OFFICERS & BOARD

Sangeeta Vallabhan

Sangeeta Vallabhan has been studying movement for over 30 years, first through dance and then yoga. She has been teaching yoga in NYC since 2003. She has taught yoga nationally and internationally; she has also been featured in Yoga Journal, Health Magazine and other online publications. Since 2013, she has been studying trauma informed yoga with many different teachers. Pursuing these studies enabled her to better face her own experiences with trauma and her recovery has inspired her to help others. In 2019, Sangeeta started training students in trauma informed yoga with her own training, Solemarch - Yoga for Trauma teacher training. She is thrilled to be at the helm of The Practice Coalition with a stellar team and working to empower and uplift students and teachers.

Tonie Warner

Tonie started her yogic journey over 15 years ago, and was drawn in by the physical and mental balance, and transformation she gained. A career in teaching and sharing in studio culture through Brooklyn and NYC opened her eyes to wellness redlining: the pricing structures, whitewashing and dominant studio culture that keeps yoga, and wellness inaccessible and exclusive across race, identity, economic status, and ability. As an extension of her practice, and with the firm belief that everyone should have access to yoga, she launched Yuja Soul, a dedicated wellness space for Black Women. In addition to supporting The Practice Coalition as its Secretary, Tonie is also a teacher-owner and Steward at The Connective, a cooperative focused on challenging standards in the wellness industry. Her ongoing goals are to work and lead in spaces where her offerings, and values can align and come into action to create change for the broader collective.

Lillian Cuthbert

Upon receiving her doctorate in 1988, Lillian worked as a researcher for a telecommunications research company, and then moved into financial application development, where she remained for nearly 25 years, retiring in 2018. She then received her 500 hr yoga certification, and now works part-time as a yoga and meditation teacher, teaching in studios, gyms, to corporate clients, and privately. Her experience teaching and studying yoga has made her feel strongly about how it can help those who have faced obstacles in their life, and made her very interested in promoting the benefits of trauma-informed yoga.

Molly Cohen

Molly Cohen has been working in the restaurant and wine industries for over twenty years. With an academic background in literature and critical theory she decided to abandon academia for the more vibrant NYC restaurant scene. She has been running NYC restaurants and building beverage programs ever since. Molly is also an avid runner and has been running marathons both nationally and internationally since 2001. Molly feels running has taught her more about herself than any other life experience. In 2018, Molly was hit by a car while running and it was this traumatic event that convinced her of the connections between physical and emotional trauma. She is proud to serve on the board of The Practice Coalition.

Shephathiah Townsend

Shephathiah is a born and raised Native New Yorker. A mom of two and a high-powered executive assistant, Shephathiah relies on her decades-long yoga practice to keep her both grounded and moving. As a WOC, Shephathiah fully recognizes the need for spaces where BIPOC and LGBTQ+ communities are not just served but can also look around the room and see others who reflect themselves. Having experienced the negative side of a white-washed, male-lead yoga community, Shephathiah appreciates being part of a team that is pushing against these boundaries. She completed her RYT-200 with Yoga Vida NYC in 2016 and went on to manage two large, profit-driven studios in Union Square and DUMBO. Shephathiah uniquely understands the challenges of running a large studio in a compact, always-moving city.

Sally Dickerson

Dr. Sally Dickerson is a psychology professor who has devoted over 20 years to conducting research on how stressful situations can impact the body. Her work has documented that social stressors -- those characterized by social evaluation, rejection, and criticism -- can activate biological systems (including the stress hormone cortisol and immune markers of inflammation) that can have effects on health. Her award-winning research has helped establish the conditions that activate aspects of the stress response.

Capitalizing on this scientific knowledge of how stress can influence health, she implements evidence-based practices to help reduce the negative effects of stress on psychological and physical well-being. As an avid yoga practitioner (20+ years) and a yoga teacher (RYT-500), she conducts workshops and lectures on the health benefits of research-based stress management techniques, including yoga and meditation.