BIOGRAPHY
Mentor for Mindfulness and Meditation Practice: Advisor for executives, 21+ years as ordained Zen Buddhist priest; 6+ years of monastic training as Zen monk; Buddhist meditation teacher and retreat leader; teaching mindfulness meditation in secular settings; Advanced training in Thai Forest Vipassana, Tibetan Buddhist, and Soto Zen Buddhist principles and practices; 20+ years as leader of two international organizations dedicated to promoting mindfulness meditation.
Guide for Personal and Organizational Transformation: 10+ years as nonprofit CEO guiding national organizations; several Leadership roles as executive; 8+ years managing staff of 150+ employees.
Advisor for the Development of 21st Century Skills: I help leaders understand essential traditional wisdom principles and practices in order to grow as human beings and develop their innate capacities to meet today’s challenges. I advise leaders in the following areas:
- Developing a greater sense of self-awareness and embodied presence;
- Managing stress and anxiety, finding balance, calm, focused attention, and equanimity;
- Embracing the learning of positive habits, spiritual growth, and personal development;
- Responding skillfully to rapid change and uncertainty, agility in the face of obstacles;
- Engaging in prosocial behavior, acting with authenticity and ethical integrity;
- Becoming more resilient, navigating challenging situations, and recovering from failure;
- Cultivating compassion, kindness, and empathy, for oneself and others;
- Clarifying priorities and intentions for deeper meaning, purpose, and fulfillment;
- Increasing emotional intelligence, ability to connect, and appreciate differences;
- Ability to cooperate, collaborate, and function effectively as a servant leader;
- Risk-taking, creative adaptation, innovation, boldness, and seeing new possibilities.
WORK HISTORY
- Senior Advisor, CCG 2020––present
Affiliated with group dedicated to helping international clients learn and implement traditional wisdom principles and practices for a wide variety of business contexts. - Founder/CEO, MeditationLab. 2020––present
Founding leader of startup online platform bringing people together to support each other to - establish a regular meditation practice and contribute positively to broader societal change.
- Executive Director (CEO), Mindful Schools. 2017––2019, 2+ years
Led the world’s preeminent mindfulness training organization for educators, training over - 50,000 K-12 educators to have a mindfulness practice and impacting over 3 million students.
- Business Consultant and Coach, San Francisco and Vienna, Austria. 2016––2017, 2+ years, bringing traditional wisdom principles and practices to business leaders.
- Zen Buddhist Teacher. 2003––current, 18+ years
- Buddhist teacher (highest level of teaching authority in Zen Buddhism) leading meditation retreats, workshops, classes in U.S. and globally.
- Director of Online Initiatives, SFZC 2013––2016
- online courses and virtual offerings on Zen Buddhist practice.
- President/Executive Director (CEO), San Francisco Zen Center. 2005––2013, 8+ years
- Led the largest Zen Buddhist community outside of Asia. Responsible for overseeing all business activities of an $11M+ organization with a 200-person staff, developing dozens of organizational leaders and managing a complex mix of commercial business activities.
- Director, San Francisco Zen Center’s City Center Temple. 2003––2005, 2 years
Other Professional Experience. 1984––1993, 10 years
- Founding Partner of iconic San Francisco restaurant and club (1990––93). • Editor and Creative Director of two San Francisco lifestyle magazines (1988––90). • Founder/Director of San Francisco-based film production company (1984––88).
EDUCATION
- Integral Leadership Coaching, New Ventures West, SF, CA. 2016––2017
- Zen Buddhist Teacher Training, Tassajara Zen Mountain Center. 1994––2000
- Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ. 1978––1983. Majored in fine art, graphic design, video art and filmmaking