Executive | Author | Teacher
Billy leads mission-driven organizations with clarity, presence, and purpose.
Billy's Work
The Empty Path
Executive Leadership
Executive Leadership
After publishing over 100 articles on policy, leadership, and mindfulness, Billy wrote The Empty Path, a book on clarity, lessening, and purposeful living. Published by New World Library in 2025, it includes Zen wisdom, mindfulness practices, and personal anecdotes that have spoken to a growing community of readers.
Executive Leadership
Executive Leadership
Executive Leadership
Drawing on more than 20 years as an entrepreneur, strategist, advisor, and board leader, Billy serves as a senior executive to mission-driven organizations. Currently, Billy is Executive Director of the Colorado Safety Net Collaborative, Interim Executive Director of Community Health Services in Aspen, and Principal Researcher at the Romer Institute for Evidence-based Policy.
Teaching & Practice
Executive Leadership
Teaching & Practice
A certified mindfulness teacher and Zen practice leader in the Soto tradition, Billy offers classes, retreats, and dharma for seekers at every stage. Billy is the founder of Roaring Fork Zen, a practice community in Carbondale, CO, and board member of the Zen Center of Denver.
The Empty Path
ORDER NOW FROM AMAZON, BARNES & NOBLE or BOOKSHOP.ORG.
Published by New World Library in March 2025, The Empty Path book explores how lessening—of ego, noise, and unnecessary striving—creates more space for meaning, connection, and purpose. It weaves together personal experience, contemplative practice, and lessons from two decades of leadership.
“This is a truly extraordinary and transformative book. It distills the most profound and fundamental truths about happiness and healing to its essence—and is beautifully written as well.”
Dean Ornish, M.D., author of #1 New York Times bestsellers including UnDo It!
“Wynne gently calls into focus the richness of this moment in his accessible and actionable guidebook for living fully.”
Sharon Salzberg, author of Real happiness and Real Life
“An engaging, practical, and readable guide to the mystery at the heart of every ordinary moment."
Henry Shukman, author of Original Love and cofounder of The Way app
“The Empty Path is a heartfelt and wise guide for reflecting on and transforming our most basic assumptions about how we experience time and space,
showing us the way toward greater spaciousness and ease.”
Marc Lesser, author of Seven Practices of a Mindful Leader
“The Empty Path is a profound commentary on where true peace lies. A counterintuitive approach in a world that is forever caught up in the next thing, this book allows us to calm our minds and open our eyes to the perfection in this moment. I felt both less alone and more alive while reading it. Thank you, Billy.”
Annie Grace, bestselling author of This Naked Mind
About Billy
Billy spent two decades building and leading one of Washington's preeminent health policy firms, advising Fortune 500 companies, major health systems, and investors. Prior to that, he was counsel to the U.S. Senate Finance Committee, where he drafted key provisions of the Affordable Care Act. He has served on national and local boards, spoken extensively at national conferences, and published widely on health, wellness, and mindfulness.
Billy is the author of The Empty Path: Finding Fulfillment Through the Radical Art of Lessening, which was published by New World Library in 2025, a certified mindfulness teacher trained under Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach, and a Zen practitioner. He earned a B.A. from Dartmouth College and a law degree from UVA.
Currently, Billy is serving in executive leadership positions for mission-driven organizations: Executive Director of the Colorado Safety Net Collaborative, Interim Executive Director of Community Health Services in Aspen, and Principal Researcher at the Romer Institute for Evidence-based Policy. He is the founding practice leader of Roaring Fork Zen in Carbondale, Colorado, and board member of the Zen Center of Denver.
As featured in
