Meet Our Advisors
Our Advisory Board are folks we include in our vision and ideas for creating larger scope change in the world. They offer their leadership and wisdom, and we lean into their teaching for inspiration and depth.
Nancy Kirby Kurjakovic, CPA, CEO
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Nancy is CEO for IncubatorWorks, developing nonprofit organizations. Nancy is experienced in entrepreneurship, business development, and strategic planning. A graduate of Binghamton University, Nancy has served on the boards of many nonprofit organizations, and has also served on the Board and Executive Committee of the NYS Society of Certified Public Accountants. She has been named as a Small Business Advocate by the SBA, and is a Certified Leadership Coach.
Nancy follows a contemplative path as an alumnus of Richard Rohr's The Living School, and enjoys spending time with her horses. |
Rabbi Rami Shapiro
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"I was born of a human mother on April 26,1951. My mother was born of a mother from the same species some twenty–one years earlier. My mother’s mother has a similar origin, and this goes back awhile until we get to my great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great grand mother who was an ape. She too came from a mother, and, as best I can tell, it is mothers all the way back to the original Virgin Birth: the Big Bang some 13.8 billion years ago.
A late bloomer, I didn’t do much for most of these 13.8 billion years, but in the last four decades I managed to earn rabbinic ordination from the Hebrew Union College– Jewish Institute of Religion, and a PH.D. in religion from Union Graduate School; to serve as a chaplain with the USAF for 3 years; to lead Temple Beth Or in Miami, FL for 20; to teach religious studies at Middle Tennessee State University for 10; and to publish over thirty books on religion and spirituality. I currently guide the One River Foundation, write the Roadside Assistance for the Spiritual Traveler column for Spirituality & Health magazine, host the magazine’s weekly radio show, Essential Conversations with Rabbi Rami, play with my grandson, Jack, and take my golden doodle, Murphy, for walks." rabbirami.com |
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Dr. David Dault
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David is the host and executive producer of "Things Not Seen", a podcast of conversations on faith and culture, talking with powerful influencers like Bishop John Shelby Spong, Phyllis Tickle, Barbara Brown Taylor, Nadia Bolz Weber, Diana Butler Bass, Carrie Newcomer and so many more...
David holds a PhD in religion from Vanderbilt, and a masters degree from Columbia Theological Seminary. He is currently a Visiting Scholar for theology and media at the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago, and moving into a new position with Loyola University’s Institute of Pastoral Studies. In his free time, he's a writer, including working on the authorized biography of Walter Breuggeman. |
Sean W. Murphy
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Sean W. Murphy is a 2018 National Endowment of the Arts Creative Writing Fellow and an authorized Zen teacher (Sensei) in the American White Plum Lineage. His One Bird, One Stone: 108 Contemporary Zen Stories (Hampton Roads 2013), won the 2014 International Book Award in the Eastern Religions category. He is the award-winning author of three novels with Bantam Dell Books, receiving the Hemingway Award for a First Novel for his The Hope Valley Hubcap King, the 2009 National Press Women's Communication Award for best novel for The Time of New Weather, and the 2017 William Faulkner Wisdom Award for novel-in-progress for his current project, Wilson’s Way. He is the founder of the nonprofit Sage Institute for Creativity & Consciousness, which hosts an innovative meditation leaders training program. He teaches writing and meditation at UNM-Taos. www.murphyzen.com
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Carl McColman
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Carl McColman is a contemplative writer, teacher, soul friend, storyteller, and ZG's Contemplative in Residence. His books include Eternal Heart, The Big Book of Christian Mysticism, Unteachable Lessons, An Invitation to Celtic Wisdom and Befriending Silence. He maintains a blog on his website, carlmccolman.com, in which he writes about Christian and world mysticism, contemplative spirituality, Celtic wisdom, and interspiritual exploration. He also co-hosts the Encountering Silence podcast encounteringsilence.com. Carl first received instruction in contemplative spirituality at the Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation, and later became a life-professed Lay Cistercian (a layperson under the spiritual guidance of Trappist monks). He was mentored by Dr. John Westerhoff in the art of spiritual direction, and is a commissioned Centering Prayer presenter.
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Learn more about our Board of Directors, the folks that make the magic happen.
