About the Authors

Franz Metcalf Franz’s background and varied professional achievements combine the spiritual and the scholarly, religious feeling and critical thinking. He began his graduate studies of religion 25 years ago, getting his master’s degree at the Graduate Theological Union, comparing Buddhist and Catholic spiritual practices. He earned a doctoral fellowship at the University of Chicago and pursued his abiding personal interest in Zen by writing his dissertation on the question, “Why do Americans practice Zen Buddhism?” He was awarded distinction on both his doctoral exams and his dissertation, receiving his PhD in 1997.

In the ivory tower, Franz is president of the American Academy of Religion, Western Region, and has participated in numerous scholarly meetings, in addition to organizing one—which is harder. He has published various articles and chapters on contemporary Buddhism and is book review editor of the Journal of Global Buddhism (http://www.globalbuddhism.org). Franz teaches religious studies at California State University, Los Angeles.

Down from the tower, Franz is a founding member of the Forge Institute for Spirituality and Social Change. He is also author of four other books, including What Would Buddha Do?, a best seller published in a dozen languages. He continues to inquire into Buddhism and psychology, both academically and personally. And he says hi to his daughter Pearl. He’s also working on a historical-spiritual detective novel. Prayers might be in order.

You can reach Franz at [email protected]. For seminars, keynote speeches, workshops, and kvetching, you can reach both Franz and BJ at their Web site http://www.buddhaatwork.com.

BJ Gallagher BJ sees her work as a spiritual calling. She preaches the gospel of compassionate management and wise people practices, helping her clients create a kinder, gentler workplace.

BJ has built her business on the success of her international best seller, A Peacock in the Land of Penguins (23 languages; over 350,000 copies), as well as her other business books, YES Lives in the Land of NO and It’s Never Too Late to Be What You Might Have Been. She also develops assessment tools and produces training videos.

Among BJ’s clients are corporations, professional associations, nonprofit groups, and government agencies, including IBM, Chevron, Kellogg, Toyota, Chrysler, Volkswagen, American Press Institute, and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. She has conducted seminars and delivered keynotes in Latin America, Canada, and Europe.

BJ is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Southern California, where she also pursued (but never caught) a PhD in social ethics. She wrote her first book, Telling Your Story, Exploring Your Faith, while she was the director of staff development at USC. She then moved on to serve as training manager for the Los Angeles Times.

In writing Being Buddha at Work, BJ has come full circle, integrating her interest in spirituality with her business expertise.

You can reach BJ at [email protected]. For illuminating seminars, inspiring keynote speeches, and engaging workshops, you can reach both Franz and BJ at their Web site, http://www.buddhaatwork.com.