About SFZCCity CenterGreen GulchTassajara

 
HomeSFZCGovernance

Welcome to New Board Members

In November 2012 four new members were approved by the SFZC voting membership., the SFZC Board nominated this year’s Slate of Candidates for three-year Board terms. Each new member has demonstrated a deep commitment to practice and to Zen Center. Their areas of expertise are needed on the Board, and they have clearly demonstrated their qualifications and capacity to lead, focus and guide Zen Center through these challenging times.

The new Board members are:



Bruce Fortin

I was a resident at the City Center, Tassajara, but primarily at Green Gulch, from 1971-1984. I was ordained a priest in 1977 and received transmission from Norman Fischer in 2003. While at Zen Center I served as Director at Green Gulch, Director of the Neighborhood Foundation (then Zen Center's community outreach organization) and as Zen Center’s Vice President. My other life experiences include: teaching high school in the Peace Corps in Uganda, practicing as a mediation attorney and serving as the Executive Director of a Hospice for eight years. Currently I am a psychotherapist in private practice in Santa Rosa and the founding and guiding teacher of the Occidental Laguna Sangha. I often co-teach retreats with my wife, Chris, also a Zen priest. We have one son, Evan, who was born at Green Gulch. Dharma practice is a most precious gift; anything I can do to help people receive that gift is a gift to me.
 
Fu Schroeder

At the recent celebration of Zen Center's 50th year, I felt the joyful undertone of generations of Buddhists chanting and walking together in their commitment to the possibility of a more tender way of life. Zen Center continues to be a place of refuge and inspiration as it struggles to meet this new world we are inhabiting. I would like very much to continue supporting the life of this community for the benefit of everyone.

My past work at Zen Center has included a number of positions including construction crew, kitchen crew, guest cook, ino, guest program, childcare, director of GGF, vice-president, head of development and tanto. I am a Dharma heir of Tenshin Reb Anderson. Currently I am engaged at Zen Center as a practice leader, as the director of the children's programs and whenever I can, in the kitchen. Having sat on the Zen Center board many years ago I look forward to learning from the changes that have taken place in our governing process. I am also currently sitting on the board of the Marin Community Foundation as the appointee of the Marin Interfaith Council and hope to bring the wider perspective I have received from the work of those two organizations to the Zen Center board. I sincerely thank all of you for your on-going support of my life and practice at Zen Center.
 
Helen Degenhardt

I was born, raised and educated in Germany, receiving my engineering degree in architecture from the Technical University at Darmstadt. Since 1990, I have worked as an architect with Zen Center, together designing and completing approximately 10 projects, in Tassajara, Green Gulch and at Greens Restaurant. In addition to working with SFZC, my firm, JSWD Architects, has worked extensively with a number of other spiritual communities: Spirit Rock Meditation Center, Abhayagiri and the Berkeley Society of Friends. Another important focus of our firm’s work is affordable and senior housing.

I consider myself very fortunate in having worked with Zen Center for all these years because it has taught me, among other things, how to listen closely, work in a mindful way within a diverse community and be aware of one's own expectations.

I also served on the board of the Zen Hospice Project for a number of years.
 
Dennis McNally

I first encountered Buddhism many years ago while researching a biography of Jack Kerouac, but only established my own practice four years ago, when I began to sit at City Center. Without any particular conscious plan, I became increasingly involved, first in Saturday Sangha, then in the evening zazen doanryo, then as a student of Jordan Thorn. I took the precepts at my jukai in the Fall of 2011.

Having served as a volunteer on the Board of Trustees and with the Development Committee (which I currently chair) of the ACLU of Northern California for nearly 20 years , I offered my experience to the Zen Center and became part of this past year’s Leadership Program, which has led to this invitation to serve on the Board. As my practice has deepened, it has become clear to me that service is an essential element, and one I cherish more and more.

My background has been in the academic world (a Ph.D. at the University of Massachusetts in History) and then, oddly, in the music business, where I went from researching a biography of the Grateful Dead (which was finally published in 2002) to becoming the band’s publicist from 1985 until 2008. I remain a consultant in publicity and promotion for various musicians. My wife Susana Millman and I have a daughter, son-in-law, and two very lovely grandsons.