Board of Directors and Advisors
Dave MyoKo Edgar, President
David MyoKo Edgar served on active duty in an Army Ranger Battalion from 1983 to 1986. He was introduced to meditation practice in 2007 at a Veterans Meditation Retreat facilitated by Claude AnShin Thomas. He has since gone through novice ordination with Claude AnShin and incorporated many of the tools of meditation into his daily life. In January 2020 he took vows as a Zen Budhist monk at the Magnolia Zen Center. He lives in Portland, Oregon where he currently works as a social worker with other veterans.
Eden MyoShin Steinberg, Vice President
Eden Steinberg worked for twelve years as a book editor at Shambhala Publications, where she met Claude AnShin Thomas in 2003, when she began editing his book. She holds a Masters in theological studies from Harvard Divinity School and a BA in the study of religion from Swarthmore College. She is working as a hospice and hospital chaplain in Boston, MA. She is an ordained novice in the Soto Zen tradition and in 2022 she became a Dharma Holder in Claude AnShin Thomas' lineage.
Wiebke KenShin Andersen, Clerk & Treasurer
Wiebke KenShin Andersen first met Buddhist practice and Claude AnShin Thomas, the foundation’s founder, in Berlin, Germany in 1994. Since 1998 she has worked as the assistant to Claude AnShin Thomas and as the clerk and treasurer of the Zaltho Foundation, Inc. In 1999 she took her novice ordination receiving the name KenShin (courageous heart). In 2014 she took her full nun’s ordination and became a Dharma Holder with Claude AnShin Thomas in 2015. She oversees all aspects of the foundation and cares for its organizational and administrative needs.
Marion GenRai Lukas, Director
Marion GenRai Lukas lives in Leverkusen, Germany. Since 2017 she is an ordained Zen Buddhist nun and became a Dharma Holder with Claude AnShin Thomas in 2018. She is the president of the Zaltho Sangha e.V. in Germany and coordinates the Zaltho Foundation’s event activities in Europe. She is the founding director of the White Light Zendo in Leverkusen, Germany where she currently lives with her Zen-cat Leander.
Hilary Harkness, Director
Hilary Harkness, mother of three, lives in Birmingham, Alabama with her wonderful youngest child, Nico, and her mischievous cat, Gilligan. Hilary is a full-time creative director for a magazine publisher and continues to do freelance work on the side. She met KenShin and AnShin through her sister and has been doing design work for the Zaltho Foundation since 2019.
Keith AnGyo Goffin, Director
Keith served in the US Army from 1982 till 2016 at which point he retired from active duty after serving over 33 years with numerous Special Operations Units as both a Senior Non-Commissioned Officer and a Commissioned Officer. He has over 40 months of direct combat experience. Keith met Claude AnShin Thomas while in attendance at a veterans retreat at the Magnolia Zen Center in 2018. Keith holds a M.A. in Management in Organizational Developement from Webster University and a B.S. in Eastern Philosophy from East Tennessee State University. He currently spends time between his home in Maine, Tennessee and the Magnolia Zen Center in Mary Esther, Florida.
Nancy AnGyo LaNasa, Advisor
Nancy LaNasa lives in Pensacola, FL with her husband of more than three decades, Tom. She has known Claude AnShin Thomas since 2011 and is grateful to live just 45 minutes away from The Magnolia Zen Center. Nancy has been a hatha yoga teacher for more than 25 years and owns Abhaya Yoga in Pensacola, FL. She attended her first Veterans' Retreat in 2013 with Claude AnShin which led to many insights.
Travis Schefcik, Advisor
Travis served 22 years on active duty as an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (drone) pilot and camera operator for Special Operations. He lives in Pensacola with his wife, Holly. After moving to the area, he contacted the Magnolia Zen Center to offer support in promoting their work with veterans.