Formed in 2016, the Eckhart Tolle Foundation focuses primarily on awakening human consciousness, as well as alleviating – and ultimately ending – the suffering created by the dysfunction of the egoic human mind. We accomplish this through making Eckhart Tolle’s teachings available to communities in need, and by funding and collaborating with like-minded organizations, especially those who work with youth and students, incarcerated people, hospice patients and the elderly, animals, and other vulnerable beings.
Eckhart Tolle is widely recognized as one of the most inspiring and visionary spiritual teachers in the world today.
With his international bestsellers The Power of Now and A New Earth—translated into more than 50 languages—he has introduced millions to the joy and freedom of living life in the present moment. The New York Times has described him as “the most popular spiritual author in the United States,” and in 2011, Watkins Review (now Watkins Mind Body Spirit) named him “the most spiritually influential person in the world.”
Eckhart’s profound yet simple teachings have helped countless people around the globe experience a state of vibrantly alive inner peace in their daily lives. His teachings focus on the significance and power of Presence, the awakened state of consciousness, which transcends ego and discursive thinking. Eckhart sees this awakening as the essential next step in human evolution.
Kim Eng is a spiritual teacher and the creator of Presence Through Movement, a powerful practice for awakening consciousness through the body and through movement.
She leads retreats and workshops internationally in partnership with Eckhart Tolle, and she teaches immersive online courses, including the breakthrough four-week immersion Awakening Through the Pain-Body. Her approach incorporates Eckhart’s wisdom into an embodied practice, enabling a deepening of Presence, the awakening of consciousness in our physical form.
She is also the creator of the instructional Presence Through Movement videos Qi Flow Yoga and Yin Yoga and the guided audio programs Meditations for a New Earth and Resist Nothing, featuring practices for addressing inner challenges to living a life of Presence.
Erin Jacobson, a foundational presence at Eckhart Teachings since its inception in 2000, has dedicated herself to the spiritual well-being of Eckhart Tolle and Kim Eng’s vast global audience, which now spans millions.
From the humble beginnings of Eckhart Teachings, where the organization operated out of a tiny living room, Erin has been an integral part of its evolution. Having experienced the entire journey, she embodies a unique perspective in that she has touched nearly every facet of Eckhart Teachings since its modest origins.
Erin has played a pivotal role in disseminating the teachings to the world, moving beyond the early days of folding flyers, customer service, audio/video production and order fulfillment to navigate and usher the organization through various phases spanning more than two decades. Bringing together inspired partnerships committed to the acceleration of consciousness, Erin consistently seeks new ways to make Eckhart and Kim’s teachings more accessible to a broad audience through various channels such as in-person engagements, virtual live events, online courses, multiple free digital platforms, a publishing imprint, The Eckhart Tolle Now community, and The Eckhart Tolle Foundation.
Cofounding The Eckhart Tolle Foundation in 2016, Erin serves as President, furthering the reach of Eckhart and Kim’s teachings to underserved communities such as youth, hospices, and incarcerated people.
Her commitment to upholding the authenticity of the teachings is central to her leadership, with the organization’s primary mission being to disseminate Eckhart and Kim’s spiritual wisdom for the benefit of all.
Sibyl Chavis is based out of Pasadena, California, United States and works at Sounds True as Chief Business Officer, B2C Division.
She earned her Bachelors of Science degree from the University of Michigan and Juris Doctorate degree from Harvard Law School. Following law school, Sibyl began her career practicing law at a leading law firm in Atlanta, Georgia. From there, she became an Executive Vice President at one of the top multicultural advertising agencies, where she played a key role in helping grow the company, with billing and personnel tripling over the course of her tenure.
Sibyl left the lucrative corporate world on the East Coast to create a life of greater clarity and purpose. She is passionate about her work with Sounds True, a multimedia publishing company that works with some of the leading spiritual teachers and visionaries of our time.
Tami Simon is the founder and CEO of Sounds True, a multimedia company with the mission of disseminating spiritual wisdom.
Over its 36-year history, Sounds True has grown into a multimedia publisher that has produced over 6,000 titles, has been included twice in the Inc. 500 list of the fastest-growing companies, and is North America’s leading publisher of spoken-word spiritual teachings.
A pioneer in the conscious-business movement, Simon focuses on bringing authenticity and heart into the workplace while honoring multiple bottom lines. She hosts a weekly podcast, “Insights at the Edge,” interviewing leading spiritual teachers, and with Sounds True has also released the audio program “Being True: What Matters Most in Work, Life, and Love.”
Elizabeth Lesser is the co-founder and senior adviser of Omega Institute, the largest adult education center in the United States focusing on health, wellness, spirituality and creativity.
She is the author of Cassandra Speaks; Marrow; The Seeker’s Guide; and the New York Times bestseller Broken Open.
For more than 30 years, Lesser has studied and worked with leading figures in the fields of healing, spiritual development and cultural change. Her work at Omega has included co-directing the organization, curriculum research, conference weaving, teaching and writing the yearly Omega catalog, a reference book that describes the work of some of the most eminent thinkers and practitioners of our times. She has given two popular TED talks and is one of Oprah Winfrey’s Super Soul 100, a collection of one hundred leaders who are using their voices and talents to elevate humanity. She lives in New York’s Hudson Valley with her family.
Dr. Ravi Patel is a board certified Medical Oncologist who has been practicing for more than 30 years.
He founded Comprehensive Blood & Cancer Center in Bakersfield, CA in 1984, growing it from a 1,200 square foot office with one employee into the comprehensive, community focused, diagnostic, treatment, educational and research-based cancer center it is today with over 250 employees and a 120,000 square foot campus.
While serving as managing director of the center, Dr. Patel continues to actively care for his patients and serve as principal investigator on the center’s many clinical research studies. Dr. Patel is actively involved with the leading pharmaceutical manufacturers and academic research programs to assure that cancer patients in Kern County have access to the most cutting-edge medicines and treatments available anywhere in the world.
Steven Landaal is an expert in asylum and refugee law and has successfully assisted thousands of clients with family visas and other immigration applications, from initial entry into the United States through application for citizenship.
Steven is a 1985 graduate of the University of Southern California Law Center and his undergraduate degree is from Washington University in St. Louis. For ten years prior to attending law school, he was in business with Europe and Africa. He has traveled widely, visiting more than 40 countries. As a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, Steven Landaal he has served for three years as that organization’s liaison to the Los Angeles Asylum Office of the USCIS.
Aly Waibel began studying Eckhart’s and Kim’s teachings in 2004 and is passionate about the transformative power of their work.
Aly has served in leadership roles in the nonprofit sector since 2015. She holds a PhD from the department of Teaching, Learning and Sociocultural Studies at the University of Arizona College of Education, with a focus on lifelong learning, somatic learning, and contemplative education. She received certification to teach the Compassion Cultivation Training course developed at Stanford University in 2012. Aly is an experienced practitioner dedicated to meditation, inquiry and embodiment practices.
