Kodo Conlin YUZ Lead

Kodo Conlin trains in both the Zen and Theravada traditions, ordaining as a Soto Zen priest in 2015. Kodo served as shuso (head monk) at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center in 2022. A participant in the 2021-2025 Insight Meditation Center Dharma Teacher Training with Gil Fronsdal and Andrea Fella, Kodo's practice in Zen & Vipassana has included extended residential training at Tassajara, SFZC’s City Center, at Dhamma Siri in the tradition of S.N. Goenka, as well as long retreat at Spirit Rock and Insight Retreat Center. Kodo's teaching emphasizes a joyful, comprehensive freedom of the heart—liberation—available through the Buddhist path. — More talks from Kodo on a variety of Dharma topics available here.

Eli Brown-Stevenson

Greeting the world with a warm bow, Eli has spent the past decade living monastically as a resident of San Francisco Zen Center’s City Center and Tassajara temples. He is SFZC’s Director of Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging and, as Corporate Secretary, is an ex-officio member of the Board. In his roles he contributes to conflict resolution, diversity and inclusion work, and various areas of Human Resources.

Prior to arriving at SFZC, Eli worked in the secular world, most recently for-profit education, and as a benefit liaison for employee wellness programs. After a decade of dipping his toes into various practices, he and his wife Cat decided to leave the corporate world and deep-dive into formal residential practice.

Eli’s Zen practice is greatly informed by his main teacher Maya, his daughter, who he met in 2017, the year she was born. In 2019, Eli received priest ordination from Abbot Ed Sattizhan and was given the Dharma name So-On which means Ancestor Warmth.

In addition to his work at SFZC, Eli loves to contribute his warm service to the communities around him. He offers meditation instruction at the San Francisco county jail, teaches mindfulness to BIPOC grade school children, and is also a regular teacher for SFZC's Young Urban Zen, a group for young adults.

His heart is deeply propelled by the communities he is part of.

Kōgetsu Jenny Mok

Kōgetsu Jenny Mok has been a Zen practitioner since the late 90s and has dedicated her life to being of service. She was born in Canada and grew up in the Bay Area. After 20 years in the tech industry, she came to San Francisco Zen Center in 2019 and has lived residentially at all three temples, completing numerous practice periods at each. Kōgetsu lived at Green Gulch Farm for three years, holding various positions, including Work Leader, as well as managing the kitchen, guests and conferences, and network infrastructure. She also served as Jisha for Fu Schroeder from whom she received Jukai (Bodhisattva precepts) in 2021. She moved to City Center in 2023, working initially as the Treasurer for Tassajara and Green Gulch Farm. Kōgetsu is in monastic training with Central Abbot Tenzen David Zimmerman. She has also been actively involved in the recovery community for over 25 years and participates in DEIA outreach, Meditation and Recovery, and Young Urban Zen. She currently serves as SFZC's Chief Financial Officer.

Mei Elliott

Mei Elliott is currently the Co-Managing Director of Insight Retreat Center, where she lives and practices. Mei began meditating in 2004 and entered into residential monastic training at Tassajara Zen Monastery in 2014, where she received lay ordination from Linda Galijan. She has since spent seven years training residentially at San Francisco Zen Center temples. Mei served as the organizer and lead facilitator for Young Urban Zen from 2016 to 2021 and was trained as a Right Use of Power teacher in 2018.

In addition to practicing Zen, Mei is involved in the Theravada tradition. Mei is authorized as Vipassana Dharma teacher by James Baraz, and is a participant in Gil Fronsdal and Andrea Fella’s four-year Dharma teacher training program through Insight Retreat Center. She graduated from Spirit Rock’s Advanced Practitioners Program in 2020 and has served as a mentor for Spirit Rock's family program and Inward Bound Mindfulness Education.

Michael McCord

Sozan Michael McCord has been a resident practitioner at San Francisco Zen Center since 2009, and served as Ino (Head of Meditation Hall) and Tenzo (Head Cook) at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center. He was ordained as a Zen priest by Ryushin Paul Haller in the lineage of Shunryu Suzuki in 2014. Michael holds a BA in Theology from Ambassador University and worked as a volunteer for their non-profit Ambassador Foundation in Amman, Jordan, doing vocational training for mentally challenged individuals. He had careers in the technology and financial sectors before coming to Zen practice. He was the Director of City Center/Beginner's Mind Temple from 2019 – 2021 and the CFO of San Francisco Zen Center until 2024. He currently serves as the President of SFZC.

Zachary Smith

Anshi Daigi Zachary Smith has been practicing Zen since 1993. He took jukai in 1995, was Shuso (Head Student) in 2007, ordained as a Zen priest in 2014 and received Dharma Transmission on April 17, 2019, all with former abbot and Senior Dharma Teacher Ryushin Paul Haller. He currently directs North Mountain Zendo, a zazenkai (sitting) group in North Beach. In addition to his involvement with Zen, Zachary is a husband, a father of four, an engineer, a musician, a bike fanatic, and an avid but mediocre poet. He may be the only person in the history of Zen in the West to have interrupted a residential practice period to tour with a rock band.