About Us

Wisdom Age Initiative is led by two American Theravada Buddhist monks ordained in Thailand. Behind them: a decade of licensed clinical practice in the United States, four self-published books, software designed and built in-house and used in 110 countries, and an executive team drawn from finance, technology, and higher education. A wide network of partners extends our reach when the work calls for it. A deliberately small core keeps it deep.

Meet the Team

Introducing

The Team

Co-Founder & Director

Venerable Nick Santacitto

Venerable Nick, previously a practicing psychotherapist and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT), has been ordained as a Theravada Buddhist monk in Thailand since 2018. His YouTube and other content captures his unique perspective by interweaving the tools of the mental health field and Buddhist wisdom into simple and practical guides to healing.

Venerable Nick has acquired a diverse range of professional experience from over a decade in the mental health field, including: being the lead clinician at a foster home for over 100 kids aged 12-18, being a program therapist at a drug treatment center in Malibu, California, being a bereavement counselor at a hospice, and being the founder and owner of his private practice True Nature Counseling Center in San Diego, California.

However, at the pinnacle of his professional success, Venerable Nick left it all behind to become a Buddhist monk in Thailand. He wanted to delve deeper into his own healing and become a more refined practitioner of the tools that he was teaching. It is his highest mission to share this knowledge with others in order to help them discover their true nature and live their most authentic lives.

Venerable Nick Santacitto

Co-Founder & Director

Venerable Michael Viradhammo

After discovering the healing power of Buddhism and meditation, Venerable Michael decided to abandon material pursuits, paid back his loans, and left his hometown of Atlanta, Georgia to become a Theravada Buddhist monk in Thailand where he has been ordained since 2017. Since then, Venerable Michael has helped with teaching meditation and wisdom to thousands of travelers at the Pa Pae Meditation retreat in Chiang Mai as well as teaching and mentoring men who ordain as monks through the international ordination program.

He is passionate about designing systems that solve repetitive problems and—alongside Venerable Nick—utilizes ancient wisdom and modern tech to co-create custom meditation and wisdom curriculums and programs tailored to the specific needs of leaders and organizations across many industries. He also leads Wisdom Age Initiative’s writing projects, runs events and retreats, and travels the world with Venerable Nick on a shared mission to bridge mental health with spiritual health. Venerable Michael is deeply dedicated to continuous spiritual cultivation, aligning his life with wisdom and well-being, and helping others do the same.

Venerable Michael Viradhammo

Co-Founder & Director

Head of Operations

Nolan Pokpongkiat

As head of operations, Nolan has pushed forward the mission in many ways including but not limited to: creating Simply Stretch - our online guided yoga library, technical and product design for L.I.G.H.T. House Retreats and Simply Still, emceeing and guiding mindful movement at candle light meditation events, and much, much more.

His B.S. of Computer Science from Berkeley, years of tech industry experience, yoga teacher certifications, and shared values of practicing and promoting the healing guidance from both eastern traditions and the mental health field(among other things) allows him to play a wide array of important roles and collaborate synergistically with Ven. Nick and Ven. Michael to co-create projects and bring them to life in ways far beyond the monks’ personal capabilities.

He often joins the monks on their travels and assists them in whatever way is needed while bringing an amazing energy to every group they seek to serve. The generosity of his time, energy, kindness, and skills has allowed the practical wisdom of the monks and his own expertise in mindful movement to reach, resonate with, and help a much broader audience.

Nolan Pokpongkiat

Head of Operations

Head of Financial Stewardship

Sam Marks

Sam Marks is a serial entrepreneur, investor, and seeker whose journey has taken him from building and exiting multimillion-dollar companies to exploring the inner landscape of the heart and mind. Despite achieving financial independence, running a successful investing podcast, and traveling to over 100 countries, Sam felt a deeper calling—one that couldn’t be fulfilled by external success alone. This inner pull led him to temporarily ordaining as a monk and aligning his life more deeply with introspection, meditation, and service.

Now serving as head of financial stewardship for the Wisdom Age Initiative, Sam manages and guides its financial systems to ensure its sustainability, to increase the impact its programs generate, and to allow the monks to more fully focus on self-cultivation and execution of wisdom projects. He is passionate about merging wisdom traditions with modern mental health to help others live with greater clarity, connection, and compassion, and the generosity of his time, resources, and expertise has greatly deepened Wisdom Age Initiative’s capacity to do precisely that.

Sam Marks

Head of Financial Stewardship

Head of Strategic Partnerships

Keith Perissi

Director of the Joel A. Katz Music & Entertainment Business (MEBUS) Program at Kennesaw State University, Keith Perissi began his career as a professionally touring musician — spending 15+ years on national tours and recording over five albums. He brings a lifetime of experience across touring, talent management, marketing, production, and entertainment-business entrepreneurship. It was at MEBUS that the Thai Theravada Buddhist blessings at the heart of WAI's Simply Heal program were recorded — chants created to promote physical and mental healing across a wide range of contexts.

Keith is also an avid meditator and practitioner of the monks' teachings, and the inner peace and clarity from that practice have deepened his effectiveness in every area of his life both professionally and personally. As WAI's Head of Strategic Relations, he brings exceptional communication skills, a vast network, and a clear vision which help him broker the opportunities that have and will continue to deepen the impact WAI’s programs have on a world hungry for wisdom and positive change. Keith’s impact on this organization cannot be understated, and his efforts are largely to thank for the expansion and deepening of its operations and achievement of its initiatives.

Keith Perissi

Head of Strategic Partnerships

In Their Words

Written in support of the work.

Excerpts from letters and statements, July–August 2026.

Chris Lerner

Group Chairman & Co-FounderThrive AlternativesOperating Partner, Bonaccord Capital Partners

They possess a rare combination of intellectual rigor, humility, compassion, and practical teaching ability [and] have become active partners in our leadership development efforts through carefully curated group workshops and individual one-on-one counseling sessions for our employees. The wisdom they teach is not abstract philosophy. It translates directly into becoming better leaders, better teammates, and better human beings. We’ve witnessed employees use [the practices they’ve taught] to navigate difficult conversations, manage stress during demanding fundraising and transaction processes, and approach challenges with greater clarity, resilience, and compassion. I give Venerable Nick and Venerable Michael my strongest possible recommendation.

George Zink

Owner & CEORCW Athletic ClubMaster Tennis Professional

They spent time one-on-one with our leadership team and staff, asked thoughtful questions, listened without judgment, and helped people understand themselves better. I watched people become more self-aware, take more ownership, communicate better, and grow as leaders. They also helped my son Tyler, a professional tennis player on the ATP tour, become a better competitor, but more importantly, they helped him become a healthier and happier young man. If someone asked me whether they should bring Ven. Nick and Ven. Michael into their organization, my answer would be yes without hesitation. They’ve made our team better. They’ve made our culture better. They’ve made my family better.

Shadi Beshai, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Psychological ScienceKennesaw State University

In regards to our joint-research project:

[Our collaboration depends on] their original metaphors, their understanding of the Buddhist concepts under examination, and their expertise in communicating complex contemplative ideas to real audiences — [teachings that] must come from teachers who have dedicated their lives to studying, practicing, and communicating these concepts. Their contribution is a distinct form of contemplative and pedagogical expertise, and the scientific credibility of [our] study rests on it. I write in full support of Venerable Michael and Venerable Nick.

Mike McQuary

CEO, JTEC EnergyFormer President, MindSpring

Our meet ups are always marked by intelligence, depth of discussion, honesty and hope. They truly want to make the world a better place, and that means making the people on the planet better people. They have an interesting perspective as Westerners who are monks on helping people. Their personal journeys have given them a toolset and pathway that they are eager to share with others. While centered around meditation and counseling, they are flexible and adaptable to meet the needs of those they work with. I give them my highest endorsement.