RES Teachers and Retreat Leaders
Daniel Chowning OCD
Fr Daniel is aide to the provincial of the Eastern Region of Discalced Carmelites, and is stationed at St. Florian’s Church in Milwaukee. Fr. Daniel completed doctoral studies in spirituality in Italy and Spain. He has practiced vipassana for 21 years, with times of intensive practice. He leads prayer groups, writes and lectures on spiritual practice, and offers spiritual guidance.
Daniel is an original S&A team member.
Mary Jo Meadow OCDS
Mary Jo has meditated over 60 years in the Christian, yoga, and Buddhist traditions. She is a religious sister (sfcc), a secular Carmelite (ocds), and also vowed to the Theravadan nuns’ precepts. She reared eight now adult children and has sixteen grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. She has taught mindfulness in the USA, Canada, Europe, and Australia. She is psychology and religious studies professor emerita at Minnesota State University at Mankato, offers spiritual guidance, and writes and lectures on spirituality. She has seven published books and numerous published professional articles. She brings meditation into prisons as a volunteer, and lives with her beloved cats.
Tom Arndt
Tom has worked for the developmentally disabled since 1976. Since 1983 he has been guided by the 12 steps as a way of conduct. Tom also practices hatha yoga and other meditative methods. For the last 15 years he has practiced vipassana, and he currently offers meditation classes in Mankato MN for RES.
Wendy Dahlberg
Bio Coming Soon
Roseann Pollack
Roseann has practiced mindfulness for over 17 years. She completed a program at the Institute for Spiritual Development at Trinity college, and also a three years training program in Pyschosynthesis at the Vermont Center for Psychosynthesis. For forty years she has been steeped in Carmelite spirituality in the teachings of John of the Cross and Teresa of Avila. She has volunteered with the VNA Hospice and Palliative Care Program in Vermont since 1995 and has assisted in training other volunteers.
Marge Terhaar-Yonkers
After practicing other forms of meditation, Marge began vipassana in 1998. She also incorporates hatha yoga into her daily practice. A college professor and administrator, she serves as a youth group leader at her church and teaches vipassana as part of the adult faith formation program. She and her husband are parents of two teenagers.
Hal Richardson
Raised as a Baptist Christian, Hal converted to Roman Catholicism in 1984. He retired from 30 years work as an R&D Project Manager for an analytical instrument company in 2011. Hal has practiced vipassana since 1999, and is currently training as a RES teacher.
Deanna Skittral
Deanna is a psychotherapist who trains and supervises other counselors. Before this she was a religious studies teacher and chaplain in Roman Catholic secondary schools. She has a Masters degree in Christian Spirituality. She has meditated over 25 years, runs meditation groups, and gives talks on spirituality and meditation. Deanna is a RES co-teacher. She is training as a spiritual director.
Emeriti Teachers
Kevin Culligan OCD
Fr. Kevin is a member of the Institute of Carmelite Studies and the Carmelite Forum. He gives talks, writings, and seminars on Carmelite teachings. He offers Carmelite spiritual guidance to clergy, religious, and the laity. He has written widely on spiritual direction and other spiritual issues. He is currently at the Carmelite house in Brighton,MA.
Kevin is an original S&A team member.
Rebecca Bradshaw
Rebecca has practiced Vipassana meditation since 1983. She has done intensive Vipassana and loving-kindness practice. She teaches at Insight Meditation Society in Barre, MA and around the country. Her special interests are working with survivors of childhood trauma and people managing chronic illness, and leading vipassana retreats in Spanish. She is also a psychological counselor.
Mark DeVelis OCD
Fr. Mark has practiced Vipassana and kundalini yoga for eleven years. He offers retreats on prayer and Carmelite spirituality for secular Carmelites. He just completed Carmelite studies in Avila, Spain. He currently serves in ministry at the Carmelite Holy Hill in Wisconsin, and is interested in inter-religious dialogue.
Anthony Haglof OCD
Fr. Tony has been a Carmelite since 1963. He has practiced insight meditation since 1978. Fr. Tony is currently prior of the Discalced Carmelite retreat center in Hinton WV. He is active in interfaith dialogue and has published on spiritual psychology and East-West relations in national and Carmelite periodicals. He works with secular Carmelites and leads retreats.
In Memoriam
Roddy Coss
Roddy was raised Unitarian and became Catholic in her 20s, attracted by Christian mysticism. She studied at Radcliffe and Shalem Institute. After a long practice of meditation, she began doing vipassana ten years ago. She teaches insight meditation classes, gives spiritual direction and does retreat work. She has four grown children and four grandsons. She taught for RES for several years.
