We are spritual friends and practitioners, helping eachother bring practice into daily life.
Freedom Maitreya
Freedom Maitreya is an ordained spiritual counselor and heart-reader who enjoys participating in psychologically enriching cultures that yield compassionate interconnectedness. Currently, he is a Bartlett Scholar at Drew University, where his research in Contemplative Practice and Comparative Religious Studies have afforded him opportunities to teach and research on six of seven continents. He is also engaging post-doctoral research at the Upaya Zen Center, where his practice in the Zen Buddhist tradition is preparing him to become an endorsed, Buddhist Chaplain of the Prajna Mountain Buddhist Order. Freedom's advocacy work with The Courage Collective, and his certified training in energy medicine, have nurtured his holistic approach to trauma informed counseling and facilitation.
Jennifer Wang
Jennifer grew up in Los Angeles (Tongva land) alongside her twin sister, younger sister, mother and father, who moved to the US as teenagers from Taiwan and Hong Kong, respectively.
Jennifer has been a regular practitioner of mindfulness and meditation for over 15 years in the Theravada Insight, Shambhala, and Plum Village traditions. She has sat multiple residential and silent retreats at Spirit Rock Meditation Center, Insight Meditation Society, Deer Park Monastery, Magnolia Grove Monastery, Southern Dharma, and other beautiful retreat centers close to nature. She has also completed multiple instructor certification courses, including in the Shambhala and Insight traditions, at Vanderbilt University, and currently as part of Spirit Rock Meditation Center’s Community Dharma Leaders program.
Jennifer is the founder of the Nashville POC Sangha, a facilitator at One Dharma and Wild Heart meditation centers, serves on the boards of the Maddox Fund, Tennessee Environmental Council, and the Mayor’s Sustainability Advisory Committee.
Jennifer’s professional journey has brought together her backgrounds in business and social change to the climate change space, focusing on financial innovation for the global clean energy NGO New Energy Nexus.
Francie Hunt
Francie Hunt is a longtime practitioner of engaged Buddhism, whose work explores the intersection of contemplation, compassion and collective liberation. She has spent much of her life in service as an advocate and organizer for social, environmental, transit, and educational equity in Tennessee, including her current role with Tennessee Advocates for Planned Parenthood. Following the overturn of Roe v. Wade, Francie undertook a 538 mile walking pilgrimage across Tennessee as an offering for bodily autonomy and human dignity, an experience that continues to inform both her spiritual practice and her writing. She’s a meditation facilitator with Wild Heart meditation Center and a mother of two young adults.