Our Teachers

Dina Kaplan (Head On-Demand Teacher) is founder of The Path and a certified meditation teacher who leads meditations and retreats around the world for individuals, corporations, festivals, conferences and more. Dina guides meditations daily for CEOs, artists and others and writes a column about mindfulness for entrepreneurs for Forbes. She has also written about meditation and mindfulness for the New York Times, Marie Claire, Time Magazine’s Motto brand, The Standard Hotel group and Medium. Dina has studied and practiced dozens of meditation techniques, including Vipassana, Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, Vedic (or “mantra”) meditation, loving-kindness or (“metta”) meditation and more. Dina’s mission is to give people the tools and inspiration to begin and continue a daily practice and to create community around meditation. Before The Path, Dina was an Emmy-award-winning journalist and founder of the digital media start-up Blip. Fortune Magazine named her a Most Powerful Women Entrepreneur.

Leon Ford (On-Demand Teacher) is an author, international speaker, activist, and community organizer. His knowledge of social disparities and injustice comes from personal experience. When Leon was 19 years old, he was unjustly shot five times by the Pittsburgh Police during a racially charged traffic stop. Though this horrific case of mistaken identity has left him physically paralyzed, Leon hasn’t allowed his circumstances to deter him from having a positive impact on his community. He sparked a movement empowering community leaders to use their platforms to evoke change and reshape their communities. His work includes working with PA legislators to draft policies that modify the use of force laws, which in turn increase opportunities for justice during officer involved shootings. Leon has received several awards including: President Obama’s Volunteer Service Award (2017), The Root 100 (2018), and Pittsburgh’s 40 Under 40 (2019). Leon is a member of The Aspen Institute’s Inaugural Civil Society Fellowship and serves as an entrepreneur in residence for Bronze Investments. Leon is also a graduate of The Path’s Meditation Teacher Training.

Richie Davidson (On-Demand Neuroscience Teacher) is internationally renowned for his groundbreaking research studying emotion and the brain. He is the founder & director of the Center for Healthy Minds at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a friend of the Dalai Lama. Time Magazine has named him one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World.

He has studied expert meditators with tens of thousands of hours of experience using MRIs, positron emission tomography, electroencephalography and modern genetic and epigenetic methods. 

Ayman Mukerji Househam (Bonus Neuroscience Teacher) is a Clinical Social Worker, Neuroimmunology researcher, Mindfulness practitioner, and ex-Wall Streeter, Computer Scientist. She is the author of several book chapters and peer-reviewed papers on the neuroimmunology and epigenetics of mindfulness interventions.

Ayman reduces frontline burnout by teaching them mindfulness through micro-habits, via her offering called Jīvikā. You can find more about her work here: www.ayman-mukerji.com. Follow her on Twitter @ayman_mukerji and on IG @aymanmukerjihouseham.

Cheryl Kress is a dedicated meditation practioner, a grateful graduate of The Path, and a perpetual student of Buddhist and Vedic wisdom. She holds a Master of Arts degree in Mindfulness Studies; her thesis focused on utilizing interactive social media assignments to teach mindfulness in a preparatory stress prevention capacity for incoming college students. Previously Cheryl worked as a teacher, employing mindfulness techniques in the classroom, and as a Registered Nurse with a specialty certification in obstetric nursing. Perhaps her most challenging care-giving role (and one of her favorites), involved raising (along with her very supportive husband) six very unique children. Noting depression, compassion fatigue, self-neglect, and burnout occur often in helping/caregiving professions or roles, Cheryl passionately believes that meditation and mindfulness offer the knowledge, skill, and tools to help people in all walks of life enhance self-care and rediscover their joy; thus, she is particularly passionate about sharing and teaching these topics! When she isn't studying, Cheryl can be found reading mysteries by the pool, taking photos, practicing yoga, watching movies or simply laughing with her large, boisterous family, cuddling her (huge) Great Pyrenees puppy, or shifting gears and driving (a little too) fast in her Camaro..

Maritza Puello is a well-being coach, certified mindfulness meditation teacher and public speaker. She specializes in providing stress reduction and anxiety management techniques to assist people in enhancing their overall well-being and live their best, and happiest lives. She works with individuals and corporations sharing tools for mitigating anxiety and chronic stress, with special attention given to alleviating the ever changing challenges of modern day living. She is a senior meditation instructor with several certifications and over 500 hours of teaching experience and works with top-tier law firms, medical, beauty and technology companies throughout the country. Maritza is also a certified yoga instructor (RYT 200 hours) with over 12 years of teaching experience. She has spoken at the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, the Tibet House, Sage Wellness, Arc’teryx and Athleta/The Gap, and at other conferences and events throughout the country. Maritza is a former media executive who was part of the launch teams of some of the most successful media companies in the world: Fox News Channel. NY1 Noticias, StarMedia.com, and Fusion Media – the ABC News/Univision joint venture.

Samuel Morales Jr. has been a meditation practitioner since 2009 and has practiced in the Korean Zen, Insight, and Tibetan traditions. He is a graduate of The Path, and is currently in the third and final year of the Home Study Dharma Course by Kagyu Samye Ling Monastery. In his professional life, he recently joined Square as a Senior Technical Program Manager working on Privacy and Business Continuity after 15 years at Google. He holds a Master of Science degree in Information Technology from the University of Maryland Global Campus, and an Executive MBA from the Quantic School of Business and Technology. Samuel lives in Astoria, NY, with his wife, son, and German Short-haired Pointer mix.

Tanya Valle is a Certified Professional Coach and Mindfulness and Loving-Kindness Meditation Teacher. She provides integrated coaching services for professionals and organizations that include Mindfulness and presentation training.

A native New Yorker, Tanya is a former New York City television reporter, Press Secretary under former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Fortune 50 corporate public relations executive, and public relations business owner. She holds an MBA from Fordham University Graduate School of Business and a Bachelor of Science in Marketing Communications from the Fashion Institute of Technology/SUNY.

Michael Arnstein is a meditation teacher, life coach, and recovering venture capitalist based in Los Angeles, CA. A meditator for many years, his relationship to mindfulness was transformed after quitting his long-term job in finance and leaving New York City to travel extensively in Southeast Asia, where he began learning Buddhist philosophy and deepening his meditation practice. Following his time in Asia, he furthered his practice with The Path's meditation teacher training. Becoming a mindfulness teacher and life coach was the result of his decade-long journey (thus far!) toward a more balanced life that radically shifted his mental and physical well-being, his alignment with his authentic values, and his ability to show up for life with more purpose and conviction. When he's not coaching and meditating (it's true, he doesn't actually meditate all day), Michael likes to play classical piano, host themed dinner parties, watch (too much) Drag Race, and conduct anecdotal research on the correlation between living in NYC, working in finance, and needing to adopt a strong mindfulness practice.