SHEN ( Spiritual Heritage Education Network) is happy to have Barbara Bedford join the SHEN Board of Directors. Barb retired in 2013 from an exciting career in the Travel Industry as National Sales and Marketing Manager for a well-known Canadian cruise wholesaler.
Barb has been a meditator for over 30 years starting with Transcendental Meditation and then a student of an intense Buddhist meditation practice since 2001. She has been actively teaching courses on Spiritual Living and Living in Oneness throughout the KW community. Currently, she is also the founder of Spirit Quest Café on Meetup offering both the Beginner and the Adept a space to share with like-minded Spiritual Seekers utilizing the practice of meditation to experience Oneness and Insight. In addition, Barb is on the Board of Directors for the organization Humanity’s Team Canada which promotes Oneness.
Rabbi Hillel, a renowned Babylonian Jewish scholar, philosopher and teacher asked
“ If I am not for myself, then who will be for me? And if I am only for myself, then what am I?”
These words of profound wisdom have become Barb’s personal mantra giving her strength and courage to be a Light for others to become aware of their own power and Oneness.
Former Directors
As an organization, the Spiritual Heritage Education Network Inc. (SHEN) came into existence on September 15, 2000 as Ontario Corporation Number 1434906. The board of directors of SHEN are responsible for the conduct of its business and keeping it focused on the objectives to which SHEN is dedicated.
Our directors receive no remuneration and serve purely or the love of humanity and the planet. Their lives are dedicated to promote, develop and deliver education to build bridges across the hearts and minds of diverse humanity.
This listing includes all those who have served SHEN in the past as its directors.
Dr. Ingrid Brand has worked as a senior administrator, in higher education, in Egypt, Jordan, and Kuwait. Her seven years of international experience has afforded a view into higher education management through different cultural lenses and these have fortified her commitment to building bridges between cultures by fostering cultural and intercultural awareness, understanding, and intercultural empathy. Toward this end, she earned a doctorate in organizational leadership, policy, and development, with a specialization in comparative international development education, from the University of Minnesota. Her doctoral program focused on internationalization and Intercultural Effectiveness Programming. Her dissertation is entitled: Toward Global Leadership: Factors Influencing the Development of Intercultural Competence Among Business Students at a Canadian University.
Ingrid is a sessional lecturer at the University of Guelph-Humber where she teaches a course she developed, entitled: Intercultural Communication and Understanding. She is also an adjunct professor at Yorkville University where she teaches a course at the graduate level. She is truly passionate about her work and finds it immensely rewarding to work with learners to raise cultural and intercultural awareness, and assist them in developing the knowledge, skills, and abilities they require to communicate effectively in culturally diverse settings.
Ingrid has recently started her own consulting business, Brand Consulting, to foster the development of intercultural competence at the individual, group, or organizational levels.
Distinguished Professor Emeritus and currently Director of the Centre for Dialogue & Spirituality in the World Religions at Renison University College/University of Waterloo, he was educated at Concordia College (BA Philosophy & Political Science), Harvard Divinity School (STB, Theology), and the Institute of Christian Thought, St. Michael’s University College (PhD, Special Religious Studies). He taught at Waterloo Lutheran University (now Wilfrid Laurier) 1967-69 and Renison College, University of Waterloo (1973-2007). He is the author/editor of more than 25 volumes in the study of religion, most recently, the 3rd edition of Religion in a New Key and three volumes of Ways of the Spirit: Celebrating Dialogue, Diversity & Spirituality, Ways of the Spirit: Voices of Women, and Ways of the Spirit: Persons, Communities & Spiritualities.
Ever since his childhood on the plains of Dakota near a Native American reservation, Darrol had been keen to know more about his own Christian faith and the faiths of others. That passion has continued and deepened through his studies and through many opportunities to meet people of different faiths in their own settings -- e.g., in ashrams, temples, masjids and gurdwaras in India, in Buddhist monasteries in Korea, Sri Lanka and Japan, and in masjids in Egypt and Turkey. His hope is that SHEN can become a resource and a place of dialogue about the wisdom essential to a life of spiritual depth.
Dr. Rejendra N. Dubey is a founding member of SHEN. He also has also been serving on its Board of Directors holding the office of its Treasurer from the very inception of SHEN.
Dr. Dubey was born in 1938 at Biharsharif in the state of Bihar in India. He obtained a B.Sc. Degree in 1957 from Patna University with Mathematics Honours, and another B.Sc. degree in Civil Engineering in 1961 from Ranchi University. He was awarded a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering by the University of Waterloo in 1966. He taught at the the University of Waterloo till his retirement in 1996.
Dr. Dubey's interest in spirituality and Indian Philosophy began in 1977 under the guidance of his guru, Brahmarishi Vishwatma Bawra. Raj translated two of his guru's books from Hindi into English. One of the books he translated was on the Bhagvad Gita, and the other on the yoga sutras of sage Patanjali. Currently he translating his guru's commentary on the Bhagvad Gita. He is also working on the Sankhya Philosophy.
Vicky Garach moved to the Waterloo region from Toronto with her husband in 1990 to live and work as a CDR and CPDA in his dental practice. While working, she continued her certification in the Ontario Management and Development Program at Conestoga College in Kitchener, ON.
Her priority and focus was in caring and nurturing her growing family of three children. Vickyʼs spiritual interest started in 2010 , which led her to pursue a certification as a primordial sound meditation Instructor from Chopra Center University, Carlsbad, California in 2012.
Her passion and enthusiasm continued to expand as she went on to receive her certification as a SUCCESS Coach from psychologist Robert Holden,PhD., best known as the director of the Happiness Project in the UK. She is also a member of and a certified Coach Practitioner with the Certified Coaches Federation.
Vickyʼs interest in bringing her new found knowledge and experience to SHEN came in 2012 where she volunteered on the conference committee. She is honored and delighted to be a member of the board and in joining to keep the energy moving for SHEN as it expands its teaching facility.
Her goal is to invite others that are interested in spirituality and humanity to work together towards helping, caring and educating our community in stress management, promoting core spirituality, unity and diversity.
Humera Javed is the Education & Inclusion Coordinator at the Diversity & Equity Office, Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Canada. She is a PhD student studying Curriculum Studies & Teacher Development at OISE (Ontario Institute for Studies in Education), University of Toronto. She is interested in issues of diversity, equity, social justice, religious pluralism, intra and inter-faith dialogue, and how they relate to community-building and education.
Late Dr. Kesavan was a founding member of SHEN. He also served as a member of its board of directors from September 15, 2004 to January 31, 2013. Dr. Kesavan assed away on November 26, 2014 in Waterloo, Ontario.
Dr. H.K. Kesavan received his undergraduate degrees in science and engineering from Bangalore, India, and his postgraduate degrees in electrical engineering from the Universities of Illinois and Michigan State in the U.S.A. During his career, he has served as Chairman of the Department of Electrical Engineering at the University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, and later as the founding Chairman of the Department of Systems Design Engineering at the same university. In between, for a period of five years, he was the first Head of the Electrical Engineering Department at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, and also, concurrently, the Head of its Computer Center. Later, he was also the first Dean of Research and Development at the Institute. At present, he is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of Waterloo. Dr. Kesavan's research interests encompass two broad fields: first, system theory from the viewpoint of graph theory and secondly, the study of probabilistic systems based on the optimization of information-theoretic principles. He has numerous research publications in both areas and has coauthored several books.
Dr. Kesavan has maintained a life-long interest in the philosophical aspects of science. Dr. Kesavan is the author of a book called Science and Mysticism - The Essence of Vedic Philosophy. This book presents a global view of Vedic philosophy from the insights that science and mysticism provide. The motivation for writing this book arose from his constant interaction with students of Indian origin at the The University of Waterloo, Canada. Dr. Kesavan is one of the prime movers of SHEN. His enthusiasm for SHEN is infectious.
Late Dr. Leslie was a founding member of SHEN. He also served on its Board of Directors as its Secretary from inception to September 30, 2005.
Dr. James David Leslie received a B.A.Sc. in Engineering Physics from the University of Toronto, Toronto,Ontario, Canada. He then spent a year as a Lecturer in Physics at the newly founded University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. He obtained an M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Illinois in the U.S.A. before returning to the University of Waterloo, where he is currently a Full Professor of Physics. He started the University of Waterloo Correspondence Program and served as its Director for 12 years,which has led to a life-long interest in Distance Education in addition to doing research in solid state physics. He is also interested in the transfer of technology from university to industry and founded a company that is engaged in this activity.
Dr. Leslie was influenced greatly by his experiences growing up in an ethnically-mixed neighbourhood in Toronto and the moral influences of his Scottish-Irish parents as well as lessons at the Sunday school of the local United Church. He has made the "Golden Rule" , "To do onto others as you would have them do onto you", one of his main guiding principles. He has also always acted to recognize the worth and dignity of people of all origins in the world. He views SHEN as an opportunity to provide Distance Education via the Internet on moral principles.
In his working life, Late Dr. Peter Morris was a professional geologist. Now he is the president of Abrazos Canada , an independent charitable organization located in Waterloo Canada. The goal of Abrazos Canada is to work with small organizations and local groups in Latin America, at the beginning of their activities or perhaps in the initial stages of development.
Dr. Zachariah served on the SHEN board of directors from July 14, 2008 to Sept 15, 2011. During this period, he made significant contributions to the operation of the organization.
SHEN owes a strong community outreach program to Dr. Zachariah's initiatives. He and his wife, Lois Zachariah, have a strong sense of service to the marginalized in society. They initiated programs in stress management to help the clients of the Grand River Hospital seeking practical tools to deal with their particular substance addictions. They also initiated a similar program to serve the current inmates in the local jails and those trying to rehabilitate back into the society at large.
Another significant contribution of Dr. Zachariah and his wife is the installation of mindful listening process in running the SHEN stakeholders' meetings and conferences on Education to Globalize the Human Mind. This process gives everyone present a chance of expressing their feelings in two rounds while the others listen non-judgmentally in a mindful manner. Conference participants evaluate the process as an effective tool of deepening an individual's the conference experience. SHEN stakeholders hold the process in high esteem as it results in focused meetings increasing their efficiency together with the enhancement of deep heart5 to heart communication between them.
Dr. Zachariah, in asking to be relieved from board duties, has assumed the responsibility of reviewing the SHEN proc3dures and bye-laws and advise on further streamlining the workings of SHEN. Dr. Zachariah felt that he must be outside the board for discharging this responsibility in a fair way without any conflict of interest.