The Society is lead by the SNS Council in terms of major strategic direction. Members are those who have shown a history of commitment and contribution of their time and energies to the mission of the Society. The Council attends a weekly planning meeting over video conference, and works in between in many leadership roles. All volunteers are welcome to attend these planning meetings as well. Contact us if you are interested.
KaZ Akers (Council Member, Events Director) is a 10 time certified secular master meditation and Qigong teacher/trainer. She has been a published writer since age 14. Her four published books address self discovery, nature, meditation and self realization. She spent decades in entertainment performance, production and writing: TV, film, stage, music, live, and recorded. KaZ also became a veterinary technician to support her lifelong love of animals- both wild and domesticated. She’s still very involved as an animal welfare steward.
Sean Baumgardner (Social Media Director) is a writer, nature watcher, Walt Whitman and Ralph Waldo Emerson fan, and perpetually curious. Sean is a resident of Appalachia and seeks the history, knowledge, hospitality and mysticism of one of America’s story-rich regions. While Sean has experienced the traditions of Buddhism, Sufism, and Taoism, he derives inspiration from American voices that echo those of the east as found in Thoreau, Muir, Emerson and Whitman. Sean holds his BA in English and is soon to embark on obtaining his master’s degree.
Edwin Everly (Social Media Assistant) is a School Bus Driver, Mental Health Coach, Yoga, Meditation and Ayurvedic Medicine Teacher/Practitioner. He is very active, walking 6-8 miles daily and loves nature. Ed is married to his beloved wife Leslie. They dote on Zoe, their beautiful 20-pound pocket beagle. “She is rotten, but we love her and she loves her papa.”
Rick Heller (Council Member, Editing Director, Meditation Group Instructor) is author of Secular Meditation: 32 Practices for Cultivating Inner Peace, Compassion, and Joy – A Guide from the Humanist Community at Harvard. Rick has led meditations at the Humanist Hub since 2009. His writing has appeared in Buddhadharma, Free Inquiry, UUWorld, Tikkun, the Boston Globe, and more. He received a master’s degree in journalism from Boston University. He also holds a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from MIT.
James Jarrett (SNS Chaplain/Chaplain Supervisor) lives with his spouse Katie in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. For over 25 years, James has provided supportive and spiritual care to people in times of distress. First as an attorney, then as a church planter/pastor, and currently as a professional chaplain. In addition to providing spiritual and existential care and bereavement support to hospice patients and their families, James serves as a volunteer chaplain for SNS and its members as well as the SNS Chaplain Supervisor for others applying for endorsement as Spiritual Naturalist chaplains. His account of his own spiritual journey was his first article as a guest contributor to SNS (article link here).
Thomas Schenk Thomas Schenk (Council member) is on the Board of Directors, serves as Editing Director, and has contributed more than 80 articles. As a teenager more than 50 years ago, he began a quest to realize a deep spirituality free of supernaturalism. Towards that end, he explored world religions and in particular Zen Buddhism and at university received a B.A. in Anthropology, with a focus on the religions of earlier cultures. (He also has a M.B.A.) In SNS he finds an organization with people who share a goal similar to the one that inspired him as a youth. He spent much of his career as a research administrator, most recently at the University of Minnesota, and is now retired.
DT Strain (Founder, Council Member, Communications Director) is a Humanist minister, speaker, and writer on the topics of ethics, spirituality, and ancient philosophy. Rev. Strain is founder of the Spiritual Naturalist Society and serves on the SNS Council. He leads meditations and speaks on occasion at Jade Buddha Temple and for the V.A. Hospital meditation program. He also serves on the Board of Directors of The Stoic Registry. His Humanist Contemplative group and blog inspired a similar mindfulness group at Harvard University. He is former president of the Humanists of Houston and has served in the Chapter Assembly of the American Humanist Association. He has written for the Houston Chronicle Belief page online and his work has appeared nationally in other magazines, on Houston PBS television, and the journal “Essays in the Philosophy of Humanism“. DT Strain has studied the intersection of Eastern and Western ancient philosophy for over ten years, with a specialty on the overlap of concepts between some varieties of Buddhism and Stoicism.
Tony Wolf (Council Member) is an author, producer, teacher, antiquarian and creator. A born and raised atheist, he began creating experimental, artistic “poetic faiths” during the late 1980s. Tony served as the Cultural Fighting Styles Designer for the Lord of the Rings feature film trilogy (2001-2003) and has taught performance masterclasses throughout Europe, North America and Australasia. His novels include the popular Suffrajitsu trilogy (2015) and The Life and Fantastical “Crimes” of Spring Heeled Jack (2020) and he co-produced and directed the independent documentaries Bartitsu: the Lost Martial Art of Sherlock Holmes (2011) and No Man Shall Protect Us: The Hidden History of the Suffragette Bodyguards (2018). In recent years, Tony’s essays, lectures and online courses have been featured via Morbid Anatomy, Atlas Obscura, OnlySky Media and Reimagine. In 2025 he edited the first volume of the interview anthology Poetic Faiths: New Religions and Rituals as Works of Living Art.
Matthew Washington (IT Director) is a Network Engineer for a FQHC in Great Falls, MT. An autodidact, Matt continued to study a number of different subjects, including various sciences, history, and philosophy, after his formal education ended. He aspires to contribute to a spiritual renaissance and discovered the Spiritual Naturalist Society after searching for organizations that provide guidance and community to those with similar, naturalistic worldviews. Matt enjoys reading, listening to lectures, spending time outdoors, and experiencing music. He plays a few musical instruments and performs in a local punk rock band as well. Matt is responsible for ensuring the functionality and maintenance of the technology that SNS utilizes.
See also our Contributing Writers and Advisory Board.
SNS would like to thank Emeritus Council Members & Staff as well.