Esalen CEO Tricia McEntee and Guest Services Director Jan Sinclair today carried out the “termination” of two long-time Esalen contributors and community members, at the behest of Esalen Chairman Sam Yau. The terminations are effective immediately.

Esalen Office Manager Kathleen Kleinsmith, whose humanity and evenhandedness often checked Esalen’s increasing focus on hard-line management practices, is no longer with the Institute.

Esalen Gate Manager Eric Erickson, who studied extensively with Esalen co-founder Dick Price and carried the traditions of Gestalt practice and teaching, is no longer with the Institute.

Eric and Kathleen were both major voices in Esalen Community Meetings and other organizational processes, carrying a critical awareness of Esalen’s unique social and institutional qualities. Their removal from Esalen heralds an acceleration in Sam Yau’s plan to transform the Institute from a culturally unique institution focused on learning-in-community, into a resort-hotel focused on efficiency and consumer expectations.