Carol Yamada

Carol Yamada joined the Rigpa US Board of Directors in January 2020, following years of Rigpa US activity as coordinator and instructor for the Seattle sangha, as a volunteer for national retreats, as process manager for the 2010 TGI Retreat, and as a consultant for the Rigpa US national team.

Carol brings almost thirty years of professional experience at The Boeing Company, of which the last ten were focused on change management and leadership development. She also brings non-profit governance and leadership experience on the Boards and as Chair of several non-profit organizations, which faced significant transition challenges.

Carol’s spiritual journey began in earnest in mid-life as she searched for a teacher and a path. In the spring of 2003 at a time when her father had been diagnosed with a terminal illness and after she took early retirement, she attended a conference “Integrating Spirituality and Caregiving” in Boulder, CO. There she met Sogyal Rinpoche and knew she had found her teacher. Carol completed the 7-year home retreat and continues to travel regularly to Lerab Ling for the summer retreat programs.

Carol grew up as a third-generation Japanese-American in Tokyo and attended American schools for her primary and secondary education. After she graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from Sophia University (Tokyo), she moved to the United States. She settled in the Pacific Northwest, calling it home for over four decades. Carol later earned her Master of Business Administration from Seattle University and completed leadership development programs with Leadership Tomorrow, the Executive Development Institute, and the Seattle University Executive Leadership Program.

Carol lives in Redmond, WA, with her husband Jim.