Lydia Dugan

It is with deep gratitude and loving hearts that we remember Lydia Dugan, a cherished member of the ITPI Board of Directors, ITPI Treasurer  and a towering presence in the ITP community. Lydia co-founded ITP Houston in the summer of 1995 alongside Joe Hirsch, bringing the transformative spirit of Esalen and the work of Michael Murphy and George Leonard directly into her community. Under her co-leadership and enduring dedication, ITP Houston became the longest continuously active ITP group in the United States. It was entirely fitting that in 2014 she became the first ever recipient of the George and Annie Styron Leonard Service Award, a recognition that honored not only her contributions to ITP International but the spirit of wholehearted service she embodied throughout her life.

Lydia's connection to the human potential movement ran deep. She and her husband Al discovered Esalen in 1984 and found in it a true spiritual home. They studied with Michael Murphy and George Leonard, and the Dugan Foundation later sponsored Jeffrey Kripal's seminal history of Esalen as an expression of their lifelong devotion to this work. Lydia also served as a founding force behind the Houston IONS group, and her home became a beloved gathering place where countless people experienced genuine transformation.

To know Lydia was to be changed by her. As a teacher, mentor, and friend, she embodied the very ideals that ITP holds dear: an open heart, a courageous spirit, and an unshakeable belief in human possibility. We are profoundly grateful for her years of service to ITPI and for the light she brought to everyone fortunate enough to know her. She is deeply missed, and her legacy continues to inspire this community now, and our wish, for generations to come.