Welcome Nathan Railla, Our New Executive Director

It is with great pleasure we announce that Nathan Railla has been officially appointed by the Sakyong and the Kalapa Court as the next Executive Director of the Shambhala Meditation Center of Denver. Welcome, Nathan!

Over the last year, SMCD has been working to fulfill our community’s goals from the Vision to Action effort that took place between November 2011 and February 2012. One of our most critical goals was to hire the next Executive Director for SMCD. Last fall, an Executive Director Search Committee was empowered by the SMCD Leadership Council to begin this work. This Committee included Nan Clydesdale (Chair), Karyn German, Todd Pickton, Larry Seidl, and Coleman Zeigen, with assistance from Acharya Dan Hessey. They received six applications, and worked very intensely throughout January on the review and interview process.

Nathan has been serving in the Shambhala community since August 2008 when he first moved to Shambhala Mountain Center (SMC). He has considered the last four-and-a-half  years to be profound training for study, practice and action. With a deep commitment to the Sakyong, Nathan has served programs in positions from Aide to Assistant Director, as a Dorje Kasung in a variety of posts, and is practicing within the Scorpion Seal Mandala.

Growing up in the suburbs of Los Angeles, Nathan was first exposed to Buddhism by his aunt, Denise Railla, who has practiced in the Sokka Gokki International tradition for more than 30 years. Currently, Nathan is living in Boulder with Betsy, his wife, and they will be moving to Denver in a couple of weeks. They met at SMC in 2008 and were married at the Great Stupa almost three years ago. They then moved to Boulder where Nathan studied Transpersonal Counseling and received his MA degree from Naropa University in 2012.

Nathan loves surfing and gets in the water whenever he goes back to California. He also has been a rock climber for over 17 years and guides wilderness therapy trips on occasion. In his free time Nathan enjoys going on runs, being with good company and spending time with Betsy.

On Shambhala Day, this Monday, February 11th, Nathan will begin his three-year term as SMCD’s Executive Director. He will be celebrating this very special day at the Denver Center, and we invite you to come and meet him. For more information about Shambhala Day in Denver and to register for the evening events, please click HERE.

Various “meet & greet” gatherings will be scheduled in the coming weeks, and we invite you to attend them and welcome Nathan and Betsy to our Denver Community!