Head Teachers

Valerie Forstman is an Associate Zen Master of the Sanbo Zen lineage and our Guiding Teacher here at Mountain Cloud. Her first teacher, with whom she continues to work, was Ruben Habito Roshi. Since 2003, she has also trained under the guidance of Yamada Ryoun Roshi, current abbot of Sanbo Zen.

Valerie came to Mountain Cloud with a shared vision of the core of the Zen path, a way of coming home to who we truly are. In keeping with the Sanbo Zen tradition, this path or ‘way’ may include koan training, “just sitting” practice, or simple breath awareness practice, all of which funnel into what it means to undergo the immense change of heart implied by the term “awakening.” What a joy and what a rich process it can be, not just to taste this, but to embody it and live it out in lives of compassionate service.

A first-career classical musician, Valerie holds degrees from Oberlin College Conservatory of Music and Stony Brook University in NY. She has taught and performed in the U.S., Canada, and around Europe. After discovering Zen, Valerie went on to earn a Masters of Theological Studies and Ph.D. from Brite Divinity School.

As Guiding Teacher, Valerie is responsible for the quality and integrity of Zen offerings at Mountain Cloud. She offers dokusan to over 50 students a week and runs our sesshin and zazenkai. Alongside her guiding work at Mountain Cloud, Valerie leads sesshin (intensive Zen retreats) annually at two Zen centers in Germany. 

Associate Master of Sanbozen

Scott Thornton (San’un-ken) is a Teacher in the Sanbo Zen lineage and a Teacher and Residency Advisor at Mountain Cloud. Scott provides practice guidance to residents and leads our weekly Book Group, monthly Aging Buddhas gatherings, and weekly Intro to Zen classes.

Scott and his wife, Guiding Teacher Valerie Forstman Roshi, came to work at Mountain Cloud in July of 2022. After an early career as an actor and singer, he turned to Clinical Psychology, a profession he has worked in for over 45 years (and from which he plans to retire in early 2026), though he still enjoys the occasional singer-songwriter gig! He began meditating on his own for 12 years before joining The Maria Kannon Zen Center in Dallas and beginning Koan study with Ruben Habito Rōshi in 2000. He continues his training with Henry Shukman Roshi.

Read this lovely interview by Richard McDaniel with Scott about his journey into meditation.


Staff

Sarah Giffin is the Executive Director of Mountain Cloud Zen Center. In this role she drives the execution of our organization’s mission, manages our team of staff, leads fundraising and other new initiatives. She brings to the role over a decade of experience facilitating and administering non-profit programs in the field of youth and adult education. Sarah first came to the center as a Zen student in 2017 to pilot the first iteration of our Residency program. Since then, she took on a variety of roles including Facilities Manager, Curriculum Specialist, Online Program Manager, Board Director, and all the while, sangha member. She is a Master Degree candidate at George Washington University in Organizational Leadership and Learning.

John Handelin is our Facilities Specialist. John “Juan” Handelin serves as the main caretaker of Mountain Cloud‘s landscape, buildings, and infrastructure. He helps us maintain a beautiful, safe, and supportive environment for our practice.  “I was given the moniker “Juan” when we built the original Mountain Cloud Zen Center in 1985. There were three “John”s working on site and every time someone called out “hey John!”, three heads turned. And so I became “Juan”, and the name stuck with me.”

Kieran Mead-Ward is our Membership and Curriculum Coordinator. In this role he overseas the general operations of all onsite and online programs, facilitates live sessions, works directly with volunteers and develops curriculum for our 30 Days of Zen courses.

Grant Goulet is our Campus Operations Manager. Following several years of online practice with Mountain Cloud, while based in Detroit, Michigan, Grant joined the Residency program in January 2024, and, since May, has enjoyed the role of Senior Resident, providing operational management of on-site programs, assisting with facility and grounds caretaking, and leading hospitality for guests.

Grant is deeply interested in the supportive tripod of spiritual, philosophical, and scientific disciplines, with particular emphasis on metaphysics and the nature of consciousness. After several years of self-directed inquiry and contemplative practices, Grant was drawn to Zen through the writings and talks of Alan Watts, and has since deepened his appreciation for the tradition as the “the sword so sharp it cuts two into one.” Prior to taking up residency at Mountain Cloud, Grant utilized his PhD in Biomedical Engineering as faculty in academia, and executive leader in industry.

Off the cushion, Grant can be found running wild in the mountains around Santa Fe, taking pictures, writing down his philosophical musings, and traveling around with his partner, Kayla, and their dog, Maple, in their tiny house on wheels.

Xander Moffat is our Registrar. While fielding all all general inquiries, registrations, and data collection, they are constantly working to make our registration experience more seamless and welcoming. In addition to this work, Xander is a filmmaker and a programmer/technical director for Glimmerglass Film Days, a film festival in Cooperstown, NY. He also works on a freelance basis creating digital products and media for a number of community-focused organizations. Xander is currently based in Portland, Maine.

Abby Shepard (she/they) is the Outreach and Communications Manager at Mountain Cloud Zen Center. They’re also a community organizer and musician. Since encountering mindfulness meditation in 2018, Abby has been passionate about weaving the practice into various areas of engagement, from community organizing to music to program management. They are a 200-hour certified Skill in Action yoga facilitator, and her practice spans multiple lineages in Yoga and Buddhism including Theravada, Zen, and the Eight-Limb Path of Yoga.


Board of Directors

Mark Paul Petrick, President. Mark is retired from a life of varied professional experiences in the arts, teaching, and communications. He studied art, photography and architecture at U.C. Berkeley, and earned an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He has exhibited his work at major museums and art centers. He was a professor of art and photography for a dozen years at Maharishi International University.

Mark’s career path shifted to communications in the late 1990’s when he went to work in international telecommunications, public and industrial relations, and ended with a 9-year stint as a marketing communications professional. He retired in 2014.

Mark began a meditation practice in 1972, took up zazen in 2016, and became a member of Mountain Cloud in 2017. He joined the board of directors from 2021 through 2023, serving as President of the board for the last 1-1/2 years of his tenure. Mark lives in Santa Fe with his wife, Vivian Tuori, and their two cats. They enjoy international travel, and Mark continues to do creative artwork and photography.

Bryan Baldwin, Treasurer. Bryan first joined Mountain Cloud as Executive Director in 2022, shifting to Board member in Summer of 2023. Bryan brings more than 25 years of progressive responsibility helping mission-driven organizations become more purposeful, focused, and strategic. He has extensive nonprofit management experience and most recently served as a senior administrator for a large public university in New England and concurrently led its private foundation.

Bryan earned a Ph.D. in Rhetoric and Public Discourse from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and is also a graduate of Harvard University’s Institute for Educational Management. He and his wife, Lisa Cushing Shaw, are avid travelers, lived abroad, and have visited more than 50 countries. Along with their sweet and whimsical dog Bruce, they now call Santa Fe their permanent home.

Patrick McCarthy, Secretary. Patrick is currently the Water Policy Officer at the Thornburg Foundation in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Previously he served as the Conservation Director of the Colorado River Program of The Nature Conservancy; Director of The Nature Conservancy’s Southwest Climate Change Initiative; Director of The Nature Conservancy’s Conservation Programs in New Mexico; and Director of the Zambezi River Basin Project in Zambia, among other leadership positions in conservation and land stewardship. Patrick is a member of the Mountain Cloud sangha. 

Andreas Hernandez is a Professor at the University of New Mexico and Director of UNM’s Sustainability Studies Program. Andreas received his PhD in Development Sociology from Cornell University. He has Masters and Bachelors degrees in Social Work. Andreas is widely published, is a filmmaker, and has received numerous grants and awards for his teaching. Andreas is a dharma practitioner and associated with a dharma ecovillage in Brazil. Andreas lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico (when he’s not in Brazil).

Daisy Lin is an Emmy Award-winning journalist and writer with over a decade of experience leading editorial and marketing initiatives for technology and financial services companies, with a focus on supporting entrepreneurs and community banks. Her personal essays have been featured in TricycleThe Huffington PostNBC News and other publications. Daisy has also lent her expertise to nonprofit boards mitigating the effects of climate change.

A passionate advocate for the transformative power of the Dharma, Daisy has been practicing meditation for decades and has served in various sangha caretaking roles. She is an active practitioner at Mountain Cloud Zen Center and a student of Valerie Forstman. Her commitment to mindfulness and community continues to guide her forward.

Special Committees

Special Committees are committees working on timely and emerging projects on behalf of the organization, and include sangha members outside of the Board of Directors.

The Campus Planning Committee is a Committee of the Board comprised of Board Members, Staff, and Sangha members including: Guiding Teacher Valerie Forstman, Board President Mark Petrick, Executive Director Sarah Giffin, Facilities Specialist John Juan Handelin, Campus Operations Manager Grant Goulet, Sangha Member (and former Operations Team Member) Christy Hengst, Sangha Member (and local architect) Rob Vadurro. This committee is charged with researching and making recommendations to the board regarding short term and long term facilities needs and projects like capital improvements and deferred maintenance. To reach out to this committee, email Sarah at sarah@mountaincloud.org.

The Fire Mitigation Committee is a Committee of the Board comprised of Board Members, Staff, and Sangha members including: Executive Director Sarah Giffin, Facilities Specialist John Juan Handelin, Sangha member (and fire mitigation professional) Laura McCarthy, and Sangha member (and fire mitigation professional) Brian Stampe. To reach out to this committee, email Sarah at sarah@mountaincloud.org.


Guest Teachers

Guest Teachers are on Mountain Cloud’s regular program roster and offer retreats, Dokusan, or Wisdom Wednesdays.

Henry Shukman is Spiritual Director Emeritus at Mountain Cloud Zen Center. He joined the center as Guiding Teacher in 2010, bringing new fervor to the teaching at the center and fostering new programs. He then became Spiritual Director. Between 2010 and 2023, Henry has contributed greatly to the Mountain Cloud you see today.

He has trained with several Zen teachers, particularly the roshis Joan Rieck, John Gaynor, Ruben Habito and Yamada Ryoun Roshi, as well as with teachers and mentors in other traditions. Henry has received dharma transmission (inka shomei and sanmotsu) from Yamada Ryoun Roshi, Abbot of Sanbo Zen, and is a Shōshike (Authentic Zen Master) of the Sanbo Zen lineage of Kamakura, Japan. In addition, Henry is an award-winning author and poet. His struggles as a youth, combined with a spontaneous awakening experience at 19, paved the way for him to develop a well-rounded approach to spirituality and meditation, under the guidance of his teachers – one that includes both compassionate concern for the sufferings of the world and the great liberating power of awakening as its foundation. Henry is the founder and teacher of the Original Love Program, a comprehensive non-sectarian guide to meditation practice, and is the co-founder and teacher of the meditation app, The Way.

Learn more about Henry’s latest book – Original Love, his meditation app – The Way, workshops and current projects at www.HenryShukman.com


Carolyn Seburn is a Sanbo Zen Teacher based in Ontario and a regular teacher in our hybrid/online events.

She provides online dokusan to our members and during our 6-day retreats, dharma talks, and workshops for our 30 Days of Zen Course.

She is an authorized Dharma successor of Roselyn Stone (Sei’un An – Clearing Away the Clouds) Rôshi of the Mountain Moon Sangha (Toronto and Brisbane). She has been practicing Zen meditation since 1985 and guiding Zen practice since 2015. Married, with one offspring, Carolyn is also a biologist and public servant who focuses on wildlife conservation. Carolyn is also appointed a Zen teacher with Sanbo Zen International.

Zen Teacher

Shana Smith is an Assistant Teacher of Sanbo Zen based in Florida. Shana provides online 1-1 practice support to our members, and provides workshops for our 30 Days of Zen Course and sesshins.

Shana discovered yoga in 1990 and began attending regular classes in several different styles of yoga. After several years of ardent practice and study, she began to teach at her local studio and Yoga Temple.  Shana became interested in the sensations and insights she experienced in Savasana, which led her to begin a regular meditation practice and in 2007 took refuge in the Sanbo Zen Lineage, and recently become a Sanbo Zen Assistant teacher.  Over the years, she has found a tremendous synergy between Yoga and Zen, and integrates the two in her daily, committed practice.


Will Brennan is an Assistant Sanbo Zen Teacher, longtime practitioner, and founding member of Mountain Cloud. Will introduced Henry Shukman to the Mountain Cloud sangha and recommended that Henry become the teacher at MCZC. Will’s background includes teaching school and running plumbing business for many years in Santa Fe. When Will leads the Wednesday sit, he offers a short talk on topics ranging from his personal experience, his immersion in Zen koans, notable books and the wonder of life.


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