Al Fusho Rapaport, Roshi has practiced and taught Zen for almost 50 years. He studied with Kozan Roshi, Maezumi Roshi, and Genpo Roshi until receiving Dharma Transmission from Shuzen Roshi in 2008. As President of Open Mind Productions, Al produced the first Yoga Journal Conferences as well as the Buddhism in America Conferences from 1996 until 2001. He is author of Open Mind Zen: A Guide to Meditation, and currently serves as  Director of Open Mind Zen International and MBSR Florida in Melbourne, Florida. Roshi is a member of the White Plum Asangha, the American Zen Teachers Association and Secretary/Treasurer of the Lay Zen Teachers Association.

Linda Myoki Lehrhaupt, Ph.D., Roshi has been practicing Zen since 1979. She received Dharma Transmission from Fusho Roshi in 2012.Linda was ordained as a Zen priest in 1992 and served as Shuso, or Head Priest in 1998. She has also studied with Genpo Merzel Roshi and Nico Tydeman Sensei. In her work life she is the Founder and Director of the Institute for Mindfulness-Based Approaches based in Germany. She has been teaching in adult education since 1971 and has degrees in Education and Performance Studies, where she specialized in religious ritual and traditions.She has been practicing Tai Chi and Chi Kung since 1978, and for twenty years directed teacher-training programs in both arts. She is the author of Tai Chi as a Path of Wisdom(Shambhala Publications, 2001) and Co-Author of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction: The MBSR Program for Enhancing Health and Vitality (New World Library, 2017).

David Jitsusan Vititoe, Ph.D., Sensei has been practicing Zen since 2005 and received Dharma Transmission from Fusho Roshi in 2019. Dave is a Lay Monk in the Open Mind Zen school and is a current member of the Lay Zen Teacher’s Association. In the early 2010’s, Dave volunteered at the Lake County Correctional facility, teaching meditation and emotional intelligence techniques to inmates in the corrections system. Dave received his doctorate in physics in 1997 and now working as a scientist and engineer building software systems for the U.S government. He currently lives in Melbourne, Florida.

Rev. Michael Jiun Stamper, Ph.D., Sensei has been meditating since the early 90’s, practicing Zen since 2009 and receiving Dharma transmission from Roshi Rapaport in 2020. Mike has a Ph.D. in Mythological Studies/Depth Psychology, and a BA/MA in Economics. He was ordained as an interfaith chaplain/minister in 2010, after graduating from Chaplaincy Institute in Berkeley, is an interfaith spiritual director, and was trained in Buddhist Chaplaincy at SATI in Redwood City, Calif. He has volunteered as a chaplain with the Florida Department of Corrections since 2009. He is retired from the banking industry and lives with his wife, Elizabeth, in the Melbourne. They have 7 children and one grandchild.

Andy Hoseki Solis, Sensei is a Co-founder of Open Mind Zen Naples and a long-time Buddhist practitioner.  He was introduced to meditation through martial arts in the mid-seventies, both of which he applied as a collegiate and professional tennis player.  He practiced law as a civil trial attorney from 1993 to 2019 in Naples, Florida. In 2016, Andy was elected as a County Commissioner in Collier County, Florida, and served through 2022.  While in office Andy applied his mindfulness and Zen practice to his role as a public servant to change how his community responds to the mental health and addiction crisis.   Hoseki became a student of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh’s in the late 1990s. In 2009, he was ordained by Thich Nhat Hanh as a member of the Order of Interbeing and became a student of Roshi Al Rapaport in 2015. Andy received Dharma Transmission from Roshi Rapaport in 2020.

Frank Seisho Diaz, Ph.D., Sensei began practicing Zen at Tallahassee’s Cypress Tree Zen Center in 1994. He joined Open Mind Zen in 2005 and received Dharma Transmission from Fusho Roshi in 2021. He is the founder and resident teacher at Open Mind Zen Indiana and is currently an tenured professor at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, where he teaches courses in music education and teacher wellness and conducts research on mindfulness in music and related arts. He has spent much of his career integrating contemplative practices into his work as a teacher, musician, and scholar, and is a frequent presenter on the topic at workshops and conferences both nationally and internationally.

Kellie Shojaku Garza M.A., LMHC, CST., Sensei is a licensed mental health counselor and has been practicing psychotherapy since 2004. A large part of her practice and focus has been on working with trauma survivors. Kellie received Dharma Transmission from Fusho Roshi in 2021. She enjoys integrating psychology with her Zen practice and teaching.

Robert Koho Epstein, Sensei has practiced meditation and a wide range of spiritual practices over the past 40 years. This includes Zen and mindfulness meditation, Yang style T’ai Chi, Iyengar Yoga, and Advaita Vedanta. Robert taught Iyengar Yoga and practiced deep tissue massage for 15 years in New York and was ordained by the New Seminary as an Interfaith Minister. He also started his acting studio and began training actors in Meisner Technique, a moment-to-moment acting method that he still teaches today. Robert received Dharma Transmission from Fusho Roshi in 2022.

Rev. Russell Kyofu Seikyo Mitchell, Sensei is a Certified Safety Professional. He is also a Fellow, and currently serves as Immediate Past President of the International System Safety Society Inc. Russ has studied under Fusho Roshi since 2012. Russ received Dharma transmission from Fusho Roshi in 2022 within Open Mind School of Zen. Russ is also a Dharma transmitted priest in the Clear Mind School of Zen. Russ teaches mindful awareness as a critical element in the practice of system safety and industrial/occupational safety as well as meditation within corporate environments. Russ teaches the traditional open mind koan curriculum as well.

Rev. Joshua Kojo Paszkiewicz, DMin, DHA, RN, LPC, BCC, sensei is a Zen priest, licensed psychotherapist, registered nurse, board certified clinical chaplain, and a Diplomate Clinical Pastoral Education supervisor. He holds various degrees in religion, ministry, mental health counseling, professional nursing, psychology, healthcare administration, and liberal studies. Kojo has served as an official delegate to many major Buddhist events both nationally and internationally, including the first White House Buddhist Leader’s Conference, and the United Nation’s World Day of Vesak. Rev. Kojo is a fully authorized teacher in Vietnamese and Korean Zen schools and received dharma transmission from Fusho Roshi in 2023. 

Tim Ryuko Langdell, sensei is a board-certified hospice chaplain and is both the head priest and guiding teacher at StillCenter Zen in Pasadena, California. He holds an MDiv from Claremont School of Theology and a Ph.D. in Psychology from University College London. He is the author of several books and is a transmitted priest in Clear Mind Zen. He is also a fully transmitted teacher in the Korean (Seung-Sahn) Zen tradition where he was awarded “Inka” and the title of ‘Soensanim’ and received Transmission in the Vietnamese (Thich Thien An) School. Ryuko began his Zen training in 1973 when he attended the Zen Center of Los Angeles and Tassajara Zen Center. He graduated from Upaya’s Buddhist Chaplaincy Training program and was made an Assistant Teacher in Open Mind Zen in 2022.

Angie Reed Shinho Garner began practice in the early 90s—and training in 2010—working with Gil Fronsdal and Dosho Port before coming to Roshi Al Rapaport and Open Mind Zen.

Angie Reed is an artist, activist, and founding member of the Buddhist Justice Collective. Angie Reed also studied Moral Injury Recovery with the Shay Moral Injury Center, with an eye to supporting community activists and organizers suffering from trauma and burnout in the aftermath of the 2020 Uprising. Angie Reed has lived on four continents, collaborated on anthropological research into veteran-civilian relations, taught drawing to sheikhas, and sustained a personal art practice which expanded into two art spaces back home in Louisville, Kentucky.

Angie Reed offers Zen training that is trauma-informed and inclusive with regards to race, gender, age, disability, and neurodiversity. In 2022 Roshi Al recognized Angie Reed Shinho as an Assistant Teacher in Open Mind Zen.

Seth Eric Dennis (Kongo Rikishi) Inspired by the poetry and stories of Ryokan, Seth began practicing Zen 14 years ago. He is currently an assistant koan teacher in the Openmind Zen Sangha studying under Roshi Mitchell and has been given Dharma Transmission in the Clearmind Zen West lineage from his first teacher Roshi Sorenson. Seth makes his living as a chaplain. He likes to think of his hospital as “a temple of birth and death.” and feels very lucky and blessed to be able to study and practice his art there.

Berry Crawford first started practicing Zen meditation in 1992. He lived at the Sonoma Mountain Zen Center and practiced as a resident in the mid 1990s. Afterwards, he practiced with Diane “Eshin” Rizzetto in the Ordinary Mind Zen School started by Joko Beck. Later, Berry became a student of John “Shoji” Sorenson and in 2022 was authorized to independently teach Zen. He is a koan student of Russell “Kyofu Seikyo” Mitchell in the Open Mind Zen School and was authorized by him as an Assistant Teacher in June 2023.

Wendy Jorikki Hixon, LMHC, NBCCH, Assistant Teacher, is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and a National Board-Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist. Wendy began her career as a Police Detective specializing in undercover investigations, navigating high-stress, high trauma situations. Seeking balance, Wendy turned to Zen, initiating her meditation practice in 2000 and became an Assistant Teacher in 2023.

Beyond her Zen practice, Wendy delves into the intersectionality of Buddhism and neuropsychology, both studying and teaching this fusion. Her diverse skill set includes serving as a Zen Dialogue Facilitator, spiritual counseling, guiding/teaching meditation, and instructing Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction.