Sooz Appel was introduced to Vipassana meditation in 1983 at a death and dying retreat with Stephen Levine. Later that year, she and two friends established Shanti Seattle, which offered emotional support to people who were dying. She joined SIMS when it formed and served on the Board and as President from 2001-2003. Over the years, Sooz has filled nearly every volunteer position in SIMS and continues to give of her time and energy to the sangha. In addition to issues of death and dying, Sooz has offered mindfulness opportunities (classes and retreats) to teenagers through both the Seattle Teen Mindfulness Circle and Inward Bound Mindfulness Education (iBme).

Sooz is semi-retired having spent 25 years running a recycling company with her life partner. She now helps to manage their commercial property with its dozen small business tenants.

If you would like to schedule a an individual practice meeting with Sooz, click here to send a request via e-mail. To learn more about practice meetings, please visit our Individual Practice Meeting page for more information.