About Us

President

Ji Hyang Padma is a college chaplain and educator with over twenty years’ experience in higher education, and a Zen teacher with Lay Entrustment Transmission in the Soto Zen lineage of Shunryu Suzuki. She has served as a college chaplain at seven institutions, including Wellesley College, Harvard University and Brandeis University. She is now Director of the M.Div Program and Associate Faculty within the Wisdom Traditions Department, Naropa University.

Secretary

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Jonathan Makransky  (Secretary) is the Multireligious Ministry Initiatives Coordinator at Harvard Divinity School, where he manages the activities of the Buddhist Ministry Initiative. He received his Master of Theological Studies in Buddhism from Harvard and has worked in university spiritual life and ministry settings since then. He is a lifelong Tibetan Buddhist practitioner and has practiced leadership and youth mentorship experience in the tradition.

Treasurer

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Venerable Priya Rakkhit Sraman  (Treasurer) is a Theravāda Buddhist monastic and chaplain dedicated to fostering spiritual well-being in higher education. Originally from Chattogram, Bangladesh, he was ordained at the age of eleven and has trained in Sri Lanka, Thailand, Hong Kong, and the USA. He holds a Master of Divinity from Harvard Divinity School and served as the first Buddhist Chaplain at Tufts University, Massachusetts, before moving to Atlanta to become the first Buddhist Chaplain in the Office of Spiritual and Religious Life at Emory University. In this role, he mentors students, leads meditation programs, facilitates interfaith collaboration, and supports the spiritual care needs of the Emory community. He also organizes Buddhist educational initiatives, including the Black Buddhist Teachers Series and the Buddhist Book Club, retreats, workshops, cultural and traditional festivals. Beyond Emory, he actively engages with local Buddhist centers and advises students on Buddhist studies and spiritual development.

Vice President

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Rebecca D. Nie (Vice President) has served the Buddhist communities at Stanford in various ministerial roles for the past 15 years. In 2020, she was invited to serve the inaugural Chaplain-Affiliate Council with other campus ministry leaders, such as the Executive Director of Hillel at Stanford. The Dean of ORSL, with the approval of the Stanford Provost, has been entrusting her to oversee the Buddhist religious and spiritual life of the students, faculty, and staff since. Z.M. Nie is a Zen Master of the Korean Jogye Order and received teaching authorization in Chinese Esoteric Buddhism. She also holds advanced degrees in physics and mathematics from the University of Toronto and Stanford University.

Chair of Advisory Committee

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Mark Gensha Miller, PsyD, MPH, CMT-P, serves as the Director of Buddhist Life and Buddhist interfaith chaplain in the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life (ORSL) at the University of Southern California. He is a clinical psychologist in private practice and a certified mindfulness and Mindful Self-Compassion teacher with interest in the intersections of psychology, mental health, Buddhism, meditation, and religious practice. Prior to his work as chaplain, Mark was co-director of Mindful USC, a secular mindfulness training program, where he continues to offer in-person and online mindfulness and self-compassion programming. He worked as a psychologist at USC Student Counseling Services for three years before joining Mindful USC. 

​Dan Storey brings a lifetime of curiosity about both science and spirit to his work as a Buddhist chaplain-in-training. After twenty-five years in the corporate and biomedical world—where he led research, startups, and innovation in surface science and medical device technology—he felt called to shift from a career focused on invention to one centered on service. Now pursuing his Master of Divinity at Naropa University, Dan’s path integrates his background in physics and leadership with a deep commitment to contemplative care, end-of-life support, and the spiritual growth of university students. He feels a particular calling to serve at both the beginning and end of life’s journey—walking with young adults as they seek meaning and direction, and with the dying as they find peace and closure. For him, this balance embodies the full cycle of compassion: meeting people wherever they are, with presence and understanding.

Victor Ogundipe is a Jodo Shinshu Buddhist. He received Tokudu ordination in September of last year. He is currently studying for Kyoshi ordination. He is also a student at the Institute of Buddhist Studies (IBS) in the Master’s of Divinity program. Victor and his family, his wife of 14 years, Mylinda, and their 9-year-old daughter, Sati, moved to the Bay Area in fall of 2024. Victor works as a data scientist at the University of Michigan. He enjoys learning new things, visiting new places (especially visiting Buddhist temples and sanghas that he has never visited before), and he is very interested in exploring ways of sharing the Dharma through film.