Chad Kipfer, senior architect at Caddis Collaborative, has been a practicing Buddhist and daily meditator for many years. Chad’s practice is informed by deep study. “It brings me joy to do these studies and bring that into my life,” he says. “That’s my path.”

Chad studied with Ethan Nichtern in his year-long program in Buddhist studies. Nichtern is the author of The Road Home: A Contemporary Exploration of the Buddhist Path. Chad also completed a 100-hour mindfulness meditation teaching certification with David Nichtern (Ethan’s father) through Dharma Moon and Tibet House US.

Currently, Chad is studying The Joy of Living meditation program with Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche. This program focuses on awareness, love, compassion, and wisdom and shows you how to apply that to your daily life.

“I bring this practice into my professional life at Caddis by being mindful,” says Chad. “To me, this means being present with whatever’s coming up – not being reactive but being responsive and approaching whatever is happening with presence and my creativity.”

“When I come into work,” he says, “I try to be a good human being and work with everybody and just deal with the situations that come up in a state of presence instead of stress.”