Board of Directors

IMCC's Board of Directors comprises a mix of longtime sangha members and members who have joined our community within the last few years. The board fills vacancies by identifying sangha members who have participated actively in the community as volunteers or teachers and have special skills that will enhance the Board's mission to determine policies, procedures and regulations, provide fiscal oversight, assist in raising funds to finance the organization when needed, provide leadership and assume leadership roles, and monitor organizational performance. All members are eligible for a position on the board. If you would like to be considered, contact the Operations Director.

The Board meets every other month and holds an all-day retreat once per year to attend to business and consider larger issues of policies, programs, and long-term growth strategy. Our board meetings are open for the sangha to attend. By law, the board must have a quorum to approve proposed policies or decisions.

If you would like to contact one of the Board Members by email, or if you are interested in attending a board meeting, use the Contact Us Form. If you wish to direct your question to a specific Board Member, indicate the name in the subject line and we will forward your message to them.

John Wilson, (he/him) Chair has been a member of IMCC since 2016. He is drawn to the growth of peace and ease in one's daily life that is cultivated by the practice of Buddhism. An Astronomer at the University of Virginia, he is an avid reader in his spare time. He and his wife Susan have three adult children, one of whom has autism and lives at home.

Rebecca Mason, (she/her), Treasurer, was introduced to meditation through a Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction class in the early 1990s. In her role as a counselor at the UVA Employee Assistance Program, she worked closely with the UVA Mindfulness Center to offer individual mindfulness instruction to Health professionals in the Medical Center. She joined IMCC in the early days of the COVID epidemic, regularly attending the online noon meditation. She finds the practice of meditation has led to a greater peace and calm in her daily life. Rebecca has a Masters in Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing. In her free time she enjoys being with her husband Walter and their 2 dogs, Corduroy and Duffy. She also enjoys gardening, Pilates, travel and cycling and can also be found searching for the perfect coffee bean.

Susan Kaufman (she/her) is a psychologist in private practice who draws on mindfulness practices in her work. She is on the teaching team for the Blue Ridge Prison Project. She participates in the Mindful of Race training and has a strong interest in the sangha's work in bridging separation. Susan and her husband Peter have two adult children and love to travel, hike, and bike.

Phyllis Savides (she/her), Secretary, was introduced to meditation through an organization called Women’s Way in the early 1990’s. Years later, she joined Sharon Beckman-Brindley’s Interpersonal Presence Supervision Group and it was then that she returned to the practice. Over the last 15 years, she has participated in several Insight Dialogue meditation retreats with Sharon and Phyllis Hicks. A social worker by profession, Phyllis retired from the Albemarle County Department of Social Services in 2021 after having worked there for 23 years, most recently as Director. Phyllis is married and is quite bonded to her 4-legged companions. Currently, she and her husband, John have 2 cats and 1 dog. She loves to garden and sing and play guitar and piano.

Marylouise Kelley (she/her) felt welcomed into her new spiritual community at IMCC when she moved to Charlottesville in 2017 after retiring from a career devoted to advocacy for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and child maltreatment at the local and national levels.

Marylouise began her practice at the Insight Meditation Community of Washington With the support of IMCC’s Aspiring Teachers Program, she became an IMCC teacher in 2020. She also serves on the IMCC Guiding Teachers Council, participates in Racial Affinity Groups, and co- facilitates the Sangha Leader Cohort.

Marylouise earned her doctorate in Social Work from Catholic University in 2003. In her spare time, she loves to hang out with her grandsons and children, and hike with friends, husband Dan and their dog. She also enjoys kayaking, pickleball, yoga, reading, and dabbling with the mandolin.

Matt Fritts (he/him) first met the Dharma as a UVA undergrad through a class on Buddhist meditation taught by Jeffrey Hopkins. He has been practicing and teaching yoga since 1996, when he completed his first Integral Yoga teacher training program at Satchidananda Ashram-Yogaville. Matt has been an IMCC Sangha member since he moved back to Charlottesville in 2018 to work in UVA’s employee well-being program, and he finds that IMCC complements well his primary practice in the Himalayan Buddhist tradition. In his free time he loves hiking with friends and his dog, and hosting a classical piano radio show on WTJU.