Words of Appreciation

With Gratitude for Mary Ellen McCourt and Jan Cressman

As of December we’ve had some important changes in the Ligmincha Council, the group of dedicated volunteers who help make everything happen here at our retreat center. Mary Ellen McCourt stepped down from her position as Co-director of Communications, and Jan Cressman from her role as Director of Fundraising. I’d like to take this opportunity to express words of thanks to both Mary Ellen and Jan for their contributions to Ligmincha Institute.


It all started in 2000, when Rinpoche came into the office in downtown Charlottesville and handed me an image Mary Ellen had made for him. She had taken a photograph of Rinpoche during his teachings at the Open Center in New York. Around the photo she’d added a border, so that it looked a bit like a thangka painting framed in brocade. At the time I was a volunteer with Ligmincha’s Tibet Shop. In handing me the photo, Rinpoche simply said, “You and Marcy should talk with her.”

Soon after, Mary Ellen attended a retreat with Rinpoche at Serenity Ridge. She arrived with a stack of images she had created, and donated them to the store so we could sell them to raise money for Ligmincha. During that same retreat I proposed that we create a Ligmincha wall calendar to sell through the store, and our creative working relationship began. Over the years in collaboration with Marcy and Polly, and now most recently with Melissa, we have created a wide variety of calendars, deity cards, visualization supports, T-shirts, note cards, teaching transcripts, and other meditation practice supports. When I look around at the shop, Mary Ellen’s impact is abundantly obvious. The shelves are filled with her beautiful designs. Mary Ellen truly taught me how to work creatively as a team member, holding a shared vision without attachment or ownership over a project. It has been a privilege to work with her for the nine years that she has been on the Council.  

Importantly, Mary Ellen’s efforts over the years have helped countless people know about the treasures Ligmincha offers in the form of wisdom teachings and practices, through her selfless and devoted actions in creating and designing print promotions for local and national media. Many people don’t realize the role she has played in leading them to Serenity Ridge.

Mary Ellen has offered to continue volunteering her services as Ligmincha’s Art Director. Here she will continue to create our yearly calendar, design our teaching transcripts and help bring them to publication, design ads for upcoming retreats, and help create new support materials for our store. We are fortunate to benefit from her passion to serve Ligmincha in this way.


I have had the pleasure to get to know Jan through the many conversations we’ve had about fundraising over these past many months that she’s served on Council, and have truly enjoyed discussing the ways in which Ligmincha can grow through a more cohesive fundraising effort. I deeply appreciate her questions and insights, and her valuable help in pointing out areas where we need clarification. Jan spent many hours pondering Ligmincha’s needs and researching how fundraising is done at other non-profits. She outlined a plan that will serve Ligmincha well as she steps down from the Council position as Director of Fundraising. Jan holds a holistic and encompassing view in which she sees Ligmincha and its potential for growth. Although she is no longer on the Council, we will continue to benefit from Jan’s insightful comments and suggestions.

With much appreciation for Mary Ellen and Jan,

Sue Davis-Dill
Executive Director
Ligmincha Institute