Suvira (Nisakorn Wanaphong) was born in Nakhon Sawan, north of Bangkok in Thailand. After graduating from Sri Nakharinwirot University, Phitsanuloke Campus, she moved to Phuket and worked there for 5 years in her family business resort and in a bank.  Then she moved to Bangkok and worked in a computer company.

After she attended a 10 day meditation retreat course lead by Upasika Khun Runjuan Indrakamhaeng and others in 1992, her perception of life had totally changed and deep interest in Dhamma practice became established in her.

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Caroline Leinster has lived at Amaravati since 2005 and is now the librarian. 
Born in London in 1954, she moved to Newcastle upon Tyne in 1977 to study sociology and social policy.  After a career with urban voluntary organisations and training in psychosynthesis psychotherapy she decided she needed the support and challenges of living as part of a spiritual community 24 hours a day.  She is finding Amaravati provides her with what she was looking for.
Caroline discovered vipassana at Harnham Monastery near Newcastle in 1987; she is a Trustee of the Magga Bhavaka Trust, who are the lay stewards for Harnham. 

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Joshua was born in Northallerton, Yorkshire, and moved to Ireland in the early seventies. He worked in retail for 20 years. During this time Joshua explored different spiritual paths and became interested in Buddhism in 1999. He attended a 10 day workshop at Kagyu Samye Ling, then visited Amaravati for one week, then ten days, then a month. Eventually Joshua moved to Amaravati as a long term lay resident and has been groundsman since 2003.

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Maria was born and grew up in Bremen, former West Germany. She studied at the Universities in Goettingen and Braunschweig and gained a degree in Psychology. She moved to London to train as a Radix-teacher - a type of body therapy based on Wilhelm Reich - while she supported herself working as a coffee roaster.

She worked for 3 years as therapist in London before she moved to East Norfolk. She joined Social Services and worked with adults with physical, mental and learning disabilities and later with children with disabilities, as well as their parents and carers.

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