Perfectly Here Board of Directors

Dr. Manijeh Motaghy

Founder & President of the Board

Looking for the truth and peace, Manijeh has communed with nature, looking for the truths of life ever since she was two years old. She started practicing yoga in 1994 and came to Mindfulness in an undergrad class in 2004. Being overjoyed by finally finding a formal practice and teaching that she had all her life sought and intuitively applied, she delved deeply into the experiential Mindfulness practices that incorporate a full spectrum of Buddhist teachings. Being blessed to have teachers like Ajahn Amaro, Ajahn Pasanno, Diana Winston, and other experts.

Dr. Motaghy is a compassionate soul, author, international speaker, teacher, and trainer. She is the founder of Perfectly Here and has designed, published, and implemented numerous training models including COMANDS: Seven Skills/Traits of Effective Leadership, Mindful Employees (ME), and countless other courses. Dr. Motaghy’s cumulative work is a comprehensive training model called Life Intelligence: A Three-Dimensional Mindfulness Approach and the Human Software Optimization Model copyrighted in 2020. 

She is an Organizational Psychologist, certified by Mindful NYU to lead and develop Conscious Leaders and Teams, a Certified Mindfulness Facilitator by the UCLA Department of Psychiatry and Board of Behavioral Sciences, and an Authorized MAPS Teacher for UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center. 

She is an AI Ethics and Imperatives enthusiast and a contributor to two committees to further the success of the Stanford Planet Positive 2030 project.

Her 20 Year Vision is to Regenerate Humanity and the Planet to leave a better world for this and future generations by training the global community on how to live in an interdependent reality with consideration for all life so that everyone and everything can flourish.

She has led 100+ daylong retreats and designed and taught hundreds of mindfulness courses, workshops, presentations, and training for both private and public academic sectors such as Disney Imagineering, Health Net of California, Motion Picture Television, LAUSD, California State Universities, Campbell Hall, Chapman School of Law, and at both state-wide and global professional conferences. For a full resume go here.

RELATED TRAINING & EXPERIENCE: Dr. Motaghy continues to study and practice Mindfulness and other Buddhist teachings with teachers at the Abhayagiri Monastery as well as other secular groups. As a dedicated practitioner and teacher, she infuses mindfulness in all her training, consulting, and speaking engagements to optimize success and well-being for all involved.

TRAINING RECEIVED AND IN PROGRESS:

2020-22  InnerMBA through Sounds True Certified Degree by NYU

2009 – 2020 Ten (10-day Silent Retreats)

2014 & 15  Seven Days Dharma & meditation at Abhayagiri

2014 Studied for a year with Trudy Goodman, the Guiding Teacher at InsightLA, DPG

2014 Day-long Retreat with Venerable Panavati

2014 Authorized UCLA MAPS course teacher

2013 10 Day Silent Dharma and meditation at Angeles Center

2013 7 Day Dharma and meditation at the Abhayagiri

2013 Mindfulness Facilitation Certification from UCLA, Mindful Awareness Center

2012 Day-long Retreat with Rumi Rooms, Palos Verdes, CA

2012 2 day retreat with Will Kabat Zinn, Insight LA

2011 6 months CORE Advanced Buddhist Teachings Class, Daniel Davis, West Hills

2011 Day-long retreat by Thanissaro Bhikkhu, Los Angeles, CA

2010 Day-long Sunlun Retreat

2010 One Year Advance Buddhist Teachings Class, Daniel Davis, West Hills, CA

2009-12 14 Day mindfulness & Dharma practice at the Abhayagiri Monastery

2007-2012 18 Basics of Mindfulness Course – Mindful Valley

2008 10-Day Silent Monastic Retreat – Angela Center, CA

2007 One Day Mindfulness Retreat – Insight LA

2007-2013 Mentored by Daniel Davis on Buddhist teachings

1994-present Yoga, Mindful Living

TRAINING PROVIDED:

2013-current MAPS I & II for UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center CA

2012 Facilitates Weekly Meditation Community, West Hills, CA

2012 Designed and Co-Facilitated Work-Life Balance Retreat: Integrating Mindfulness into Accountability, Palos Verdes, CA

2012 Mindfulness workshop, Staff/ Interns, San Fernando Valley Community Mental Health Clinic Van Nuys CA

2012 Presented Mindfulness workshop for Mental Health professionals at Cal State Univ Northridge, CA

2012 Co-presented Mindfulness for teachers, staff, and health care providers at LAUSD, District 1

2012 Presented Mindfulness for Mental Health professionals at The Whole Child, Whittier, CA

2012 Presented Mindful Communication for Toastmaster Learning Institute, Glendale College, CA

2011 Provided Mindfulness of Strengths training for four different departments at Health Net Inc., CA.

2011-present Provide Mindfulness Training for WeSpark Cancer Support Center – Encino, CA

2011 Presented Mindful Communication for the Academy of BioScience, Pepperdine University, CA

2011 Provided Mindfulness Workshops for JAS Recreational Therapists, Malibu, CA

2011 Provided Mindful Time Management Workshop for Girls Scouts of America, Los Angeles, CA

2010 Provided Mindfulness-Based Strategic Planning – American Society of Training & Development

2010 Co-presented Mindfulness Meditation – Motion Picture & Television Fund

2010 Co-designed CEU course curriculum for the Board Behavioral Sciences Certification process

2010 Created Mindful Valley’s Advisory Board

2010 Designed and co-taught “Effective Management, Mindfulness Tools & Workshops – Meetup

2010 Coordinated Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Course – Mindful Valley

2009-present Coordinated &Co-facilitated over 30 monthly day-long retreats – Mindful Valley

2009 Designed curriculum and taught mindfulness-based professional development class “Be The Master of Your Own Livelihood” – Mindful Valley

2008-present Coordinates weekly Sitting Group – Mindful Valley

EDUCATION:

2021 & 2022 – Three InnerMBA Certificates from New York University

2014 – Authorized UCLA MAPS course teacher

2013 – Certification of Mindfulness Facilitation from UCLA, Mindful Awareness Center

2008 – PsyD. in Organization Management Consulting – Phillips Graduate Institute

2005 – BA in Psychology – Cal State Channel Islands.

Board of Director

Carolyn Weiss

Board Member & Bookkeeper

Andrea Milton

Board Member

Randy Shultz

Board Member & Sound Bath

Scott Weiss

Retired Board Member and Treasurer

Scott Weiss is a graduate of California State University –Northridge. He obtained his Masters in Taxation at Golden Gate University. With 30 years of experience, he specializes in advising entrepreneurs engaged in manufacturing, distribution, and real estate, with an emphasis on taxation and business consulting. In his free time, he enjoys golf, traveling, and spending time with family.

Renee A Gates

Retired Board Member and Secretary

For 10+ years, I’ve worked closely with individuals, couples, siblings, families, and extended family groups to map out an individualized course of action that can lead to understanding, peace, contentment, and a sense of relief for those confronted with life’s many challenges.

My professional areas of interest as a Clinical Social Worker include supporting and facilitating change for adults struggling with today’s complexities, adult children and loved ones dealing with issues and challenges of aging parents/partners, and graduate Social Work students pursuing their educational goals.

Marge Driscoll

Board Member, Bookkeeper, (Continued to the next life.)

Mother of 6, grandmother of 9, worked as a teacher in parochial and public education, elementary and collegiate level, also worked as an LCSW in adoptions and as a director in the American Camp Association in Southern California/Hawaii. My experience in the criminal justice system is all through familial experience. In addition, I currently volunteer in the Catholic Charities OASIS program, helping seniors remain in their homes, and serve on the board of the Friends of the Woodland Hills Library.

Jonathan Troen

Retired Board Member & Vice President

Jonathan Troen is a certified Iyengar Yoga instructor, Life Coach, and Meditation Leader. However, it was a journey that brought this entrepreneur to his current fortune in life.

Jonathan’s first career was in the entertainment industry. At 17, Jonathan was producing the #1 morning show at the #1 radio station in Boston, WBCN-FM. After traveling and working in London, Copenhagen, and Seville, Spain, Jonathan returned to the United States and settled in Los Angeles, California, where he launched the legendary online music destination L.A. Live, introducing the first-ever ongoing series of live concerts and interviews on the Internet, featuring the biggest pop and rock stars in the world. In addition, he produced some of the most successful online events for major entertainment and technology companies, including Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, VH1, and Microsoft.

After selling L.A. Live, Jonathan moved into television, where he produced unscripted and documentary programs for a variety of networks including Animal Planet, Travel Channel, and E! Entertainment. He also continued his work in the digital realm, consulting for companies including AOL, Paramount Pictures, and Sony Music. Jonathan has been a featured speaker at many
entertainment and interactive industry conferences, and has been interviewed on various television networks, including CNN and the Discovery Channel.

During this exciting time, he had to undergo serious surgery. Following a year of physical therapy, his recovery path led him to Iyengar yoga, at first restoring his physical mobility, and over time, creating a new and welcome clarity and calm in his mind. This growth led Jonathan to embark on a new path: having achieved many successes, Jonathan decided it was time to give back, to share his energies, passions, and knowledge.