Joshua Bee Alafia, Lead Meditation Teacher

Joshua Bee Alafia’s meditation practice began in 1989 when his mother gave him a mantra to work with. This sparked a rich journey into different styles from the Hawaiian Shamanic, Hindu, Sufi, Dzogchen, Taoist, and Vipassana traditions. Wanting to bring Vipassana practice to the youth, he began teaching mindfulness practice to incarcerated, court involved and system vulnerable youth through New York’s Lineage Project in 2010. He is a graduate of the Community Dharma Leaders training through Spirit Rock Meditation Center. He currently teaches mindfulness meditation with South Side Insight Meditation Circle at the Dorchester Art + Housing Collaborative and Taoist Meditation with TaoYoga Chicago at the Haji Healing Salon, both located on the South Side of Chicago. Liberation Meditation draws from Taoist, Yoruba and Buddhist traditions.

Julio Rivera, Founder & CEO

Julio Rivera began meditating in late 2015 after failed attempts at managing his chronic stress. After downloading Headspace he noticed a transformation in how he managed his thoughts which opened up Pandora's box. He sought out communities in NYC that became integral to his practice, such as Medi Club, the NY Shambhala Meditation Center, and the NY Insight Meditation Center. With his background in app development, he wanted to offer a way for others to learn and experience the practice who didn't have the resources to be able to go these centers and tap into these communities. Then Zen Compass was born.