The Board of directors meets once a month and works closely with the teachers. The Board welcomes items for discussion from the community members.

Board meetings are open and are generally held the last Wednesday of the month. For more information, please contact Jude at jude@stonecreekzen.org or Donna at donnalockhart2@gmail.com.

BOARD MEMBERS

Naomi Fuchs, Board Chair                                                                                Donna Lockhart, Vice Chair                                                                    
Richard Pierce, Treasurer
Laura Hansen, Secretary
Steve Isaacson, Building and Grounds
Jude Kreissman, Membership and Sangha Affairs
Sessei Meg Levie (Head Priest, non-voting)

 

Naomi Fuchs, Board Chair 
Naomi served for 40 years as a non-profit executive leader for local health care organizations. Mostly recently, she served as the CEO of Santa Rosa Community Health for 22  years. She has been practicing meditation (off and on) since she was about 13 years old and has studied various forms of spirituality including Tibetan Buddhism, Soto Zen, and Judaism. Her spiritual practice is a core to her life purpose and living in the world with a little bit of equanimity as well as her commitment to social justice and the wellbeing of all people. She sees being on the board as way to connect more deeply with people and the practice and, hopefully, to be of service to SCZC.

Donna Lockhart, Vice Chair
Donna began exploring meditation and body work many years ago. Through these practices, she experienced a greater sense of peace and well being. In 2014, after a long search, she found her spiritual home and began focused practice at Stone Creek Zen Center. Throughout her lifelong profession as a nurse (and ultimately geriatric nurse practitioner), she endeavored to touch other lives with an open heart. Now retired, she is honored to be part of the Stone Creek Zen Center board and to work alongside others who strive to embody the dharma and support the practice of Zen. She has a deep need for the natural world and treasures regular hikes along our beautiful local trails.

Richard Pierce, Treasurer

Richard began practicing with Stone Creek around 2006 and shortly thereafter became a member as well.  As a member, Richard has been enriched by the experience of practicing the dharma and engaging with the sangha, teachers, and like minded way-seekers, including taking on the precepts in 2008.  He served as the Secretary, and President of the Board in the past, and was one of a few key participants in the purchase of the building in 2016.  He has also been a co-coordinator / coordinator for our annual Zen Fest for several years, and will continue to be active in fund raising activities.  Buddhism has been an inspiration for him—to explore art in general, and specifically calligraphy / kanji and its connection to Japanese language and culture.  He is gratified and humbled to be serving on the Board once again, as Treasurer for Stone Creek Zen Center.

Laura Hansen, Secretary
Laura has been practicing Zen for 12 years and currently is one of the facilitators for the Stone Creek Next Gen Zen Group. She also teaches high school English at Sonoma Academy.

About her practice at Stone Creek, she says, “I love SCZC and our community. It feels like such a haven for me and really supports my practice. I also have so much love for this sangha, and feel I’ve gotten to know a broad range of lovely people through sitting on Sundays and in the morning, Next Gen Zen, ango, and our trip to Tassajara, and I’m really grateful for those experiences. I’m excited to give back to Stone Creek as a board member. I also really love how Stone Creek is growing, both in terms of expanding the sangha and the various practice offerings. I’d love to help steward that continued growth.”

Steve Isaacson, Buildings and Grounds
Steve became interested in Zen Meditation and philosophy in the late 1980s, studying at the San Francisco Zen Center, Tassajara Zen Mountain Center and Green Gulch Farm Zen Center. It became clear to him that Zen philosophy was the perfect fit for him. Now retired, Steve worked for many years in the Bay Area as a Professional Engineer specializing in construction management. He also, with a long time friend, started and ran a wholesale plant nursery in the Sebastopol area. After settling in Sonoma County he began looking for a home for his Zen Practice. Three years ago he connected with Stone Creek Zen Center and found that home and a year ago he was elected to the board. In addition to Stone Creek, Steve devotes his time to his family, several non-profits in the arts and in sustainable engineering projects in the third world as well as caring for the land he lives on and his two golden retrievers.”

Jude Kreissman, Membership and Sangha Affairs
After becoming lost in the Tassajara wilderness, Jude and a camping partner literally stumbled upon Tassajara Zen Center and joined the three-day sesshin then taking place. This began a 45 year exploration of Buddhist practice, which quickly became a
cornerstone of her life. Stone Creek has been her spiritual refuge fornearly 20 years. Jude loved working in education for 45 years, and loves retirement even more. Having time to be with family and friends, be outside, read, dance and travel are deeply restorative pleasures. It’s a privilege and a delight to be on the Stone Creek
board.