Meet the Directors
David Spaw, Founder
Inspired from his personal experience of healing and by his friend, Michael Lerner, and Commonweal co-founder, David set out to bring Healing Circles to Texas. He lost two wives and a sister to cancer and was drawn to this modality as a pathway to discovery and healing accessible to all. Together with Susan Rafte, they assembled a team of volunteers, hosts, advisers and organizations who were passionate about sharing Healing Circles in community. In the time of Covid the local team joined forces with the global movement, training circle hosts in 32 countries and 22 healthcare institutions.
David is a retired corporate executive of a regional and international construction company. He has served on many nonprofit boards and community organizations, most recently at the Jung Center Houston, Community for Conscious Aging, the Greater Houston Healing Collaborative, and since 2016, as the Program Director of Commonweal overseeing the Texas initiative.
Becky Dodds, Director
Becky Dodds, MS, LPC is a psychotherapist and owner of Houston Area Therapy. Becky holds a Master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and is a Certified facilitator and supervisor with the Center for Mind-Body Medicine where she has worked with trauma recovery and healing. Becky’s interest in healing and post-traumatic growth drew her to train as a certified yoga instructor (RYT 200) with a focused study on trauma-sensitive practices. Healing Circles Houston has been an integral part of her journey, and she served the community as a host, guardian, and trainer.
Lindsay Espejel, Director
Lindsay Espejel is a registered nurse with 15 years of experience in a variety of nursing specialties. Her journey of healing and desire for community drew her to Healing Circles Houston and ignited a commitment to bring Healing Circles to nurses as a community of care for the caregiver. She has been instrumental in bringing Healing Circles to several Texas Medical Center healthcare organizations.
Lindsay initiated and led the national launch of Healing Circles Healthcare organizational training at Houston Methodist Hospital and led a multidisciplinary quality improvement project team at the Houston VA which demonstrated a 14% decrease in work-related stress and improvements in a sense of trust, support, and community, which are critical to provider well-being. Lindsay completed Healing Circles research as a part of her Doctor of Nursing Practice degree in Integrative Health and Healing in 2023. Lindsay has been part of the Healing Circles Healthcare Leadership Team since 2018 and now holds the position of Co-Director of Healing Circles Global at Commonweal.