Sandy Weiner, President – (Executive Director)

My connection with the breathtaking land, beautiful souls and spiritual traditions of Sri Lanka started in 2012. That year, I moved to the rural, southern province of Sabaragamuwe to join the Sri Bodhiraja Foundation.

My commitment to change and community development runs deep. Beginning at the young age of 15, I brought forward the idea to create a runaway hotline in South Florida to safely reconnect runaway children with their families. I served on the board of various nonprofits from my early days as a public-school teacher in the 1970’s around the issues of education and criminal justice reform. After moving to Germany in 1993, I developed a variety of shared visioning projects, which, among other things, resulted in the the alleviation of the vast debt held by the town of Stahnsdorf, and earned me recognition from then-chancellor Angela Merkel.

What really keeps me going, despite the passing of time, is hope, and my deep desire to do gentle acts of loving kindness wherever I go.

Dan Joslyn, Vice President – (Treasurer)

Dan a scholar-activist and a PhD candidate in History at New York University and an organizer on various projects across New York City. Originally from Berlin, Germany, Dan calls Washington Heights home. 

Daniel’s research focuses on the intertwined histories of religion, socialism, sexuality, and settler colonialism in the long nineteenth century. Their teaching builds on the principles of critical pedagogy to connect students with ongoing struggles in and around their communities, as a means of introducing them to the need and power of meticulous historical research rooted in community needs. Daniel’s organizing builds on abolitionist, feminist, and third-world Marxist principles, connecting their research skills with various local organizing projects.

Dr. Frank Herdmann, Secretary – (Director)

My commitment to community development started in sports. In the 1980s I was the chairman of the organization for rock’n roll dancing in Schleswig-Holstein, a state of the federal republic of Germany. Later I was active in the advisory council for the kindergarten of my children and their chairman. For a limited time, I was the chairman of the local Handball Club. Finally, I’m a member of the financial committee of Handball Verband Berlin, the organization responsible for Handball sports in Berlin which has the status of a city state in Germany.

I’m a lawyer by training with a PhD and a thesis in legal history. I worked for many years in Berliner Bank and its subsidiaries first in the legal department, later as a managing director to some of the bank’s subsidiaries in trade finance and real estate. Later I worked for a Swedish real estate group. Now I’m a consultant working as a freelancer for a client in real estate and a consultant to SMEs in organizational planning.

Also, I do pro bono work for DIN (the German standardization organization) focusing on Management Systems, Risk Management, Business Continuity Management and Security Management. DIN has sent me as a delegate to ISO (the international standardization organization where I’m an expert in Risk Management, Business Continuity Management and Security management and management system standards in general. I also work as a secretary of one of their working groups. This includes working with globally diverse colleagues sorting out cultural differences and finding compromises between different points of interest.

I’m the author of multiple books, chapters in anthologies and articles List of publications.

Sajini Perera, Affiliate Director, Virtual Communications & Assistant to President

Sajini Perera is a Program coordinator and Primary English language instructor and examiner at Institute of Professional Studies and Skill Development Sri Lanka (IPSSD). Currently, she is an undergraduate BSc (Hons) psychology and counselling in National Institute of Business Management (NIBM). She worked as a teacher and vice principal at Bodhiraja international preschool. Furthermore, she is a coordinator for charity work at Sri Bodhiraja foundation and advisor and coordinator at InMetta. She has completed Diploma in early childhood education at National Preschool Development Foundation, Preschool teaching NVQ level 04 at National Apprentice & Industrial Training Authority (NAITA) , Diploma in English at University of Sri Jayewardenepura and Teachers Knowledge Test (TKT) at British Council / Cambridge university.

Raphael Weisman, Assistant Treasurer

Raphael Weisman has extensive experience sitting on boards of non-profit organizations including the Project Clean Oceans. He is President and founder of Healing the scars, Inc. and the Lorien Foundation. He is a retired luthier and harp-maker. Born in South Africa, he currently lives in Santa Fe, NM. He is an Emotion Code®️️️ practitioner. He is a trainer and facilitator of the transformational modality HeartThread®️️️. He is a minister and he facilitates ceremonies for the blessing of the waters. He founded the non-profit Healing The Scars, Inc. to provide healing from the effects of war, trauma and abuse. He sells Shungite and products that help build the immune system and offer protection from the harmful effects of EMFs. He is a musician, artist, visionary, poet, editor and author. He loves to dance and hike and is a lover of water, trees and Nature. He is committed to being an example of one who lives the path of the Spiritual Warrior.

Biography: www.RaphaelWeisman.com

Venerable Nivithigala Wijitha Thero

Ven. Wijitha Thero is a Theravada Buddhist monk with deep compassion, empathy, and equanimity. For over a decade, he has served marginalized and impoverished people in villages across Sri Lanka. His goal is to nourish the inner spiritual being and physical being, creating peace, health and harmony for all of societies.

Out of decades of work in religious and non-profit settings, he is currently affiliated with the Sri Bodhiraja foundation, where he serves as the Sectional head of Social Services, the Vihara, and religious activities. He also serves as an advisor to the Institute for Professional Studies and Skill Development.

Prasad Thusitha Wanasinghe

Prasad Wanasinghe works as a chemistry teacher in an upper-division government school called Henri Ariyarathna College in Hakmana. In that role, he has worked for years to develop programs to support his students into universities and to develop rural forms of self-sufficiency. The Covid-19 pandemic, during which all schools in Sri Lanka closed without any long-term plans for reopening. So interconnection and acedemic process totally collapsed, led Wanasinghe to becoming even more involved in supporting his students, providing them phones, backpacks, dry food and books and in the midst of a food and nutrition crisis teaching them to grow and cook their own organic foods.

His nation is mankind, and his religion is love.

P. Udeni Dias

Udeni Deros has many years of experience working in constructuion and engineering across Sri Lanka, and worked as a director for the Sevalanka Foundation and for Sarvodaya. He has significant experience developing skill-building programs and agricultural programs, and in fundraising.

Vimukthi De Silva

Anuka Vimukthi De Silva is a dedicated advocate for farmers’ rights and food sovereignty, serving as the provincial mobiliser for the movement for Land and Agricultural reform (MONLAR) in Sri Lanka. with a profound commitment to grassroots mobilization and community empowerment, Anuka plays a pivotal role in facilitating dialogue, organizing provincial people’s planning forums, and fostering collaboration among farmers across different regions of Sri Lanka. Her passion for social justice and environmental sustainability is evident in her advocacy efforts, where she tirelessly campaigns for the protection to land rights, promotion of agroecology, and empowerment of smallholder farmers. In addition to her role with MONLAR, Anuka also serves as the ICC women South Asia of the La Via Campesina (LVC),a global movement. advocating for the rights of small -scale farmers and peasants. in this capacity she actively participates in regional and international forums, representing the voices and concerns of women farmers in south Asia. Through her advocacy work with LVC, Anuka amplifies the voices of marginated agricultural communities, champions gender equality in agriculture, and advocates for policies that promote sustainable farming practices and food sovereignty.