The Florida Community of Mindfulness (FCM) Board of Directors is responsible for overseeing the management and affairs of FCM. This responsibility includes working with our Dharma Teacher, Fred Eppsteiner, to develop and oversee the realization of FCM's mission and vision; overseeing FCM's fiscal health and well-being; approving fund raising goals and campaigns; conducting strategic planning; overseeing organizational development; setting policies; formally appointing FCM's Dharma Teacher; and ensuring compliance with all applicable laws and regulations.
Board members serve three-year terms and are elected at an annual meeting of the Board to serve staggered terms. Any FCM member who is interested in serving on the Board is encouraged to contact the current Board Chair.
John McHarris, Chair, began practicing the Dharma in 1990 with teacher Shinge Roko Sherry Chayat Roshi at the Zen Center of Syracuse, Hoen-ji. Between the mid 1990s through 2016, John continued his practice while living overseas in Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Europe. During his career as a humanitarian aid worker with the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), his focus has been on hunger, food security and nutrition. In 2010, John had the good fortune to meet his teacher Fred Eppsteiner in southwest Florida and has since been practicing with Fred and FCM in Naples.
Marsy Mechling, Secretary was introduced to Buddhism through the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh. She studied Buddhism for several years before attending a retreat at the Southern Dharma Retreat Center (SDRC), where she learned the mechanics of actual practice. It was through SDRC that she later met Fred. She joined the Florida Community of Mindfulness in 2015. Despite living in Davidson, NC, she is active in Sangha life through participation in intensives, retreats in Tampa, and the Dharma Transmission Group. Marsy is the CFO of a small business. She lives with her husband, Matt, and two daughters, Chloé and Parker Grace.
Ned Bellamy, Treasurer, was a ‘book Buddhist’ for decades, nourished by writers like Alan Watts, Suzuki Roshi, and later, Americans returning from Asia. His interest deepened during several week-long meditation retreats at the Insight Meditation Society. After writing a book about his largely solitary spiritual path, Ned was most attracted to the genuine feeling of community at FCM. Following graduate degrees in law and business from New York University, Ned was a general manager of several large homebuilding companies and later, a management consultant. He and Christina helped raise seven children in Clearwater.
Maria Teresa Jaureguizar formally began on the Buddhist path in 1996 and became a student of Fred Eppsteiner in 2012. She is a member of the Order of Interbeing and completed the three year Dharma Transmission Program Maria Teresa has served the community by teaching classes on mindfulness, leading peer study groups, and as Head of Hall. She finds joy in mentoring others in the practice and spending time in nature.
Bill Lee has been part of FCM since the days of the Tampa group known as Dancing Waters Sangha. His Buddhist inquiry began with Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind in the early 1980s. Bill is a fourth generation Floridian who has been a Professor at the University of South Florida (USF) for almost 38 years. His formal appointment is in Engineering, but he has also taught Art History and Epistemology. Bill is a lifelong musician and has published poetry through the years. He has assisted Public Defenders in the defense of presumably innocent individuals. Bill served on the Boards of Directors at WMNF and the ACLU and is currently on the Board at USF’s Center for Music Education Research. He was ordained into the Order of Interbeing in 2015. Bill finds great joy in mentoring others and believes it is important to spread the Dharma in the contemporary world.
Christopher Lee-Nguyen has been practicing with the Florida Community of Mindfulness since 2014. In 2015, he helped start and facilitate Wake Up Southwest Florida, which is part of an active global community of young mindfulness practitioners, inspired by the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh. He is a member of the Order of Interbeing and completed FCM’s three year Dharma Transmission Program. Chris lives in Fort Myers, where he helps with the Fort Myers sangha and was previously a board member of Hearts' Path to Mindful Living. He received his BA in communication from Florida Gulf Coast University, holds the rank of Sho-dan in the Shito-Ryu Karate-Do, and currently works as a software quality assurance engineer, loving husband, and father of his newborn son, Bodhi.
Scott Nissensohn embraced Buddhism after his mother passed away in 2015. His practice began at the Kadampa center in Safety Harbor, and he discovered FCM in 2018, immersing himself in the practice by attending retreats and participating in Intensives. He received transmission of the Five Mindfulness Trainings in 2019. He is also a frequent participant in our monthly selfless service. Scott works in investigation of global financial crimes at Bank of America, where he has been employed for the past seven years. He is a divorced father of two. His son Andrew is a senior at the University of Florida and his daughter Ava is a sophomore in high school.
Tran Phung came to the Florida Community of Mindfulness in 2009 through the Tampa group known as Dancing Waters Sangha and then attended her first retreat at Southern Dharma Retreat Center. Having met teacher Fred Eppsteiner after he and a group of practitioners returned from a trip to Vietnam, she has continued practice with FCM, finding the teachings, teacher, and sangha invaluable. Tran is originally from Vietnam. Her father was one of the “boat people” who arrived in Malaysia as a refugee after the war and who eventually came to the U.S, reuniting the family in the 1980s. Tran is an infectious disease (ID) physician who has worked in private practice, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and currently in the corporate setting. She volunteers with the ID Department at the Orlando VA. Tran stayed connected with FCM via intensives and the virtual Sunday sangha while living in Orlando from 2015 to 2019. She is now happy to reside near the practice center again.
Misti Oxford-Pickeral, was introduced to Buddhism in her 20s through the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh, Pema Chodron, and the Dali Lama. She studied and practiced Buddhism for many years on her own. Having expressed an interest in going on a retreat, her husband surprised her with an FCM membership in 2016. She has had the wonderful privilege of attending many FCM retreats, as well as participating in classes, workshops, and intensives. Misti is approved for ordination as an aspirant in the Order of Interbeing. She enjoys sangha building and serving with the Community Care Team. Misti is the Director of Clinics for Academy for Five Element Acupuncture in Gainesville, FL and maintains a private acupuncture practice. Misti and her husband Chuck are parents of three adult children, Alex (30), Emily (22), and Lincoln (18).
Chris Witrak began practicing with the Florida Community of Mindfulness in 2016 after searching for a center to learn about Buddhism and became a member and student of Fred Eppsteiner in 2017. He has also been a member of Wake Up Tampa Bay since that time and helped lead the group from 2020 through 2022. He received transmission of the 5 Mindfulness Trainings in 2018 and was ordained into the Order of Interbeing in 2022. Chris is originally from New Jersey and now lives in Tampa. He graduated from Rutgers University with a BA in history and philosophy and currently works as a manager at a digital marketing agency.
Florida Community of Mindfulness, Tampa Center
6501 N. Nebraska Avenue
Tampa, FL 33604
Marsy Mechling, Secretary was introduced to Buddhism through the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh. She studied Buddhism for several years before attending a retreat at the Southern Dharma Retreat Center (SDRC), where she learned the mechanics of actual practice. It was through SDRC that she later met Fred. She joined the Florida Community of Mindfulness in 2015. Despite living in Davidson, NC, she is active in Sangha life through participation in intensives, retreats in Tampa, and the Dharma Transmission Group. Marsy is the CFO of a small business. She lives with her husband, Matt, and two daughters, Chlo
Ned Bellamy, Treasurer, was a ‘book Buddhist’ for decades, nourished by writers like Alan Watts, Suzuki Roshi, and later, Americans returning from Asia. His interest deepened during several week-long meditation retreats at the Insight Meditation Society. After writing a book about his largely solitary spiritual path, Ned was most attracted to the genuine feeling of community at FCM. Following graduate degrees in law and business from New York University, Ned was a general manager of several large homebuilding companies and later, a management consultant. He and Christina helped raise seven children in Clearwater.
Maria Teresa Jaureguizar formally began on the Buddhist path in 1996 and became a student of Fred Eppsteiner in 2012. She is a member of the Order of Interbeing and completed the three year Dharma Transmission Program Maria Teresa has served the community by teaching classes on mindfulness, leading peer study groups, and as Head of Hall. She finds joy in mentoring others in the practice and spending time in nature.
Chris Witrak began practicing with the Florida Community of Mindfulness in 2016 after searching for a center to learn about Buddhism and became a member and student of Fred Eppsteiner in 2017. He has also been a member of Wake Up Tampa Bay since that time and helped lead the group from 2020 through 2022. He received transmission of the 5 Mindfulness Trainings in 2018 and was ordained into the Order of Interbeing in 2022. Chris is originally from New Jersey and now lives in Tampa. He graduated from Rutgers University with a BA in history and philosophy and currently works as a manager at a digital marketing agency.