Charlie Goetzl is the Director of the Office of Practice and Education for the Shambhala Mandala.  He divides his time between Halifax and his home in Oakland, California, where he lives with his husband, Eric Fine.

Charlie holds a doctorate in psychology and education, focusing on group and organizational psychology, and spent 32 years working in the California State University system. His work as a student affairs counselor expanded to include group facilitation, leadership development, strategic planning, and organizational consultation. He was also active in his labor union — elected statewide president after 6 years, he led the union for the next 12 years.

Charlie became a student of Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche in 2001, and strove to integrate the Shambhala teachings into both his leadership of the union and his efforts to foster more collaborative labor relations in the University system. He has served the Berkeley Shambhala Center in various roles, and has staffed many programs (Shambhala Training levels, dathuns, ESA and SWA.)