meet our team
meet our team
staff
Nathalie Rivera
Nathalie joined Zen Caregiving Project as the Business Development Manager, bringing over seven years of experience in roles dedicated to helping others, including as a Foster Care Case Manager and Substance Abuse Counselor. Passionate about supporting underserved communities, Nathalie has consistently demonstrated her commitment to making a positive impact in people’s lives through compassionate care and advocacy. Her background has equipped her with a deep understanding of the challenges faced by caregivers and those in need of support.
Nathalie holds a Bachelor’s degree in Public Health and is nearing completion of her Master’s in Business Administration. In her role at Zen Caregiving Project, she draws on her expertise in strategic partnerships and management to establish impactful connections with potential partners, broadening access to Zen Caregiving Project’s essential caregiver support resources.
Outside of work, Nathalie enjoys creating intricate henna designs, spending time with her dogs and reptiles, and giving back through community service.
Roy Remer
Roy, Zen Caregiving Project’s Executive Director, has been an end-of-life caregiver and educator since 1997. He trained with Zen Hospice Project (ZHP) to become a volunteer and served at the bedside for six years at the Guest House facility before serving for seven years on San Francisco’s Laguna Honda Hospital’s Palliative Care Ward. Roy served on the ZHP board of directors from 2002 until 2008. In 2008, he completed a yearlong end-of-life caregiver training at the Metta Institute in Sausalito, CA.
A dedicated practitioner in the Soto Zen tradition, Roy is a student at the San Francisco Zen Center. Roy is certified by the Stanford University School of Medicine, Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCARE), and the Compassion Institute as a Compassion Cultivation Training (CCT©) instructor.
Roy also guides wilderness-based rites of passage programs in partnership with EarthWaysLLC of Sebastopol, CA.
Mary Doane
As Supervising Instructor of Education Programs, Mary leads all Zen Caregiving Project’s (ZCP) course offerings. She is responsible for delivering teacher training, and she mentors emerging instructors and develops ZCP’s custom curricula.
Since starting with the organization as a volunteer bedside caregiver in 2005, Mary has also facilitated New Volunteer Trainings and served as Volunteer Program Coordinator.
Mary’s decades of mindfulness and compassion practices, along with personal experiences as a family caregiver, are the groundwaters of her teaching. Mary has also completed Buddhist Chaplaincy Training at the Sati Center for Buddhist Studies and was trained at Stanford University to teach Compassion Cultivation Training (CCT™). She has dual CCT Instructor certification from Stanford University School of Medicine, Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCARE) and Compassion Institute (CI).
Alistair Shanks
Alistair Shanks is the Volunteer Program Manager at Zen Caregiving Project where he has worked since 2004, first as a hospice volunteer and training facilitator, and in his current position since 2016.
He completed his clinical residency, (CPE), at UCSF and currently serves as a chaplain at both the Parnassus and Mission Bay campuses.
He has a Master’s degree from the Institute of Buddhist Studies at the Graduate Theological Union and has presented at the Association of Professional Chaplains conference and Harvard Divinity School.
Alistair has been a dedicated practitioner and teacher of the Daoist Internal Martial Arts of Tai Chi, Qigong, and Ba Gua for 27 years, something that has given him a deep appreciation for the wisdom and power of somatic practices to regulate and heal both body and mind. Past volunteer work includes leading mindfulness meditation sessions in the San Francisco County Jail and serving as a volunteer chaplain at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital. He has played and toured internationally with several Bay Area bands for the past four decades.
Tina Snyder
As the Operations Assistant at Zen Caregiving Project (ZCP), Tina provides administrative and logistical support across the organization. She works closely with the Executive Director, Supervising Instructor of Education Programs, and Volunteer Program Manager to ensure smooth operations and alignment with ZCP’s mission.
Tina holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Information Systems and brings a wealth of experience from roles in technology and customer-focused organizations. Her background in systems thinking and service-oriented problem-solving enhances her ability to create efficient processes and effectively support the team and wider community.
The vision of Zen Caregiving Project resonates deeply with Tina, shaped by her own journey as a family caregiver for her father. This lived experience fuels her dedication to ZCP’s important work empowering caregivers through Mindful Caregiving Education and practical skills training.
Outside of work, Tina enjoys traveling and spending time outdoors. She also volunteers at her local musical theatre and with Home Instead, a care network offering personalized home care services for aging adults.
instructors
Cassandra Palmer
Cassandra, a Zen Caregiving Project Facilitator, has served as a volunteer caregiver at the Zen Hospice Project Guest House for five years and is committed to providing mindful support to families and residents experiencing the end of life process. Cassandra is an active facilitator in the Mindful Caregiver Education and Open Death Conversation programs and is passionate about providing opportunities for people from all walks of life to explore their relationship with death and compassionate care. Cassandra is also trained in being an End of Life Doula and has an academic background in Holistic Psychology and Counseling.
Loretta Lowrey
Loretta Lowrey is a volunteer caregiver with Zen Caregiving Project. She served on Laguna Honda Hospital’s AIDS and Palliative Care wards from 1992 – 1995, and returned to serve there in 2013. She has been a facilitator for ZCP’s biannual New Volunteer Training since 2017. During her career in non-profit management, she held leadership positions in development and community programming at SFMOMA, Hospice by The Bay, George Mark Children’s House, and OMCA.
Loretta is an alumnus of the Metta Institute’s End-of-Life Practitioner Program, which focuses on mindful and compassionate caregiving, and a certified facilitator for the Institute of Noetic Sciences’ Conscious Aging Program.
Teresa Bouza
Teresa Bouza is a journalist, a writer, a caregiver, and a Zen practitioner. She was born in Latin America, grew up in Spain, and has spent most of her professional career in the US over the last two decades. She has worked for The Wall Street Journal as well as Spain’s global news agency EFE, the Spanish business daily Cinco Dias and Hispanic TV station Univision. Teresa graduated from Columbia University and is a recipient of the John S. Knight Journalism Fellowship at Stanford. A longtime meditation practitioner, she is an active member of Kannon Do Zen Center in Mountain View (California). Teresa is the co-author of “A Sense of Something Greater: Zen and the Search for Balance in Silicon Valley.” She is currently taking care of her mother, who has Alzheimer’s. She loves spending time outdoors.
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Teresa Bouza es periodista, escritora, cuidadora y practicante de meditación Zen. Nació en Latinoamérica, creció en España y ha desarrollado la mayor parte de su carrera profesional en Estados Unidos. Ha trabajado para el diario The Wall Street Journal, la agencia global de noticias EFE, el diario financiero español Cinco Días y la cadena de televisión Univision. Cursó estudios de posgrado en la Universidad de Columbia y obtuvo una Beca John S. Knight de Periodismo en la Universidad de Stanford en el año 2012. Teresa practica meditación zen desde hace dos décadas y tiene una participación activa en el Centro Zen Kannon Do de Mountain View (California). Es coautora, junto con su maestro Zen, Les Kaye, del libro “A Sense of Something Greater: Zen and the Search for Balance in Silicon Valley.” (“Sentir que hay algo más grande: Zen y la búsqueda de una vida equilibrada en Silicon Valley.”). En la actualidad cuida a su madre que tiene Alzheimer. Le encanta pasar tiempo en la Naturaleza.
Roy Remer
Roy, Zen Caregiving Project’s Executive Director, has been an end-of-life caregiver and educator since 1997. He trained with Zen Hospice Project (ZHP) to become a volunteer and served at the bedside for six years at the Guest House facility before serving for seven years on San Francisco’s Laguna Honda Hospital’s Palliative Care Ward. Roy served on the ZHP board of directors from 2002 until 2008. In 2008, he completed a yearlong end-of-life caregiver training at the Metta Institute in Sausalito, CA.
A dedicated practitioner in the Soto Zen tradition, Roy is a student at the San Francisco Zen Center. Roy is certified by the Stanford University School of Medicine, Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCARE), and the Compassion Institute as a Compassion Cultivation Training (CCT©) instructor.
Roy also guides wilderness-based rites of passage programs in partnership with EarthWaysLLC of Sebastopol, CA.
Mary Doane
As Supervising Instructor of Education Programs, Mary leads all Zen Caregiving Project’s (ZCP) course offerings. She is responsible for delivering teacher training, and she mentors emerging instructors and develops ZCP’s custom curricula.
Since starting with the organization as a volunteer bedside caregiver in 2005, Mary has also facilitated New Volunteer Trainings and served as Volunteer Program Coordinator.
Mary’s decades of mindfulness and compassion practices, along with personal experiences as a family caregiver, are the groundwaters of her teaching. Mary has also completed Buddhist Chaplaincy Training at the Sati Center for Buddhist Studies and was trained at Stanford University to teach Compassion Cultivation Training (CCT™). She has dual CCT Instructor certification from Stanford University School of Medicine, Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCARE) and Compassion Institute (CI).
board members
George “Chip” Feiss
Board Member
- CEO/Owner of M2, Inc.
- Senior Fellow, Harvard University
Chip served as a volunteer caregiver with Zen Hospice Project from April 2016 until June 2018. He is the founder of M2 Inc (boutique investment advisory firm) & Blue Diamond Capital (trading company), he is a frontier markets investor profiled in a WSJ article, CEO Vivid Image Technology, and Senior Fellow at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.
Ali Kia Shabahangi
Board Member
- Principal, Spirit Living Group
Ali’s career in senior housing and care started as a caregiver for a board and care home while he was going through law school. He later worked as an attorney representing senior housing developers and operators. He co-founded AgeSong, Inc., an assisted living management company before joining his brother to launch Spirit Living Group, a senior housing development and asset management company based in Marin County. Ali graduated from UC Berkeley and received his JD from Santa Clara University School of Law where he has been a guest lecturer. Ali’s interests include modern architecture inspired by Mies van der Rohe, Vipassana meditation, following Jack Kornfield at Spirit Rock and running half-marathons, with a best time of 1:42.
Paul Haller
Board Secretary
- Former Co-Abbot, San Francisco Zen Center
Paul Haller has been engaged in Buddhist practice for 30 years, initially as a Theravada monk in Thailand and was then ordained as a priest at the San Francisco Zen Center in 1980, where he recently became the new Co-Abbot. He leads the outreach program at the Zen Center and has extensive experience integrating Buddhist practice with hospice, jail, and peace work.
Anne Kinderman
Board Member
- Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco
Dr. Anne Kinderman is a Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, and provides clinical care as an attending physician in the UCSF Division of Palliative Medicine. Between 2009 and 2021, she served as the Director of the Supportive & Palliative Care Service at San Francisco General Hospital, a role in which she helped to develop inpatient and outpatient palliative care services and led numerous quality improvement and educational initiatives. Dr. Kinderman came to be familiar with the work of Zen Hospice and Zen Caregiving through the Zen Guest House and the extensive volunteer program serving the Guest House and Laguna Honda Hospital’s hospice unit. She also developed great respect for the organization through the collaborative development of CAREgivers, initially piloted at Zuckerberg San Francisco General.
Chris Panos
Board President
- Founder and Managing Director, Fundamental Investment Advisors
Chris Panos has studied Tibetan Buddhism, Korean Zen, and American Japanese Zen since 1975. Chris received a BA from Indiana University and an MBA from the University of Chicago. He is a Zen Teacher in the Zen Peacemakers Sangha and President of Zen Peacemakers.
Anne Vrolyk
Board Treasurer
- Managing Director, Vrolyk Capital Partners
Vrolyk Capital Partners (“VCP”) is a private investment banking firm based in San Francisco that provides merger and acquisition and private financing advisory services. Prior to founding VCP in 2012, Anne was with Viant Group, which combined in 2010 with Vrolyk & Company, the firm she founded and ran for over 20 years. Prior to Vrolyk & Company, she was with the merger department of Alex Brown & Sons in San Francisco and the merger department of Goldman Sachs in New York. Anne received her MBA from the Columbia Graduate School of Business and her BA in Bacteriology from the University of California, Los Angeles, CA.
education advisory panel
Kate Nitze, LCSW, MFA
Advisory Board Member
- Medical Social Worker, Mission Hospice and Home Care
Kate is a compassionate and skilled LCSW with experience in hospice, bereavement, caregiver support, and emotional accompaniment through serious illness and loss. Skilled in individual and group grief counseling, narrative medicine, interdisciplinary collaboration, and guiding families through complex emotional and medical decisions at end of life.
Christina Irving, LCSW
Advisory Board Member
- Client Services Director, Family Caregiver Alliance
Christina Irving is the Director of Client Services at Family Caregiver Alliance. She oversees the staff of the Bay Area Caregiver Resource Center who provide direct services to family caregivers, including assessment, counseling, education, and support. She has been with FCA for over 13 years, first as a Family Consultant and then as Clinical Supervisor. She received a Master’s degree in Social Work from San Jose State University and is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker.
Cynthia Carter-Perrilliat, MPA
Advisory Board Member
- Executive Director, Alameda County Care Alliance
Rev. Perrilliat is Executive Director of the ACCA. She has over 25 years of experience as a hospice and palliative care educator, trainer and marketing professional. Over the last 15 years, she has focused on advance illness and end of life care program development and educational training in the African American community. As part of a national Healthcare/Hospice organization, Rev. Perrilliat established a targeted compassionate care approach to communities of color, which was adopted and replicated across the organizations multi-state footprint. She also served as faculty member of the Duke University APPEAL program, a Palliative Care Educational Curriculum for African Americans at the end of life.
Sandy Stokes, RN, MSN
Advisory Board Member
- Founder and Executive Director, Chinese American Coalition for Compassionate Care
Sandy has focused much of her career and volunteer activities on end of life care, elder care, public health, and mental health issues in the Chinese American community.
For her work with the CACCC, in 2008 Sandy was one of 15 nationally to receive the American Cancer Society’s Lane Adams Award. She was one of 10 in the nation to receive the 2011 AARP Inspire Award.
Sandy was presented with the 2017 Compassionate Care Innovator Award for her extraordinary role in improving the quality of advance care planning and palliative care in California at the Coalition for Compassionate Care of California (CCCC) 9th Annual Summit.
Sandy is a member of the advisory board for the Chinese Health Initiative Project at El Camino Hospital in Mountain View, California and a Diversity Advisory Council Member of the National Hospice & Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO).
Eren Gutierrez
Advisory Board Member
- Deputy Director, San Francisco In Home Support Services Public Authority (SF IHSS PA)
Eren Gutierrez joined the Public Authority in June 2014 and began her position as Deputy Director in July 2021. Eren is responsible for the operational quality and efficiency of the programs offered at the Public Authority.
Previously, she was the Registry & On-Call Program Manager and played a central role in developing and implementing large-scale projects and systems. She is inspired by community activism and a strong desire to help improve the quality of life of our community.
Eren brought over a decade of leadership and operations management experience. She studied Business and Non-Profit Management at SFSU and has an AA degree in Social & Behavioral Sciences. In her spare time, Eren enjoys exploring the bay area with her family.
Ruben Chavez
Advisory Board Member
- Deputy Director, Curry Senior Center
Ruben Chavez has recently joined Curry Senior Center as its Director of Programs. Ruben is a retired Marine Veteran and spent 20+ years working in non-profit health care for several Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) in the Central Valley and more recently in the Bay Area.
Ruben served mainly in health center operations and compliance during his time with FQHCs. Ruben holds a Juris Doctor in Law Concentrating in Health Care from the University of Maryland, and Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of California, Davis. Ruben is originally from Visalia, California in the Central Valley.
Heather Harris MD FAAHPM
Advisory Board Member
- Associate Chief, Division of Palliative Care
- Medical Director of Community-Based Serious Illness Care
- Alameda Health System
- Professor of Medicine – Volunteer
- University California, San Francisco
Heather A. Harris, MD FAAHPM is the Associate Chief in the Division of Palliative Care and the Medical Director of Community-Based Serious Illness Care within the Alameda Health System.
Prior to this role she was the Medical Director of Care Management and Palliative Care within Stanford Health Care – Stanford Medicine Partners where she led the serious illness care program in the Accountable Care Division supporting patients within a Medicare Shared Savings Program.
She was also a Professor of Clinical Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco where she co-founded the palliative care program within the San Francisco Health Network to ensure access to palliative care within the safety-net health system serving San Francisco.
She has held several leadership positions within the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine including serving as the Co-Chair of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee, Chair of the Safety-Net Special Interest Group, and as a member of the Next Gen Scholars Committee spearheading efforts to enhance the diversity of the national palliative care workforce.
Nancy Schier-Anzelmo MSG
Advisory Board Member
- Principal, Alzheimer’s Care Associates
Nancy is the Founder and Principal of Alzheimer’s Care Associates.
She’s passionate about leveraging cutting edge research to improve the lives of those affected by dementia. But she’s not just an advocate; Nancy is a sought-after expert.
With a Master’s degree in Gerontology, and over 30 years of hands-on experience, Nancy is considered a leader in the field of senior living: assisted living memory care and adult day programs.
Prior to founding ACA in 2001, Nancy worked in various roles within the long term care continuum including: Residential Care, Assisted Living, Skilled Nursing, Rehabilitation, Adult Day Programs.
Over the years, her work and research has garnered recognition in both the private and nonprofit sectors of senior living services.
Nancy has received achievement awards for her innovative work with the Alzheimer’s Association and various senior service agencies.
She is a highly regarded speaker and educator in the field of Gerontology.
As an expert in memory support programs, Nancy has served her community in various capacities:
Program forum consultant to the Alzheimer’s Association chapters of California
Faculty Member at Sacramento State University, Gerontology Department since 1999
Former Vice President of Sigma Phi Omega, Gerontology honors society, Sacramento chapter
Board member of the California Coalition for Person-Centered Care
Volunteer for the Northern California Alzheimer’s Association
Task Force member for the Dementia Action Alliance
Member of the Gerontological Society of America and the American Society on Aging
Currently, Nancy serves as a board member of the statewide California Assisted Living Association (CALA). As the co-chair of the education committee, Nancy works diligently to educate individuals overseeing the care of older adults living in supportive housing settings.
Nancy is also the co-founder of Connected Horse (est. 2015), a nonprofit devoted to equine guided assisted learning programs for older adults affected by a diagnosis of dementia..
Connected Horse provides equine-assisted workshops that inspire connection and engagement in the lives of all those impacted by a dementia diagnosis or neurocognitive disorders.
Nancy resides outside of Sacramento with her husband, daughters and many rescued pets.
Anne Kinderman, MD
Advisory Board Member
- Clinical Professor of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco
Dr. Anne Kinderman is a palliative care specialist who works with patients experiencing serious illness, including cancer. Seeking to integrate the full context of each individual’s life into her care, she focuses on helping patients live as well as possible while they face the challenges that accompany serious illness. Her patients come from diverse geographic locations and life situations, and she is committed to understanding their unique values, priorities and concerns in order to help them make the best decisions for their care.
Kinderman’s research interests include expanding access to high-quality palliative care for patients insured by Medicaid, promoting best practices in communication for patients who have limited proficiency in the English language, and developing palliative care programs in safety net health systems.
Kinderman earned her medical degree at Rush Medical College. She completed a residency in internal medicine at UCSF and a fellowship in hospice and palliative medicine at Stanford University. Prior to joining UCSF, she worked for many years at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center (ZSFG) as the founding director of its Supportive and Palliative Care Service. In this role, she cared for patients with diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds, socioeconomic statuses, social connections and types of illness.
Kinderman has won awards for her work in palliative medicine, including the Commitment to Patient Care Award from the UCSF Symptom Management Service, an award for subspecialty consultant of the year from ZSFG, and an inspiring leader under 40 award from the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine.
