STAFF
Valerie Forstman is an Associate Zen Master of the SanboZen 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 SanboZen.
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 SanboZen 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.
As Guiding Teacher, Valerie is responsible for he quality and integrity of Zen offerings as Mountain Cloud. She offers dokusan to over 50 students a week, 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.
Scott Thornton is an Assistant Teacher in the Sanbo Zen lineage and the Assistant Teacher at Mountain Cloud.
You can see him at Mountain Cloud sitting in the zendo in the morning, leading the Book Study Wednesdays from 9-10, Intro Classes Sundays 10-11:15, and Intro Retreats. He also provides 1-1 practice guidance to members.
Since 2000, he was a student of Ruben Habito Roshi at The Maria Kannon Zen Center in Dallas, TX. He currently directs the Mountain Cloud Residency Program. He has been a Clinical Psychologist for 34 years. His first career was in Theater, and he is still an active singer/songwriter and performer.
Read this lovely interview by Richard McDaniel with Scott about his journey into meditation.
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.”
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.
Kieran Meade-Ward is our Campus 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 Senior Resident. 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 Specialist 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
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.
Miguel Gomes. Miguel Gomes is a financial services and banking professional with 15+ years of experience in strategy planning, regulatory compliance, risk oversight, and IT incident resolution. He is a proven collaborative leader in driving strategy and efficient process improvements with a focus on quality and risk controls. Miguel is passionate about creating an engaging and inclusive working environment using positive motivational techniques to empower people to become their best selves. Miguel is also a dharma teacher with the Mindfulness in the Midst Meditation Group, a meditation instructor, and a concert cellist. Miguel lives in Boston, Massachusetts.
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).
TEACHERS
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 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.
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.
Guest Teachers
Ruben L.F. Habito is a Professor of World Religions and Spirituality and Director of Spiritual Formation at Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University. Before coming to SMU, he taught at the Jesuit-founded Sophia University in Japan for many years. While in Japan, he received Zen training for many years under Kōun Yamada Rōshi and is an authorized Zen Teacher in the Sanbo Zen International lineage, serving as Guiding Teacher of Maria Kannon Zen Center based in Dallas, Texas. He is the author of numerous books and articles in English and Japanese, including Be Still and Know: Zen and the Bible (Orbis 2017), Zen and the Spiritual Exercises (Orbis 2013), Experiencing Buddhism: Ways of Wisdom and Compassion (Orbis 2006), and Healing Breath: Zen Spirituality for Christians and Buddhists (Wisdom 2006), Living Zen, Loving God (Wisdom 2004) among others. He is the spouse of Dr. Maria Reis Habito, and together they are blessed with two adult sons, Florian and Benjamin.

Maria Reis Habito began zen practice in 1987. She serves as guiding teacher of Sophia Zen Center in Indiana and is a teacher at the Maria Kannon Zen Center in Dallas. Maria is the International Program Director of the Museum of World Religions, the Director of the Elijah Interfaith Institute USA, and a Zen Teacher authorized in the Sanbo Zen lineage. She has lived in Taiwan and studied the Chinese language (1979-1981), and in Kyoto, Japan, where she studied the Japanese language. She received her M.A. in Chinese Studies, Japanese Studies and Philosophy in 1985, and completed her Ph.D. at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich in 1990. After teaching at Southern Methodist University, Dallas, she assumed responsibility for the international Interfaith program of the Museum of World Religions in 2002.

Sean Tetsudo Murphy, Sensei, is a fully authorized Zen teacher in the American White Plum lineage, as well an award-winning author and recipient of a 2018 National Endowment of the Arts Fellowship in Creative Writing. The author of One Bird One Stone: 108 Contemporary Zen Stories, as well as three novels with Bantam Dell books, he is founder and director of The Sage Institute of Taos, NM, which hosts an innovative Meditation and Mindfulness Leader Training Program. He also teaches creative writing, meditation, and literature for the University of New Mexico-Taos and many other venues. www.sagetaos.com / www.murphyzen.com

Natalie Goldberg is the author of fifteen books, including Writing Down the Bones (Shambhala, 1986), which has sold over one million copies, has been translated into fourteen languages, and started a revolution in the way we practice writing in this country. Her most recent Books is Three Simple Lines: A writer’s Pilgrimage into the Heart and Homeland of Haiku and her forthcoming book is Writing on Empty. Natalie is also a prolific painter. Her book Living Color: Painting, Writing, and the Bones of Seeing(Abrams, 2014), describes painting as her second art form. Top of My Lungs (Overlook Press, 2004) contains forty poems, twenty of her paintings in color, and an essay, “How Poetry Saved My Life.” Natalie’s paintings are available to view on this website.
David Robert Loy is a professor, writer, and Zen teacher in the Sanbo Zen tradition of Japanese Zen Buddhism. He is a prolific author, whose articles appear regularly in the pages of major journals such as Tikkun and Buddhist magazines including Tricycle, Lion’s Roar, and Buddhadharma, as well as in a variety of scholarly journals. Many of his writings, as well as audio and video talks and interviews, are available on the web. He is on the advisory boards of Buddhist Global Relief, the Clear View Project, Zen Peacemakers, and the Ernest Becker Foundation. David is one of the founding members of the new Rocky Mountain Ecodharma Retreat Center, near Boulder, Colorado. Please visit the website at rockymountainecodharmaretreat.org for more information.
David Hinton has published numerous books of poetry and essays, and many translations of ancient Chinese poetry and philosophy—all informed by an abiding interest in deep ecological thinking. This widely-acclaimed work has earned Hinton a Guggenheim Fellowship, numerous fellowships from NEA and NEH, and both of the major awards given for poetry translation in the United States: the Landon Translation Award (Academy of American Poets) and the PEN American Translation Award. Most recently, Hinton received a lifetime achievement award by the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
Colleen Shaughnessy has been a Zen practitioner for 15 years and a member of Mountain Cloud since 2022. She lives in Taos, NM, assists Scott with his Beginner Retreats, and serves as the Executive Director of Youth Heartline, a child welfare and family stability non-profit serving northeast New Mexico.
Internationally celebrated Dharma teacher of teachers, Kali Basman, intermingles Buddhist Psychology & Internal Family Systems Therapy into the living discipline of Yin Yoga
Kali’s work intermingles the outer constructs of anatomy & Traditional Chinese Medicine with the inner methods of mind training and trauma healing. She is certified and celebrated in her work with Internal Family Systems Therapy. Outside of practice life, Kali holds an MPH in Environmental Public Health and serves as a Project Director for the United Nations Association Global Health Initiative on the Africa Affairs Committee. She has been working with the UN as a Global Health consultant for over 5 years.
Kali Basman is a Conscious Dying Coach and Sacred Passage Doula.





















