ABOUT US
Karuna means
‘Compassion in action’
In 1980, a small group of Buddhists pilgrims to India travelled home to the UK. They were deeply moved by the suffering they had witnessed among impoverished communities. They developed a new form of door-to-door fundraising based on the non-violent principles of Buddhism.
40 years on, the Karuna movement — sister organisations in the UK, Germany and the USA—have mobilized resources to transform the lives of millions in South Asia. We are still committed to our Buddhist principles in the way we go about our work. We aim to create organizations that facilitate personal, professional and spiritual development while striving towards our collective purpose of ending discrimination, poverty and inequality.
We support in-country partners from a range of religious backgrounds. We collaborate on the basis of who and how they serve communities affected by poverty and discrimination. As such, we work with organizations who identify as Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, Tribal (indigenous) or prefer to have no designation at all. Focusing on partners who can generate the most impact is entirely compatible with and is a reflection of our Buddhist values.
Find out about the work of our sister-Karunas:
Karuna UK
Karuna Germany
$2.4million
Last year we gave $2.4 million in grants
to partners fighting to end discrimination
Karuna USA Directors
DIRECTOR
Viveka (Evonne) Chen - she/they
Viveka is an organizational development consultant, certified coach, facilitator and leadership trainer. For thirty years she has worked for social, racial, economic, environmental and gender justice. She specializes in guiding transformational processes: race equity, culture change, conflict resolution, team and alliance building, vision and strategy, leadership transition. She also designs and facilitates leadership cohort programs with QTBIPOC (queer, transgender, black, indigenous people of color) movement activists. A Buddhist meditation teacher, Viveka brings a strengths-based approach, commitment to liberation and joy, and grounding in healing and mindfulness practices.
Viveka co-founded co-LAB, a black and woman of color organizational justice consulting collective. She is a Rockwood Leadership Institute trainer and an organization development coach and consultant for Move to End Violence, LeadersTrust and the Ford Foundation BUILD program. She is affiliated with Change Elemental and RoadMap Consulting.
Prior to consulting, Viveka was Executive Director of the East Bay Conversion & Reinvestment Commission and Associate Director of Urban Habitat
DIRECTOR
Max Gaston - he/him
Max is a first-generation Haitian American, an experienced civil rights attorney, and the Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at the University of Notre Dame Law School. His past experience includes serving as a staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union, as a litigation consultant for the Human Rights Law Network in India, and as a domestic violence prosecutor. At the ACLU, Max successfully challenged the governor of Florida in federal district court for violations of the First Amendment and Equal Protection Clause. At the New Delhi-based Human Rights Law Network, he advised Indian Supreme Court advocates on public interest litigation matters involving discrimination and the violation of constitutional rights. He has prosecuted police officer’s accused of excessive force, negotiated settlements in Title VII employment discrimination matters for disabled and transgender clients, and represented an inmate in a federal Section 1983 action challenging unconstitutional conditions of confinement. Max is a mentor to law students and young attorneys in India and the US.
DIRECTOR
Dominic Houlder (Mahaprabha) - he/him
Dominic is one of Europe’s leading experts on B2B (business-to-business) and professional service firms, recently advising clients that include PWC, Deloitte, KPMG, SAP, Saatchi and Saatchi and the Qatar Foundation. He is Adjunct Professor in Strategic and Entrepreneurial Management at London Business School where he has been based since 1994. At London Business School, Dominic was Associate Dean of the School’s flagship Sloan Fellowship Programme. He is a repeated winner of the Sloan Fellows’ “Best Teacher” award. In 2013 he was appointed Academic Director for the School’s Global Business Consortium for senior managers who are moving into key leadership positions.
He is the co-author of “Mindfulness and Money”, a book that employs Buddhist principles as a guide to economic life, and most recently “What Philosophy Can Teach You About Being a Better Leader”, as well as a wide range of articles and webinars.
DIRECTOR
Todd Johnson - he/him
Todd is a Managing Director at Morgan Stanley and has spent his 30 year career in a variety of senior roles in the banking, investment management and tech industries. He is a seasoned Chief Operating Officer (COO) who has worked for several FinTech start-ups and co-founded an asset management firm based in London and Singapore that managed over $3.5bn of assets for its clients. He has previously served on a number of corporate boards within the financial services industry since 2010.
Over the course of his career he has lived and worked in the US, South Africa, Hong Kong and relocated back to New York in 2021 after 23 years in London. He is originally from San Diego, California and graduated from Northwestern University with a degree in Industrial Engineering.
DIRECTOR
Maryellen Burke (Dayapradipa) - she/her
Maryellen is a seasoned fundraiser with a demonstrated history of working with high net worth individuals, family offices, private and public foundations, and large and small nonprofits. For over ten years she worked at NH Charitable Foundation and also has direct experience as a nonprofit leader on the front lines. She has been trained by The Philanthropic Initiative in intergenerational philanthropic wealth advising with the Boston Foundation. She taught graduate classes on Fundraising and Nonprofit Leadership at the University of New Hampshire.
Her roles have included board chair; volunteer; donor; and multiple staff leadership positions in small, middle, and large organizations. She is currently a Council Member of the Portsmouth Buddhist Center in NH.
Karuna USA Team
CEO & CO-FOUNDER
Jarrod Lovett (Ananta) - he/him
Jarrod is a global strategist and change maker for change makers. He has a track record in building and delivering global strategies for empowering and transforming the lives of young people through leadership, innovation, entrepreneurship and advocacy. He has extensive experience with UNICEF and internationally-focused nonprofits. He has led global and national UN strategies targeting young people’s engagement and development, served on high level steering committees, and established high-level partnership networks with and for young people. Jarrod has extensive experience working in South Asia, delivering strategic and technical guidance on education, child protection and governance programs, establishing national networks for knowledge exchange, and establishing innovative programs for improved social services and climate change adaptation.
STRATEGIC GROWTH ADVISOR & CO-FOUNDER
Amanda Seller (Samayasri) - she/her
Amanda is a humanitarian, global leader and change maker with a track record of delivering bold strategic vision, leadership, partnership, innovation, social impact and resource growth programs in INGOs and UN agencies. In the past 12 years her work has focused on the humanitarian sector. As a senior leader driving growth for UNHCR, IRC & UNFPA, Amanda has delivered sector-leading transformational change and growth, led large complex global teams, built international consortiums and partnerships, and has led programs that have cumulatively generated over $2.5bn.
With experience of working across 35+ countries and service on over 18 Trustee Boards, she is currently CEO of UNFPA USA, the UN’s sexual and reproductive health agency, delivering a transformational growth program and support for UNFPA's global resource mobilization ambitions.
DIGITAL MARKETING MANAGER
Ruchiramati- he/him
Ruchiramati is an experienced digital artist and graphic designer who has been working in the advertising and creative industry for over 15 years. He has helped clients from a variety of business fields and nonprofit organizations by designing and creating effective communication strategies. Ruchiramati specializes in videography, graphic design, and web design and is known for delivering innovative and high-quality products. Recently, he has been focusing on developing direct communication with young people through formats that are more authentic and meaningful. Ruchiramati understands that design and communication trends are always changing, and he is constantly learning to stay up-to-date.
With your help we plan to bring our approach and experience to the USA where we’ll work alongside partners serving marginalized communities.
