Speakers for Reconnecting to Your Roots, March 11,2023
Order of the speakers is based on the program
Dr. Lobsang Partsang
Dr. Lobsang Partsang earned a Doctor of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine from Five Branches University and a Masters degree in Traditional Chinese Medicine at University of East West Medicine, California. He studied Tibetan medicine at the International Academy for Tibetan Traditional Medicine and working with Dr. Kalzang at Kunde Institute. He also served as a Buddhist Chaplain at Santa Clara County Jail, Milpitas.
Samtso Kyi, Keynote Speaker
Samtso Kyi, hailing from Tibet, is currently studying at UC Davis about honeybees and their ecosystem. She will share her work on cultivating Tibetan Medicine with Shangri-La Gyalthang Academy in Tibet. Samtso Kyi is a social entrepreneur who has dedicated her life to organizing local communities across eastern Tibet. In years of strengthening Tibetan communities.
Samtso Kyi has gained vital experience in the challenges of rural, nomadic, and marginalized urban areas. She is the Founder & CEO of Shangri-La GyalthangCulture Conservation and Heritage Academy (Shangri-La Gyalthang Academy), a locally registered charity in the Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Dechen, Kham. She comes from a semi-nomadic Tibetan family in Labrang, Amdo. She knows first-hand the harsh lives of Tibetan women and the barriers to access to quality healthcare, education, and economic opportunities. Through her far-reaching community work, Samtso Kyi has become an ardent advocate of women’s empowerment and children’s nutrition. Her current work focuses on applying indigenous knowledge to the development of Tibetan Women’s Beekeeping.
Dr. Yangdron Kalzang
Dr. Kalzang earned the Tibetan Medicine degree from the Tibetan Medical University in Lhasa, Tibet, and her Master and doctor’s degree in Traditional Chinese Medicine from Five Branches University California. She is a licensed Acupuncturist and herbalist and founded Kunde Institute and has been running successfully since 2005. She is one of the founding members and serving the American Tibetan Medical Association (ATMA) since 2007.
Dr. Jennifer Daubenmier
Dr. Jennifer Daubenmier, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in the Holistic Health Studies Program. She received her doctorate in Social Psychology at the University of California, Berkeley in 2002 with an interest in Buddhist Psychology.
She conducts clinical trial research on the impact of Eastern mind-body healing practices, including meditation and yoga, on psychological well-being and health outcomes among individuals with stress-related health conditions.
She currently teaches courses on meditation and mind-body healing methods from traditional Tibetan medical perspectives at SF State.
Dr. Tenzin Namdul
Dr. Tenzin Namdul is a medical anthropologist and a Tibetan Medicine doctor, driven to understand mind-body relationship in studying aging and memory through the lens of biocultural and Tibetan medical paradigms. Currently he is an Assistant Professor, Director of Tibetan Healing Initiative Program at University of Minnesota. Dr. Namdul’s current research investigates factors associated with cognitive and physical resilience and how they influence aging and Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias among Tibetan Buddhist monks in southern India.
Dr. Tawni Tidwell
Dr. Tawni Tidwell is a biocultural anthropologist (PhD, Emory University) and a Tibetan medical doctor (Kachupa degree), the first Westerner to have formally completed her Tibetan medical education.
She is a Scientist at the Center for Healthy Minds of University of Wisconsin-Madison, her work facilitates bridges across the Western scientific tradition and Tibetan medical and contemplative traditions.
She is currently Project Lead for the Field Study of the Physiology of Meditation Practitioners and the Tukdam Meditative State (FMed) guided by His Holiness the Dalai Lama in collaboration with Tibetan Buddhist monastic and Tibetan medical colleagues in India as well as the Russian Academy of Sciences.
She maintains a private clinical practice in Madison, Wisconsin.
Menpa Tenzin Nyima (TMD)
Born and raised in Lhasa, Tibet, Tenzin Nyima migrated to Dharamsala, India where he studied traditional Tibetan medicine at Men-Tsee-Khang. After completing his studies, he went on to practice Tibetan medicine and look after patients for another seven years before finally settling in the United States with his family in 2005. Currently, Nyima works in the Bay Area and lives in Albany with his wife and daughter.
Tenzin Sangmo
Tenzin Sangmo is a Stanford alumna and is currently pursuing her MPH in Epidemiology at the Rutgers School of Public Health. She is very passionate about Tibetan Medicine and its relevance in the sphere of public health. She worked for over a year at the Men-Tsee-Khang Research & Development Department in Dharamsala, India. Sangmo is grateful to be a part of an event that aims to help Tibetan American youth strengthen their cultural roots and explore meaningful and innovative ways to preserve our Tibetan culture.
Tenzing Tsering Sherpa
Tenzing Tsering Sherpa was born in Kathmandu and moved to the USA when he was 14 years old. After graduating from Sonoma Valley High School, Tenzing enrolled in Santa Rosa Junior College, where he earned an Associate in Science degree. He then transferred to the University of California, Berkeley, where he is currently a senior pursuing a degree in MCB (Neurobiology).
He is the president of the Nepalese Student Association at UC Berkeley, where he works to promote Nepalese culture and heritage among the student community.
Dr. Lobsang Partsang
Dr. Lobsang Partsang earned a Doctor of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine from Five Branches University and a Masters degree in Traditional Chinese Medicine at University of East West Medicine, California. He studied Tibetan medicine at the International Academy for Tibetan Traditional Medicine and working with Dr. Kalzang at Kunde Institute. He also served as a Buddhist Chaplain at Santa Clara County Jail, Milpitas.
Samtso Kyi, Keynote Speaker
Samtso Kyi, hailing from Tibet, is currently studying at UC Davis about honeybees and their ecosystem. She will share her work on cultivating Tibetan Medicine with Shangri-La Gyalthang Academy in Tibet. Samtso Kyi is a social entrepreneur who has dedicated her life to organizing local communities across eastern Tibet. In years of strengthening Tibetan communities.
Samtso Kyi has gained vital experience in the challenges of rural, nomadic, and marginalized urban areas. She is the Founder & CEO of Shangri-La GyalthangCulture Conservation and Heritage Academy (Shangri-La Gyalthang Academy), a locally registered charity in the Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Dechen, Kham. She comes from a semi-nomadic Tibetan family in Labrang, Amdo. She knows first-hand the harsh lives of Tibetan women and the barriers to access to quality healthcare, education, and economic opportunities. Through her far-reaching community work, Samtso Kyi has become an ardent advocate of women’s empowerment and children’s nutrition. Her current work focuses on applying indigenous knowledge to the development of Tibetan Women’s Beekeeping.
Dr. Yangdron Kalzang
Dr. Kalzang earned the Tibetan Medicine degree from the Tibetan Medical University in Lhasa, Tibet, and her Master and doctor’s degree in Traditional Chinese Medicine from Five Branches University California. She is a licensed Acupuncturist and herbalist and founded Kunde Institute and has been running successfully since 2005. She is one of the founding members and serving the American Tibetan Medical Association (ATMA) since 2007.
Dr. Jennifer Daubenmier
Dr. Jennifer Daubenmier, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in the Holistic Health Studies Program. She received her doctorate in Social Psychology at the University of California, Berkeley in 2002 with an interest in Buddhist Psychology.
She conducts clinical trial research on the impact of Eastern mind-body healing practices, including meditation and yoga, on psychological well-being and health outcomes among individuals with stress-related health conditions.
She currently teaches courses on meditation and mind-body healing methods from traditional Tibetan medical perspectives at SF State.
Dr. Tenzin Namdul
Dr. Tenzin Namdul is a medical anthropologist and a Tibetan Medicine doctor, driven to understand mind-body relationship in studying aging and memory through the lens of biocultural and Tibetan medical paradigms. Currently he is an Assistant Professor, Director of Tibetan Healing Initiative Program at University of Minnesota. Dr. Namdul’s current research investigates factors associated with cognitive and physical resilience and how they influence aging and Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias among Tibetan Buddhist monks in southern India.
Dr. Tawni Tidwell
Dr. Tawni Tidwell is a biocultural anthropologist (PhD, Emory University) and a Tibetan medical doctor (Kachupa degree), the first Westerner to have formally completed her Tibetan medical education.
She is a Scientist at the Center for Healthy Minds of University of Wisconsin-Madison, her work facilitates bridges across the Western scientific tradition and Tibetan medical and contemplative traditions.
She is currently Project Lead for the Field Study of the Physiology of Meditation Practitioners and the Tukdam Meditative State (FMed) guided by His Holiness the Dalai Lama in collaboration with Tibetan Buddhist monastic and Tibetan medical colleagues in India as well as the Russian Academy of Sciences.
She maintains a private clinical practice in Madison, Wisconsin.
Menpa Tenzin Nyima (TMD)
Born and raised in Lhasa, Tibet, Tenzin Nyima migrated to Dharamsala, India where he studied traditional Tibetan medicine at Men-Tsee-Khang. After completing his studies, he went on to practice Tibetan medicine and look after patients for another seven years before finally settling in the United States with his family in 2005. Currently, Nyima works in the Bay Area and lives in Albany with his wife and daughter.
Tenzin Sangmo
Tenzin Sangmo is a Stanford alumna and is currently pursuing her MPH in Epidemiology at the Rutgers School of Public Health. She is very passionate about Tibetan Medicine and its relevance in the sphere of public health. She worked for over a year at the Men-Tsee-Khang Research & Development Department in Dharamsala, India. Sangmo is grateful to be a part of an event that aims to help Tibetan American youth strengthen their cultural roots and explore meaningful and innovative ways to preserve our Tibetan culture.
Tenzing Tsering Sherpa
Tenzing Tsering Sherpa was born in Kathmandu and moved to the USA when he was 14 years old. After graduating from Sonoma Valley High School, Tenzing enrolled in Santa Rosa Junior College, where he earned an Associate in Science degree. He then transferred to the University of California, Berkeley, where he is currently a senior pursuing a degree in MCB (Neurobiology).
He is the president of the Nepalese Student Association at UC Berkeley, where he works to promote Nepalese culture and heritage among the student community.