To Support the Vision of
Mulund Institute
The Management Team
Aura Bakker – CEO
Aura has dedicated her life to working with children—and the adults who parent, teach, and guide them. She began serving children and young people in the Vision of Mulund Institute in 2007. In 2015, she developed Everything New Parenting, a games-based approach rooted in Avatar Adi Da’s Wisdom and Happiness, helping parents and children nurture emotional and spiritual depth in their relationship. A devotee of Avatar Adi Da since birth, Aura offers a rare depth of personal experience and insight into growing up with His wisdom. She became the CEO of the Vision of Mulund in 2022.
Laurel Patterson – Secretary
Laurel was an English high school teacher in the United States for 24 years until she retired in 2012. She began serving the young people via the Vision of Mulund Institute in 2010, when her oldest granddaughter started going on summer retreats with a group of Adidam Youth Fellowship members. Since 2017 Laurel has been a key organizer of summer retreats for girls. Laurel became a Vision of Mulund Institute board member in 2018 and served in that capacity until 2020, when she moved to the Vision of Mulund management committee. Laurel published her first children's book in 2023: "The Land of Light".
Chris Dickey–CFO
Chris, a retired family physician in New Zealand, has been involved with the Vision of Mulund Institute since 1996, initially as a parent and then as a board member (beginning in 2018). In 2020, Chris moved from the board to be more involved in direct service to the management committee, where he now serves as the CFO.
Damon Schoeffler – Guide/Educator
Damon graduated with a BA in theatre and performance studies from UC Berkley in 2012. He was born into the company of Avatar Adi Da and has been serving the Vision of Mulund Institute for over 10 years as a guide and educator. Damon is especially interested in bringing Avatar Adi Da's Considerations about self--understanding and sacred art into the lives of young people who are responding to Avatar Adi Da.
Deb Helleren – Educator
Deb has a Bachelor of Education in Drama, Media Studies, Teaching Methodology, and Sociology from Deakin University in Melbourne, Australia. In 1989 Avatar Adi Da asked her to move to California to serve in the Vision of Mulund Institute. She began as a guide and theatre/drama teacher for the children and young people in the Adidam school in Northern California. Deb has continued to be an invaluable member of the Vision of Mulund Institute ever since.
The Board
Don Hille – Chairman
After graduating with a BS in science, Don went on to get his teaching credentials and over the years has taught elementary and secondary students in public and private schools, including being a teacher and administrator in the Vision of Mulund's "Big Wisdom Free School" in Marin and Lake County, California, from1983 through the early 1990's. In 2012 Don became chariman of the board of directors.
Karin Abram – Secretary
Karin was involved in initiating and organizing Vision of Mulund children's retreats in the UK and the Netherlands between 2003 and 2019 while she was raising her own two daughters according to Avatar Adi Da's principles. She was invited to join the Vision of Mulund Institute's board of directors in 2011, and has been on the board ever since. As a psychotherapist, she brings special interest and expertise in child development and mental health.
Madhuka Ranmuthu
Madhuka started serving Vision of Mulund Institute in 2020, as a trainee guide to Youth Fellowship members. She was asked to join the board of directors in 2022. She has been working since 2019 as a board--certified behavior analyst clinician for children with autism spectrum disorder and other developmental delays for the Department of Education and Clinics in the Hawaiian islands.
Kyle Truscott
Kyle Truscott is the proud father of two boys that he is grateful to raise according to Avatar Adi Da's principles. He has participated in many of the programs that the Vision of Mulund Institute offers, so when he was invited to join the board of directors in 2021, he was very happy to accept and serve the process of making Avatar Adi Da's wisdom available in the world.
Deb Emmett
Deb's background includes over 20 years of management and software implementation consulting, supporting clients in the technology and consumer/industrial product industries. She became a director on the Vision of Mulund Institute board in 2023 and also serves on the financial advisory committee. As a director, she brings her former experience as a board member for various other entities in Adidam.