Associate Head of College Sumi Loundon Kim is also on staff with the Chaplain’s Office as the Buddhist chaplain. Formerly the Buddhist chaplain at Duke University, she was the founder of the Mindful Families of Durham, as well. After receiving a bachelor’s in fine arts from Williams College and master’s in Buddhist studies and Sanskrit from the Harvard Divinity School, she was the associate director for the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies in Massachusetts. Originally brought up in a Zen community (New Hampshire) in the 70s, Sumi has been a student of the Theravada (insight) tradition since her teens. An early cofounder of the GenX Buddhist Teachers Sangha, Sumi served in various leadership roles, including as board president. She is the author of several books: Blue Jean Buddha (2001); The Buddha’s Apprentices (2005); Sitting Together: A Family-Centered Curriculum on Mindfulness, Meditation, and Buddhism (2017); and Goodnight Love: A Bedtime Meditation Story (2023). Sumi always enjoys a good pun, as well as conversations that are equal parts goofy and geeky. She is the proud mom of two young adult kiddos.
Bodhi Kim was adopted in early 2021 as a 10-month-old puppy. He was found in a train station with his siblings and parents in Moscow. He flew into JFK with a Russian passport in his adoptive name of Stephan and responded to “nyet” for a short time. He seems to be a mix of some kind of collie and German Shepherd. He is good with cats and chickens but views squirrels and rabbits as public enemy #1. He will point his nose up to you to smell your breath, but he won’t lick you. He enjoys a good ear scritchin’ and hugs.