Guiding Teacher

Lisa Ernst

Lisa Ernst is a meditation teacher in the Thai Forest/Spirit Rock lineage of Ajahn Chah, Jack Kornfield and Trudy Goodman. She has been meditating for 30 years in the Zen and Vipassana traditions.

Lisa is the founder and guiding teacher of One Dharma Nashville and she teaches internationally and leads retreats and classes throughout the U.S. She is a mentor for Spirit Rock’s Dedicated Practitioner Program as well as visiting teacher there.

As a practicing visual artist Lisa incorporates Dharma into contemplative photography, painting and writing.

Instructors and Facilitators

Julie Noland, PhD

Julie Noland, Ph.D., has maintained a consistent and committed meditation practice since joining One Dharma in 2015. During this time she has also sat over 120 days of multi-day retreats, both in person and online. She completed One Dharma’s facilitator training in 2018 and Lisa Ernst’s dharma teacher training in 2022. She teaches Psychology as Vanderbilt University faculty and Insight Meditation at One Dharma, along with regular volunteering and retreat management.

Geoff Lovett

Geoff has been practicing with One Dharma for 10 years.  He completed Lisa’s 2022 Dharma Teacher Training Program.  He appreciates the opportunity to give back to the community through dharma talks and retreat management / planning.  He is still learning to “take the backwards step,” to reconnect to the inner quiet from which suchness springs forward, and to open to all experience that comes his way.  He lives with his wife and three boys.

Jennifer Wang

Jennifer Wang is a facilitator for One Dharma’s Back to Basics Class. She has been a regular practitioner of mindfulness and meditation for over 10 years. Jennifer has completed numerous retreats, both residential and non-residential, in the Insight, Shambhala and Plum Village traditions. She also completed a monthlong retreat at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in spring of 2019.

As a newcomer to Nashville, Jennifer is excited to share her experience of meditation with the Nashville community.

Scott Glazier

Scott has been meditating for eight years and he completed Osher Center’s Mindfulness Facilitation Training in 2019.  He is a trained and certified recovery specialist, mindfulness meditation teacher and case manager. Scott leads many mindfulness classes each week and his mission is to help others find continuous peace, purpose and connectedness all while having fun!

David Cabrera

David Cabrera is a devoted husband and father and a musician. He is also a Martial arts practitioner and a “Laoshi ” (teacher in Chinese ) of Chen Taiji and Qigong (Mindful movement ) work. He has been practicing Vispassana Meditation for nearly 12 years.

David completed the Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Training Course under Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach graduation class of 2021.He is also certified under Thutpen Jinpa’s Compassion Training Course at Vanderbilt led by William Thiele, PHD.

Julia Reynolds Thompson

Julia Reynolds Thompson is the Director of Garden Operations for The Nashville Food Project, a nonprofit bringing people together to grow, cook and share nourishing food. She has been meditating with One Dharma since 2015. Loving kindness and equanimity have been especially important to her practice.

She has completed One Dharma’s Dedicated and Advanced Practitioner Courses as well as the 2018 Mindfulness Meditation Instructor and Facilitator course. Julia she is one of the facilitators of One Dharma’s Mindful of Whiteness Anti-racist Practice Group.

Jeffrey Samuels, PhD

Jeff completed his first meditation retreat in Thailand in 1987 under the direction of Ajahn Buddhadasa.

Since then Jeff has completed a number of retreats in Thailand, Sri Lanka, Mexico, and the United States, in both the Mahasi Sayadaw and the Thai Forest traditions.

Jeff also earned a Ph.D. in Buddhist studies at the University of Virginia in 2002. He has been studying with Lisa Ernst since 2012 and completed multiple biannual retreats with her. Jeff taught a Pali language course through One Dharma as well as a recent daylong retreat on the Four Foundations of Mindfulness. He lives in Vancouver Canada with his family.