Hey, I’m Adriana 👋
I’m a socially engaged Buddhist educator, mentor, facilitator, writer, and parent. I help meditators and Buddhist practitioners integrate their social justice values and spiritual practice.
I believe that reimagining a more life-giving world requires social-political-economic change and deep spiritual transformation. My mission is to help you live into your values of service and solidarity supported by the radical wisdom of Buddhist practice, so that you can continue to resist in the struggle for collective change.
My story
An incomplete, abbreviated summary on how I came to meditation
Over a decade ago, I struggled with depression and found myself seeking methods to understand and ease my suffering. After exhausting my initial attempts at finding happiness through my college coursework, dating, and partying, I picked up a book about Buddhism that said meditation could be a way to get to know myself. That my neurotic thoughts aren’t who I really am. That I’m not fundamentally messed up, but basically okay. Buddhist teachings gave me relief and hope, providing me with a language to describe a worldview that felt aligned with my spirit and values. Intrigued by my initial taste of the dharma, I started meditating, reading more books on Buddhism, and attending community gatherings at the Shambhala Meditation Center of New York.
Between 2016-2018, I received training to offer meditation instruction and formally took refuge in the Shambhala Buddhist tradition. During these years, I started to teach meditation and deepened my understanding of Buddhist teachings through intensive retreat, study, and mentorship. It was also during this time that Shambhala, my spiritual community fell apart, and I earnestly sought to continue my training on some path of integrity. In 2020, I decided to pursue a MDiv in Buddhism at Union Theological Seminary. In the midst of my degree, I co-founded a contemplative community for multiracial folks and gave birth to my now toddler. My current work is an extension of how the past five years have shaped me, and how I hope to help others experience and live from the boundless, indestructible truth of the dharma.
My training
A brief overview of my formal training, projects, and education*
I started practicing meditation in 2012 and took refuge in the Shambhala Buddhist lineage in 2018.
Between 2015-2018, I helped build an office wellness company that brought mindfulness meditation to hundreds of organizations across the nation.
In 2016, I graduated from MNDFL’s 300-HR Meditation Teacher Training Program and received authorization to offer meditation instruction.
In 2018, I completed the Mukpo Institute, a 3-month intensive retreat program, at Karmê Chöling Meditation Retreat Center in Barnet, VT.
From 2018-2020, I supported and received mentorship from three Shambhala Buddhist teachers, serving as Assistant Faculty for their programs and retreats.
In 2019, I co-founded Weekly Dharma Gathering, an online live learning platform featuring female, BIPOC, LGBTQIA+ meditation and Dharma teachers.
In 2020, I co-founded the Mixed Race Meditation Group, a contemplative community for multiracial individuals dedicated to healing internalized racism and white supremacy.
In 2022, I gave birth to my first child, Bo, at home in Brooklyn.
In 2023, I graduated with a Masters of Divinity in Buddhism and Interreligious Engagement from Union Theological Seminary in New York City.
In 2024, I received an Auburn Seminary fellowship award for promise in teaching based on my academic research on Buddhist ethics, animal studies, and critical social theories.
*I include these details on my site only as a means to share how my path has evolved over the years. I don’t believe certifications necessarily attest to the depth of anyone’s understanding or practice, mine included. I am also aware how credentials are tied up in issues of inequity. I encourage you to evaluate the value of my perspective through my current work—not through what I’ve accomplished in the past or the above bullet points 😌