I am the son of a Presbyterian minister who went to Japan as a Rotary Club exchange student in high school and was co-captain of the wrestling team and member of the University Senate at Wesleyan University before turning to religion and art as a senior. I spent my twenties looking for God: working in a food co-op, dancing in an improvisational dance company and making stoneware pots as a professional potter.
After receiving my Masters in Liberal Studies from Wesleyan University in 1984, I became part-time art teacher, then, eventually, headmaster of the Hammonasset School in Madison, CT. In 1991, I moved to Worcester, MA to become the Executive Director of Dynamy, an experientially based internship school for students between high school and college. I left Dynamy in 2004 to become a full-time life and leadership coach.
My formal Zen training began in 1981 and, in 2011 I was officially recognized as a Zen Master in the Korean Rinzai tradition by my teacher Zen Master George Bomun Bowman. My wife, Melissa Myozen Blacker, Roshi and I have been leading a meditation group since 1991, first in the family room of our home, and now in the Boundless Way Temple here in Worcester, MA.
Since 1992, I have been a member of the First Unitarian Church here in Worcester where I have played many roles, from President of the congregation to occasional lay preacher. In 2005 I began working closely with the national Episcopal House of Bishops as consultant and lead trainer for their peer-coaching program.
Things you would not know by looking at me: I am a licensed Maine Sea Kayak Guide, novice jazz bass player, avid landscape gardener, blogger, tweeter, and aspiring unicyclist. My beloved daughter, Rachel Blacker Rynick, is a voice teacher in the Greater Boston Area.
Qualifications
- Zen Master Transmission, in Rinzai Zen tradition through Zen Master George Bowman, 2011
- Abbot of Boundless Way Zen, 2010
- Professional Certified Coach (PCC), International Coach Federation, 2005
- Certified Professional Coactive Coach (CPCC), The Coaches Training Institute, 2004
- Maine Sea Kayak Guide License, 2003
- Master of Liberal Studies, Wesleyan University, 1984
- Bachelor of Arts, Wesleyan University, 1974
