Meet The Team

Monk Prawed was ordained as a Buddhist monk in Thailand 24 years ago, after he graduated from Burapha University with a degree in Education. He came to the United States as an instructor of meditation classes. He was very excited about his work, which has taken him from Massachusetts to Colorado, Georgia, and California; in June of 2023, Monk Prawed relocated to Chicago, Illinois.

 

​He loves meditation and practices at least three hours daily. His firm belief is that meditation helps people to do good deeds, foster understanding, and develop their mental and spiritual abilities. His wish is that peaceful individuals and communities will eventually result in world peace. He is grateful for the awareness that he is not walking alone in the path of goodness.

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Monk Piya was born into a Thai-Chinese family in Chiang Rai, Thailand in 1975. He graduated with First-Class Honor from Chiang Mai University with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. He also completed an executive MBA course from the University of Thai Chamber of Commerce. He has previously worked as a Maintenance and Production Engineer at Michelin and Siam Cement companies.

He has been practicing meditation since 1998. Then, he entered the monkhood at Dhammakaya Temple in Thailand in 2001. Since then, he has been teaching the practice of meditation to people from all walks of life around the world.

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Monk Sophon Panyasopanoe has been meditating for over 25 years and ordained as a Theravada Buddhist monk since 2014. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from Chiang Mai University in Thailand (1997). Monk Sophon used to reside at the Meditation Center in New Jersey and Meditation Center of D.C. where he volunteered and helped to teach meditation to students from all walks of life. 
       

Monk Sophon has devoted himself in teaching meditation at Dhammkaya Int'l Meditation Center in Azusa CA. for 7 years.
He currently resides at Meditation Center of Chicago, IL where he teaches meditation to spread peace to all people regardless their faiths and backgrounds.

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Originally from Thailand, Pranee Ruangmalai has been a dedicated meditation trainer and program coordinator at the Meditation Center of Chicago since 2010. She has led mindfulness programs for both youth and adults, blending spiritual insight with practical tools to foster peace and resilience. From 2017–2018, she also founded and served as president of the Meditation Club at Wright College.

With a strong foundation in mindfulness, Pranee integrates meditation into her counseling work, creating a compassionate, culturally sensitive space for healing and growth. She believes that inner peace is possible for anyone who truly seeks and lives it.

More information: voyagechicago and Consciousness

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Lisa is originally from Phitsanulok, Thailand, and holds a bachelor’s degree with second-class honors in Advertising and Public Relations from Chiang Mai University. She moved to the U.S. in 2015 and began serving as a meditation program coordinator at the Meditation Center of Palm Beach, Florida.

In 2019, she moved to Oregon, where she led weekly meditation sessions and coordinated meditation classes for the community for five years. She now resides in Chicago, where she continues to support meditation programs.

Lisa began practicing meditation in 1992. With over 30 years of experience, she has seen how inner peace, cultivated through the mind, becomes a lasting source of joy—and naturally extends outward to create harmony in daily life and the world around us.