Reiun Sanki Harold Schlechtweg is Practice Leader of the Southwind Sangha in Wichita Kansas. Sanki celebrated Jukai in 2010, Zaike Tokudo in 2013 and Shukke Tokudo in 2019. Sanki’s teacher and preceptor is Zenkai Taiun Michael Elliston, Roshi.
Sanki retired in 2015 after 20 years as director of the Service Employees International Union’s (SEIU) Kansas operations. Following his retirement, he volunteered for two years with the International Rescue Committee (IRC), teaching English to new immigrant arrivals. He became IRC’s Kansas Advocacy Coordinator in 2017, acting as liaison with local and state governments and creating a community education program aimed at host communities. He retired from IRC in 2015. Sanki is a leader in Wichita’s Delano neighborhood and led community support to establish Millwood Park. He is Chairperson of the Board of ICT Trees, a nonprofit, 501c3, devoted to expanding Wichita’s fast disappearing urban tree canopy.
Sanki is a veteran and served in the US Marine Corps. He earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism from Indiana University (1974) and a Master’s in Labor Studies from University of Massachusetts, Amherst (1988).
