Faculty & Staff

The McLean Meditation Institute’s faculty, staff, and certified teachers abide by a Code of Ethics designed to promote and maintain (both as individuals and within an industry) the highest levels of professional and ethical conduct while providing the highest quality service and showing the utmost respect for all colleagues, professionals, students, and the general public. They are committed to providing programs in a nourishing, safe, and engaging learning environment and to cultivating kindness and compassion in all interactions.

Sarah McLean
Director

Along with my 30-year daily meditation practice, I’ve had some unique opportunities: I served as the founding education director of Deepak Chopra’s Center for Wellbeing, the director of Byron Katie’s international School for The Work, and the assistant to Seat of the Soul author, Gary Zukav. I worked with each of these thought leaders to help them share their knowledge and work with the world. As I developed mind/body health centers, self-discovery programs, curriculum, and events for them worldwide, I was fortunate enough to become immersed in their wisdom and knowledge.

I’ve made it my mission to demystify meditation through my direct experience from my exploration of contemplative and spiritual traditions.  I served as the president of the Transcendental Meditation Siddhi Program, lived in a Transcendental Meditation center, was a two-year resident in a Zen Buddhist training center, lived in an ashram in India, bicycled along the Silk Route through Pakistan’s Indus River Valley, and trekked the Golden Triangle in Asia. I also trained as a behavioral specialist in the U.S. Army to work with soldiers and veterans suffering with post-traumatic stress disorder, and was the program director for Deepak Chopra’s mind-body health center. My aim is to demystify meditation and make it accessible to anyone who wants to learn, to coach people in creating a more mindful life, and to create programs to integrate all of the techniques and practices into anyone’s life at work and at home. I love to share about self-awareness, mindfulness, and meditation wherever I’m invited.  Read more here.

Suzi von Mensenkampff, Vedic Master, CMMI
MTA Faculty & Course Advisor

Lisa Campbell loves that peace is her profession. Founder of Mindfulfilled Meditation, she leads classes, workshops, and retreats throughout New England to help others experience a more peaceful, healthier, and happier life through meditation. Lisa received her Meditation & Mindfulness Instructor certification through the McLean Meditation Institute in Sedona, Arizona, where she returned as a Course Advisor to mentor international students who are working towards becoming certified meditation teachers. A veteran of the United States Air Force, Lisa felt that no veteran should be left behind, especially those dealing with Post Traumatic Stress (PTS) or Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBIs). She trained and became certified by the Warriors at Ease organization to specialize in trauma-informed meditation for active military, veterans, and their families. Lisa is both an Advisory Board member, and member of the Holistic Health Group, for Project New Hope, a Massachusetts nonprofit organization that provides free weekend retreats for veterans and their families throughout New England. Learn more about Lisa at www.Mindfulfilled.com.

Sarah Fletcher, CMMI
MTA Faculty & Course Advisor

Zac Occhiline, RYT 500
MTA Faculty

Zac is a delightful, wise guide into the world of meditation, yoga, and self-discovery. He has studied and practiced yoga since 2000, including Hatha, Kundalini, and Kriya yoga, as well as Ayurveda, Jyotish, and the philosophies of Sufism, Shamanism, Reiki, and energy work. Zac has developed a unique and well-rounded understanding of the path of yoga and meditation and offers his students practical advice on how to apply this knowledge toward self-realization. Growing up in Sedona has given him a deep appreciation and love for the wilderness. He has hiked and backpacked throughout the deserts of Arizona and considers nature to be his biggest teacher. Through nature’s influence, along with his yoga and meditation practice, he’s found the stability and presence to better understand his own nature, which helps him guide others to discover theirs. Zac is committed to truth and practicing what he preaches. He offers private yoga training and is on the faculty of the Meditation Teacher Academy.  Find him at Sati Yoga & Wellness in Sedona, Arizona.

Joy Nanda, PhD, CST-D, CMMI
MTA Faculty

Joy Pamela Nanda, Ph.D., received her doctorate in biological anthropology from the University of Kansas and was a tenured professor at Case Western Reserve University until she left to study alternative healing modalities, including craniosacral therapy with the Upledger Institute. She is a graduate of the first meditation teacher training cohort at MMI. She specializes in craniosacral therapy, therapeutic yoga, and meditation classes at her practice Healing With Joy, and delivers lectures and health workshops across the country. This work is an expression of her lifelong fascination with the evolution and development of consciousness, and her calling to present the science of brain health in a way that is understandable and relevant to meditation students and spiritual seekers. She is a faculty member of the Meditation Teacher Academy. When not teaching or working privately with clients, she enjoys a daily meditation practice and time spent hiking the trails of Sedona and beyond.  You can find out more about Joy here.

Adrienne Pieroth, CMMI
MTA Faculty

Adrienne first learned to meditate in college at the age of twenty. Her love of meditation and her personal practice prompted friends and family to ask her to teach them. She searched high and low for a teacher’s meditation program and knew the minute she read Soul-Centered that she had found the right place—the McLean Meditation Institute. She was certified to teach in the summer of 2014 and has since been building a business teaching both individual and corporate classes. Prior to her work as a meditation teacher, Adrienne worked in corporate America as a network engineer and systems designer. With master’s degrees in computer science and cognitive science, Adrienne especially enjoys the intersection of mindfulness and technology in a fast-paced, always-connected digital world. Her skills in corporate training, user needs analysis, systems design, user/usability testing, and marketing/branding further add to her ability to present and reach diverse audiences, large or small, in a variety of settings.  She is a mother of two teenage sons and an aspiring writer. Adrienne lives between Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Redondo Beach, California where, when she’s not teaching meditation, she can be found hiking in the mountains or walking on the beach. Find her here.

Louise Shanagher, MSc
MTA Faculty

Louise Shanagher is a children’s therapist, mindfulness teacher, and psychology lecturer from Co. Roscommon, Ireland. Louise has a BA and MSc in Psychology and further qualifications in Psychotherapy and Play Therapy. She is passionate about creating a happier and healthier world. Her mission is to promote and nurture positive mental health while equipping people with valuable self-care tools that will last a lifetime. She works with children as young as preschool age and visits primary and secondary schools, nationwide. Louise facilitates adult mindfulness and self-compassion workshops and offers wellbeing and mindfulness training in the workplace. Louise also regularly gives training workshops for teachers and other organisations who work with children and young people. Find out more about Louise and her work, here.

Trained by Deepak Chopra, Saul David Raye, and Rama Berch (aka Swami Nirmalananda), Corrine has over 27 years of experience in the healing arts. She’s not only a long-term meditator who served as the president of the Transcendental Meditation Siddhi Program, but she was also the founder of the House of Bliss in Nashville, Tennessee, a center that offered music, meditation, yoga, and mind/body healing. She later developed and headed up the Chopra Center Seven Spiritual Laws of Yoga program, known as Chopra Yoga, and now runs the Ivy House (offering yoga and meditation) in Nashville.  She’s a Course Advisor for the Meditation Teacher Academy.  She’s a recording artist, yoga instructor, and for many years Corrine has been known as the stress relief guru to the stars as she specializes in helping people find balance in their lives  She’s the founder of a Global Watch Foundation an organization that sponsors a children’s home in South India. She also leads tours to sacred spots in India. Corrine connects with her heart and offers hope and inspiration to everyone she comes in contact with.

Marty Birrittella
MTA Faculty

Marty has been meditating since he was in college and has since made it a priority to immerse himself in his spiritual life. He lived in an ashram (a meditation community) with a guru for many years, and is well-versed in the effects of meditation and expanded awareness. Marty was the founder and president of several successful well-known public companies, and when he turned 41, he retired to fully devote himself to his spiritual practices. Through meditation, Marty awakened to creative practices in meditation as he turned to painting, painting “by ear” as he calls it, guided by his inner knowing. He also is the author of many books that came to him the same way. He is a gifted facilitator who loves to share his approach to the practice of self-inquiry. He reveres nature and the outdoors and does a walking meditation every day at the beach. Find out more about him here. 

Dr. Laurel Geise, MBA, D.Min
MMI Mindful Co-Director

Laurel combines 30 years as a leader in Fortune 500 companies, including C-level positions, with 20 years as an expert meditation instructor. Laurel was certified to teach meditation by Dr. Deepak Chopra in 1996 and has introduced thousands of people to the benefits of mindfulness and meditation. Specializing in global program development and deployment, she is uniquely qualified to consult with organizations to implement mindfulness in the workplace programs. As Founder and CEO of The Geise Group, her clients include a diverse range of organizations from Fortune 50 to Inc 5000, high tech to investment firms. In addition, Dr. Geise is a master trainer at Speaking Empire, an internationally recognized training company providing elite training to the best speakers in the world. She is an author, a radio show host on VividLife, and a professional speaker. She is the lead trainer for the MMI Mindful Trainer program, and is the co-founder of Mindful Caring.

Paige Davis
MMI Mindful Faculty

Paige Davis is a mindfulness trainer, entrepreneur, author, and cancer survivor. She facilitates mindfulness and meditation programming designed to enhance communication, productivity, and managing high-demand situations with more clarity, compassion, and creativity. She’s worked with a variety of companies including Facebook, C3 Presents, Whole Foods Market, National Instruments, University of Texas, Austin Community College, Texas Department of Transportation, and several start-ups.  Paige is also co-founder of the social impact brand, BlueAvocado. The company’s thoughtful designs and creative solutions invite people to live a greener, simpler, and more mindful life. Her work has been featured in the Huffington Post, MindBodyGreen, Ozy, Health, and Mindful Magazine. She is a Master Trainer for MMI Mindful™ Trainer certification through McLean Meditation Institute and the author of Here We Grow: Mindfulness Through Cancer and Beyond.