BOARD OF DIRECTORS
“Karma Yoga is the taking of the things you do every day with other people, of service, things like that, and making those all into an offering.” ~Ram Dass
Beth Gatchell, President
Beth has been practicing yoga for more than 20 years and is a graduate of the Namaspa 200hr Yoga Teacher Training. She is the Founder and Owner of Canyon Yoga Collective in Redmond, Oregon. Beth writes, "I enjoy living here in Oregon, where the outdoor beauty and activities are endless. For my 'first act', I nurtured a large family and traveled. As a recent empty nester, I have began my 'second act'. I have had the privilege of becoming a yoga instructor and I’m excited at the many volunteer opportunities in my community. My teaching style is open minded, relaxed, and connected. I strongly believe that Yoga meets you, as you are, where you are no prerequisites needed. Your path is as unique as you and I honor your journey."
Suzie newcome, CO-founder & Treasurer
Suzie Newcome is the Co-Founder of the Namaspa Foundation (2018) and the Board Treasurer. Suzie became a certified yoga teacher in 2006 and founded Namaspa LLC, the studio, in 2007. Accessibility and generosity were initiatives at the heart of Namaspa LLC from the very beginning. Whether it was through offering classes at and raising donations for the Bethlehem Inn (Central Oregon's largest homeless shelter); helping to organize the annual Yogi's Unite Bend charity event for six years; incorporating scholarship opportunities and “giving back" classes and into Namaspa LLC’s 200hr Teacher Trainings; or providing free 45-day "Fresh Start" yoga passes for local therapists and counselors to give to clients who could benefit, you could always find Suzie and her teams going above and beyond to share yoga with those who could benefit most. It was in 2015 when Suzie traveled to Africa to assist a 200hr teacher training for the Africa Yoga Project, and she was so inspired by the Africa Yoga Project’s model of empowering those in need through yoga, while creating valuable jobs, that it became the inspiration and role model for what eventually grew into the 501c3 nonprofit, the Namaspa Foundation (incorporated in 2018). Suzie commutes between Bend and Portland, where she is currently attending Law School at Lewis & Clark.
LOREN MAHAFFEy, Past president
Loren Mahaffey B.SC, LMBT, E-RYT is passionate about learning and teaching. She has a deep understanding of the body from both an eastern and western perspective. Loren has 25 years of experience as a yoga instructor and yoga teacher trainer, licensed massage and bodywork therapist and continuing education provider. Within yoga, Loren specializes yoga anatomy, physiology, kinesiology and yogic philosophy. She teaches within both 200hr and 300hr yoga teacher certification programs.
As a licensed massage and bodywork therapist, Loren practices Zen Shiatsu Acupressure, CranioSacral Therapy, Brain Therapy, Visceral Manipulation and Lymphatic Drainage Therapy. She is certified in Aromatherapy and HeartMath. As a therapist, Loren has cultivated deep presence and advanced manual therapy skills having worked with thousands of clients over the years. As a teacher, Loren is articulate, dedicated and able to explain difficult concepts as well as subtleties of the body in a way that people can understand and relate to. She is able to transmit information within movement practices that allow intellectual learning to become a somatic felt experience.
Keri Sawyer, Head of training
Keri Sawyer, owner of Openview Yoga, has over a decade of experience facilitating movement and breath practices, embodiment, and trauma-informed practices. She is a seasoned speaker and facilitator who has trained thousands of people as an experienced 500-hour yoga teacher and licensed trainer with the Center for Trauma and Embodiment in Boston. Keri provides Trauma Sensitive yoga to trauma survivors of all ages, facilitates trainings for yoga teachers and healthcare workers, and provides research-based information and trauma-informed treatment practices to the therapeutic world. She oversees the implementation of of trauma informed practices into therapeutic models in clinical and residential treatment programs across the country, along with agency trainings and regular consultation for mental health clinicians, therapists, nurses, massage therapists, yoga teachers and more. Her passion is to provide an opportunity for survivors of trauma to have an authentic experience with a safe and predictable felt sense of their body along with spreading awareness of trauma-informed practices. Trauma Center Trauma Sensitive Yoga or TCYSY is an intervention based on sound research from the Trauma Center and The Center for Trauma and Embodiment. TCTSY is an evidence based adjunct treatment for complex trauma and is the only yoga-based practice accepted by SAMSHA and NREPP.
bruce morris, head of classes
Bruce is a Yoga Teacher and Studio Manager at Namaspa Yoga Community, with many years experience in management and leadership in local organizations. His yoga journey began over 20 years ago at the insistence of a friend and yoga teacher. He fell in love with Yoga and immediately began a consistent practice for many years. After a (too) long lull, he came to Namapsa in early 2019 feeling out of shape, stressed, and tired. The love affair reignited and Bruce began consistently practicing all forms of Yoga taught at Namaspa. Bruce graduated from the Namaspa teacher training program in 2021 after deciding that a 60-plus year-old man with a larger body could offer something unique to yoga students. That turned out to be true and Bruce now teaches a few classes per week, including for the Foundation.
His career outside yoga began as a lawyer in a prestigious international law firm in Texas, after earning his law degree from Baylor and later a Master of Laws degree from Columbia University. He moved to Bend in 1998 and left law practice to work in Social Justice, serving in a variety of capacities in local nonprofit organizations. Most recently Bruce worked for KPOV Community Radio for nine years in management capacities, culminating as Station Manager. Over the years Bruce managed and led different types of staff and volunteer teams, including over 100 volunteers at KPOV with an incredible staff of four. Bruce is a father and grandfather in a big blended family of four daughters and six grandchildren.
jennee edwards, fundraising
Jennee is a licensed clinical social worker with over 20 years of experience providing mental health and wellbeing services to individuals, families, and communities across county, nonprofit, inpatient, and outpatient settings. Her work has focused on crisis intervention and assessment, providing trauma informed clinical services, and care coordination and support to individuals across the mental health continuum.
Jennee is a certified yoga teacher with training in multiple accessible and adaptive yoga modalities, and has taught in both traditional studio environments and nonprofit settings. Previously, she worked with the Art of Yoga Project, bringing yoga to vulnerable and underserved junior high and high school aged students. In her role as a board member, she looks forward to contributing her combined experience in social work services and accessible yoga to support the foundation, the studio, and the broader community.
Jennee relocated to Bend two years ago from Portland, but has enjoyed all that Bend has to offer for the past twenty years. She enjoys paddling, biking, reading, traveling, and spending time with her wife and dogs.
Lorna Henri, fundraising
Lorna Henri has over 35 years of experience working in tech companies large and small. Her most recent role was as SVP of Customer Success at Modern Health, a mental health services company. She has worked at technology companies for most of her career. Prior to Modern Health, she was the Global VP at a variety of technology companies including Mapbox, Data.ai (mobile app analytics) and BrightEdge (Enterprise Saas SEO platform). She also worked for 15 years as Director of Online Marketing for a B2B company as well as various telecommunications companies. Lorna graduated from Namaspa’s YTT in March, 2024. Lorna and her husband, Joe, split their time between Walnut Creek, CA and Bend, OR where you can find them hiking, kayaking and SUPing throughout the many lakes and rivers in Central Oregon.
Ms. Henri holds an M.B.A. from Stanford Business School and a B.S. in Industrial Engineering also from Stanford University.
Nancy Lumpkin, secretary
I began Restorative Yoga in 1983 as a means to deal with the pain and stress from cancer treatments. With a regular yoga practice, my body healed! In 2008 I received my first 200 hour yoga certification and have continued my yoga education since then specializing in Restorative Yoga, healing flow yoga, Yoga Nidra and working with other cancer survivors. In addition to yoga, I enjoy travel, cross country skiing, cycling, pickleball and hiking with my four-legged buddy, Jack.Nancy has been serving the foundation for many years teaching foundation classes to inmates in the jail and chair yoga for seniors. She has a grounding pretense and spirit of possibility that she brings to all of her offerings. We are grateful for her presence on the board of directors as well as her presence as a teacher for the foundation.
