Teachers
Gina Sharpe
Gina Sharpe, Founding Teachers, is also co-founder of the New York Insight Meditation Center where she was Guiding Teachers and member of the Board of Directors for more than 15 years. Trained as a retreat teacher in a joint Teachers Training Program of Spirit Rock Meditation Center and Insight Meditation Society, she has been teaching retreats at various venues around the United States including Spirit Rock Meditation Center, Insight Meditation Society, Garrison Institute, Mid America Dharma, Show Me Dharma and for several years taught at the only Maximum Security Prison for women in New York State. She has been teaching the Dharma since 1994.
Gina has, subsequently, chosen to retire but her legacy continues to be deeply honored by sustaining the teachings through Westchester Insight.
Richard Smith
Richard Smith began meditating in 2001 and has completed advanced study and practice classes in Buddhism at New York Insight Meditation Center, Insight Meditation Society and Chuang Yen Monastery. He graduated in 2012 from the two-year Community Dharma Leader Program of Spirit Rock Meditation Center. Richard has been regularly teaching insight (Vipassana) meditation in Westchester County since 2010. You can contact him at Vipassana.Richard@gmail.com
Nina Nagy
Nina Nagy graduated from Spirit Rock Community Dharma Teachers Leader program in 2012. Her primary mentors have been Gina Sharpe and Mathew Flickstein of the Forest Way. She has also studied under Bhikku Bodhi.
She has formerly taught in various venues in Connecticut and New York including Wainwright House, New York Insight Meditation Center, The Yoga Shala, the Community Mindfulness Project and the Ridgefield Parks & Recreation Center.
Presently, she teaches at Westchester Insight, The Unitarian Church in Westport, CT and in New Canaan, CT.
She is also a somatic trauma practitioner trained at the Trauma Healing Institute. She was also trained in Integral Somatic Psychology and Shammanic energy medicine through the Four Winds. Her website is Awakeabiding.com and her email is awakeabiding@gmail.com.
Devyani Sadh
Devyani Sadh has been a dedicated student of the Dharma for over 35 years and has led a Buddhist study and meditation group for the past 25 years. Her practice integrates influences from the Vipassana, Zen, and Tibetan traditions, and she facilitates Dharma exploration with others in a spirit of collaborative inquiry and inclusivity. She has formally received Jukai (lay ordination) in both the Rinzai Zen and Plum Village lineages.
She previously served as President of the Board of Directors of the Zen Studies Society and currently leads its Engaged Buddhism initiative, focusing on socially conscious applications of Buddhist practice.
Devyani is also a psychologist and certified yoga instructor trained in Patanjali’s eightfold path of yoga, with particular emphasis on pranayama (breathwork) and the meditative limbs of dharana, dhyana, and samadhi. She has guided silent, meditative hikes with the Appalachian Mountain Club, blending mindfulness with immersion in nature. Across all her work, she brings warmth, collaboration, and a non-hierarchical spirit, inviting others to engage with the Dharma in ways that are authentic, relevant, and deeply human.