Soon after her first husband Lyttle died in 1977, she helped to found a home-care hospice in Santa Cruz, and served as Staff Trainer and Director.
In 1980 she met Sogyal Rinpoche in California and became his student, and founded Rigpa Fellowship in America, serving as its director for eight years.
Serving as International Education Director for twenty years, Christine taught teams of trainers in nine countries, who together brought the vision of compassionate care for the dying and bereaved to over 30,000 people.
She co-authored and was core faculty for a pioneering nine-month training, with residential and online modules, titled 'Contemplative End of Life Care', initially hosted and accredited by Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado.
Since 1978, Christine Longaker gave in-service trainings, grand rounds talks for doctors, and keynote addresses at conferences related to compassion and hospice and palliative care, in the US, Australia, and Europe.