Workshop and Plenary Presenters
Short Biographies, Listed Alphabetically
Thanks to all of our presenters for sharing your experieince, vision and hope.
Br. Curtis Almquistis the Superior of the Society of Saint John the Evangelist and formerly a parish priest. He is active as a retreat leader and spiritual director, and lives at SSJE’s Monastery in Cambridge, Massachusetts. More information about the SSJE brothers is available at www.SSJE.org
Scott Bader-Saye is the Professor of the Helen and Everett H. Jones Chair in Christian Ethics and Moral Theology at Seminary of the Southwest in Austin. His academic interests include theology and culture, social ethics, postmodern/post-liberal political theology, and emerging church and Jewish-Christian dialogue. His publications include Following Jesus in a Culture of Fear, Church and Israel After Christendom: The Politics of Election, contributions to The Blackwell Companion to Christian Ethics and The Cambridge Companion to the Gospels, and articles in journals such as The Journal of the Society of Christian Ethics, Modern Theology, Studies in Christian Ethics, Pro Ecclesia, Cross Currents and Christian Century. He received a PhD from Duke University, an M.Div. from Yale Divinity School, and an AB from Davidson College.
Susan Beaumonthas been involved in the development of leaders and organizations for more than twenty five years. Prior to joining the Alban Institute, Susan served as an Area Minister in the American Baptist Churches. She also managed her own consulting practice, working with congregations, nonprofit organizations and corporate clients. Susan served on the faculty of two business schools, teaching graduate level courses in leadership, management and organizational behavior. She worked for a number of years as an Audit Manager and Human Resource Manager in a major corporation. Susan is an ordained minister in the American Baptist Churches, USA. Susan’s consulting work specializes in the unique dynamics of large congregations and the staff team dynamics of middle judicatories. Her work synthesizes the best of business practice with careful theological reflection.
Dr. Steven Bishop came to the Seminary of the Southwest from the Boston area in 2004 where he earned three graduate degrees and taught at several universities. Formerly an ordained minister of the Church of Christ, he served churches in Texas and Massachusetts before beginning graduate studies in the early 1990s. Dr. Bishop’s academic interests include the poetry of the Hebrew Bible and literary translations of it into English, and the influence of Hellenistic thought on Hebrew wisdom literature. In addition to writing book reviews and presenting scholarly papers, Dr. Bishop assisted the well known Old Testament scholar Bernhard Anderson in editing and revising two books: Out of the Depths: The Psalms Speak for us Today and Contours of Old Testament Theology. Dr. Bishop worked again with Anderson as an editor and contributor for the fifth edition of Understanding the Old Testament. That book was published in spring 2006. B.S., Abilene Christian University. M.S., Texas A&M University. M.T.S., Boston University School of Theology. M.A. and Ph.D., Boston University.
Dr. Bob Bottoms has agreed to serve as Seabury-Western Theological Seminary's interim dean and president from January 1, 2010 until June 30, 2011. Dr. Bottoms retired in July 2008 after 22 years as president of DePauw University. He holds a BA from Birmingham-Southern College, a divinity degree from Emory, and a doctorate from Vanderbilt. To support efforts on behalf of moral reflection, DePauw University announced in September 2005 the formation of the Janet Prindle Institute for Ethics. The Institute helps faculty and students integrate the study of ethical issues across the curriculum, focusing greater attention on the role ethics plays in every individual’s personal and professional life. Today Dr. Bottoms serves as the first director of the Institute. While President of DePauw, Dr. Bottoms led two highly successful fund-raising endeavors, the most recent being the Campaign for DePauw: Leadership for a New Century, which culminated in April 2000 with gifts and commitments in excess of $374 million. As a result of that record-setting effort, DePauw has hired additional faculty, constructed new state-of-the-art buildings, renovated existing structures, and gained recognition as a leading national liberal arts college. In addition to his service as Chair of Seabury’s Board, Bob also serves on the board of the Joyce Foundation in Chicago and has been a consultant to the Lilly Endowment, the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations and the Fund for Theological Education. He has written articles and opinion pieces for The New York Times, The Indianapolis Star and the Chicago Tribune. He and his wife, Gwen Vickers Bottoms, are active members of Trinity Episcopal Church in Bloomington, Indiana.
The Very Rev. Dr. Joseph Britton, Dean of Berkeley Divinity School at Yale, has extensive pastoral experience in parishes of the Episcopal Church in the United States and Europe. He served as Canon Missioner of the Convocation of American Churches in Europe, and was the founding director of the Institute of Christian Studies. With wide involvement in ecumenical relationships, he has a particular academic interest in piety as the synthesis of religious faith and practice in the lives of believing men and women. As an Episcopal Church Foundation Fellow, he completed a dissertation on "Piety as Participation in the Divine Concern: The Mystical Realism of A. J. Heschel." Dean Britton is associate editor of the Anglican Theological Review. He has published articles in The Anglican Theological Review, Sewanee Theological Review, and Anglican and European History. He holds an A.B. from Harvard University, an M.Div. from The General Theological Seminary, and a Th.D. Institut Catholique de Paris.
Grace Burton Edwardsserves as St. Richard's School Chaplain in Trinity, Indianapolis. Grace's emphasis at St. Richard's School is on teaching divinity classes for the Middle School students, as well as participating as a chapel leader. An American Baptist by upbringing, she was recently ordained as an Episcopalian deacon. Grace holds a BA in English from Mississippi College, a Master of Divinity from Christian Theological Seminary, and a Doctor of Ministry in Congregational Development at the Seabury Institute of Seabury-Western. She is married to Rev. Taylor Burton-Edwards, and their children are Jacob, age 13, and Will, age 9.
The Reverend Canon James G. Callaway Jr., is the Deputy for Faith Formation and Development at Trinity Church Wall Street. He administers the Trinity Grants Program’s philanthropy in its program objectives: locally, in Strengthening the Church in New York as a Catalyst for Social Transformation; nationally, in Spiritual Formation and Development in the Episcopal Church; and, internationally, in Theological Education by Extension with African partners and Telecommunications in the Anglican Communion. He also has responsibility for Trinity Institute, The Clergy Leadership Program and the Trinity Preschool. Canon Callaway received his B.A. from the University of the South in Sewanee, and an M. Div. from General Theological Seminary. Trained as a Pastoral Counselor, he is Chair of the Psychotherapy and Spirituality Institute in New York, and a director of Amsterdam House nursing home. He is a Provincial Canon of the Church of the Province of Southern Africa. He participated in four conferences of the Council of the African Provinces (CAPA) and was an observer at Assemblies VII and VIII of the World Council of Churches. Malcolm Cooper Malcolm Cooper is a Registered Investment Advisor, Senior Vice President, and member of the Consulting Group with RBC Wealth Management in Austin, Texas. A graduate of The University of Texas at Austin, he holds BBA and MBA degrees. A member of the Investment Management Consultants Association, he brings over sixty years of combined investment advisory experience. Mr. Cooper has served as President and Board Member of the Austin Children’s Museum, Trustee and Chairman of the Finance Committee of the Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest, Past President and member of the Executive Committee of the Capital Area Council Boy Scouts, Board Member of the Austin Symphony Orchestra, Member of the Admiral’s Club, Member of the Town and Gown of Austin and the University of Texas, and Board Member and Past-President for the Headliners Club of Austin. Mr. Cooper is a recipient of the honorary awards from the Boy Scouts, Silver Antelope and Silver Beaver. In 1988, he was awarded a Doctor of Humane letters (Honoris Causa) from the Episcopal Seminary of the Southwest. Simon Cowart is Internet Technology Coordinator at the Alliance for Christian Media/Day1 where he has worked since September of 2005. Having also co-founded a small new media company in his own time, Simon has worked extensively with companies, churches and other organizations to improve their use of new media and internet technology, and assist them in adapting to a changing media landscape.
Phil Dow, director of equity strategy for RBC Wealth Management, has more than 30 years experience in the securities business. In his job with RBC Wealth Management, Dow travels the country meeting with the firm’s financial consultants and their clients, and advises them on how to best manage their financial assets. As the firm’s chief markets spokesperson, Dow frequently appears on CNBC, FOX Business News and Bloomberg TV, and is often quoted in publications including The New York Times, Associated Press, and The Wall Street Journal and other magazines and newspapers from around the country. He is also author of the book The Citizen Investor. Dow began his career at RBC Wealth Management in 1997. Previously, he was director of retail equity marketing for Piper Jaffray in Minneapolis for 11 years, before which he served as a branch manager with the firm. Earlier in his career, Dow held positions as a regional sales officer at Kidder Peabody and syndicate manager at H.O. Peet & Co. He has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Baker University in Baldwin City, Kansas.
Kate Kimball Eaton is the leader of the Arts and Music Team for the Wilderness and has been involved in the vision and development of the service since its inception. She has re-cast traditional hymns, recruited musicians from different ethnic traditions, and coordinated the music that supports the innovative liturgy. Her goal has been to draw upon ancient, world, chant and Taizé styles in order to bring a fresh perspective to the traditional music we hear in church. Artistically, Kate has imagined and created spiritual environments that support each season through the use of fabrics and tapestries, ambient lighting, and projection of still and animated images on walls, screens, scrim, and the outside towers of the Cathedral at night. She has also designed prayer stations that are sometimes simple and other times dramatic in a three-dimensional quality that takes one imaginatively into a particular story of the Bible. She has used myrrh and other oils and incense, icons and other images, candles, and other vehicles for the senses in these prayer stations. The Wilderness uses the whole space of the church, so movement in worship has played a vital role. People are often invited to journey throughout the Cathedral as they contemplate a Biblical story, scripture verse, or theme of a particular season. All this gives us a chance to enter into the Liturgy through all the senses. To accomplish all of this each Sunday, Kate has recruited a group of volunteers who assist in the setting up and taking down of the service. The experience of working together has become one of great community building. Kate lives in Denver with her husband, Peter Eaton. They enjoy hiking, snow-shoeing, and spending time with friends. For more information, visit www.kateeaton.com
Ward Ewing became the Dean of The General Theological Seminary in 1998, after thirty-one years as a pastor who combined scholarly pursuit with congregational ministry. A graduate from Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut, and General Seminary, he served congregations in Tennessee, Florida, Kentucky, and New York (Buffalo), representing a diversity of size, environment, and social class. In addition to numerous articles, he has published two books and three courses for Adult Education. In his writing and teaching he combines the important resources from academic scholarship with the practical experience of congregational life. He is a sought-after speaker and has led conferences across the United States and Canada. He also serves as a Trustee on the General Service Board of Alcoholics Anonymous. As Dean of General Seminary he has overseen a sixty-million-dollar revitalization of the campus, including the development of the Desmond Tutu Education Center. Programs have been extended dramatically to include training for lay leaders of the church and the development of a focus on peace and reconciliation.
Jack Gardner, cima, aifa,, is the President of Thornburg Securities Corporation, distributor
for the Thornburg family of mutual funds and a Managing Director of Thornburg Investment Management, the advisor. Jack has been involved in the investment advisory industry for over thirty years. Jack received the Certified Investment Management Analyst® designation from the Investment Management Consultants Association (“IMCA”) and the Accredited Investment Fiduciary Analyst® designation from The Center for Fiduciary Studies. He is the author of How to Write an Investment Policy Statement and is a frequent author on a variety of retirement income and fiduciary topics. He is the recipient of the 2009 Stephen Kessler Writing Award from IMCA for his Investments and Wealth Monitor article, “The Case for a High and Growing Stock Dividend Strategy in Retirement Portfolios”. He is also on the Policy Board for the Investment Fiduciary Leadership Council. Jack holds a B.S. degree in Accounting from Stonehill College and an M.S. in Computer Information Systems from Bentley College.
Georgiana Gleason Georgianna Gleason holds a Master of Divinity degree from Union Theological Seminary in New York City. She is the Executive Director of Episcopal Charities and Community Services for the Diocese of Chicago and is a member of St. James Cathedral. She has worked in the not for profit sector for over 30 years, in both religious and secular organizations and spent two years as a management consultant in a for profit company. She currently serves on the boards of Interchurch Refugee and Immigration Ministries, Chicago Metropolitan Development Association, and the Industrial Areas Foundation.
The Rev. Adam Greene is a twenty-three year investment banking veteran, and someone still very involved in the corporate and venture capital community. He will address these two issues by trying to present a way for endowed parishes to tackle the current crisis from a more business-like approach, while at the same time acknowledging that the Churches cannot be purely “market driven”.
Rachel Hatch joined the IFTF (Institute for the Future) staff as a Research Manger in June 2008. She is an Iowa native with a strong background in Christian theology and world religion. She has a Master of Divinity degree from Yale Divinity School, where she served as President of the Student Council. In addition, Rachel graduated with a certificate in Anglican Studies from Berkeley Divinity School at Yale and won the John A. Wade Prize for preaching. As an Episcopal laywoman, Rachel’s seminary internship placement was at the Episcopal Church Center in New York City. There, she worked for the Office of Women’s Ministries where she strengthened the Beijing Circles program to promote the Millennium Development Goals as well as mentoring for women in ministry.
The Rev. Daniel R. Heischman, D.Min. is the executive director of the National Association of Episcopal Schools (NAES). Prior to his work with NAES, Mr. Heischman was chaplain at Trinity College, Hartford, CT and was also head of the upper school and assistant headmaster of St. Albans School, Washington, DC. He served as executive director of the Council for Religion in Independent Schools (CRIS) and as chaplain and then assistant headmaster of Trinity School, New York. A noted speaker, workshop leader, and author, Mr. Heischman is an adjunct instructor in the Educational Leadership program of the Center for Lifetime Theological Education at Virginia Theological Seminary. He preaches and leads faculty and parent workshops and retreats at Episcopal and independent schools, and serves as a facilitator for faculty development programs related to ethics and the moral development of students. His book The Grounds on Which We Dwell features twelve essays on the establishment of the school as a moral community and the challenges involved in moving from blueprint to actuality in realizing moral community with students and faculty. Mr. Heischman was educated at the College of Wooster in Wooster, Ohio. He attended Jesus College, University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, earning a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Arts degree. He earned a Master of Sacred Theology from Yale Divinity School. In 1987 he earned a Doctor of Ministry degree from Princeton Theological Seminary in Princeton, New Jersey.
The Rev. F. Washington "Tony" Jarvis has been appointed Director of the E.L.M (Educational Leadership and Ministry Program) at Berkeley Divinity School. A graduate of St. Mark's School and Harvard College, he holds an M.A. from Cambridge University and an S.T.B.. from the Episcopal Theological School. Jarvis is the author of six books and numerous articles in the fields of history, education, and religion. His most recent book, With Love and Prayers, is a collection of addresses to students and won the Christopher Award for Adult Nonfiction. He has been awarded honorary doctorates by Bowdoin and Middlebury Colleges. Jarvis’s abiding concern for education has been a lifelong vocation. An Episcopal priest who served as Curate at St. Paul's Church in Cleveland from 1964 to 1971, he is well acquainted with the concerns of a very large parish, and of the needs of the Church's youth. At St. Pauls he developed programs that attracted young people from all over the city. Thereafter, he was appointed Chairman of the History Department at University School in Cleveland, and soon after, Assistant Director, Upper School. For thirty years starting in 1974 he was headmaster of the oldest school in continous existence in North America - The Roxbury Latin School in Boston. Since 2004 he has taught at schools in Africa, Australia and twice at Eton College. Jarvis's expertise has been internationally recognized. He has served on several commissions and school boards in the United States. He is a preacher as well as a frequent conference speaker across the world for those who are exploring the spiritual dimensions of secondary education.
Bob Johansen has worked for more than 30 years as a forecaster, exploring the human side of new technologies. He has a deep interest in the future of religion and its impact on business, society, and individuals. Bob works mainly with senior corporate executives across a wide range of industries. He has rich experience in presenting IFTF's foresight and then drawing out insights-inputs to strategy-and-action steps. Bob served as IFTF's president and CEO from 1996 to 2004. Still on IFTF's Board and the IFTF Leadership Team, Bob now spends most of his time with IFTF sponsors, writing, public speaking, and facilitating content. Before his role as president, Bob created and led IFTF's program on emerging information technologies-now called the Technology Horizons Program. Since joining the IFTF staff in 1973, he has explored the social and organizational impact of new technologies. One of the first social scientists to study the human and organizational impacts of communications and computing technologies, his focus is primarily three to five years out, going as far as ten years when possible, and occasionally as far as 20 years. Bob is a frequent keynote speaker. He has taught both graduate and undergraduate courses and is the author of seven books, including Get There Early, Upsizing the Individual in the Downsized Organization, and GlobalWork. A social scientist with an interdisciplinary background, Bob holds a BS degree from the University of Illinois, where he also played varsity basketball, and a Ph.D. from Northwestern University. Bob also has a divinity school degree from what is now called Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School, where he studied comparative religions.
The Rev. Laurel Johnston In January 2009, Laurel developed a resource from the Office of Stewardship titled “Finding Hope in Hard Times: Seven Spiritual Practices” to help faith communities nurture generosity and hope in the midst of fear and anxiety. Since its release, more than 20,000 copies have been ordered in English and Spanish. Prior to serving as Curate at St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church in the Diocese of El Camino Real, Laurel was director of development for CARE, an international relief and development organization working in 167 countries to help families break the cycle of poverty. Prior to CARE, she served as major gifts and public relations officer for the American Red Cross, Los Angeles Chapter. Laurel serves on the boards of The Episcopal Network for Stewardship (TENS) and the Ecumenical Stewardship Center. She earned her bachelors degree in international relations and Spanish from U.C. Davis and earned her Master of Divinity degree from Church Divinity School of the Pacific (CDSP) in Berkeley, California. Laurel is based out of the Church Center’s regional office in Omaha, Nebraska.
Brian Jones founded Details Communications in 1991. With a degree in Graphic Communications and Advertising from Samford University, Brian started a company that focuses on the unique marketplace of Christian organizations with a need to leverage branding, communications, marketing, web, and multi-media in order to reach their goals and pursue their vision. Brian provides branding and strategy expertise and has been instrumental in shaping the brands for many flagship churches, Christian colleges, profile ministry groups, and recognized innovators and leaders in the Christian marketplace. Brian has been a featured speaker and guest writer for various Christian communication conferences and publications.
The Reverend Cynthia Briggs Kittredge is the Ernest J. Villavaso, Jr. Professor of New Testament at Seminary of the Southwest. Educating preachers and teachers to be conscious and responsible interpreters of scripture, Professor Kittredge is committed to giving students the exegetical and interpretive tools both to appreciate and to critically engage with the biblical texts for theological reflection. Her research specialty is hermeneutics and the letters of Paul. Professor Kittredge, a contributor to the new Oxford Annotated Bible, is the author of Conversations with Scripture: The Gospel of John and Community and Authority: The Rhetoric of Obedience in the Pauline Tradition. She co-edited The Bible in the Public Square: Reading the Signs of the Times and Walk in the Ways of Wisdom: Essays in Honor of Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza. Prior to joining the seminary faculty in the fall of 1999, Professor Kittredge taught at Harvard University and the College of the Holy Cross. She serves as Assisting Priest at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Austin.
Adron Krekeler Adron Krekeler is a financial advisor with MICG Investment Management in Alexandria, Virginia. His focus is on cash management, investment management, lending, and retirement planning for individuals, small to mid?sized businesses and not?for?profit organizations. He creates comprehensive wealth management plans tailored to the unique requirements of his clients. Prior to joining MICG, Adron was a financial advisor at Morgan Stanley. He and his partner, David Brower, joined MICG in 2007. Adron is a retired Naval officer who served for over 23 years on active duty. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from the University of the State of New York and the Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC) and Estate Planning Consultant designations from the American College at Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Adron is involved as a volunteer with several local not?for?profit organizations and is a member of the Alexandria Chamberof Commerce.
Tom Kryder-Reid has been rector of Trinity Church, Indianapolis since 2000. Educated at Syracuse University, the University of Chicago, and Virginia Theological Seminary, he was ordained deacon and priest in 1986 and served as assistant rector of St. Columba’s Church, Washington DC and rector of St. Bartholomew’s Church, Baltimore before moving to Indianapolis in 1998. Prior to his election as Trinity’s rector he was a consultant for the Indianapolis Center for Congregations and priest in charge of St. Timothy’s Church. Tom’s wife Liz is associate professor of anthropology and director of museum studies at Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis; their children are Emily, Caroline, and Grace.
The Reverend Dr. James B. Lemler, Priest-in-Charge of Christ Church Greenwich, is a nationally known leader, educator, consultant, preacher and pastor. Prior to his appointment at Christ Church Greenwich he served as the Director of Mission for the Episcopal Church, USA and was the Dean and President of Seabury-Western Theological Seminary. Additionally, his ministry has included service in a large and vital urban parish and Episcopal school, as a university chaplain and in two major cathedral churches. Having performed significant public ministry and served as a leader at the diocesan, provincial and national level, Lemler, helped to shape the mission of the Episcopal Church in chairing roles for the Standing Commission on the Church in Metropolitan Areas and the Standing Commission on Domestic Mission and Evangelism. He is widely called upon as a teacher, writer, conference leader, preacher, and consultant in areas of congregational development, leadership development, education, spirituality, and mission. His experience also includes consultation and leadership in philanthropy and stewardship with various foundations and the Consortium of Endowed Episcopal Parishes, and in education through the National Association of Episcopal Schools and the Council of Episcopal Seminary Deans.
Among many other books and publications, he is the editor of the Transformation Series (2008) from Church Publishing Group and the author of the third book in that series, Transforming Congregations.
The Rev. Canon Gray Lesesne oversees, coordinates and integrates all of the Cathedral’s congregational life and ministries into a seamless whole. Gray's role is to empower prayer and service, particularly in the areas of adult spiritual formation, welcoming and integrating newcomers, and pastoral care. Passionate about developing Episcopal congregations into intentional communities of deep discipleship, spiritual transformation, and excellent ministry, Gray began his ministry with Christ Church Cathedral in 2008. He previously served as rector of All Saints' Episcopal Church in Glen Rock, NJ. During his five years there, Sunday attendance more than doubled, youth and family ministries were revitalized, stewardship giving increased by 250 percent, lay leadership was developed and revitalized, and the congregation completed its first capital campaign in over forty years. Gray often serves other congregations as a consultant for stewardship, evangelism, leadership development, and congregational renewal. Originally from Columbia, SC, he graduated cum laude from Presbyterian College in Clinton, South Carolina and completed his M.Div. at Virginia Theological Seminary where he is currently completing his thesis for the D.Min.
John LewisIs the Co-Director of the The Work+Shop, a ministry in partnership with St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, San Antonio, and a community of ecumenical supporters. The Work+Shop works to strengthen Christian communities by equipping them over time to practice discernment and discipleship in all areas of daily life. Dr. Lewis also teaches New Testament classes part-time at Virginia Theological Seminary, the Seminary of the Southwest, Trinity University (San Antonio), and the Iona School for Ministry (Diocese of Texas). He received his D.Phil. degree from the University of Oxford, and his B.A. from Houston Baptist University, and a J.D. from the University of Houston Law Center. His M.Div. is from Virginia Theological Seminary. In Dr. Lewis is the author of Looking for Life: The Role of “Theo-Ethical Reasoning” in Paul’s Religion as well as numerous articles and reviews in both theological and legal journals, and presented papers at religious and legal meetings. He was ordained in 1997 upon graduation from Virginia Seminary, after an enjoyable career in law in San Antonio from. For further information, see the Work+Shop’s website www.theworkshop-sa.org.
Fletcher Lowe is Rector Emeritus, Church of the Holy Comforter, Richmond, VA; Priest Associate, St. Paul’s, Richmond, VA. A native of Greenville, SC, he graduated from Washington and Lee University with a B.A. in Economics. He received his M.Div. from General Theological Seminary. He served as Honorary Canon at St. Peter’s Cathedral, Tororo, Uganda and served as Rector at Holy Comforter in Richmond. Canon Lowe has served congregations in South Carolina, Virginia, Delaware and The Convocation of American (Episcopal) Churches in Europe. He served on the Board of the Presiding Bishop’s Fund for World Relief board (ERD) and was a founding Board member of the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy. He currently serves on the Boards of Housing Opportunities Made Equal and Voices for Virginia’s Children; and is a Convener for Episcopal Partners for Faithfulness in Daily Life. He recently published an e-book through LeaderResources, Baptism: the Event and the Adventure, the Journey from the Font into the World. His passions include his Christian faith, family, social justice, the reclaiming of the centrality of baptism, the plight of Palestinian Christians, and interfaith and multicultural relations. His life has also been blessed and enhanced by playing and coaching Lacrosse, enjoying dark chocolate with mint, collecting nativity sets from around the world, body surfing, Don Quixote, windmills, pink flamingoes, butterflies, jazz, bagpipes, circuses, rainbows, tartan and plaid, and traveling to life-expanding places while taking photographs along the way.
Kenneth Malcolm is an Associate Priest overseeing Adult Christian Formation as well as Communications at St David’s Episcopal Church, Austin, Texas. Rev’d Malcolm works as a consultant and retreat leader with parishes and dioceses around the country. His special areas of interest include congregational transition, reclaiming the sacred and the holy in congregations, as well as adult spiritual formation. Rev’d Malcolm can be reached at kmalcolmtx@gmail.com.
Ian S. Markham was appointed as Dean and President of Virginia Theological Seminary in August 2007. He completed his Ph.D. at University of Exeter in the United Kingdom where he focused on Christian Ethics. He previously earned an M.Litt. in Philosophy and Ethics from the University of Cambridge and a B.D. in Theology from the University of London. Before being called to VTS Dean Markham served as Dean and Professor of Theology and Ethics at Harford Seminary in Connecticut, as Visiting Professor of Globalization, Ethics, and Islam at Leeds Metropolitan University in the United Kingdom. He also served on the faculty of Liverpool Hope University and University of Exeter. Dean Markham is the author and editor of numerous books including: A Theology of Engagement; Truth and the Reality of God; Do Morals Matter; Understanding Christian Doctrine and most recently, Liturgical Life Principles: How Episcopal Worship Can Lead to Healthy and Authentic Living. His awards include the Robertson Fellow 2006; Teape Lecturer in India 2004; Claggett Fellow attached to Washington National Cathedral in 2000; and Frank Woods Fellow at Trinity College, Melbourne in 1997. Dean Markham is married to Lesley Markham and they have one son, Luke. He serves as Priest Associate at St. Paul’s Church in Alexandria.
Susan Marks is the Director of Communications, Christ Church, Greenwich. She holds a BFA with a concentration in Printmaking and Color Theory, a major in English and a minor in Administration of Justice. She has an extensive background in Marketing Communications that includes working in the Public Affairs department at Sotheby’s, and in Advertising, Merchandising and Public Relations at Celanese Inc., Textile Fibers Group. After leaving Celanese for a stint with an Advertising agency, she returned as a consultant working in their Advertising and Print Production departments. Susan joined the staff of Christ Church Greenwich in late 1995 as an Assistant in the Bookstore where she installed the first point of sales/inventory tracking computer system. In August of 1998, she was hired as the Director of Marketing Communications. She has won numerous design awards, including a Polly Bond Award from the Episcopal Communicators for the Christ Church Greenwich Year of Discernment logo and the visioning Case Statement. Additionally, she was included in the 1986 edition of Who’s Who in American Colleges and Universities, in Who’s Who Among Business Professionals, 2008, and Princeton Premier, 2009.
J. Philip McCormick, CPA is the Chairman of the Board of The Texas A&M University Kingsville Foundation, where he has been a board member since 1989 and Chairman since 1992. During his tenure the Foundation has grown total assets from $4M to more than $35M. McCormick led the Foundation to adopt an investment policy, develop process for modern resource investment practices, embrace open and transparent governance and expand its board. The Foundation helped lead the University’s first capital campaign which doubled its goal in raising more than $10M. He has also served as: a regent of the University system of South Texas before its combination with the A&M system, a director of child abuse prevention organizations, a board member of the Austin Symphony and the Austin Chamber of Commerce and a director of the Texas Business Hall of Fame and the Texas Interstate Pipeline Association. Today he is a director of Quest Energy Partners LLC where he Chairs the audit committee; he is a director and audit committee member of Renaissance Global Entrepreneurs Fund, Inc.; he is also a director of three privately owned companies and is senior advisor to Stonehenge Growth Capital Company, a private equity firm. McCormick graduated from Texas A&I University with a BBD degree in accounting and an MS in Business and Economics.
Sally Miller completed the requirements to become a certified Labyrinth Facilitator with Lauren Artress at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco in 1998, and has facilitated labyrinth walks and retreats in numerous faith communities in the Austin area, as well as in secular settings. In May, 2001, she spent a week in Chartres, France at a retreat led by Lauren Artress and Phoebe Griswold, wife of (then) Presiding Episcopal Bishop Frank T. Griswold, and was privileged to walk the labyrinth in Chartres Cathedral several times during that week. She presently serves as the leader of the Labyrinth Guild at St. David’s Episcopal Church in Austin. In May 2009, she received a Master of Arts in Pastoral Ministry (concentration in spiritual formation) from the Seminary of the Southwest in Austin. Sally is trained as a lawyer, and is presently working in financial management.
Gregory Movesian is the Canon Steward of Saint John’s Episcopal Cathedral in Denver, Colorado. As Canon Steward, he is a member of the Cathedral’s senior pastoral and administrative staff and is responsible for its stewardship and fundraising programs and all pastoral and educational efforts related to that ministry. Greg has over twenty years of experience designing and implementing stewardship and fundraising programs, including the development of gift-planning programs and campaigns for capital and endowment needs. Greg is one of the founding members of the Abrahamic Initiative at Saint John’s Cathedral, which is an effort to bring Christians, Muslims and Jews together to engage in dialogue and rediscover their common roots in the monotheistic tradition that looks to the Patriarch Abraham as its source. This effort has taken root throughout the United States as means of promoting peace and fostering reconciliation among the three faith traditions as a time of conflict and national stress. Greg has served on the boards of the Consortium of Endowed Episcopal Parishes, The Episcopal Network for Stewardship, Denver’s How to Read Your Baby, and Urban Peak in Denver. He holds degrees in Foreign Service (BS) and Social Sciences (MA), emphasizing Middle Eastern economic and social development and Islamic studies in his academic work.
The Very Rev’d Robert S. Munday has been Dean and President of Nashotah House Theological Seminary since August 1, 2001. Dean Munday came to Nashotah House from Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry in Ambridge, Pennsylvania, where he was an Associate Dean and Professor of Systematic Theology since 1986. Dean Munday has been instrumental in the development of distance education programs at both Trinity and Nashotah House. During more than 25 years of experience in seminary teaching and administration, Dean Munday has been known for providing spiritual direction to seminarians and mentoring parish clergy. He has also been active in the affairs of the wider church as a five-time Deputy to the General Convention of the Episcopal Church. As one who is passionate about World Missions, Dean Munday serves on the boards of the South American Missionary Society (SAMS), and Uganda Christian University Partners; and he recently completed a six-year term on the Episcopal Church’s Standing Commission on World Mission.
Rees Roderick Olander, a staff member of Christ Church Cathedral Indianapolis since 1996, began a new ministry as the parish's first lay Canon in 2008. Professionally, she serves on the Annual Conference Committee of the Consortium of Endowed Episcopal Parishes where she has created the program for the Parish Administrator’s pre-conference as well as presenting several workshops over the years for our annual conference. Rees is a former board member of The Episcopal Network for Stewardship and has led workshops for the National Association of Episcopal Christian Education Directors, the National Association of Church Business Administration, several parishes, dioceses and not-for-profit organizations. A lifelong Episcopalian she has also worked professionally since 1987 in a variety of roles for the Episcopal Church in Georgia and Indiana as a parish administrator, adult Christian education coordinator and a communications director. Rees has served the larger community as a board member of Children’s Bureau Inc. of Indiana since 1998, including a year as chair of the board, and on a variety of civic committees. A dedicated Kansas Jayhawk, she owes her love for communicating the Gospel to her background in print journalism at the University of Kansas.
Sharon Ely Pearson Christian Formation Specialist, Church Publishing Incorporated (CPI) and Morehouse Education Resources MER), became Church Publishing’s first Christian Formation Specialist in November 2007 after ten years as Children’s Ministries and Christian Education Coordinator for the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut. With a M.A in Christian Education from Virginia Seminary, her thesis, “A Theology of Confirmation for the 21st Century” was the spark for new diocesan guidelines implemented in 2005. Sharon has over 30 years experience in Christian formation at the parish, diocesan, provincial and church-wide level, she is an EfM mentor and certified Godly Play teacher. From 2000-2006 Sharon was a member of the Episcopal Council for Christian Education (ECCE) and is currently a member of PEALL (Proclaiming Education for All, an Executive Council task force charged with making recommendations regarding theological education and Christian formation to the 2009 General Convention). She was on the design team for “Will Our Faith Have Children? Christian Formation Generation to Generation” in 2003 and “Wrestling With the Big Questions: Loving God with all our Heart, Mind and Soul” in 2006. Active in the National Association for Episcopal Christian Education Directors (NAECED), she completed a board term in January 2007. Sharon is a regular contributor to Episcopal Teacher magazine and has had articles published in Episcopal Life, Vestry Papers, Religious Products magazine and several academic religious journals.
Jamie Hodge Perkins is a registered yoga teacher with the national Yoga Alliance. She has been practicing yoga for over a decade and currently teaches public classes at Yoga Yoga in Austin, TX. During yoga practice, Jamie encourages her students to take a break from the external business of daily life and enjoy an inner journey of peace and solitude.
George "Corky" Plews is an attorney in private practice in Indianapolis. He is Chancellor for the Diocese of Indianapolis and the Consortium of Endowed Episcopal Parishes. He regularly represents policyholders in insurance coverage claims of all kinds and he has helped recover over $150 million in claims over the past ten years. He and his 24-lawyer firm also handle environmental, toxic tort and other complex litigation. A member of the Board of Directors of St. Richard’s School and the Vestry of Trinity Episcopal Church, he is a graduate of Princeton University, Oxford University, and the Harvard Law School.
The Rev. Canon C. K. Robertson, Ph.D. is Canon to the Presiding Bishop, having previously pastored parishes in Florida and Georgia and as Canon to the Ordinary in the Diocese of Arizona. A Fellow of the Episcopal Church Foundation, Robertson studied at Cambridge and Durham, and is the author or editor of many books and articles including, most recently Transforming Stewardship and Gospel Perspectives on Jesus and Paul, as well as the upcoming Conversations with Scripture: Acts.
Anne Rudig an Episcopalian from the Diocese of Southern Ohio, became the director of the Episcopal Church's office of Communications in January of 2009. Rudig, who has a background in advertising, public relations, branding and art, was chosen by Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori after a search committee unanimously put Rudig forward as its final candidate. Prior to taking the position, Rudig was the vice president and creative director of Northlich, a Cincinnati-based communications and brand consulting agency where she was responsible for managing integrated teams for print, broadcast, online, and public relations for such clients as Birds Eye Foods, Iams pet foods and Finlandia vodka. She also wrote copy for print, online and broadcast for some of the campaigns. Prior to Northlich, Rudig was creative director for LexisNexis, which provides information and workflow systems to businesses and governmental agencies, and worked as a copywriter, art director and artist at other advertising and public relations firms in Ohio and New York City. She has a BA in communications design from Parsons School of Design in New York and a second BA in studio art from the University of California at Berkeley. She has volunteered her communications skills to a number of not-for-profit organizations in and around Cincinnati. As part of that pro bono work, she created award-winning print, outdoor and television advertising campaigns for the Diocese of Ohio where she was a member of the diocese's communications committee.
The Rev. Dr. William L. Sachs is Director of the Center for Interfaith Relations, a ministry begun at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, Richmond, in 2006. In that work he develops educational programs for schools, business, and civic leaders on understanding and engaging constructively with Muslims and members of other faiths. He is developing curricula for use with these audiences in the United States and abroad. Sachs holds degrees from Baylor, Vanderbilt, and Yale, and the PhD (History of Christianity) from the University of Chicago. He is the author of four books and more than two-hundred articles, chapters, essays, reports, and reviews. As an Episcopal priest he has served five parishes in three dioceses (Virginia, Connecticut, Chicago). He is also a consultant with various foundations and non-profit organizations. He has been quoted in such major media as the Washington Post, the New York Times, Al Jazeera, the Christian Science Monitor, CBS Evening News, and the Dallas Morning News.
James D. Seymour, CFA, is a Managing Director of EMP Global, a Washington, D.C. based emerging markets private equity firm responsible for due diligence and corporate development. He has 34 years of commercial banking, investment banking, corporate finance, and management experience primarily in the international areas. From 1993 to 2006 Mr. Seymour was with Commonfund Capital, a non-profit investment management company for non-profit educational institutions, libraries, museums, hospitals, and private foundations. His responsibilities during those years included client relations of schools and universities advising on asset allocation and spending policies as well as management of the international investment programs. This included manager due diligence and selection and the management for the firm's public securities and private capital programs. Prior to joining Commonfund, Mr. Seymour was with Bankers Trust Company for 18 years during which time he worked and lived in Bahrain, the Philippines, Taiwan, Istanbul, and London. In his last position, in New York, he had responsibility for the financial institution market in Latin America and Canada
Mr. Seymour was a Trustee of the Westport, CT, Public Library and Chairman of the Investment Committee from 1995-2007. He also served as Warden of the Vestry of Christ and Holy Trinity Church in Westport, CT and continues as a member and the Finance Committee. He has chaired capital campaigns for each organization raising $3.5mm and $1.2mm respectively. Mr. Seymour holds a B.A. degree in Political Science with a concentration in International Relations from Yale University and an M.B.A. in International Finance from Harvard Business School. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst and a Certified Financial Planner. He was also a member of the Risk Standards Working Group that in 1996 published Risk Standards for Institutional Investment Managers and Institutional Investors.
The Very Rev. William S. Stafford, Ph.D., D.D., has been Dean of the School of Theology, Sewanee, University of the South since 2005, and served before that at the Virginia Theological Seminary for seven years as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Professor of Church History for twenty-eight years. Ordained since 1981, Stafford has served in local parishes, led retreats and quiet days, offered spiritual direction, preached, taught, and published for both the academy and the church. He is married to Barbara M. Stafford, has married children and grandchildren, and with Barbara is now the permanent guardian of two young children. Bill likes spending time with his new youngsters, fixing his ageing cars, visiting relatives in England, gardening (when the Sewanee deer herds have left anything behind to garden), listening to Mozart, and cooking and eating French food and drinking wine (French, when he can afford it).
Sandra Swan, workshop leader, transformed the old Presiding Bishop's Fund from a mom-and-pop organization into Episcopal Relief and Development - a nationally-recognized leader in disaster relief response and world-wide development programs in health, hunger and housing. She received an honorary doctorate from Berkeley Divinity School in recognition of her work. She is the author of The New Outreach: Doing Good the Better Way, recently published by Church Publishing, Inc. She has held executive positions in a variety of not-for-profit organizations. She serves on the national Standing Commission on Stewardship and Development, and was just elected to the Board of Trustees of Church Pension Group.
Patricia Swenson serves as head of St. Richard's School in Indianapolis, Indiana. She is a native of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where she served as head of Trinity Episcopal Day School for 28 years. She received her Bachelor's and Master's Degrees from Louisiana State University in Elementary/Special Education and Learning Disabilities, respectively. She has served in numerous community and educational leadership positions. Most recently she served on the board of the Southwestern Association of Episcopal Schools, a regional accrediting organization serving six states. Currently, Ms. Swenson is serving in the second year of her headship at St. Richard's. Although St. Richard's is an independent Episcopal school, somewhat different from Trinity's parish day school configuration, her role in working with the church community is the same. She brings years of experience to the table in making the connection between church and school work seamlessly and has presented on this topic in the past.
The Very Rev. Douglas Travis Sixth-generation Texan and a fourth-generation clergyman, the Very Rev. Douglas Travis joined the seminary community as Dean-elect at the beginning of 2007 and became Dean in June that year. A member of Phi Beta Kappa, he holds five academic degrees including a Master of Sacred Theology in Spiritual Direction and a Doctor of Ministry. Travis’ academic interests focus on Christian formation, spirituality and leadership. He describes himself as a moderate who is deeply committed to the unity of the Anglican Communion. Devoted to Anglicanism in its essentials, Travis thinks that the great challenge of the Episcopal Church in a postmodern and largely post-Christian world is to remember and embrace heartily the essentials of our tradition – especially as expressed in the historic creeds and the Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral – while also being responsive to the developing needs of an emerging culture. Doug came to the seminary after being rector of Trinity Episcopal Church in The Woodlands, Texas. Prior to that he served three parishes in the Diocese of Dallas where he was also the Dean of the Anglican School of Theology, and he was a fellow and lecturer at The General Theological Seminary in New York.B.A., Trinity University. M.A.T.S., McCormick Theological Seminary. M.A., University of Chicago Divinity School. S.T.M., General Theological Seminary. D.Min., Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University. D.D., General Theological Seminary.
The Rev. Mary Vano serves as the Associate Priest for Newcomer Ministries and Evangelism at St. David’s Episcopal Church in Austin. She has been in this position for the past six years, after receiving a M.Div. from the Seminary of the Southwest in 2003. Before seminary, she worked briefly with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and did her undergraduate studies at Texas Christian University in the areas of Religion and Sociology. Raised as the daughter of an Episcopal priest, Mary has a broad experience of Episcopal churches across the southern United States. She is a wife and mother of 2 young boys.
Candace M. Volz, ASID, is a decorative arts historian with a thorough knowledge of the history of
19th and 20th Century interior design, furnishings, accessories, textiles, and decorative finishing materials. This expertise is derived from undergraduate (UT Austin) and graduate (George Washington University) training in interior design and museum studies, as well as 31 years of professional experience in Texas as an interior designer and historic furnishing consultant for institutions and organizations such as Texas A & M University, the Texas Historical Commission, the Architect of the Texas Capitol, Historic Fort Worth, Inc., Texas Parks and Wildlife, the Heritage Society of Austin, Inc., The National Society of the Colonial Dames in the State of Texas, Clemson University, and private architectural firms. Mrs. Volz has completed internships at the Division of Textiles and the Division of Costume and Furnishing of the Smithsonian Institution, as well as the Curator’s Office of the White House. She is an alumnus of the Victorian Society Summer Seminar, London, England, and the Winterthur Summer Institute, Winterthur, Delaware. She drafted a U.S. National Park Service "Tech Note" on the conservation of textiles, authored the chapter "The Modern Look of the Early-Twentieth-Century Home: A Mirror of Changing Lifestyles" in the book American Home Life, 1880-1930, and spoke on the documentation of historic interiors at The Historic Interiors Conference in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1988. She was a member of the planning committee for the second national Historic Interiors Conference held in 1993.
John E. Volz, AIA, LEED AP is a founding principal and historical architect/restoration specialist of Volz and Associates, Inc. and has been with the firm for 31 years. Mr. Volz received his Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Texas, and has a graduate degree in historic preservation from Columbia University. He has received extensive technical training in the repair, maintenance, and conservation of historic buildings and their materials (historic paints, plaster, stone, metals, wood, brick, terra cotta, stained glass, and concrete) from the Association for Preservation Technology, the National Park Service, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and the American Concrete Institute. He has 37 years of professional experience, and is the architect of record for more than 50 historic building repair, preservation, restoration, and rehabilitation projects. In addition, Mr. Volz has written more than 70 master plans/conservation reports for a variety of building types. Mr. Volz is a board member of the Historic Preservation Education Foundation in Washington, D. C. and has been a member of the planning committee for several national preservation conferences, including the Historic Windows Conference and the Roofing Conference for Historic Buildings. As an architectural conservator, Mr. Volz participates in the Heritage Preservation's Conservation Assessment Program for museums, and he has been an instructor for two HP historic site care workshops. He served, also, on the planning committee for the book, Caring for Your Historic House, and wrote the chapter on historic roofs.
Dr. Rob Voyle is an Episcopal priest psychologist and executive coach. He is the Director of the Clergy Leadership Institute and is an international leader in the use of appreciative inquiry based processes in church settings. Together with his wife Kim, Rob is the author of Assessing Skills and Discerning Calls: A comprehensive manual for the clergy search process. More information about Rob's work can be found at www.clergyleadership.com.
George V. Young is a partner at St. Denis J. Villere & Co. having worked there since 1986. Earlier he worked for two years as a broker at Morgan Keegan. He has a B.A. from the University of Virginia. He was a board member of the Louise S. McGehee School having served previously as president of the board. He is past president of the Financial Analysts of New Orleans and currently serves as president of the Louisiana Civil Service League. He is currently treasurer of Lambeth House, is President of the Hurstville Association, and chairman of the Endowment Committee of Trinity Episcopal Church. He is also a member of the Vincent Memorial Legacy of Trinity Church. Hobbies include tennis, bridge, cycling and mountain climbing. He is married and has two daughters.
