Devin Berry
Meditation teacher, Devin Berry began practicing in 1999. His teaching is rooted in the Buddhadharma and mindfulness daily life practices. Devin’s training includes Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction teacher training, the East Bay Meditation Center Commit to Dharma Program, Spirit Rock’s Dedicated Practitioners Program, and Insight Meditation Society’s four-year Residential Retreat Teachers Program. Devin also co-founded both the Teen Sangha and Men of Color Deep Refuge Group at East Bay Meditation Center in Oakland. In addition, almost 20 years ago, Devin began some of the first mindfulness programs in SF Bay Area schools, including weekly mindfulness groups for youth. Devin began working with youth over 25 years ago as a frontline advocate for marginalized youth living on the streets, in recovery and exploitation. Over the years Devin’s work has included leading wilderness camp programs for teens, Rites of Passage programs for tweens, and a summer camp for boys. After retiring from youth work, Devin co-created Deep Time Liberation, an ancestral healing journey that explores the impact of ancestral legacy and intergenerational trauma on Black Americans. He is passionate about the power of witnessing and storytelling as a liberation tool. Devin is a father and teaches nationally.
Rosetta Saunders
is an educator and historian with degrees in Ethnic and American Studies. Having recently retired from 20 years of teaching with a focus on “People of Colors History” in the United States, she has done extensive research on her ancestral lineage and continues to explore and experience her healing journey along with her ancestors. Rosetta’s passion is West African and Afro-Cuban drumming, primarily as a healing medium for self and others. She was introduced to the Dharma in 2002 at the first African American Retreat held at Spirit Rock Meditation Center. Rosetta recently completed a two-year Dharmacharya program with the Venerable Pannavati and Pannadipa having taken refuge in the Triple Gem and receiving Confirmation of Ordination. Rosetta now welcomes the chance to immerse herself in practice and healing!
Noliwe Alexander
has been a student of Vipassana meditation for over 15 years. Throughout this time of deep devotion to the Dharma, Noliwe has become a dedicated practitioner, teacher of various sitting groups around the Bay Area, facilitator of community workshops and Buddhist meditation day longs and class series programs. She is a Life & Business Coach dedicating both her coaching & Dharma practice to the POC, LGBT, At Risk and Elder communities. She is a graduate of Spirit Rock's CDL4 program and completed EBMC's Commit 2 Dharma program in 2010. Noliwe will be participating in the Spirit Rock Teacher Training from 2017-2020. Noliwe is a wisdom keeper and humbled by the presence of her ancestors spirit that lives within and walks beside.
DaRa Williams
As a practicing therapist for more than 30 years, DaRa has dedicated herself to working at the intersection of social justice, spiritual practice and authentic expression of well-being. She is committed to the healing of intergenerational trauma and social disconnection through which she seeks to integrate the natural driving force to be well with the tools and understanding to make it so. DaRa also teaches retreats at New York Insight and Spirit Rock Meditation Center. She has practiced meditation for more than 25 years.
Ramona Lisa Ortz-Smith
Ramona Lisa Ortiz-Smith, MBA, brings over 25 years of cumulative meditation practice and spiritual studies to her livelihood as a Spiritual Teacher and Leader. Silent Vipassana (insight) meditation retreats, Theravada Buddhist studies and earth-based indigenous spirituality and healing arts are at the heart of her practice. Ramona Lisa is passionate about spiritual studies and sharing wisdom teachings. She is a MTI Certified Mindfulness Teacher and Certified Cloud Sangha Mentor, as well as a graduate of Spirit Rock Meditation Center’s Dedicated Practitioners Program (DPP6) and East Bay Meditation Center’s (EBMC) Commit to Dharma Program (C2D3). She is currently enrolled in East Bay Meditation Center’s (EBMC) 2-year Spiritual Teacher and Leadership training and is completing her certification in Indigenous Focusing Oriented Therapy (IFOT). In addition to serving as a facilitator for Peace At Any Pace, Inc.’s Deep Time Liberation ancestral healing journey retreats, Ramona Lisa serves as a regular or visiting teacher with multiple organizations, including Cloud Sangha, East Bay Meditation Center (EBMC), Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley, Sacramento Buddhist Meditation Group, Spirit Rock Meditation Center-BiPOC Sundays, Marin Sangha and the Mills College Love and Liberation Sangha. She also offers classes and mentoring through her business, FREE SPIRIT.
Support staff
Diane Yaski
Program Manager & DTL Retreat Manager
Diane Yaski was introduced to meditation practice in her early 20s and has continued to maintain a steady practice. She has always held a passion for service, working in Non-profit for many years. With a background in photography, graphic design and library science, Diane has been a long supporter of the arts. She has managed silent meditation retreats, coordinated multi-year Buddhist programs and worked in collaboration with creating and scheduling long duration retreats. She is a graduate of the C2D Program at EBMC as well as the Chaplaincy Program at the Sati Center for Buddhist Studies and will soon be transitioning into hospice and prison chaplaincy. Diane was very fortunate to be a retreat manager as well as a participant in the first life-changing Deep Time Liberation Retreat which was a rewarding and fulfilling journey that awakened healing and her own personal awareness of intergenerational & ancestral trauma. Since this inaugural retreat, Diane has been committed to a daily practice of honoring her ancestors as part of her early morning ritual. She is honored to also hold the role of Program Coordinator at Peace at Any Pace.
“Being on the board and holding the title of Program Coordinator at Peace at any Pace has been a humbling journey which has opened up my heart, awakened my life’s purpose and solidified my spiritual path.”
Social Media & Administrative assistant
Alicia Hillier is the Administrative Assistant at Peace At Any Pace. She began working with Peace At Any Pace in January of 2021. She oversees emails, social media, newsletters, mailing lists, organization of participants applying to the retreats, and technology during on-line retreats. She began practicing meditation in high school and grew a love for the Dharma. Alicia grew up in Marin County, California and is currently residing in Toronto, Ontario.