Christina (Chris) Monson first studied the Buddhist traditions of East Asia as an undergraduate student in religious studies at Brown University.  Her interest in learning more about Buddhism brought her to Nepal in 1989 where she had the fortune to meet the great Tibetan Buddhist masters Chatral Sangye Dorje Rinpoche and Tulku Urygen Rinpoche.  She studied with them, and then returned to the States to complete a graduate degree with a focus in Tibetan Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1993.   

Immediately afterward, she returned again to Nepal to continue learning from these teachers.  In 2000 Christina began working with the School for International Training’s semester abroad program in Nepal as a teacher for undergraduate students from American universities, and she continues to work in the field of international education today.  She is based in Kathmandu, and is pursuing further advanced study in Tibetan language and Buddhist philosophy from the Center for Buddhist Studies at Kathmandu University.