​”If beings knew, as I know, the result of giving and sharing… even if it were their last morsel, their last mouthful, they would not eat without having shared it, if there were someone to share it with…

Our Board Members

Our Board of Directors represent a broad range of backgrounds and life experiences. They share an experiential awareness of the significance of meditation and the power of mindfulness, both while formally meditating and in their daily lives. The aspiration to grow in wisdom and compassion by following the Dharma informs the operations of the IMCC board.

Jennifer CossChair
Jennifer Coss joined the Insight Meditation Community in 2017 after beginning a daily meditation practice to train an active mind. She has found the equanimity achieved through mindfulness and loving kindness to be transformative.

Jennifer is a retired attorney and lives in Charlotte with her husband, three rotating adult children, and two sweet dogs.

She is a member of a KM group, serves on the Programs and Personnel committees, and is in her fourth year as a member of the Board.

John AmenVice Chair
John Amen has had a daily meditation practice since 2005 and been a member of Insight Meditation Community of Charlotte since 2011. He attended his first 10-day Vipassana retreat in 2004. He has since attended retreats led by Shaila Catherine, Adyashanti, and Mark Nunberg, as well as participated in several IMCC residential retreats. He is a writer, editor, certified Enneagram teacher (Enneagram in the Narrative Tradition), and long-time practitioner of the 12 Steps. John lives with his beautiful wife, Thia Powers, and two cats. He serves on the Communications Committee.
(Photo courtesy of Chad Weeden)
Lakshmi MenonSecretary
Lakshmi has been practicing meditation for 35 years. She was introduced to meditation by the Brahma Kumaris and has studied with various teachers in the Zen and Vipassana traditions.

Lakshmi moved to Charlotte in 2019 and joined IMCC. She currently serves on the Board as Secretary and on the Metta Committee.

Meditation is an important part of her life.

Dirk EyblBoard Treasurer
Dr. Dirk Eybl was born 1951 in Bavaria (Germany). At age 25 he came to the US with a Fulbright scholarship and earned a graduate degree at Ohio State University. It was there that he met his future wife Felicia, from Fayetteville, North Carolina.

They spent their first 17 years of marriage in Germany where Dirk earned his doctoral degree in Microeconomics. Moving the family to Charlotte in 1995, Dirk worked for a German automotive supplier till retirement in 2014.

As a child of European enlightenment, he looks at the world first through the lens of scientific inquiry. Fueled by awareness of worldwide suffering, he began looking for a new spiritual foundation. Starting with a 200 hr Yoga training, he studied Eastern philosophies and still reads with excitement all books seeking to bridge Western and Eastern interpretations of our world. Inspired by one of Charlotte’s longtime meditation practitioners, he has been enjoying a daily meditation / mindfulness practice since his retirement.

David BrandMember at Large
David Brand joined the Insight Meditation Community in 2023. He and his wife Maureen moved to Tega Cay, SC from New York in 2018, and have been meditating since 2016, when they were introduced to the practice through a Shambhala Meditation Center. He has found regular meditation practice and study of the Dharma conducive to a greater sense of contentment as well as improved relationships in all aspects of his daily life.

David leads the lending division for a local Credit Union and lives with his wife Maureen, one of their three adult children, and three cats.

David is a member of a KM group and serves on the Finance Committee.

Debbie GeorgeDharma Leader Liason
Debbie George delights in sharing the dharma of the Buddha’s non-religious teachings of Insight Meditation. She has experienced the profound wisdom and practice of Vipassana meditation as offering practical tools to aid us in untangling our thinking which is all too often the creator of our misery.

Debbie completed a year-long study program at Barre Center for Buddhist Studies in early Summer 2013 and has been diligently teaching, practicing and studying Buddhist Meditation since Summer 2007.