EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
&
STAFF
Geoff

GEOFF SHŌUN O’KEEFFE

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Geoff Shōun is a Dharma Holder and has been practicing in the White Plum lineage since his first introduction at ZCLA in 1975. With his family, he lived and practiced at ZCLA from 1984-'86, studied with Joko Beck in San Diego into the early 90's, and has been a student of Gerry Shishin Wick, Roshi, Roshi Ilia Shinko Perez of Great Mountain Zen Center and Paul Gyodo Agostinelli, Sensei of Eon Zen Center, near Boulder Colorado. Shōun has three adult children and three grandchildren. He has been the Zen Peacemakers Executive Director since early 2020.

Jim

JIM HŌDEN FRICKER

MEDIA / MEMBERSHIP DIRECTOR

Jim Hoden Fricker grew up near the Zen Mountain Monastery where he first began studying under John Daido Loori. He has a bachelor's degree in Jazz Performance and Pedagogy, and a life long interest in media production (audio engineer, podcast producer, website management). Hōden is currently studying with Paul Gyodo Agostinelli and the Eon Zen Center Sangha.

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Clotilde (Chloe) Wright

EVENTS & COMMUNICATIONS SPECIALIST

Clotilde (Chloe) Wright holds a BA in Anthropology from the University of Washington and an MFA from Naropa University. She is grateful to work for ZP, an organization working to bring people together who are engaged in a contemplative practice and who aspire to alleviate suffering in the world. She is also the Managing Editor for Zen Peacemakers' Haiku Page.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Willie

WILLIE MUKEI SMITH

BOARD MEMBER

Willie Mukei Smith is a Zen student at The Village Zendo, where he co-leads the People of Color Sitting Group. He is also a psychoanalyst with a private practice and a member of both the Buddhist Council of New York and New York Disaster Interfaith Service and Episcopal Priest.

Lilli

LILLI MÖSLER

BOARD MEMBER

Lilli first came to the Auschwitz Bearing Witness Retreat with her two siblings after her father had been to the retreat. Since her first attendance, she has come back almost every year since. Since her childhood, together with her family, she has been a student of Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche of the Tibetan Bon tradition. She became a student of Bernie and his three Tenets to find a more engaged way of practicing and completed the Bearing Witness Training Program. She is living in Nuremberg, Germany and working as a Psychotherapist in her own practice.

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JORGE KOHO MELLO, SENSEI

BOARD MEMBER

Jorge Koho Mello Sensei is Co- Spiritual Director of the Zen Peacemaker Order. He is ordained in the Soto Zen tradition by Coen Souza Rōshi (2008, Brazil), Shusso by Junnyu Kuroda Rōshi (2019, Japan), and Sensei at ZPO by Barbara Salaam Wegmüller Rōshi (2018, Switzerland). Koho have experiences as Street Retreat leader (authorized by Genro Roshi) and as participant/buddhist officiant at Auschwitz-Birkenau BW retreat.

Chris Panos

CHRISTOPHER PANOS, ROSHI

CHAIRMAN

Chris Panos, Roshi, is currently a founder and principal of Fundamental Investment Advisors. He has studied Tibetan Buddhism, Korean Zen, and American Japanese Zen since 1975 and recently became a Dharma holder in the Zen Peacemakers lineage.

Paco

FRANCISCO PACO LUGOVIÑA, ROSHI

BOARD MEMBER

Francisco is the co-founder of the Hudson River Peacemaker Center: House of One People, in Yonkers, New York. He works with gang members and youth and has participated in Bearing Witness Retreats and pilgrimages to Tibet, Auschwitz-Birkenau, India, Sri Lanka, Rwanda, as well as on the streets of New York City and other US cities.

Mark-Eckhardt-1

MARK ANSHIN ECKHARDT

BOARD MEMBER

Mark ``Anshin`` Eckhardt studied Zen Buddhism under the auspices of Bill Yoshin Jordan, Abbot of the Santa Monica Zen Center from 1997 to 2011. He took his first set of Priest vows in 2007 and completed his full ordination in 2008.

Grant-Couch

GRANT COUCH, SENSEI

BOARD MEMBER

Grant Couch worked for over 40 years in the financial services industry, with a focus on commercial and investment banking. In 1990 Grant began to explore various spiritual paths and eventually studied with many Tibetan, Zen and Vipassana teachers. After attending the 2010 Bearing Witness Retreat in Auschwitz he began working closely with Bernie. Now retired, Grant is focused on finding a bi-partisan solution to the challenging nexus of energy and global warming while never taking his eyes off the need for America to face its racial history and trauma

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SAM SOKYO RANDALL

BOARD MEMBER

Sokyo (she/her) is a senior Zen student in the White Plum lineage with Eon Zen Center and also practices at Great Mountain Zen Center. Originally trained as an architect, Sokyo is the former executive director of the Arbor Institute and a member of GreenFaith, a global interfaith climate and environmental coalition. She currently leads trauma-informed meditation for teens and young adults in mental health and addiction recovery.

Tani-Katz

TANI KATZ

TREASURER, BOARD MEMBER

Tani is an expert in conducting, consulting and leading organizational development processes such as growth, excellence, data management and innovation. He is a lecturer in the master’s program of organizational development, Business School, Tel-Aviv University.

YEAR LONG VOLUNTEERS, AUSCHWITZ RETREAT
Lilli

LILLI MÖSLER

AUSCHWITZ RETREAT COORDINATOR

Lilli first came to the Auschwitz Bearing Witness Retreat with her two siblings after her father had been to the retreat. Since her first attendance, she has come back almost every year since. Since her childhood, together with her family, she has been a student of Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche of the Tibetan Bon tradition. She became a student of Bernie and his three Tenets to find a more engaged way of practicing and completed the Bearing Witness Training Program. She is living in Nuremberg, Germany and working as a Psychotherapist in her own practice.

Joanna

JOANNA JAKUBOWICZ

AUSCHWITZ RETREAT COORDINATOR

Joanna has been practicing Zen since 1996 within the Kanzeon Sangha in Poland and recognized as a Dharma Holder from her teacher Małgosia Braunek Roshi. Her first Auschwitz Retreat began in 2011, eventually became a staff member. Joanna spends much of her time working as a Home Affairs Manager within a graphic design studio in Warsaw, Poland.