Introducing . . .
Here are some of the people you may meet taking care of the gardens, mowing the lawn, cleaning the temple, answering phones, greeting visitors, working on our newsletter, conducting courses, arranging flowers and, in general, maintaining the Centre from top to bottom, inside and out.
Barbara Lamb
Barbara has been a member of the Zen Centre since 2001. In addition to being the Kitchen Coordinator she helps with office work and communications. Recently retired from a career in Public Health, she enjoys gardening, photography, and cooking up a batch of “Lamb's Jams”.
Metta Goodman
Metta has been a Member of the Zen Centre since 2002. She helps with flower arranging, gardening, yard and bake sales and acts as the timer for many of the formal sittings. Currently working as a Realtor in the GTA, she is a former Chef who loves cooking, reading and animals.
Simon Breslav
Simon Breslav has been a member since 2011, he's on the Board of Directors, Digital Communications, Fundraising, and Housekeeping Committees. Simon works as a computer programmer in a small startup and enjoys drawing, painting, pottery, carving, and flower arranging in his spare time.
James MacKinnon
James MacKinnon works in derivatives trading at a bank, and began sitting when he was a student, after participating in a workshop given by Roshi Kapleau. When not on the bank’s trading floor he can be found trail running with friends, walking with his wife Sue and their two dogs, or spending time at his family cottage north of Toronto.
Fran Turner
Fran grew up in farming country in southwestern Ontario. She has lived in Toronto ever since her university days with the exception of seven years when she lived in Denmark and Washington, DC. She practiced as a registered nurse, a shiatsu therapist and worked in positions providing information about cancer. For 30 years she taught Aikido. Since 1995 she has been a member of the Toronto Zen Centre.
Duncan Jewell
Duncan is a long time member of the Toronto Zen Centre, when he is not riding his bike to and from work and keeping fit he is offering to shovel the snow or clean the walkway. Duncan works at AstraZeneca and is in charge of supplies at the Centre.
Mihaela Poca
Mihaela started practicing at the Zen Centre in 2003. She says that practice helped her live a simpler happier life. She works as a therapist in the Bloor West area and is happy to serve the community.
Bruce Roberts
Bruce was born and raised in Toronto where he has lived and worked his entire life, with the exception of a 4-year stint as a Philosophy major at Queen’s University in Kingston and a year spent traveling the globe. A member of the Toronto Zen Centre since 2005, Bruce loves both the outdoors and the inside of dance studios where he has spent countless hours with his daughter, Uma.
Tim Marshall
Tim was born in London, England but grew up in Ontario. He attended Queen’s University in Kingston and became a member of the Zen Centre in 1997. He has been a school teacher in Toronto since 2001. Tim and his wife Andrea live in Toronto with their daughter Zoe. He will often be found helping at workshops, and monitors sesshin and sittings.
Marielle LeBlanc
Marielle was born in New Brunswick and is now retired after a teaching career of over 30 years in Toronto, mostly in French Immersion kindergarten. She started practicing Zen at the Centre in 1991 where she met her husband Randall Baker. You may see her at the Center cleaning altars, arranging flowers or monitoring a sitting.
Jeff Irving
Jeff was born and raised in Nepean, Ontario before moving to Kingston to study Chemistry and Computer Science at Queen’s University. He began Zen training at the Toronto Zen Centre in 1997 and is currently serving as a member of the Board of Directors and responsible for the Centre’s finances.
Will Lachance
Will was born in Ottawa, Ontario. He first discovered Zen when living in Montréal, via the Montréal Zen Centre. He has been practicing at the Toronto Zen Centre since 2014. By day, Will works as a Data Engineer at Mozilla, the company that builds the Firefox web browser. He uses his skills with computer programming and systems design to help maintain the Zen Centre's website and other backend systems.
Lynne Davis
Lynne was born on Cape Breton Island and completed her doctorate in Community Psychology at University of Toronto.She began Zen practice in Vancouver and joined the Toronto Zen Centre in 1996. Lynne lives in Peterborough where she teaches in the area of Indigenous-settler relations.
Fabio Morettin
Fabio was born and lives in Toronto. He is a graduate of The University of Toronto and a fan of the outdoors, especially cycling, skiing, hiking and camping. He has been a member of the Toronto Zen Centre since 2010.
Gina Lee
Gina was born and raised in Vancouver but moved to Toronto in 2000 to train with Vidal Sassoon where she has worked for 21 years. She was introduced to the TZC in 2008 from a friend and was a resident from 2008-2012. Gina is in the midst of a career change to Interior Design.