Our Team

Sheila Ann Tyacke (Siri Dharma)

CI Facilitator and Practitioner

Compassionate Inquiry Practitioner, Somatic Experiencing Practitioner,  lover of truth and justiceHi, I’m Siri Dharma. The name means someone who walks a path of right action. This is a core value for me: staying connected to what is true and right through presence, awareness, and inquiry—not simply as a professional skill, but as a way of life. My own self-work is deep, and I bring that depth into the groups and spaces I facilitate.I am a founding facilitator  in Compassionate Inquiry and have had the privilege of facilitating CI since its beginnings in 2019. More recently, I became a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner, a journey that has deepened both my skills and my appreciation for the work of Compassionate Inquiry.I co-lead Safety and Connection, a course offered to all start-up students of CI, where we focus on creating safety and connection within Compassionate Inquiry sessions. Safety is central to my work, and I am deeply interested in how we create spaces where people can feel genuinely seen, supported, and safely held.  I am a highly sensitive person myself. I have a deep interest in ensuring that highly sensitive people feel welcomed, understood, and safely held within online training spaces.My earlier career as a human-rights lawyer during the apartheid era in South Africa profoundly shaped my commitment to justice, fairness, and ethical practice. This background has led me to become involved in resolving disputes and conflicts within CI, as well as investigating and addressing ethical concerns that may arise. I am an accredited mediator with the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR) in the United Kingdom.I now also mentor and train young lawyers in South Africa. I am passionate about supporting and empowering lawyers from disadvantaged backgrounds, many of whom carry significant intergenerational trauma. I believe that creating more conscious, compassionate and empowered professionals can contribute to meaningful change in the wider world.Alongside my legal and mediation background, I have training in Family Life Counselling, Addiction Counselling, and Nonviolent Communication. I am a Kundalini Yoga teacher and I led the Beyond Addiction programme in South Africa.Safety and depth matter to me. So do truth, justice, compassion, and the courage to inquire deeply.

Email: ci.siridharma@gmail.com

Vimalasara (Valerie Mason-John)

CI Facilitator and Practitioner

Dr. Valerie (Vimalasara) Mason-John M.A (hon.doc) is the award-winning author of 9 books. She worked as an international correspondent covering Aboriginal deaths in custody and Land Rights in Australia. After retiring from journalism she trained in the field of anger management and conflict resolution, going on to work as a senior trainer for one of the leading organizations in the UK, LEAP Confronting Conflicts, whose clients included the police, social services, the educational system,  prisons, gangs, and youth offending teams. In 2007 she moved to Canada, and retrained in the field of Restorative Justice RJ, working for Alberta Conflict Transformation ACTS, and developed a Train the Trainer program for youth to deliver the RJ circle. She has trained teachers throughout Canada in RJ approaches for education. She works as a public speaker in the field of Conflict Transformation, and Mindfulness Approaches for addiction. She is an ordained Buddhist and is Chair of Vancouver Buddhist Centre.