The Mission
The mission of Roaring Fork Insight is dedicated to the study and practice of the Buddhist ideals – mindfulness, ethics, compassion, loving-kindness, and liberation. Insight Meditation, sometimes called Vipassana meditation is based on the 2500-year-old Buddhist teaching, to help us to see more deeply and clearly into our lives.
Daily practice forms the foundation of Insight Meditation practice. The emphasis is the cultivation of meditation, mindfulness and compassion in our daily lives.
Roaring Fork Insight offers meditation instruction, classes and retreats in person, in nature, and through online group practices.
“Spiritual practice in a community means that the community becomes a mirror for us as we understand ourselves better through our relationships with other practitioners.”
About Us
Lisa Goddard — Lead Teacher, Executive Director
Lisa has been practicing meditation and yoga since 1997 and has been facilitating these practices since 2002.
Inspired by the teachings of Suzuki Roshi and Ajahn Chah, Lisa received training through Green Gulch Farm Zen Center, Spirit Rock Meditation Center, Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach, Zen Hospice Project, Mindful Schools and the Sati Center for Buddhist Studies. She is a Certified Mindfulness Facilitator through UCLA's Semel Institute for Neuroscience & Human Behavior, trained in Eco-Chaplaincy and is a member of the International Mindfulness Teachers Association. Lisa’s mentoring teacher is Gil Fronsdal, the founding teacher of Insight Meditation Center Redwood City.
Lisa teaches weekly in Carbondale, Basalt and online via Zoom.
“I am proud that Aspen Valley Hospital engaged Lisa to help us promote well-being in our staff through teaching us the practice of mindfulness. Research shows that individuals that practice mindful awareness have an increased quality of life, reduced stress and inflammation, improved sleep, attention and focus, and are genuinely happier.... Lisa’s years of experience and calm, caring persona shine through in her sessions. I loved my group sessions with Lisa and found great value in them in both my personal and work life! I would rate Lisa as EXTRAORDINARY and highly recommend her to any individual or workplace!”
Mackie McDonald (Keller), M. Ed — Teacher/Advisor
Mackie is currently in the process of obtaining a 2-year Mindfulness Meditation Teaching Certification through the Awareness Training Institute in collaboration with the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkley.
Mackie has a Master’s degree in adult learning and education. She has experience managing meditation and wellness retreats, including a Metta retreat for Jack Kornfield and Trudy Goodman in collaboration with Seekers.
Mackie co-facilitates the Monday Meditation group in Carbondale with Lisa Goddard.
Sharon Fierro, MBA, CPA — Teacher/Advisor
Sharon is a graduate of Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach’s Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program. She has studied the Dharma and secular mindfulness and has sat long retreat to deepen her practice.
In 2005 Sharon retired from a 30 year career in finance which included included serving as the Chief Financial Officer for a number of Chicago based privately held and publicly traded multinational companies. She brings her experience as an audit manager to the board of Roaring Fork Insight.
In 2019 Sharon moved to the Roaring Fork Valley to immerse herself more fully in nature and the spiritual path. Both forms of awakening that bring her a deep connection to the land and the community.
Shannon Smith — Teacher/Advisor
Shannon has been a dedicated dharma practitioner in the Theravada tradition since 2004. She integrates Dharma Practice and 12-step Recovery resulting in more than 26 years of sobriety. She graduated from a four-year teacher training program with Against the Stream Buddhist Meditation Society and has taught meditation, led Buddhist-recovery groups, parenting workshops and co-facilitated Year-to-Live groups since 2008.
In 2012, she stepped out of a long and successful career with a Fortune 500 corporation to have her first son. After a brief retirement, Shannon became a Co-Founder to Refuge Recovery Treatment Centers a Buddhist-based addiction treatment center where she worked with recovering addicts and their families.
In 2017 she relocated to beautiful and rural Paonia, Colorado, to focus on cultivating a more sustainable lifestyle with her husband and two sons. Currently, Shannon is working 1:1 with students and is busily growing the offerings of the Secular Dharma Foundation, a non-profit she cofounded with her partner, Dave Smith.
David Smith — Advisor
Dave Smith is an internationally recognized Buddhist meditation teacher, addiction treatment specialist, and published author.
His background is rooted in the Insight Meditation tradition and he was empowered to teach through the Against the Stream Buddhist Meditation Society. He has extensive experience bringing meditative interventions into jails, prisons, youth detention centers and addiction treatment facilities.
Dave teaches residential meditation retreats and classes, provides trainings and consulting in both secular and Buddhist contexts, and works with students through his meditation mentoring program.
Mike Coughlin — Advisor
Mike is a public school administrator, trained mediator, and has been practicing mindfulness in the vipassana tradition for over 15 years. He has received training through Spirit Rock Meditation Center, Mindful Schools and is a Certified Mindfulness Facilitator through the Semel Institute for Neuroscience & Human Behavior at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Mike has over 20 years of experience working with high-risk youth, most specifically in residential and day treatment programs, as well as years of mediation experience in Alternative Dispute Resolution. He has a focused interest in exploring how mindfulness and compassionate awareness can lead us to a more expansive and grounded relationship with our human experience, both as individuals and as engaged members within our communities.