Legacy of Dao is governed by a Board of Directors with the help of various committees.
The current founding board members are:
Livia Kohn
Chair of the Board
Livia Kohn, Ph.D., is Professor Emerita of Religion and East Asian Studies at Boston University. A graduate of Bonn University, Germany, she has spent many years pursuing research on medieval Daoism and Chinese long life practices. She has written and edited numerous books, taught many classes on Asian religions, and worked on a large variety of related projects. Her books include Taoist Meditation and Longevity Techniques (University of Michigan, 1989), Daoism and Chinese Culture (Three Pines Press, 2001), Monastic Life in Medieval Daoism (University of Hawaii, 2003), and Chinese Healing Exercises (Three Pines Press, 2006).
Livia Kohn has practiced Taiji quan, Qigong, meditation, and other cultivation practices for over twenty years. She is a certified instructor of Kripalu` Yoga and a licensed hypnotist. She teaches regular workshops on Daoism and runs international and local conferences on Daoist studies. She has lived in Japan for a total of ten years and traveled widely in Asia, especially China, Korea, and Thailand. Aside from her native German, she is also fluent in Chinese, Japanese and English.
Donald D. Davis
Donald D. Davis, Ph.D., is a professor of psychology and Asian Studies at Old Dominion University who specializes in personal and organizational transformation. He has been a practitioner and teacher of Daoist arts such as Taiji quan, Qigong, and meditation for many years and teaches them at Tidewater Tai Chi Center, in Norfolk/Virginia Beach.
He has been working in China since 1986. He has been a Fulbright Professor at Wuhan University (1995-1996) and a guest lecturer at many Chinese universities, including Beijing University, Tsinghua University, Renmin University, Jiao Tong University, and Zhejiang University. He has lectured, conducted workshops, and worked with many clients throughout Asia, Europe, and North America.
David G. Capco
David G. Capco, Ph.D. is Professor at Arizona State University. Previously he served as Director of the Cell Biology Program at the National Science Foundation, and while there he also served as co-chair of the panel for evaluation of Women’s Planning Grants and Career Advancement Awards. He was a senior Fulbright Scholar at the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry (Göttingen, Germany) and earlier was recipient of a Research Career Development Award from the National Institutes of Health.
Dave also served as Founding Chair of the Education Committee for the Society for Developmental Biology where he stayed on two terms as an elected member and also participated on the Board of Trustees of the Society for Developmental Biology. He is an associate editor of Molecular Reproduction and Development and has served as special editor for Current Topics in Developmental Biology and the Journal of Electron Microscopy Technique. He has currently published over sixty scientific papers. He has been an elected board member of the Arizona BioIndustry Cluster where he served as Chair of the Membership Committee.
Dave has been a member of the faculty at Arizona State University for the past 23 years. There he has been faculty leader of the Medicine, Culture, and Healing Learning Community which has a focus on Chinese Medicine and culture. He also teaches theory classes on the topic of Chinese Medicine at the Southwest Institute of Healing Arts and he is currently studying esoteric methods of examination of the I Ching.
Rita Egizii
Rita Engizii is a social entrepreneur, business leader and fundraising consultant. With a solid publication record in a broad range of refereed scientific journals, she left science in 1990 to obtain a business degree, followed by the start-up and successful growth of several local, national, and international businesses. A member of the Betta Gamma Sigma Honor Society, she was the 1997 Regional Finalist for the Canadian Woman Entrepreneur of the Year and the November 2005 Global Television/YWCA Woman of Vision.
A two-time cancer survivor and active practitioner of Qigong, meditation, and shamanic traditions, she has traveled to China, Taiwan, Korea, and Japan. In addition to her business career, Rita has had extensive experience in the non-profit sector and is a member of the Association of Fund-Raising Professionals. She is currently employed as Associate Director of Development & Alumni Relations at the Haskayne School of Business, University of Calgary (Canada).
Gregory E. Lucier
Gregory E. Lucier, Professor Emeritus of Physiology & Biophysics, University of Calgary, Faculty of Medicine (Canada). In addition to an extensive research background in neurophysiology, Greg has sat on numerous international research grant review panels and published numerous research articles and book chapters. He has been studying Traditional Chinese Medicine and Chinese philosophy for over 20 years.
Greg is a practitioner of Qigong and meditation and has traveled extensively throughout China, Taiwan, Korea and Japan. Greg has over 25 years experience in IT, communication and multimedia design, having held senior management positions at Walt Disney Animation Canada, Chromacolour (North America), and DeVry University, Chicago. Greg currently consults on curriculum design and creative projects through his own company, I.M.A.G.E. (Insight Management for Action, Growth and Expansion) Consulting Inc.
Royce Anthony Ranada
Royce Anthony Ranada is a Human Health Specialist with multiple certifications in Nutrition, Personal Training, Clinical Hypnosis, Yoga Therapy, Integrative Health Techniques, Life Coaching, Multiple Bodyworks Techniques and Qigong.
Royce is an active member of The American College of Sports Medicine, American Council on Exercise, American Association of Anti-aging Medicine, National Qigong Association, International Association of Yoga Therapist, American Hypnosis Association, U.S.A. Wushu Kungfu Federation, National Exercise and Sports Trainers Association, National Strength and Conditioning Association, National Federation of Personal Trainers and The Mankind Institute.
Royce is a retired Mechanical Engineer and former Chief of Engineering for several prominent Engineering Firms, as well as having owned several Engineering and Manufacturing companies of his own prior to his departure from this aspect of his career. Specializing in Automation, Robotics, Cybernetics and process controls systems, Royce developed an intense interest in the Human Body, both in it's design and how it functioned; this has led him to his second life career.
Michael Rinaldini (Dao Lichang)
Michael Rinaldini (Dao Lichang) is a Qigong Teacher, and 22nd-generation Daoist priest of the Longmen Dragon Gate sect. He was ordained by Daoist Priest Ji Zhitong in 2003, and is a disciple of Master Wan Sujian from Beijing, China. In 2006, he was authorized to train and ordain American followers of the Dao. He focuses on the Daoist healing arts of Qigong, meditation, qi healing, acupressure, and Daoist studies.
He is a Level IV Certified Qigong Teacher of the National Qigong Association, and a Certified Bagua Xundao Gong Qigong Teacher. He also offers a 100-150 Hour Qigong Certification Program for Advanced Trainings, and has students in his programs internationally, from Canada to Mexico, including Chile and England.
Michael’s spiritual studies began in the 1970s with experiences in Catholic monasticism, Hindu-Vedanta monasticism, and afterwards in most of the popular Buddhist traditions- Zen, Vipassana, and Tibetan Buddhism. Additionally, Michael has an M.A. in Art Therapy and an M.F.A. in Fine Art Photography.
Committees
Proposed committees include:- Application review committee: examining applicants and sending materials out to further reviewers.
- Advisory committee: large donors giving input on organization and policies.
- Dissemination committee: publicizing findings and translations to the wider populace and relevant organizations.
- Practitioner committee: advising on urgent issues and important considerations from the practitioners’ perspective.
- Support committee: encouraging graduate studies in this area to perpetuate interest in Daoist projects.
