Our Board
Kerry Kelley, President, is one of the founding members of the Agni Institute, serving on the board from 2009 until 2013 as Secretary and Director. Kerry holds a Master of Science Degree from the Department of Plant, Soil, and Insect Sciences at UMASS, Amherst.
She is currently a Research Laboratory Operations Manager at the Yilmaz lab at the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT. Their research includes the study of stem cell self-regeneration in the intestine and how diet may influence cancer development. She joined MIT in 2008, first conducting Drosophila (fruit fly) telomere research for the Pardue Lab, and then investigating Saccharomyces cerevisiae (yeast) endoplasmic reticulum biochemistry for the Kaiser Lab.
Kerry brings her longtime interest in biological science, the environment, and humanitarian issues to Agni Institute in the hopes of a more balanced and enlightened world.
Maggie Bailey, Treasurer, is one of the founding members of the Agni Institute, serving as its first President, and later as Secretary; she currently serves as the Treasurer.
Maggie is the Executive Director of We Plant it Forward. Founded as a program of the Agni Institute, We Plant it Forward has spun off as a stand-alone nonprofit organization. We Plant it Forward, under Maggie’s leadership, continues to preserve and restore the natural environment for the benefit of future generations through hands-on activities, community engagement, and environmental education bringing harmony to all life.
Hector Ramos, Secretary, joined the board of the Agni Institute in 2020. He has served as the webmaster for Agni Institute and all of its associated projects since 2017.
Hector holds a Bachelor's degree in computer science and a Masters' degree in computational biology and has worked for over a decade in biotech and biomedical research supporting proteomics and cancer research. He currently works in the travel industry as a lead software engineer.
Hector continues to be fascinated by all aspects of life and brings his inquisitiveness to the Agni Institute to help broaden our understanding of human consciousness.
Matthew Breuer, Director, recently joined the board of Agni Institue after Quantal Research and AI merged in late 2022. Matthew is a co-founder and has been a long-term member of the Board of Advisers for the Agni Institute. He has an MS in Physics from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst and has been engaged in the design and development of particle detectors used in scientific instrumentation for over ten years. He was a co-founder of Quantal Research, a Western Massachusetts-based environmentally conscious research group investigating ways to improve electrical power generation.
He was a co-founder of the original Center for Peace through Culture based in New York City and served in various capacities including board member for seven years, three of those as president, and also was manager of the science group. He holds a BA in art from Lehman College (1979). Matthew has pursued studies and practical application of eastern philosophy for most of his life and brings to the Agni Institute a long-standing interest in building bridges between esoteric philosophies and rigorous science such that both are enhanced.
Brian Powell, Director, joined the board of the Agni Institute in 2020. Brian has a background in commercial and biomedical photography. Brian has a Bachelor of Social Work from the University of British Columbia and a Master of Social Work From Smith College and is a certified EMDR Trauma Therapist working with individuals with Complex PTSD.
His interest is research into the use of ultra-weak photon emissions in the ultraviolet (UV) spectrum radiated by metabolically active systems in humans, animals, plants, fungi, and bacteria. He is interested in exploring the identification of indicators of health or disease based on the characteristics of ultraviolet photon radiations.
Laura Parnell, Director, joined the board of the Agni Institute in 2021. Laura is an Educator who grew up in Colorado and lives in New Mexico. She earned BAs in German and English with a Secondary School Teaching Emphasis and Certification in Secondary Remedial Reading from Western State College in Gunnison Colorado. Her Post-Degree Education includes the University of New Mexico, the UNM Deutsche Sommer Schule in Taos, New Mexico, and a Study Abroad program at the University of Salzburg in Salzburg, Austria.
Her career spans 35 years, teaching High School German and English mostly at Del Norte High School in Albuquerque Public Schools. Beyond language acquisition, her coursework included Holocaust Studies emphasizing the importance of community understanding and acceptance of diversity. She served on her school Governance Board and as Department Chair and was on the Board of Albuquerque Public School's District Student Well-Being Program that focused on creating and maintaining a welcoming and safe student campus environment for our culturally diverse population.
Laura is retired and lives with her husband, Sam, in the Manzanita Mountains east of Albuquerque, New Mexico, where they raised their daughters. She maintains contact with many former students both in the US and abroad.
Sam Parnell, Director, joined the board of the Agni Institute in 2021. Samuel grew up on Air Force bases in SC, TX, and Puerto Rico until his family moved to Aurora, Colorado where he graduated from high school in 1968. He joined the Coast Guard Reserve in 1969 and served until 1976 mostly as a Second Class Engineman (E5) on the Point Winslow (WPB 82360) at Base YBI in San Francisco Bay doing SAR.
Sam attended Western State College in Gunnison, Colorado, and later moved to New Mexico where Sam taught in public schools for 38 years (language arts, social studies, reading, Latin, English, US/World History, and Govt).
He helped found an AFT local in Socorro, NM, and later served as an officer in the ABQ Teachers Federation.
Sam studied Latin and Classical/Medieval History at UNM, sponsored a chapter of the American Junior Classical League, took delegations to the annual convention ten times; and, led students and parents to the Mediterranean (1999-2007) to visit archeological sites in Italy, Greece, and Turkiye.
Sam is retired and lives with his wife, Laura, in the Manzanita Mountains east of Albuquerque, New Mexico, where they raised their daughters. She maintains contact with many former students both in the US and abroad.
Paul Williams, Director, joined the board of the Agni Institute in 2024. He has over 15 years of experience internationally in project management and business development in various environments.
During this time, he has had extensive experience in project planning, project delivery, financial budgeting, team building, contract management, technology procurement, and investment sourcing, for various projects both commercial and philanthropic.
Paul has been involved in project planning and implementation in several sectors including energy, agriculture, health, and the commercial sector, to facilitate the launching of projects that would be of benefit to local populations in the various environments in which he has worked.
He has extensive experience in providing consultancy in the public and private sectors, at national and provincial governmental levels, and has successfully secured financing for many projects in the different regions where he has operated.
Paul aims to assist the board of the Agni Institute in advancing its goals and to have a positive impact so that as many people as possible may benefit.