CO-PRESIDENT

Doreen has spent her life seeking the Divine and aiding others along the same path. Her formal education includes degrees in Communications (Penn State), Environmental Education (Lesley College), Classic Raja Yoga (Himalayan Institute), and most recently, Yoga Therapy (Spanda Yoga Movement Therapy). Informally, she has learned much from being in nature & chapels, listening in Silence, travel, books, and laughing with friends.

For nearly 30 years she has been passionate about studying and teaching yoga philosophy and meditation, and much of that time in exploring the crossroads of yoga and Christ. She is also a Reiki Energy Practitioner and writer. Currently with CPY, she is the Executive Editor of the blog and Vice President. She and her husband recently moved to 40-acres near the Himalayan Institute (HI) in northeastern Pennsylvania where they wander with the dogs along stone walls and woods.

CO-PRESIDENT

Connie Moker Wernikowski is from Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. Connie first discovered the joy and power of bodily expressions of spirit and prayer through the art of dance. She has enjoyed a long career as a professional contemporary dancer and choreographer, often focused on liturgical dance and dance with Christian faith themes. She holds an Honors BA in Dance and a Masters of Education. After enduring several years of back pain, Connie found her way to a yoga mat and then to yoga teacher training in 2010. She now teaches yoga to a large following of students (and the back pain has disappeared). In her yoga teaching she integrates her years of dance knowledge and somatic practices to a create a class that is imbued with spirit, flow and release. Connie attended a CPY retreat in 2014 and decided then that she had found her tribe.

VICE PRESIDENT; DIRECTOR OF DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION

Ame lives in NYC and teaches trauma-informed Hatha, chair, senior, and children’s yoga. Celebrating 10 years as a certified yoga teacher, she enjoys helping people experience & heal their body, mind, & spirit through mindfulness meditation, breath, & movement. Ame is a feline loving intuitive introvert, listener, circle leader, spiritual life coach/mentor, & Jesus Lover. Holding safe sacred healing space for individuals of all ages to explore and grow in physical, mental, and spiritual health and well-being is her passion. She is currently learning to fully embrace and live out what it means to be made in the female likeness and image of God, and loves encountering the ways Spirit speaks through the rituals and rhythms of nature. You may visit her at Moon Celebrations.

TREASURER

We welcome Meghan as our treasurer! Meghan serves as pastor at first Presbyterian Church in Newton, Iowa. She earned her Master of Divinity from San Francisco Theological Seminary. Meghan is a certified yoga instructor and is in the process of writing about incorporating yoga into Christian spiritual practice.

MANAGING DIRECTOR

Allyson’s journey with CPY began in 2017 when she printed all the available CPY blog posts after yoga teacher training. She received a Master of Arts in Religion concentrating in Asian Religions from Yale Divinity School and holds certificates as a 500-Hour Registered Yoga Teacher and a 95-Hour Registered Children’s Yoga Teacher. Allyson is currently pursuing her PhD in Theological and Religious Studies at Georgetown University focusing on religious pluralism and interreligious encounter between the dharmic traditions and Christianity.