Trustees & Board of Directors Breathworks Foundations Board of Trustees The Breathworks Foundation has a Board of Trustees who share a love of mindfulness and a deep appreciation of its positive effects. They meet quarterly to guide the work of The Foundation and the team, as well as approve fund allocations. Menka Sanghvi Menka's work is focused on creative ways to share mindfulness and compassion practices with more people. She is a senior advisor at The Mindfulness Initiative, lead author of The Fieldbook for Mindfulness Innovators, host of the Digital Habit Lab podcast, and creator of the newsletter Just Looking. She has joined Breathworks to strategically support the charity's efforts around accessibility and inclusion. Previously Menka led innovation projects for the United Nations, Oxfam, Save the Children and corporates seeking a positive social impact. Her background is multidisciplinary, including degrees in physics from Cambridge University, extensive training in design thinking with IDEO, a lifelong study of contemplative traditions, and a passion for mindful photography. You can find out more about her work here. Karim Rushdy Over the past 20 years Karim has opened and run restaurants in China, been a partner in a pan-Asian think tank and facilitated purposeful leadership programmes in 15 countries. Today, he works with a ground-breaking EdTech platform dedicated to redesigning society and solving humanity's greatest challenges. Ten years ago, Karim discovered the healing potential of mindfulness and meditation when they transformed his relationship with chronic pain and gave him a fresh perspective on life. Having experienced first-hand how awareness and self-compassion support wellbeing, Karim feels incredibly privileged to serve as a Trustee and support Breathworks in helping others living with pain, illness and stress cultivate their innate capacity to heal and reclaim their lives. Karim is currently pursuing a master’s in teaching mindfulness-based courses at Bangor University. He lives in Edinburgh with his wife Rebecca and his two greatest mindfulness teachers, their daughters Na'ima and Amina. Prasadu, Chair of the Board is Director of Psychology & Honorary Buddhist Chaplain with Calderdale & Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust. He has held various posts as a Clinical Psychologist in the NHS during his extensive career and currently runs a chronic pain management programme within his role. His past includes a period as Technician Engineer in the Royal Air Force 1967-1977. He then went on to explore psychology, gaining a BSc (Psychology) from Hull University 1980 and MSc (Clinical Psychology) Manchester University 1982. Prof. Dominic Houlder is one of Europe’s leading experts on strategy execution in B2B and professional services firms. He helps the leaders of major firms to connect with their clients, their colleagues and themselves in different and compelling ways. Dominic brings a unique mix of theory, practical experience, and spiritual insight to his work. He is Adjunct Professor in Strategic and Entrepreneurial Management at London Business School where he has been based since 1994. Previously, he worked for the Boston Consulting Group and held senior leadership positions in the corporate world. His clients have ranged from Deutsche Bank and Saatchi & Saatchi to British Airways and the UK Ministry of Defence. A committed Buddhist practitioner for more than 30 years and back in 2001 he co-authored ‘Mindfulness and Money, the Buddhist Heart of Abundance’ just as mindfulness was being spoken about. In 2019 he authored 'What Philosophy Can Teach You About Being a Better Leader'. Dominic also serves as a Trustee of the Clore Social Leadership Foundation, a Governor and Council Member of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution and as a Trustee of the Karuna Trust as well as being a crofter on the Isle of Skye. Dr. Gill Parry has worked as a Pediatrician for over 30 years. Currently, she is working with children in foster care or placed for adoption. She is also a Designated Doctor for safeguarding in Kirklees, Yorkshire and is the safeguarding trustee lead for Breathworks. Gill has suffered from depression herself and sees many children who have suffered significant neglect and emotional abuse. She is particularly interested in mental well-being and wants to support Breathworks to grow its impact and reach. Robert Jones Robert brings extensive experience of scaling organisations, having been Managing Director of Windhorse Trading for 23 years. At its peak Windhorse Trading was turning over £12 million per annum and was listed as one of the Independent's UK top 100 fastest growing companies several years running. Robert also has extensive experience of managing a charitable enterprise with a trading company, which is a similar structure to the Breathworks Group, therefore offering invaluable advice as we grow the impact of Breathworks. Ruth Cheesley Ruth has a background in web and digital technologies, having created and grown a full-service digital agency over seven years. She also has a long history of building and growing communities within the voluntary and corporate sectors and brings these skills to help Breathworks continue to grow and deliver on its mission. Ruth lives with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome which results in hypermobility, fatigue and pain. She has found the techniques that Breathworks teaches to be transformative in allowing her to live her life to the full and manage her health in a positive way. Having largely recovered from a health crash, she is now exploring sport and fitness, is a keen runner, and as ambassador for This Girl Can, encouraging girls and women to lead more active, healthier lives. Sally Jones Sally has operated at board level in a range of senior executive positions and has a diverse background across complex organisations. In her previous roles as Chief Operating Officer Sally has developed a strong interest in authentic, mindful leadership and working collaboratively to co-create solutions that enhance individual and operational capability. Attending the Breathworks Mindfulness for Stress course was a pivotal experience in Sally’s life, and she shares our core values and vision of developing the reach of mindfulness in supporting people to live more fulfilling lives at home and at work. Sally has significant experience in strategic planning, business transformation, organisational design and change and believes that creating an inclusive, compassionate and connected culture is central to building happiness, resilience and reducing stress. Breathworks Founders Vidyamala Burch, Co-Founder and Board Adviser Vidyamala co-founded Breathworks in 2004 and is now recognised as an international leader in Mindfulness-based Pain Management. She has written three books including the best-selling ‘Mindfulness for Health’ (co-authored with Danny Penman). This was awarded First Prize in Popular Medicine in the British Medical Association Books Awards. In 2018 Vidyamala was awarded an honorary membership to the British Pain Association. This was for her extraordinary contribution to the field of pain management with the development of Mindfulness-based Pain Management (MBPM). Visit Vidyamala's Website Sona Fricker, Co-Founder Sona has practised and taught mindfulness, meditation and related disciplines around the world for over forty years. He was involved in the establishment and running of several meditation centres, including founding a public centre in Stockholm, Sweden, and working as Director of a retreat centre in the UK, where he spent much of his time leading and attending intensive retreats. He has led retreats and Buddhist training programmes in the UK, Germany, Holland, Sweden, North America, Australia and New Zealand. Manage Cookie Preferences