Board of Directors

Board Mission and Vision Statement

In the Resource Sphere of All-Enriching Wisdom, the ZCLA Board of Directors oversees all the taking care of all governance, legal, and fiduciary matters. We uphold the Zen Center’s Mandala, Mission, and Vision, Core Values, Core Practices, and Sangha Sutra. We maintain a place for practice, rooted in our Bodhisattva Lineage, and nurture the widest possible view.

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Born in Nepal, Nem Etsugen Bajra studied engineering in Japan, the Netherlands and the US.  He is currently the CEO of Calsoft Systems, an IT consulting company that he started with his wife Gyokuren.  He is the teacher and advisor of the Management Philosophy Study Group, a non-profit for business-owners.  He is leading sitting groups for business owners bi-weekly on Sundays and Mondays.  Etsugen is also the Founder and President of Mitra Path, Inc., a non-profit to help women and minorities start small businesses.  Etsugen enjoys hiking and travelling in his spare time.

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Preceptor Bill Earth-Mirror Corcoran has led numerous environmental campaigns in the United States, including the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign. He is currently a senior advisor to a climate advocacy funder. A practitioner at Zen Center of Los Angeles since 1997, he is exploring pathways that integrate Zen Buddhist practice and environmental action. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife Christy and his son Walden.

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Diane True Joy first came to ZCLA at the end of 1998 and received Jukai as part of the class of 2005. She has been a member, then Steward of the Brown Green Circle; a member of the Tenzo Circle, and the Facing Whiteness Circle and Co-founded the Encountering the Sutras study group. She works as a Landscape Architect.

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Patti Muso Giggans, ZCLA’s Board president, has been a Zen practitioner at ZCLA since 1999. She became a member of the board during a crucial time in the stabilization of Zen Center and then became president, an office which she has held for the last 15 years.   Muso has .been dedicated to trauma healing, violence prevention, gender and social justice through  her  40 years  as Executive Director/CEO at Peace Over Violence. She is grateful to the teachers, the teachings and all the sangha dharma sisters and brothers at ZCLA  who have been friends and guides along her journey. Muso lives in Los Angeles with her wife Reigen . In her spare time Muso likes to read and sometimes write poetry and loves spending time with her granddaughter Rain Justice.

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Mark Gensha Miller, born and raised in Los Angeles, has been a Dharma practitioner for 30 years in a range of Buddhist traditions and received Jukai in 2022 at ZCLA. He is a clinical psychologist in private practice, an aspiring Buddhist chaplain, and co-director of Mindful USC, a service of the University of Southern California’s Provost Office that offers free mindfulness and self-compassion training to all members of the USC community. He lives with his wife and twins in mid-city Los Angeles.

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Sensei Tom Baiten Dharma-Joy Reichert first came to ZCLA in October 1999.  He has served in a variety of positions over time, including on the Executive Circle, as a member of the Board of Directors for 10+ years, Corporate Secretary and Treasurer.  He is now Abbot and Head Priest/Preceptor.  Dharma-Joy received a bachelor’s degree in international affairs from Georgetown University, a master’s degree in Middle East Studies from Harvard University, and a law degree from the University of Virginia.  He served as the managing partner and then the general counsel of a law firm in Century City for 20 years.  He and his husband reside at the Zen Center. In his “spare” time, he is an (un)professional DJ, a dog dad, and a cat servant.

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