Susan Lorraine (Szpakowski) has been studying Buddhism since 1975, first as a student of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche and since 2016 with Lama Tsultrim Allione and the Tara Mandala community. She was introduced to the five wisdoms at Naropa Institute (now University) in the late 1970s and in a three-month residential retreat in 1985. She has also studied the mandala with Lama Tsultrim in the context of feminine expressions of wisdom, as outlined in her book Wisdom Rising. In 2023 Lama Tsultrim encouraged Susan to begin sharing some of the teachings from her lineage of Machig Labdrön, conferring the title Chögé, or “virtuous dharma teacher.”

In 2017 Susan co-founded How We Thrive, a nonprofit in Nova Scotia/Mi’kma’ki, which hosts gatherings and events related to climate change, decolonizing and community resilience. In 2021 she co-designed a podcast series on the Nature of Hosting, connecting the wisdom of the elements with voices and stories from communities across the province. She continues to play a role in How We Thrive and is also currently hosting monthly day-long explorations of refuge and the wisdom of the elements at Blue Forest Shores, on the Eastern Shore.