Tova Green (she/her) resided at San Francisco Zen Center’s three temples from 1999 to 2025, when she moved to Enso Village, a Zen-inspired senior living community in Healdsburg, CA. She was ordained in 2003 and received Dharma transmission from Eijun Linda Cutts in 2015. She held many monastic positions, including director, vice president, ino (head of the meditation hall), and Branching Streams Director, supporting and connecting more than 75 Zen centers and sanghas in the Suzuki Roshi lineage.
Tova co-founded SFZC’s Queer Dharma group and was involved in Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging initiatives during her years as a resident. She has worked with people approaching death as both a hospice social worker and a volunteer coordinator. She also worked with Eijun Linda Cutts and others to compile When Blossoms Fall, A Zen Guide for Death and Dying, published by San Francisco Zen Center.
A writer for many decades, Tova especially enjoys reading and writing poetry. She has participated in retreats led by Jane Hirshfield, Naomi Shihab Nye, Ellen Bass, and other poets. Her poems have appeared in several journals and anthologies.
She began studying the cello in fourth grade and continues to seek opportunities to play chamber music and sing with others.