Code of Conduct Council Members
The Code of Conduct Council’s role is to manage the formal complaints raised following the Shambhala Code of Conduct Policy and Procedure. The current members of the Council are: John Sennhauser, Yasmin Spiegel, Jan-Frans Sturm, and Claudia Arnau.
John Sennhauser, New York
John is an attorney who practiced in Seattle in the areas of civil rights and Native American land and fishing rights. His involvement with Shambhala began when he moved to Boulder, Colorado to study theater and dance at Naropa University. There he heard Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche and became his student and later one of his attendants. John moved to New York City and was on the Board of Trustees of the Shambhala Center. He is currently a senior teacher for Shambhala. He lives in New York City with his partner.
Yasmin Cogswell Spiegel, California
Yasmin, a former Attorney at Law and a Certified Family Law Specialist, specialized in Family Law, Mediation and Collaborative Negotiation, as well as served as a Judge Pro Tem for Sacramento and Yolo Counties. She retired at the end of 2018, and is married to Musawwir Spiegel since 1978. She has two adult children and one amazing grandson. Yasmin is an active Member of Davis Shambhala Meditation Center from 2003 to the presentShe is a Scorpion Seal student with the Kongma Sakyong.
“The Shambhala goals of treating all with respect and kindness, care for everyone’s wellbeing, and protecting the space for everyone resonate strongly with my whole life’s work. I am inspired by the goodness and energy of the many people who are genuinely seeking more effective, inclusive and authentic ways to help us maintain and deepen our connections with each other.”
Jan Frans Sturm, Netherlands
I live in the Southwest of the Netherlands in the city of Vlissingen, province of Zeeland, land of sea, islands and peninsulas.
Because I have been involved from the beginning in the development of the Code of Conduct as it is applicable for Shambhala now, I have applied for the Regional Conduct Council, a kind of seamless transition from the Code of Conduct Support Group. I have the aspiration to help integrate the code into Shambhala society and be able to share our lives in an inclusive, accountable, transparent way.
A sort of a choice-less choice because an enlightened society, experiencing, realizing basic goodness, the innate wakefulness, is deeply embedded in my being.
Claudia Arnau, Spain
Spanish born in Madrid, Claudia has lived in Spain, Ireland, Indonesia and Thailand in the last two years. She is currently working in the office of UN Women for the Asia-Pacific region on Gender in Humanitarian Action, based in Bangkok. Graduated in Medicine, feminist, writing her master thesis on Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in humanitarian settings, and Shambhala student since 2015, she is very driven to contribute in any effort on Care and Conduct in the Shambhala mandala. Even though she lives far away from home, she feels very connected to her local sangha in Madrid, where she is part of the committee directing the Shambhala center since March. Claudia is a member of the current Care and Conduct Panel since May and of the Code of Conduct Task Force created to draft the new policies. By being in both groups and in contact with the Interim Board, she is supporting better coordination and direct communication. Her deepest wish is that all this work is informed and guided by the wisdom of the sangha.