YOGA SERVICE COLLECTIVE - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Communications Director
- Certified Yoga Instructor and Ayurvedic Wellness Counselor
Anisa Shukla (she/her) is a 200-hour certified yoga instructor and ayurvedic wellness counselor based in New York City.
Her approach is deeply rooted in yoga service and the 8 limbs of yoga.
Anisa's background is rooted in public health and with has a passion for integrating Ayurveda and healing practices into her day-to-day work. Anisa feels called to use the knowledge she has as a South Asian woman from her ancestors to help make Ayurveda and Yoga accessible to all.
She believes that wellness encompasses the entire being- mind, body, and spirit, each part of us - and every single one of us - is worthy of receiving appropriate, individualized care and attention to attain optimal health.
Anisa Shukla is a 200-hour certified yoga instructor and ayurvedic wellness counselor based in New York City.
Job Titles:
- Advisor
- Eric Phamdo - Advisor - Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Working Group
- Lead Advisor ( Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Task Force )
With a belief that people and ideas have no boundaries, Eric (he/him) has extensive and global experience in the nonprofit and social impact sector. Eric received both his degrees from the University of Rochester, a leading research university in upstate New York. Passionate about pro-social behavior change as related to environmental sustainability, Eric received his BA in psychology while also studying environmental conservation and health around the world. He received his MBA from UR's Simon Business School, during which time he interned with the Global Development Lab at USAID and spent time in Norway studying Chinese-European business relations.
Eric began his career managing overseas education programs and operations at the University of Rochester - helping students connect to the world around them. Later, Eric worked at Causewave Community Partners in Rochester, NY, where he consulted with nonprofit clients on capacity-building projects to magnify their impact, become more sustainable, and develop social impact strategies. Passionate about community-driven philanthropy, Eric has held volunteer roles with both LGBT+ and emerging leaders giving circles in Rochester, which pooled the collective resources of members to support local organizations. Now he brings his global and local nonprofit expertise to his new role in philanthropy, serving as a program officer at the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation in Detroit, Michigan.
A passion for catalyzing personal change and connectedness to the community is also what drives his yoga practice and teaching. Eric believes Yoga's profound emotional, intellectual, and physical benefits facilitate connectedness to oneself and, most importantly, to others. Eric sees this conscious connection as an essential component of each person's ability to care for themselves and others. As a past YSC scholarship recipient and now advisor, Eric is passionate about Yoga's incredible capability to be accessible, inclusive, and joyous for all beings and communities.
The son of Vietnamese immigrants, Eric grew up in the Pacific Northwest. Besides practicing Yoga, Eric enjoys seeing new perspectives through traveling, dancing to loud music, and trying to finish one of the many books he's started. In a past life, he trained to be a vegan chef but decided he liked eating more than working in a kitchen!
Jennifer Howard (she/her) brings her passion for yoga off the mat, serving as YSC's bookkeeper.
Lynne Staropoli Boucher, RYT (she/her) serves as chair of the board of directors for the national Yoga Service Collective.
Job Titles:
- Advisor
- Advisor - Partnerships Working Group
- IT Industry Management Leader
Prashant Joshi has been an IT Industry management leader for the past 25+ years in the US. He has introduced Yogic-leadership-principles in the academic and corporate world at all levels of management. He has brought Yoga to the tennis courts, executive boardrooms, mental health facilities and corporations of all sizes. He is an invited motivational speaker, a published author and a community servant leader. Prashant has co-founded social entrepreneurship initiatives including Gurukul Yoga Holistic Center (GYHC) and Food Yogini with a vision of simplifying and demystifying life management and a mission of creating friends of Yoga (Yoga-Mitra) for harmony, health and happiness.
He is currently advising a wellness startup and is the global ambassador for Project Anand@Kaivalyadhama, Lonavala, India.
Prashant lives with his wife Manju Joshi and daughters Illa and Veda in Austin, TX
Job Titles:
- Treasurer
- Board Member and Treasurer of Yoga Service Council
- Founder and Principal of Catalyst Agency
Steve Kane (he/him) is a board member and treasurer of Yoga Service Council, a student of yoga for 18 years, and a yoga and mindfulness teacher.
Believing that yoga is a practice of introversion and surrender, revealing the bliss within, Steve says, "It's good to be a C-student in yoga. It's one of the few things in life where less effort provides a bigger dividend."
Steve completed a 200-hour yoga teacher training, as well as restorative and Svaroopa Yoga foundations. He was interviewed by Dr. Mara Karpel on the radio, and is quoted in her book The Passionate Life-Creating Vitality and Joy at Every Age.
Steve is passionate about supporting accessible and trauma-informed yoga. He first attended the Yoga Service Conference in 2013 while teaching yoga and coping skills to JBFCS opportunity youth students at Yoga Shivaya in Tarrytown, New York. He continues his service work as treasurer of the Yoga Service Council (YSC) board.
Outside of YSC, Steve is the founder and principal of Catalyst Agency, an insights-driven health-care communications firm that has developed long-running clinical and patient education programs that include yoga and mindfulness practices for pain management.
A student of yoga for 18 years, Steve has taught classes and workshops on yoga and mindfulness.
Job Titles:
- Secretary
- Board Member of Yoga Service Council
- Certified Life Coach and Health Coach, and Founder of Wellness from Within Coaching
Tiffany Voltz (she/her) a board member of Yoga Service Council, spent the last 22 years as an HR/People Operations executive in the Chicago technology community, making inclusion, belonging, vulnerability, and compassion core competencies of the organizations she worked with.
A lifelong learner of the human spirit, Tiffany is a certified life coach and health coach, and founder of Wellness from Within Coaching, where she empowers women to listen to their innate wisdom and coaches them to create the necessary habits to live a life of health, wellness, and purpose. She is also a certified Mindset and Meditation teacher and is currently pursuing graduate studies in clinical mental health counseling where she will continue to holistically help people identify and embrace their true, authentic selves and lead lives of beauty, self-kindness, resilience, and intent.
In addition to her board role with the Yoga Service Council, Tiffany is a certified domestic violence support advocate and serves on the boards of Embolden & Co as Membership Chair and the Evanston School Children's Clothing Association (ESCCA) as Digital Communications Chair. Along with being a mom and a wife, her greatest roles, she is a singer-songwriter and creates music to express and connect with others from the soul out. Tiffany also finds reasons to enjoy chocolate, dancing, and nature as often as she can.
Tiffany Voltz spent the last 22 years as an HR/People Operations executive in the Chicago technology community, making inclusion, belonging, vulnerability, and compassion core competencies of the organizations she worked with.
Yoo-Jin Kang (she/hers) is a 200-hour certified Yoga instructor, Reiki I Energy Healer, and wellness practitioner based in Washington, DC.