, Stillness, Solitude, Simplicity, Serenity, Solidarity, and Service. She is a big believer that our deepest self is where we find the Divine and that all areas of life can bring us into contact with that true self: the natural world, our relationships, our creativity, and our uniqueness. Her own self-exploration involves continuous dialogue between body, mind, and emotions… the Trinity of the soul. As a mother and grandmother, she brings a deeply cultivated understanding of the Divine Feminine to her life and her work. Patricia has a Bachelor of Arts in Literature and a Masters in Theology. She has co-chaired Oregon Contemplative Outreach, facilitating contemplative workshops and retreats.

A River Runs Through It: Reflections from the banks of the Willamette and Jordan Rivers

Press-ganged in Portland? Jonah and Paul in the City of Roses

Honoring Portland’s Prophets: How the Spirit has Moved in
the City of Roses