Rick Beckett is CEO Emeritus of Global Partnerships, a mission-driven organization focused on expanding opportunity for people living in poverty. For eighteen years, Rick served as CEO, helping the organization invest nearly $1 billion in sustainable solutions to poverty that positively impacted the lives of more than 34 million people across Africa and Latin America.

Before his time at Global Partnerships, Rick worked in leadership roles in both the private and nonprofit sectors. He served as Managing Director at Blue Capital Management, Co-Executive Director of The Eleos Foundation, and Partner at McKinsey & Company. While at McKinsey, Rick co-developed Aspiration-Based Planning, a values-centered strategy approach used with clients globally, and he co-authored the bestselling book Real Change Leaders.

Rick’s heart has long shaped his philanthropic work, especially in the areas of at-risk youth, educational opportunity, environmental sustainability, global health and development. and spiritual well-being. He has served on the boards of directors of My Friend’s Place, a resource center for homeless youth in Hollywood, and Direct Relief, which provides over $1.8 billion annually in medical aid to underserved communities domestically and around the world.

Rick holds a BA in Economics from Stanford University (Phi Beta Kappa) and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he was recognized as an Arjay Miller Scholar. He is the recipient of the Alumni Catalyst Award for Global Impact from the Stanford Graduate School of Business as part of its 2025 Centennial Celebration.

Outside of his professional and philanthropic work, Rick is a daily meditation practitioner. His decade-long connection to Vallecitos reflects his deep interest in the heart practices of Buddhism and the transformative power of nature-based retreat.

Michelle Latvala is an experienced leader, collaborator, and facilitator with a deep commitment to humanity, nature, and authenticity. She led Spirit Rock Meditation Center as Executive Director from 2011-2022, and mentors leaders and non-profit organizations in leadership development, strategy, and DEIA. 

Michelle is currently part of two international leadership cohorts, one funded by the Bess Family Foundation, centered on expanding Buddhist teachings in nature, and  another with Emergence Magazine focused on spiritual ecology and adaptive leadership. Michelle recently founded Insight Outside, a series of remote programs that combine meditation, writing, and wilderness. 

Michelle’s poetry has been recently featured in Kerning: A Space for Words and Irene Young’s video poetry series, and her debut collection of poems ‘Between Latitudes’ was published in March 2025 by Green Writers Press. Michelle graduated from Stanford University with Phi Beta Kappa honors and a degree in Social Psychology, and migrates thoughtfully between responsibilities in eastern Alaska and northern California. Michelle first got involved in Conversational Leadership with David Whyte in 2019 and is delighted to be facilitating individuals and groups through this meaningful work.

Erin Treat lives in Durango, CO and has been practicing Buddhist meditation for over 30 years.  In addition to serving as the Guiding Teacher of Vallecitos Mountain Retreat Center since 2013, she teaches regularly at Spirit Rock and the Insight Meditation Society.  She served for 20 years in leadership on the Teaching Council of the Durango Dharma Center.  Erin teaches the practical and the profound, from a heart grounded in respect for mystery and the many faces of awakening.

Her approach to sharing the dharma is influenced by her ongoing experience as a student of the Diamond Approach by A.H. Almaas and by Thanissara and Kittisaro’s Dharmapala Training, designed to bring forth an embodied bodhisattva ideal within the lineage of Theravada Buddhism. Erin enjoys working with small groups of committed students over time and regularly offers classes, retreats, and mentoring to students from around the country.

Erin is happiest dancing, hiking, cooking, and being in the mountains and rivers she calls home.

Originally from Upstate New York, Jessica has called Durango home since 2003. Before joining Vallecitos in 2015, she was an integral part of a local, veteran-owned small business, Chinook Medical Gear, as its chief operating officer.

Jessica has been a yoga practitioner since 1997 and her passion for the tradition eventually led her to the Durango Dharma Center where she has been a member since 2007. She served on the board of directors for nearly 5 years, including the role of board president. An avid traveler and lifelong learner, her practice has taken her to places like India, Belize, Costa Rica, Telluride and others. Vallecitos Mountain Retreat Center offers a bridge for her to further connect her work and her practice, creating a wonderful experience for herself and others, centered around heart and nature.

Jessica is a dedicated practitioner in leadership as a mother and at Vallecitos. She enjoys participating in her local community dharma center as well, both as a guest speaker and a family program facilitator. She and her daughter Rayna, along with their dog Bodhi enjoy walks, rides, art projects, cooking and reading at home in Durango, CO.  

Jim Villanueva has enjoyed a career dedicated to creating positive social and environmental impact through investment and innovation. He is currently Managing Director at Global Partnerships, an impact-first investor expanding opportunity for people living in poverty. Over the past decade, he has led early-stage investments across Africa and Latin America, positively impacting the lives of more than 5 million people. 

Jim’s investment background spans both traditional and impact sectors. He served as co-executive Director of The Eleos Foundation, which supports market-based solutions to extreme poverty, and as a founding partner of Crescent Ventures. He also held leadership roles at Rust Capital and Bastion Capital. 

Earlier in his career, Jim worked in media and communications, co-founding a pioneering Spanish-language radio network and a national Hispanic marketing and public relations firm. Jim has served on the boards of Toniic, the UC Santa Barbara and Santa Barbara City College foundations, Future Leaders of America, and My Friends Place—advancing youth leadership, education, and social justice. He holds an MBA from Stanford and graduated with honors in Latin American Studies from Harvard College. A dedicated meditator for nearly 30 years, and former director of an inter-spiritual retreat center, Jim integrates mindfulness and spiritual practice into his life and leadership.

Loren is a seasoned finance professional with over two decades of leadership at the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), which is the U.S. Government’s development finance institution. He currently serves as a Managing Director in the DFC’s Office of Health and Agribusiness. Over a 24-year tenure at DFC, he led investment teams that closed debt transactions supporting global development in health, agriculture, clean energy, financial inclusion, access to safe and reliable water, sanitation and hygiene, housing, and more. 

A pioneer of innovative financing structures and gender lens investing, Loren co-founded DFC’s Social Enterprise Finance team and played a senior role in its 2X Women’s Economic Empowerment initiative. Previous experience includes financial roles at K&M Engineering and Consulting, and the Chase Manhattan Bank. 

Loren has served on the boards of Shaare Torah (Gaithersburg, MD) and Gaithersburg HELP, and was an advisory member of the Criterion Institute. Through these roles he championed social action, community support, and policy innovation in gender and finance. Loren holds a BA in History from Brown University, an MA in International Affairs/Japan Studies from Johns Hopkins SAIS, and an MBA from Johns Hopkins Carey Business School. 

A dedicated meditation and mindfulness practitioner, Loren and his wife Leah are active members with their local sangha as well as with Vallecitos. Loren first began studying mindfulness, meditation, and the dharma by participating in classes and retreats through the Insight Meditation Community of Washington (IMCW). This inspired him to look further and discover the vibrant Vallecitos community.  Loren finds peace, compassion, and increased awareness while walking on the Vallecitos land and learning from its teachers and the broader Vallecitos community.

Megan Finno-Velasquez is an Associate Professor of Social Work at New Mexico State University and a psychotherapist focusing on mindfulness and somatic interventions. For almost 20 years, she has worked at the intersection of child welfare and immigration, with experience as a practitioner, administrator, educator and researcher. In recent years, her work has focused on addressing secondary trauma, developing workforce resilience, and promoting self and collective care in social services workforces.

Deeply committed to service, Megan’s dedication extends beyond her professional roles through active board and volunteer involvement with organizations that support youth, mothers and families, and equitable land access. She is a Certified Mindfulness Meditation Teacher and a graduate of the Dharma Leadership Mentoring Program with Erin Treat and Pamela Weiss. She is also a Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner (SEP).

Megan earned her PhD in Social Work from the University of Southern California and she also holds an MSW from Highlands University in Las Vegas, NM as well as a Bachelor of Sciences in Psychology and Spanish from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Since 2018, Megan has been attending retreats at Vallecitos, where she has found a spiritual home and deep support for her own practice and healing.  She is a dedicated wife and mother to an almost 6 year old daughter who inspires her continuous unfolding and commitment to the dharma.

Martin Collier has over 25 years of leadership in philanthropy, law, and strategy. He is currently Co-Executive Director of the Kaphan Foundation and formerly served as Executive Director and Managing Board Member of the Glaser Progress Foundation and the Real Progress Foundation. 

Martin oversees a $20+ million portfolio supporting more than 90 nonprofit organizations, with programmatic focus areas including democracy reform, media and journalism, education, climate, reproductive rights, and global health. Martin’s career reflects a deep commitment to public service and social justice. 

He has advised and served on multiple boards, including Media Impact Funders, the University of Washington’s Evans School, and the Global Health Working Group at UCSF. Earlier in his career, he practiced law for nearly two decades, focused on consumer rights and environmental protection, including two years with Earthjustice. 

Prior to law, he worked in public finance for the Washington State Senate. Martin holds a BA, magna cum laude, from Georgetown University and a JD, cum laude, from Seattle University, where he served as Associate Editor of the Law Review. Rooted in  daily meditation practice, Martin’s Buddhist practice is also nourished by periodic retreat, often in solitude in the wilderness.