OUR BOARD
Jake Pinnick
President/Co-Founder
Jake Pinnick is based in China, where he trains, teaches, and writes while cultivating a substantial cross-cultural media presence. With permanent residency and deep immersion in the Chinese martial arts world, his work reaches wide audiences across Chinese and Western platforms, establishing him as a prominent ambassador for Wudang Daoism between cultures. Through digital media, translation, and public engagement, he actively interprets and transmits traditional practice to a global audience.
Simon Cox
Vice President/Co-Founder
Simon Cox is a scholar of religion, founder of the Subtle Body Initiative at the Esalen Center for Theory and Research, and a 16th-generation disciple of the Wudang Sanfeng Lineage. His work explores the intersections of Daoism, embodiment, martial arts, and contemplative practice through both academic research and lived cultivation. Together with his wife Brandi Beckett, he co-founded Okanagan Valley Wudang in British Columbia, where he teaches traditional Chinese martial arts and internal cultivation practices while helping foster dialogue between scholarly and practitioner communities.
Jeff Reid
Vice President/Co-Founder
Jeff Reid is the founder of Wudang Santa Cruz, author of Leaving the Mountains: A Daoist Journey from Obscurity to Modernity, and a 16th-generation disciple of the Wudang Sanfeng Lineage. His work focuses on preserving and translating Daoist martial, ritual, and alchemical traditions into a contemporary context through teaching, writing, public lectures, and community building. Through his school, research, and international collaborations, he has become an active voice in the ongoing transmission and revitalization of the Wudang tradition beyond China.
Brandi Beckett
Secretary
Brandi Beckett is a 16th-generation disciple and lineage holder of the Wudang Sanfeng Lineage. She is co-founder of Okanagan Valley Wudang in British Columbia, Canada, and serves as secretary of the Wudang Sanfeng International Association. She is a former Executive Director of a nonprofit organization and a recipient of a regional award recognizing excellence in nonprofit leadership. With experience in governance and organizational management, she contributes to the structured development and international transmission of the Wudang Sanfeng Lineag
Melanie Beckett
Treasurer
Melanie is the Accounts Manager for a local construction company, where she specializes in bookkeeping and accounting operations. She also owns and teaches at her own martial arts school, combining her passion for martial arts with a strong commitment to community and personal growth. As a fellow disciple of the Wudang Sanfeng lineage, she is honored to serve as Treasurer for the International Wudang Sanfeng Association alongside her former classmates and extended martial arts family. She is dedicated to supporting the association with integrity, care, and respect for the traditions of the lineage.
Cao Lingling
Director of China Relations
Cao Lingling is a fifteenth-generation disciple of the Wudang Sanfeng lineage. She previously worked at the Wudang Jack Sino-Foreign Cultural Exchange Center, where she was responsible for media operations, filming and editing, and institutional partnership coordination. Going forward, she will serve in a dedicated role overseeing international publicity and outreach for the IWSA. She completed the Advanced Cultural Communication Elite Program at the Communication University of China and received both the Outstanding Young Communicator Award and the Benchmark IP Award in her field. She also holds a High-Quality Broadcaster Certificate issued by the China Federation of Internet Societies. In 2022, she received the Best Guidance Award at the global “Chinese Bridge” Chinese Proficiency Competition Storytelling Event for Foreigners. Her work has long focused on the preservation of Wudang culture and the international transmission of Chinese culture across linguistic and cultural boundaries.
