Karleen Manchanda (she/her), is a mother, wife and fourth-generation Japanese-American who was born in Hawai’i and has lived on Treaty No. 1 Territory in Canada since 1997. Raised in the Shin Buddhist tradition, she has reconnected to Buddhism through Zen in recent years. An online member and current Center Board Member. She is certified by ZLMC as a “Mindfulness and Meditation Teacher”, having completed her teacher training with Roshi Robert Altouse in 2021. She has studied and practiced mindfulness, meditation and yoga for the past ten years.

Karleen holds a Master’s degree in Education from the University of Illinois, and has participated in mindfulness and self-compassion trainings with The Center for Mindfulness Studies in Toronto and UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center. She has a strong interest in mindfulness for children, teacher, and families, as well as the connections between Buddhist and Indigenous wisdom. In her own life, mindfulness and meditation have helped to ease suffering and cultivate open-heartedness. As a meditation teacher at ZLMC, her intention is to share these beneficial teachings and practices with others.