President

Bill has been practicing Buddhism since 1998. Bill has lived and practiced in many places since then, settling in the Milwaukee area in 2018. He is retired (since 2023) from the Energy industry where his job involved frequent travel and long periods away from home.  He is happy to have the time now to deepen his practice and being more involved with the Milwaukee Zen Center.  Besides his practice, Bill is an avid bookworm, as well as a lover of nature and the great outdoors. 

Vice President

Kellett came to Soto Zen through reading (over and over) Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind by Suzuki Roshi. In addition to Zen practice, he has been a practicing disability attorney for thirty-five years, where he tries to meld the two practices to generate compassion toward his clients. When not studying dharma, he enjoys reading history and traveling with his wife, Jodi.

Membership Coordinator

I am a retired teacher. I taught emotionally disturbed adolescents for 31 years. I lived in Milwaukee for my whole life. I graduated from UWMadison in Chemical Engineering. I have been interested in Buddhism for many years and look forward to getting be acquainted with all the members.

Member at Large

Jonathan Elmergreen lives in Milwaukee and is the executive director of the Christine Center, an inter spiritual and interfaith retreat center and residential community in Willard, WI.  He has a rich history of leading nonprofits and working with universities, foundations, and boards. 

Jonathan received a BS in Sociology from UW–Madison and an MSW from the University of Pennsylvania, focusing on nonprofit management, systems, and leadership. 

His spiritual background is rooted in Zen Buddhism, the Mohican Native American tradition, and Christianity. 

He did jukai (lay ordination) with Reirin Seisho Gumbel. In the Plum Village Tradition, he has taken the Five Mindfulness Trainings and is an aspirant for the Order of Interbeing. 

Treasurer

Julia began studying Buddhism in high school, and joined a sangha in 2010.  She received jukai vows three years later.

She has over twenty-five years of professional experience in nonprofit administration and management, planning, budgeting and human resources.  She is also an award-winning artist, and enjoys gardening, reading and babysitting for her great grand-nephew.

Secretary

Mattias began practicing Buddhism in 2022 and joined the Milwaukee Zen Center after moving to Milwaukee in 2024. He works in product strategy, where he focuses on making manufacturing safer and less wasteful by applying technology with empathy and compassion.

Zen has had a profoundly positive impact on his life, and he is deeply grateful to be able to practice with the Milwaukee Zen Center community. In his free time, Mattias enjoys being outdoors with his wife and dog, as well as spending meaningful time with family and friends.

Member at Large

Tom Tolan (Kinho Bokushu) first practiced zazen in 1979 in Milwaukee and helped form a group in 1980 that would become the Milwaukee Zen Center. In those early years, the late Dainin Katagiri Roshi, abbot of the Minnesota Zen Meditation Center, was the group’s teacher. Tom has been a student of Shoho Michael Newhall since 2019 and was priest-ordained by him in October 2021 and transmitted in March 2025. Michael is based at Jikoji Zen Center in Los Gatos CA. Tom practices at the Milwaukee Zen Center with the Rev. Reirin Gumbel and at Ryumonji Zen Monastery in Iowa with Shoken Winecoff Roshi, and he's taking a course in the Process of Awakening from Rev. Taizen Verkuilen of Madison. Tom had a career in journalism, working for several newspapers and a magazine. He retired in 2019, and has been concentrating on his Buddhist practice since then.  He's married to Priscilla Pardini, a writer, and their son, Casey, is a journalist at CNN.

Building and Maintenance Coordinator

TJ Schmidt works in audiovisual systems commissioning and supports Milwaukee Zen Center through building stewardship and support of community practice.