Ani Drolma has spent over ten years as a student of Lama Tendar at The Medicine Buddha Tantrayana Meditation Centre.  She recently became a nun in a special ceremony officiated by Lama’s own teacher, Gen Norsang, at Gyuto Monastery in Dharamshala, India.  During her time with Lama Tendar, she has attended many courses on the principal deities, notably two long Yamantaka Retreats including 100,000 mantra of the key mantras, a long Vajrasattva Retreat with the mantra recitation and a long Tara Retreat in August. She has attended four Indian pilgrimages, one including Nepal, visits to sacred sites in Varanasi, Bodghya, Lumbini - two audiences with His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama and numerous teachings and empowerments with His Holiness and other high Lamas.

Ani Drolmas’s spiritual journey started very young - she insisted on going to Sunday School with her friends - inspite of her parents “weddings, baptisms and funerals” approach to Anglicanism. After reading, and being very moved by Paramhansa Yogananda’s inspirational work, “Autobiography of a Yogi”, she studied Transcendental Meditation while still in her teens.  In her early 20’s she left her New Zealand homeland and ventured to Perth, Western Australia, where she completed her undergraduate degree, majoring in Literature. At the same time, she was tossing up between a Christian spiritual journey or one with an Indian guru.  That “sliding door” decision resulted in her spending 15 years as part of an esoteric community dedicated to studying the early Christian mystics and where she became a Deacon – singing in a choir, giving sermons, attending Healing services and so on – she would have become a “free priest”, ironically in a burgundy robe, if she had stayed.

 During that time Ani-la’s career morphed from secondary school teaching at Methodist Ladies College in Kew to becoming a Senior Account Director for an advertising agency and finally to Executive Coaching. As Karilyn Fazio she started her own business in 2002, obtaining a Master in Organisational Coaching (with Merit) from the University of Sydney. While running her business,  she provided one-on one coaching, on-going mentoring and culture and team development to many CEO’s, Partners, Directors and Academics from companies as diverse as PricewaterhouseCoopers, Minter Ellison, nab, Nestlé, Intimo,  Charles Darwin University, CSIRO, Fonterra, Transurban, Hallmark, The University of Adelaide, CBRE, King & Wood Mallesons,  Lindt and  Honda.

Karilyn Fazio also facilitated workshops and provided dynamic team coaching to many leadership and management teams, both face to face and on zoom.  She facilitated change and leadership development for companies such as Nestlé, Transurban, SPAusnet, The University of Adelaide, Charles Darwin University and Intimo; she designed and delivered customised programs in Leadership Development, Women in Leadership, Team Development and Cultural Transformation and Coaching and Communication skills. She is a dynamic, engaging , funny and deeply wise presenter.

Ani Drolma has a new name, a new forever hairstyle, new burgundy coloured clothing and a new role!  She has resigned as the Director of her Executive Coaching business but is continuing to offer Coaching from A Buddhist Perspective or Coaching with a Buddhist Lens.