Gordon Wheeler

<p>In an email to the Weekly, Esalen President Gordon Wheeler explains that the institute has brought in more money than it spent every year since 2004, breaking records in attendance and revenue even through the catastrophic Big Sure fires of 2008 and a nationwide recession that won’t quit. Over that same period, Wheeler says, average staff salaries have risen by more than 30 percent, though the CEO position has only seen a 2-percent raise. Medical benefits are up 75 percent since 2005. Reserves now exceed debt, and more than $6 million, all of it from donor contributions and reserves, has gone toward capital improvements.

The institute’s 2010 IRS Form 990—the most recent year available online—reports almost $13.2 million in revenue and $12.3 million in expenses.</p>