Rev. Hokyo Yoshin Lorenzo Garbo has been devoted to the Soto Zen lineage of Shunryu Suzuki since 2001, bringing more than two decades of steady practice to his teaching and service. After many years of lay practice while teaching economics at a liberal arts college, he entered residential practice at City Center in 2020, deepening his commitment to Zen training within a monastic setting.
He received the bodhisattva precepts from Tenshin Reb Anderson in January 2006 and priest ordination from Kiku Christina Lehnherr in September 2023. That same year, he completed a Certificate in Soto Zen Studies at IBS in Berkeley. Lorenzo has lived and practiced in all three SFZC temples and served as shuso, or head-student, at City Center in the winter of 2026.
He currently serves as San Francisco Zen Center’s Director of Hospitality and has also contributed through work-practice roles in the Guest Program at Green Gulch, the Online Program, and the Accounting department. Married to Rev. Zenrin Michael Novak since 2007, Lorenzo brings warmth, discipline, and a broad range of experience to the Zen path.