[1] The organization lists as its spiritual advisors (past and present): Robert Baker Aitken Roshi, Pema Chödrön, Roshi Bernie Glassman, Roshi Joan Halifax, Father Thomas Keating, Jack Kornfield, Stephen Levine, John Daido Loori, Thrangu Rinpoche, Sharon Salzberg, Joseph Goldstein, Venerable Thubten Chodron, and Jon Kabat-Zinn The organization was founded by Fleet Maull in 1989 when he was serving a 14-year sentence for drug trafficking.
[3][4] He had spent significant time studying and practicing meditation in the tradition of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche.
[5] He also completed a master's degree in psychology at Naropa University before his conviction[1] and then incarceration in 1985.
While conducting the hospice program, he served time at the U.S. Medical Center for Federal Prisoners (MCFP) in Springfield, Missouri, the hospital for federal prisoners.
[4] Prison Dharma Network has been run since 1999 by Executive Director Vita Pires (fka Kate Crisp), Ph.D. Other projects of the nonprofit are the Center for Mindfulness in Public Safety and the Engaged Mindfulness Institute.