Hold Member Elections Now at Dhamma Dena
We Are Calling for…
We are calling for the Board of Dhamma Dena Meditation Center in Joshua Tree, CA to adopt the bylaw amendments and governance policies necessary to implement the following changes:
Hold member elections and expand the board: Mandate that board consists of no less than 5 people. Transition to a community member–elected board on a defined timeline, replacing board self-appointment with recurring community member elections on a fixed, transparent cycle, and limited, temporary vacancy fills only when necessary.
Create a voting community membership: Establish a clear, accessible community membership with voting rights that is not pay-gated and uses simple, objective participation criteria for eligibility and verification (with good-faith attestation when records are incomplete). Community membership would include those who have attended a retreat, volunteered, or donated to Dhamma Dena.
BIPOC leadership representation: Commit to governance that reflects and sustains BIPOC leadership aligned with Dhamma Dena’s values, using transparent nomination and outreach practices to recruit and support BIPOC candidates.
Mission and values: Adopt and publish a Mission/Values Charter that centers Black, Indigenous, disabled, trans, feminist, POC and queer communities, and use it as a guide for programming and governance decisions.
On-land staff voice: Guarantee meaningful staff participation in governance by creating an on-land staff director/representative role on the board with voting rights on non-employment matters and clear recusal from employment decisions, and by ensuring all staff can attend most board meetings and submit agenda items.
Transparency: Provide regular, timely updates to community members, including financial snapshots, board decisions/minutes, and documented progress on mission and inclusion commitments.
How can I help? Sign the petition below to let the Board of Dhamma Dena know that you too call for member elections.
Learn more about how we got here.
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Why a member-elected Board:
A member-elected board would mean establishing a process in which all Board members — current and future — would have the opportunity to introduce themselves to the wider community and receive a clear mandate to serve. This act of shared discernment would transform the power the board holds into something understood by all as legitimate, respected, and deeply rooted in the will of the sangha.
Membership would include those who have attended a retreat, volunteered, or donated to Dhamma Dena.
Dhamma Dena is facing financial difficulties and our fundraising capacity depends on our ability to cultivate strong and ongoing relationships grounded in integrity — a felt sense of meaningful inclusion and reciprocity in those who find refuge here. Sangha-entrusted leadership is integral to this ecology. We believe that restoring trust and healing the relationship with the sangha through Board elections is not only ethically sound, it is the most fiscally responsible decision that can be made at this time.
A member-elected Board would be in a strong position to thoughtfully reimagine the Center’s organizational structure, including staffing and volunteer roles, working alongside staff and the broader sangha. Engaging the community, staff, and volunteers in shaping the future would help ensure the models that emerge are resilient, values-aligned, and widely supported.
This kind of shared ownership is the foundation for long-term sustainability, and what it truly means to practice together as sangha.
We know that it is we as the Dhamma Dena sangha community who have been actively sustaining the center through years of our practice, volunteer labor, relationships, teaching and donations, and that we have the capacity to continue to sustain this center that we love, a place that was built out of generosity and joy by generations of dedicated teachers and practitioners before us. We are ready and able to make this center thrive, and we can only do this with leadership that we trust to carry out the mission and values that makes this center so uniquely and deeply valuable.