Reverend Val has led Bamboo in the Wind since 2001. She was priest ordained in 2002 and transmitted in 2010 by Roshi Diane Martin in Dainin Katagiri’s Zen lineage.

Max Kaehn has been practicing Zen at Bamboo in the Wind since 2010. He writes software by day and tabletop roleplaying games by night, and his cats are regulars on the sangha’s online meetings.

Draupadi Green began practicing at Bamboo in the Wind in 2013. She enjoys yoga, drawing, and watercolor painting.

Juana Serrano started her Zen practice in 2014 at Bamboo in the Wind. When not working with her team supporting an electronic medical record, she enjoys camping, drawing comics, reading and playing board games.

Jianfei Hua started Zen practice in 2019 at Bamboo in the Wind. He was trained as a biologist but works in programming now. In his spare time, he enjoys finding animals and plants with his kids, experimenting with cooking recipes and hiking.

Don Clark has been active in religious studies before the start of the millennium. He began Zen practice as a student of Reverend Val in 2002 and with continued guidance of Reverend Val has embraced studies in Ch’an and Zen in the West. Don volunteers at other non-profits as a STEM mentor and program facilitator supporting minority youth as well as a board member.