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 planning meeting once per month 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.
Leigh Anderson (Administration Director) is recently retired after working 30 years in the aerospace industry, with degrees in computer programming and Cultural Anthropology. A well traveled native Texan, she lives there now near much of her extended family. Her interests include comparative religion, though she prefers not to label her beliefs specifically. She instead blends parts of different traditions and religions to craft her own individual spiritual outlook. Leigh volunteers at a local State Park and enjoys family outings, kayaking, hiking, photography and numerous outdoor activities. The Administration Director is responsible for communications, logistics, volunteer management, scheduling, and other administrative functions.
Aron Gamman (Membership Director) is a deeply curious nature lover, husband and parent to two wonderful boys. He is also a sometimes writer, drummer, guitar player and poet (when the muse strikes him) with deep cultural roots in Judaism. He has explored the philosophies of many traditions including Buddhism, neopaganism, etc. to spiritual naturalism he embraces, today. He graduated from Ohio Dominican University with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science focusing on environmental issues and recently received a Paralegal Certificate from Columbus State Community College. The Membership Director is responsible for cultivating a healthy, thriving, community within the membership. This includes promoting member inter-communications, activities and events, welcoming new members, the newsletter, and other ideas for encouraging a satisfying social, intellectual, and spiritual experience for members.
Michelle L. LeBlanc (Community Facilitator) has been happily married to her husband/best friend (Roger) since 1999. She is a stay-at-home mom of 3 young boys. Her main hobby is gardening (flowers). Her background involves being a spirit-filled, born-again Christian for 33+ years (up until January 2011). She was a worship leader, soloist, and church leader for many of those years. Today Michelle considers herself a Spiritual Agnostic Humanist. Michelle has always had a great desire to inspire people towards finding truth, meaning, and purpose in this life, and says she is very proud to be a part of the Spiritual Naturalist Society.
Thomas Schenk (Editing Director) says he “has no credentials besides having lived for 50-plus years”. He calls himself a space-age Taoist, Black Sheep Catholic, Perennial Philosophy Pantheist, Dharma Bum, which suggests he is not inclined to commitment. Tom maintains a largely unread blog called the Golden Hive of the Invisible, which can be found at hiveoftheinvisible.blogspot.com. Directors at Large are available to work on special assignments and where most able and where needs are most crucial. Thomas is currently serving on the Board of Directors and the writing staff and helping to foster community by initiating discussions on the member forums.
Tony Schlisser (I.T. Director) has roots in the Appalachian foothills of Tennessee. He has taken a winding path to live in Louisville Kentucky with his large and extended family as a philosopher and spiritual vagrant. A lifelong lover of learning, over the years Tony’s formal studies at various colleges have included majors in Bible, Christian education, English literature and philosophy, and human services. Having started as a fundamentalist Christian, Tony has followed a peripatetic path through paganism, studying enlightenment meditation, and atheism/agnosticism/ignosticism with peeks into Taoism, Buddhism, Queer/Gay Spirituality, Deep Ecology, and other spiritual paths. He is currently piecing together his own brand of spiritual naturalism that he has termed Sagaianism (a portmanteau word that derives from sage, saga, Sagan, and Gaia). Tony is a self-taught web developer who has helped several non-profit groups and businesses develop their web presence. The IT Director oversees all matters relating to the SNS website, databases, and online functions.
DT Strain (Executive 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 as its Executive Director. He also serves on the Board of Directors of New Stoa. 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 writes for the Houston Chronicle belief page online and his work has appeared nationally in other magazines, on Houston PBS, and the journal “Essays in the Philosophy of Humanism“. He attends Jade Buddha Temple and occasionally speaks at their English Dharma Group and other venues. His professional background includes leadership and strategic marketing for small business, major corporations, as well as local and international non-profits. The SNS Executive Director oversees operations of the Spiritual Naturalist Society, consistent with the fulfillment of its mission and its continued growth and health as an organization, and is responsible for keeping the membership informed of the activities of the organization.
Former Council Members
B.T. Newberg (Former Education Director) is an author, editor, teacher, and husband. Since 2000, he has been practicing meditation and ritual from a naturalistic perspective. Upon leaving the Lutheranism of his raising, he experimented with Agnosticism, Buddhism, Contemporary Paganism, and Humanism. He now blends all these experiences into his life as a Spiritual Naturalist. After founding the community blog HumanisticPaganism, he currently writes the column Naturalistic Traditions at Patheos and contributes writing and course design to the Spiritual Naturalist Society. Professionally, he holds a master’s degree in education and teaches English as a Second Language. Having lived in England, Malaysia, Japan, and Korea, B. T. Newberg currently resides in the place of his birth, Minnesota, with his wife and cat. As Education Director of the SNS, he is responsible for the Society’s educational programs, such as course design and collection of supporting materials in both the archives and courses. This also includes helping to select and manage mentors.
Jay N. Forrest (Former Education Director) is a Spiritual Naturalist and a Humanist Meditation Teacher. Jay is a Council Member of the Spiritual Naturalist Society, as well as being an ordained Humanist Celebrant and a member of the American Humanist Association. Jay is a Certified Meditation Teacher, having been trained in both Zen and Vipassana meditation practices. Jay has taken courses in Buddhism from Harvard University, Princeton University, and the University of Virginia. He is also on Staff at the Secular Buddhist Association. Jay did his undergraduate work at Central Bible College and Berean University, and received his Doctorate of Ministry from Trinity Evangelical Christian University. Jay is the author of a number of books including Practical Buddhism: Wisdom for Everyday Life and Secular Buddhism: An Introduction.
Other Volunteer Staff
Many other volunteers serve in various important capacities within the Society, for which we are grateful. If you would like to become a volunteer, please see this page and contact us!
Other than our writing staff, our volunteers have included:
Murtadha Ahmed
Lindsey Halpern-Givens
Rick Heller
Nicholas Johnson
John Klemesrud
Aminata Mansaray
Jacob Pewitt
Jean Schlisser
and more, maybe you!