The Sound Essence Project, a Washington State Nonprofit Corporation, is a collaborative international gathering of people with the intention to create a cross cultural network of resources in an environment of mutual learning with an emphasis on cultural sustainability. Through the confluence of our respective wisdom's, we hope to converge traditional practices with sustainable ways of life to create a profound partnership which expands world community and peace through education, herbal medicine, sound, color, and cultural communion.

Susan Bradbury
President/CEO

Susan Bradbury is passionate about life and designing resilience and thriving into all that she creates.

The Sound Essence Project, a 501(c)3 was founded by Susan in late 2003. Sustaining Cultures, Changing Lives and creating cross cultural networks of resources and partnerships for world community and peace is an area Susan is passionate about.

Mongolia is a country where student scholarships, tree planting and starting bakeries as microlending projects has captured her heart. Susan has traveled four summers to various areas of Mongolia filming traditional storytellers, to capture the nomadic stories.

Susan's love of people and dreams has lead to the creation of three international art shows, with the help of a creative team. What Does Peace Look Like? What Does Compassion Look Like? and What Can the Earth Teach Us About Love? has brought the artistic expression and voices from children around the world.

Susan holds a Master's Degree in Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine and works from her clinic in Bellingham, Washington.

To learn more of what Susan is doing in the world see http://susanbradbury.net.

Tuya Luehr
Director

In between growing up in Mongolian countryside, moving to the capital city Ulaanbaatar and then moving to the USA, Tuya was blessed with the good fortune of experiencing exciting changes and meeting great people. She has a MA and BA in philosophy from the Mongolian State University and an MBA from University of Bridgeport, CT. Tuya worked at the Mongolian Academy of Science as a Research Analyst as well taught philosophy at various universities in Mongolia. Now she works as a Business Analyst at a software company in Redmond, WA. All of her studies were sponsored by scholarships therefore it is important for her to help young people to get an educational access. Tuya is also interested in cross cultural understanding and exchange and believes that by enriching from each others culture and experiences we can make a better world.

Bayarmaa Dulam
Advisor

Ms. Bayarmaa Dulam, the first Fulbright FLTA from Mongolia, received her B. A. in English with a double major -- English Teacher and Translator/Interpreter -- in 2001 with honors and a M. A. in Linguistics in 2003 from Otgontenger University, one of the first private universities in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. A Professor of English at Otgontenger University, she has five and a half years of experience of teaching English as a foreign language. At the same time, she has also been working with non-profit organizations such as Save the Children, UK and Association of Parents with Disabled Children, as well as OCHKO Translation Service Center at a capacity of a freelance translator/interpreter. Bayarmaa is currently working in Mongolia as an interpreter and is head of the Sound Essence Project's Mongolian office.

Kelly Kelsy
Director

Kelly Kelsey considers herself a citizen of the world. She is happiest being in community, in service to the greater needs of humanity and empowering the Earth's natural balance and the wellbeing of all Her diverse lifeforms. Kelly is dedicated to progressive, practical educational opportunities that will inspire children and adults alike to meet our creative challenges with passion and hope and fulfilling satisfaction. With always a song in her heart, Kelly also loves to build community through singing circles that teach listening skills, harmony and finding one's authentic voice. Currently, Kelly is the co-director of Earthways Nature School in Maple Falls, WA which offers educational programs that foster appreciation, respect, and ecological stewardship of the Earth in an effort to ensure a legacy of health for all individuals and ecosystems now, and through the generations to come. She also shares her time building similar nature education programs in Hawaii to strengthen the legacy of "malama aina" inherent in the Hawaiian culture. Kelly joined Sound Essence Project because she appreciates the far-reaching vision held by Susan Bradbury and the can-do attitude applied to every project.

Simon Wickham-Smith
Translator/Composer

Simon Wickham-Smith was born in the UK in 1968 and received a BA(Hons) in Engish Language and Literature from King's College, London. He was ordained as a monk in the Karma Kagyü lineage of Tibetan Buddhism, and subsequently took part in a traditional three-year retreat at Kagyü Samyé Ling monastery in Scotland. He has spent much of the last fifteen years working on Mongolian and Tibetan Buddhism, and latterly on contemporary Mongolian culture, and has published a number of translations and scholarly articles, including The Hidden Life of the Sixth Dalai Lama (Lexington Books, 2012) He is currently a PhD candidate at the University of Washingon, Seattle, writing a dissertation on the work of the contemporary Mongolian poet G.Mend-Ooyo.

Ali Erickson

Dr. Ali has a PhD in Educational psychology and has been a lifetime child advocate. She has helped to introduce system-wide programs, which emphasize social emotional development, empathy and bullying prevention. She currently consults with a non-profit that provides housing and services to homeless individuals— mostly women and children. With her 4-year-old size puppets and yearlong programs, she helps preschool age children learn to successfully navigate their often-unpredictable social milieu. Dr. Ali supports two women college students in Mongolia and has also contributed to several scholarships enabling younger children in remote areas to attend school. Her next dream is to work with the Sound Essence Project to help build a school and clinic for the Reindeer people in the Altai Mountains.

Bolor Smith
Advisor

Bolor Smith is a native Mongolian who was born and raised in a small countryside village called Ikhtamir in Arkhangai Province of Mongolia. As a child, she grew up hearing Mongolian folktales, legends, and myths from her father who is a tremendously imaginative and vivid storyteller. Her dream is to increase awareness and sensitivity toward Mongolian culture in America by collecting and translating Mongolian folktales, legends, and myths, and by teaching Mongolian. From her education and work in two completely different countries with distinct cultures and economic development, she has a wide range of experience interacting with a variety of people from richly diverse backgrounds. She has a Baccalaureate in Law (equivalent to Juris Doctor) from the Mongolian National University in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia and an MBA from WWU.

PAST BOARD MEMBERS

• Sibyl Sanford
• Darcy Walters
• Jennica Ottenbreit
• Britt Walker
• Laura Jimerson