SICA-USA Board

Kristiana Kalab – (Secretary) I’ve always been a mover and a shaker.  I fell in love with the Dance in college and went on to teach, choreograph, perform and produce dance concerts when I moved to NYC, and later NJ. In 1979, nine months after my opening at SUBUD NY, I attended the World SUBUD Congress in Toronto. During one of Bapak’s talks, I discovered the need for a new name.  I announced to Bapak in a letter, that I was a dancer, teacher and choreographer and would like to have my true Christian name.  Subud friends asked if I wanted my spiritual name or a stage name.  As far as I was concerned, they were one in the same thing. To date the name Kristiana has been serving me well as a performing arts advocate and an ever-evolving human being.After Toronto, I joined the SUBUD NY Board of Directors as Vice Chair.  While at SUBUD NY, I served as a Helper, Café Coordinator, and Center Chair. I facilitated SICA events, SNY member art shows, performance, and discovered Jerry Chalem’s beta-cams of 250 interviews of members’ “Memories of Bapak” under the stairs in the Library.  Subsequently, I went on to raise funds to digitize them all. Beyond the local level, I contributed to performances at World Congresses at Anugraha, Spokane, Puebla and Freiburg.  I organized a childcare/teen program at the SUBUD USA Congress in Cullowee, NC while SEC Vice-chair. Most recently, I served as  the SUBUD USA 2020 Congress Chair—a lot of prep work, no Congress! What a blessing the Latihan has been through PANDEMIC times.  As a result of Paul Nelson’s PNW Zoom meeting after virtual Latihan, I was lead to initiate and moderate SUBUD Sisters USA Zoom meeting in the early days of the PANDEMIC.  Later, I found volunteers to carry on the outreach, once I was no longer able.

Fayra Teeters (Board Member since August 14, 2022.)

I was opened in Subud on April 16, 1969 in Berkeley, CA – Risa Toor, Vivana Brody, & Roukmini House were the attending Helpers. (Was I lucky, or what??) I was 21 at the time & going through a crisis brought on by the San Francisco State University student strike. Risa Toor was an arts-classmate and my best friend. Both the latihan and Risa pulled me through my crisis so I could graduate with a BA in Theatre. I started acting at the age of 9 years and for me it was the same as praying – a potent devotional path to connect with God, whenever I was “in the zone”. I didn’t know it at the time, but this was a latihan experience. I’ve been affiliated with Subud groups in Los Angeles, Berkeley, Carmel Valley, Santa Cruz, San Francisco, Seattle, and Albuquerque. I have always sought deeper answers afforded from Testing as to which roles or projects to pursue, fellow-artists to align with, insights as to solving problems that crop up during any project. I devised a series of theatre exercises based on my receivings during my own testing on how to harness the power of an archetype, leading with different parts of the body, how to channel inner images into physical wisdom expressed in performance – and liberally shared these exercises with everyone in my Masque Alfresco company. I founded Masque Alfresco in 2002 as a purveyor of commedia dell’arte theatre technique, with Benedict Herrman as a founding member – playing lead roles. After getting our feet on solid ground, Masque Alfresco set out to become a fund-raiser for all things Subud, raising $1250 (?) for SICA, and $1500 for Subud Portland (over the years). Also, over the years, we’ve applied for and received $500 SICA grants to mount theatre projects that otherwise would NOT have been possible. I am an experienced, knowledgeable grant-writer, with an 85% record of receiving grant awards – and would like to pass this knowledge on to up-and-coming Subud culture groups. I would also like to give workshops on how to start-up a cultural group and allow it to grow in good time – as I’ve done with Masque Alfresco these past 20 years. I would be thrilled to share insights as to how to bring the latihan into cultural expression.

Michal Brownell is a National Helper liaison to SICA. She was opened in 1972 in Bangkok and has been a Regional Helper on the East Coast of the U.S. and in London, UK. Married with 4 kids (2 in Subud) she has lived in Europe and Asia. She’s worked as teacher, waitress, reporter, copy editor, editorial assistant, is retired and living in coastal Rhode Island.

Jim Dehner Bio

I was born and raised in Burlington, Iowa, attended Iowa State University and earned a degree in anthropology.   In 1977 my wife and I joined the Peace Corps and moved to Afghanistan to teach at Kabul University.  After our service ended we traveled to Indonesia and stayed at Wisma Subud in Cilandak.  It was there I learned about Subud and was subsequently opened.  Back in the U.S. my wife and I earned our teaching certifications and began teaching at the secondary level.  In 1988 our family, which now included daughter Maya, left for Bolivia for our first international school teaching post.  For the next 30+ years we worked in various international schools in South America, Southeast and South Asia and North Africa.  I taught social studies and photography, primarily at the secondary level, until eventually becoming a secondary school principal. Now, happily retired, I’m living in Fayetteville, Arkansas.  I love to travel, especially when I can do so on my motorcycle.  I also enjoy mountain biking and rowing.  However, my greatest joy comes from serving my Subud sisters and brothers as a National Helper.