Team

Meet some of those who make the project possible.

Silvie Walraven

Program Coordinator

Silvie encountered the Buddhist teachings in India in the early 90’s and was ‘hooked’. After working for several years in NGO capacity building in Kenya and Nepal, she trained as a primary school teacher and mindfulness trainer. Currently, Silvie teaches Buddhism in Dutch primary schools and is director and board member of Maitreya Institute Amsterdam.

Constantijn Koopman

Treasurer

Constantijn Koopman has been a student of Buddhism for 25 years. Besides Ven. Losang Gendun, his main teachers are Gelek Rimpoche, Dagpo Rinpoche, Dagyab Rinpohe and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Professionally, Constantijn has a background in musicology, philosophy of arts education, religious studies and spiritual health care, but currently he happily works as a church warden in a Dominican chapel.

Mircea Mocanu

Designer

Visual artist dedicating to projects that question and investigate. Mircea works as a multi-disciplinary designer and art director, creating worlds in cultural fields. Aware of the importance of visual expression in bridging familiarity with the unfamiliar, he devotes to create sensible support for the participant to the teachings. His work can be seen on mirmoc.com

Lisette Reek

PR Coordinator

Lisette is a former organizational consultant specializing in dialogue-based methodologies to create collaboration & change. For the past six years, she has been a dedicated student and practitioner of Ven. Gendun. Now based in Italy, she lives in the mountains, grows her own food and has a more simple & contemplative live. She volunteers for Maitreya Instituut as Spiritual Program Coordinator to support practitioners with a rich program of teachers & activities.

Rik van Keulen

Forum Coordinator

Works in the international development sector, more specifically in agricultural projects in Africa and Asia, supporting smallholder farmers to improve their production and increase their incomes. Having lived in Nepal and Bhutan, he has had to fortune to absorb Buddhist teachings and culture there. He is now based in the Netherlands, where he is a volunteer for the Maitreya Institute and The Buddha Project.