Certified InterPlay Leader
Rev. Wakoh Shannon Hickey, PhD, BCC, is an educator, scholar, board-certified professional chaplain, and interfaith activist in the Napa Valley of California. Her religious name, Wakoh, rhymes with "taco." It is Japanese and means something like "harmony and happiness" — her ongoing exploration. Wakoh's first career was as a journalist covering politics, business, and law in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her second was/is as a professor of Religious Studies. Her third was/is as a chaplain in both university and medical settings. She has worked full-time in hospice care since 2018. She is also the author of a ground-breaking history of mind-body healing; a priest of Soto Zen Buddhism; a kayaker; a servant to two cats; and -- when she's got a good breeze and a clear field -- a pilot of stunt kites. She started InterPlaying in 2003 to balance the structure and rigors of Zen monastic practice and of academic life. She became a Certified Interplay Leader in 2014. She seeks ways to incorporate contemplative practices and InterPlay into both teaching and chaplaincy, to help people connect with themselves and one another, explore their creativity, and tap into self-acceptance, confidence, and joy!