Governance

We also have an Ethics Committee which responds to issues where a sangha member at any level may have caused harm to another through their words and actions.

Guided by Zen Center Abbot Hojin Sensei, the Temple Advisory Council is made up of lay students who help make decisions concerning ZCNYC—Fire Lotus Temple.

Led by ZMM Abbot Shugen Roshi and the executive committee, the Board of Directors oversees financial matters and works on a consensus basis to make decisions related to the general functioning of the Mountains and Rivers Order. (See below for more info.)

Another facet of the MRO’s governance, the Board of Governors, includes all active sangha members, and meets every five years to discuss, reflect on, and envision the future of the Order.  For a look at the suggestions and ideas that came out of our most recent Board of Governors meeting in 2020, click here.

Our newest leadership body is the Sangha Harmony Advisory Council. Please see below for a full description of SHAC.

The Board meets each quarter and is comprised of 16 members: lay students, monastics and teachers who each serve a four-year term, with the option to be reappointed for a second term. A goal of board membership is inclusion and diversity in all its many forms. Aside from full time monastics, the board includes lay students with an array of professional backgrounds. Currently and within the past decade, this has included health care workers, business and accounting specialists, teachers, attorneys, consultants, social workers, artists, writers and more. Along with their personal, professional, and vocational activities, they bring decades of experience in the dharma and, specifically, commitment within the MRO sangha.

New Board members are nominated by the MRO teachers in collaboration with the Nominating Committee, a subcommittee of the Board, and members are voted on by the Board itself. The Nominating Committee’s purpose is to create transparency and inclusion in the Board selection process in order to ensure that the MRO Board is strong, well-functioning and represents the diversity of the broader sangha.

The Board meetings are open to all MRO students to attend as observers. At present, the Board is meeting via Zoom. Formal students who are interested in observing can read the guidelines here.  Meetings are held quarterly.

The Board welcomes feedback on matters that individuals feel should be addressed. To raise a concern, you can contact a Board member directly, or email zmmtrain@dharma.net. For matters related to MRO Ethical Guidelines or to contact our Ethics Committee, please see below. 

In 2026 the board meeting will meet on Sundays, March 8, June 7, August 30, and December 6 from 1:15 to 3:00 pm EST. Formal training students who wish to attend as observers should read these guidelines and email  board-secretary@dharma.net no later than 5pm the day before the meeting to request a zoom link to attend. Zoom participants will be sent a link on the morning of the scheduled meeting.

Current Board of Directors

Geoffrey Shugen Arnold

Roshi

Roshi is the Head of the Mountains and Rivers Order, abbot and resident teacher of Zen Mountain Monastery. Shugen entered full-time residential training in 1986 after studying mathematics and receiving a degree in classical music. He received dharma transmission from John Daido Loori, Roshi in 1997. His teachings on Zen, social justice and environmental stewardship have appeared in various Buddhist journals.

Dan Chikyuu Donohue

Board Chair

Dan Chikyuu Donohue has been a formal MRO student since 2013 and received Jukai in 2022. He’s spent over 20 years developing and managing educational programs in the U.S. and around the world. He currently serves as the Executive Director of the New York Society for Ethical Culture. He’s a passionate environmental advocate and activist for a number of organizations in New York and supports the sangha’s ongoing climate justice initiatives. Dan lives in Brooklyn with his wife, daughter, and dog.

Jessica Shokei Ludwig

Board Secretary

Jessica Shokei Ludwig became a formal student in 2015 and received Jukai in 2021. Based in Brooklyn with her partner Paul and dog Bosco, she has worked in museum management for over 20 years. She currently serves as the Deputy Director of the Morgan Library & Museum, which is a museum, research library, music venue, and historic site in Manhattan.

Michele Seisan Laura

Board Treasurer

Michele Seisan Laura became an MRO student in 2018 and received Jukai in April 2022. A participant in the BIAPOC affinity group and the Ecosattva Initiative. she joined the MRO Board in 2024. Seisan is a former Certified as a Public Accountant and has worked in Corporate Accounting as well as training in yoga and dance and earning a Black Belt in Karate. While raising her children Seisan settled on the intimacy of personal accounting, administration and organization through Life Management Coaching.  She offers non-profit accounting services as seva, and for more than 20 years she has been supporting ease-full life, body and mind experiences through Life Management Coaching, certified yoga therapy and teaching.

Ajay Shinyu Chandra

Ajay Shinyu Chandra (they/he) has been practicing within the MRO since 2017, became a formal student of Hojin Sensei in 2020, and received Jukai in 2024. They hold a PhD in mathematics and  currently teach and conduct research in probability theory at a university. They also have a practice of community organizing, especially around housing and disability justice. 

Sandy Joshin Del Valle

Sandra Joshin Del Valle was a civil rights lawyer for over twenty years before becoming a high school English teacher. While a lawyer, she wrote a book on language rights and the law. She is currently teaching and learning at Brooklyn Technical HS. She is also a hike leader with the Appalachian Mountain Club and serves on their Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee which seeks to bring more people of color to the outdoors. She is a member of the Temple Advisory Council and was a member of the MRO’s Beyond Fear of Differences group. She became a student of Shugen Roshi in 2011 and a jukai student in 2016.

Jude Kushu Dinan

Jude Kushu Dinan began practicing at ZMM in 2008 and received Jukai in 2016. She is a founding member of the Sangha Harmony Advisory Council and brings a commitment to service, discipline and community engagement.

Kushu holds a degree in Business and Finance and is a veteran of the United States Marine Corps, where she served for four years. She has also dedicated 31 years to government service reflecting a sustained commitment to public service.

In addition, Kushu is a Master Gardener with Cornell Cooperative Extension and has volunteered with Community Hospice serving Rensselaer County. She has experience in martial arts having studied and taught karate and self-defense, and holds a third-degree black belt in traditional Japanese karate.

An active member of the Hudson Mohawk Road Runners Association, Kushu volunteers with the Just Run youth program, helping bring running opportunities to underserved communities for children in grades 2 thru 6. She is also an avid cyclist. 

Kushu resides in Troy, NY with her beloved feline companions.

Mn. Suzanne Yusen Taikyo Gilman

After returning to full time residency in 2012, Taikyo entered the monastic path and received tokudo from Shugen Roshi in 2021 and the monastic name Yusen. In 1994 she became a student of Daido Roshi’s, entered into residency at the Monastery and received Jukai soon after. During her lay life between 1996-2012, Taikyo was a non-profit development consultant with a background in photography, videography and print production, a volunteer Qi Gong instructor, and a health care and environmental activist. In residency she has served as cook and tenzo, in various web media and print productions, and is currently the program coordinator.

Bruce Getsudo Glick

After graduating from Ohio State University in 1976 with a Ph.D. In Clinical Psychology, Bruce Getsudo Glick moved to northern Maine, where he and his wife have lived for the past 45 years.  As a licensed psychologist, Getsudo provided a variety of mental health services (counseling, cognitive and emotional assessment, crisis intervention clinical supervision, branch office management) in a rural community, specializing in neuropsychology for the last half of his career until his retirement in 2016. Getsudo attended his first retreat at ZMM in 2006, became a formal training student in 2011, and received the precepts in 2019.  He is involved in the National Buddhist Prison Sangha program and has a passion for photography as an art practice.

Katherine Jifu Jamieson

Katherine Jifu Jamieson first began practicing at Fire Lotus Temple in 2000, and received Jukai in 2015. She holds an MFA in nonfiction writing from the University of Iowa, and has been published widely in newspapers, magazines and anthologies. Based in Western Massachusetts and Sarasota, Florida, Jifu performs for children and families nationally as part of a duo act with her husband, Ben. She’s has been involved with the arts as a author, teacher, performer and business owner for the past twenty years. 

Anne Mushin Kaufhold

Anne Mushin Kaufhold became a formal student of the MRO in 1987 and received Jukai in 1993.  She majored in Asian studies at Vassar College and completed her MD at Penn State College of Medicine.  Mushin has worked as a family physician since 2003, practicing community medicine in underserved communities.  She advocates passionately for healthcare equity, which is inextricable from environmental stewardship, racial justice, and practice of the precepts.  She lives in Shandaken with her daughter and dogs and loves to dance.

Patrick Yunen Kelly

Yunen has been training within the MRO since 2000. Before that, he practiced at the San Francisco Zen Center and at Kakunenji, in Wachendorf, Germany. Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Yunen grew up in Northern Virginia, Salt Lake City, and the San Francisco Bay Area. He holds graduate degrees in biochemistry and English literature and is also a painter. He currently serves on the ZCNYC Temple Advisory Council (TAC) and is the Temple’s resident office manager.

Stu Shintai Kennedy

Stu Shintai Kennedy began training formally with Hojin Sensei in 2018 and received Jukai in 2022. Shintai’s experience spans over a decade of public service cybersecurity work in the financial sector, and seven years in public broadcasting as a sound engineer and producer. He is active in climate and transit safety issues in Montclair, NJ, where he lives with his wife and son.

Jody Hojin Kimmel

Sensei

Hojin Sensei serves as the Training Director for the Mountains and Rivers Order and Abbot of the Zen Center of NYC-Fire Lotus Temple . She began her artistic career early and has taught drawing, ceramics, and painting, opening people up to the wonders and mysteries of the creative process and continues to offer Art Practices as part of her teaching. She has been in full-time residential training at the Monastery since 1990 and now shares her time at the Brooklyn temple.

Sarah Taisho Sands

A graduate of the Yale School of Art, and past Professor of Painting, Taisho retired in 2022 from Golden Artist Colors where she served as Senior Technical Specialist. She became a student at ZMM in 2014, and took Jukai in 2020. Describing what most galvanizes her Taisho says, “My love is painting, my passions are poetry and the forested spaces of Upstate NY, but I center my life around practice and service to the Sangha.”

Mark Jiho Taylor

Jiho became a formal student in 2009 and received Jukai in 2023. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife and three children.  He has practiced law in New York City for 19 years, primarily focused on civil rights and housing issues.  He is an avid cyclist and runner.

Composition

The Ethics Committee is composed of a cross section of sangha members who have completed Jukai, including lay and monastic practitioners of varied Teachers, and may include both Board and non-Board members. The Committee is structured to reflect a diversity of roles, experience, and perspectives within ZMM, ZCNYC, and the sangha broadly.

Authority and Limits of the Ethics Committee (EC)

The Ethics Committee has independent investigatory authority. The entire Ethics Committee process is outlined  in the policy at Number 4, under “Process” in the ZMM Integrated Grievance Policy. Briefly summarized, the Ethics Committee  is responsible for:

• Receiving complaints, facilitating an informal process for conflict resolution
• Conducting impartial investigations
• Determining factual findings based on a preponderance of the evidence
• At the conclusion of an Ethics Committee’s investigation the Ethics Committee shall issue its written recommendations to the Teacher’s Council or to the Board of Directors 
• The Ethics Committee is not responsible for enforcement or implementation of any recommendation

The Ethics Committee does not impose disciplinary action. Implementation, monitoring, and enforcement of recommendations are carried out by the Guardian Council. 

The Ethics Committee operates independently in its investigative function, and maintains strict confidentiality, while remaining accountable within the governance structure of the Board of Directors and ZMM. 

The Ethics Committee sees its role as upholding not only the letter and spirit of the precepts and these guidelines, but promoting Sangha harmony when conflicts arise, and making recommendations that promote strong practice for everyone involved. More information and how to file a formal complaint can be found below on the Ethics and Grievance Policy, with more detail on the Conflict Resolution Process coming soon.

If you have a question or concern that you would like to bring to the attention of the Ethics Committee, email ethicscommittee@dharma.net and we will be in contact with you. Communications are held in confidence.

The revised and updated Ethical Guidelines & Accountability Policies can be found through this link, including the Ethical Guidelines and the Accountability: Grievance, Misconduct and Sexual Harrasment Policies. The Ethical Guidelines also include the Doshinji Code and the Karenji Code for Zen Mountain Monastery and ZCNYC: Fire Lotus Temple, respectively.

Current 2026 Ethics Committee Members

Kristin Keimu Adolfson (she/her)

Kristin is a book artist and graphic designer who also creates in letterpress, watercolor, and photography. She owns a small design business in Charlottesville, Virginia, and is Chair of Virginia Book Arts. A former Hospice volunteer, Kristin is currently developing a service to guide clients in planning and organizing documents and wishes to prepare for illness or end-of-life. When the heat and humidity is below 90, you can find her tending bees and working her small farm and orchard in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, where she transforms the harvest into multi-course meals for friends and community in the spirit of friendship, joy, and connection. Kristin has been practicing with ZMM since 2001, became a formal student in 2010, and received Jukai from Shugen Roshi in 2017.

Richard Shozen Hamlin

Richard Shozen Hamlin is a practicing attorney licensed in the state of New York since 1978 and has been a solo practitioner since 2011 after many years as a partner and of counsel in major law firms. He has been in recovery since 1989 and continues to be an active participant in the fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous. He became a student at Zen Mountain Monastery in 1991 and took Jukai with Shugen Roshi in 2011. He served on the Board of Directors of Zen Mountain Monastery between 2012 and 2021. He lives in Westport, Connecticut.

Degna Chikei Levister

Degna Chikei Levister is the Director of the Elder Law Project at the City Bar Justice Center, where she leads legal services, pro bono initiatives, community partnerships, and educational programming serving low-income older adults across New York City, with a focus on advance care planning and elder justice. Prior to joining the Justice Center, Chikei spent more than two decades at CUNY School of Law as a Clinical Law Professor, Associate Dean for Enrollment; and Executive Director of the Pipeline to Justice program, which expands access to legal education for individuals historically excluded from the legal profession. They are also a registered nurse. Chikei has been a practicing member of the Mountains and Rivers Order for more than twenty-five years and has maintained a continuous meditation practice since becoming a formal student in 1997. She currently serves on the MRO Ethics Committee and previously served on the Sangha Harmony Advisory Council, co-led the Women’s Affinity Group, and served on the MRO Board of Directors. She lives on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.

Sarah Taisho Sands (she/her)

Sarah Taisho Sands (she/her) taught art at several colleges and universities, and in 2022 retired from a long career as the Senior Technical Specialist at Golden Artist Colors. She became a formal student in 2014, taking Jukai with Shugen Roshi in 2019, and becoming a Senior Student in 2024. Along the way she also completed over two years of residency at ZMM. She is one of the original founders of the TGNC (Trans and Gender Non-Conforming) and LGBTQIA Affinity Groups, and became increasingly involved in planning and leading residential training sessions that were part of ZMM’s Beyond Fear of Differences work. She currently also serves on the MRO’s Board of Directors.

Roni Kasho Schnadow

I have been a formal student at ZMM since 2010 and first took Jukai in 2014. 
I am a Marriage and Family Therapist in private practice in Rhinebeck NY and certified as an Advance Practice Psychiatric Nurse with kids and teens. I have been on the Ethics Committee since 2022 and NBPS Administrative Assistant for the past 10 years. I live close to the Monastery and try to show up and be of service where and when I can.