NURTURING THE CALL: SPIRITUAL GUIDANCE PROGRAM STAFF

Phillip Stephens, Director of the program, is an Episcopal lay-person and graduate of the 2006 Spiritual Guidance Class. In addition to being an associate of the Order of the Holy Cross, he serves as a spiritual guide and retreat facilitator. He is interested in cross-cultural studies and inter-spirituality.

Susie Allen is an ordained clergy member in the United Church of Christ and provides community-based ministry. As a graduate of Nurturing the Call: Spiritual Guidance Program, she offers spiritual direction virtually and is grounded in the contemplative tradition. Susie resides in the high peaks of the Adirondack Mountains and is deeply inspired and guided by Holy Presence manifested in the natural world.

CeCe Balboni is a 2000 graduate of Nurturing the Call: Spiritual Guidance Program. An Episcopal laywoman, she is a psychotherapist and spiritual director in Atlanta at St. Barts Episcopal. For guidance she turns to poets, past and present, the sages of old and the perennial wisdom found in all traditions.

Margaret Benefiel, Shalem’s Executive Director, holds a PhD in Spirituality from Catholic University and an MA in Theology from Earlham School of Religion. She is a graduate of Shalem’s Nurturing the Call: Spiritual Guidance Program and the author of numerous articles and books on contemplative leadership.

Greg Cochran, a graduate of Shalem’s Nurturing the Call: Spiritual Guidance Program, is the Executive Director at a spiritual wellness non-profit, Well for the Journey, in Lutherville, Maryland. He also is a program/retreat facilitator and a spiritual companion.

Lerita Coleman-Brown, a spiritual director and author, is Professor Emerita of Psychology at Agnes Scott College and past director of the Science Center for Women at Agnes Scott. She is a graduate of our Nurturing the Call: Spiritual Guidance Program and speaks and writes about contemplative spirituality in everyday life.

Anita Davidson is a spiritual director, preacher and retreat leader. She previously worked for the Dominican Sisters of Peace as Coordinator of Associates and in various positions with the Catholic Diocese of Columbus, Ohio over the past 30+ years. She is a graduate of Nurturing the Call: Spiritual Guidance Program and holds an MA in Clinical Psychology and a BA in Parish Ministry, both from Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa.

Aryn Davis is the co-director of Crossing the Threshold: Contemplative Foundations for Emerging Leaders. She is an educator and mental health professional in DC schools. Her passion is bringing others to a place of deeper awareness and full presence in heart, body, and mind, to ultimately experience freedom. Aryn is a graduate of Shalem’s Young Adult Life and Leadership program, and she is a facilitator in Shalem’s Group Spiritual Direction Facilitator Training program. Prior to serving as a Shalem leader, Aryn worked in education as a teacher, a reading specialist, and currently is working as a counselor and the Director of Mental Health in a public charter school. She holds a B.A. from Howard University, a Master’s degree in Education from George Mason University, and a Master’s degree in Counseling and Human Development from George Washington University.

Ann Dean is also on the staff of Transforming Community: Leading Contemplative Prayer Groups and Retreats and on the staff of Going Deeper: Clergy Spiritual Life and Leadership. A nationally known leader for deepening the life of prayer and for developing new structures committed to Earth care and social justice, she is a minister in the ecumenical Church of the Savior and part of their Dayspring Retreat Mission Group.

Rodney Dean – As the journey through the Nurturing the Call: Spiritual Guidance Program continues to transform me, the inner and outer journey during this chapter of life is also evolving. Letting go of a longtime career in Business and Finance over 4 years ago has guided me to an encore career rooted in spiritual guidance throughout each of my vocational callings. Whether it is as a parent, a friend, spiritual companion, or another fulfilling role, daily life is now filled with a sense of meaning and purpose that exceeds my wildest dreams and prayers.

Sid Fowler is a United Church of Christ pastor who recently served First UCC in Washington, DC. He also has worked with the national staff of the United Methodist Church and with the UCC in spiritual formation.

Katy Gaughan, the registrar for Shalem’s Nurturing the Call: Spiritual Guidance Program, is a graduate of Shalem’s Transforming Community: Leading Contemplative Prayer Groups & Retreats Program. She also is a drum circle facilitator who offers drumming for wellness and spiritual deepening.

Glenda Hollingshead is ordained in the Presbyterian Church (USA) and currently serves First Presbyterian Church of Jefferson City, TN. She holds a Doctor of Ministry in Christian Spirituality from Columbia Theological Seminary and is a graduate of Nurturing the Call: Spiritual Guidance Program. She is also a writer, retreat leader, reiki master, and spiritual director.

Marshall Jenkins, Ph.D., is a licensed psychologist and graduate of Shalem’s Nurturing the Call: Spiritual Guidance Program who provides psychotherapy and spiritual direction in Rome, Georgia. Also an author, his most recent book is Blessed at the Broken Places: Reclaiming Faith and Purpose with the Beatitudes, and he blogs at www.jmarshalljenkins.com.

Jacqueline Madison-McCleary is a pastor, facilitator, consultant, and spiritual director. She is currently in Shalem’s Nurturing the Call: Spiritual Guidance Program, Class of 2024. She has served in pastoral ministry for over 30 years, 20 of those years as senior pastor of two Baptist congregations. Jackie earned a bachelor’s degree, University of Michigan; a Master of Education degree, Virginia Commonwealth University; a Master of Divinity Degree, Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology, Virginia Union University; and a Doctor of Ministry degree, Wesley Theological Seminary. She loves to read, study the Bible, and go for walks outdoors. Jackie and her husband Micah have one adult daughter.

Lisa Martin is a spiritual guide, health and fitness advocate, yoga and meditation practitioner, musician, quilter and lover of nature and animals. Her journey began in music education and church ministry, teaching elementary music and serving in a variety of local church contexts. She is a graduate of Shalem’s Heart Longings and Nurturing the Call: Spiritual Guidance Program and is an ordained deacon in the United Methodist Church.

Liz Morris is a retired clinical social worker (psychotherapist), and is currently enrolled in Shalem’s Nurturing the Call: Spiritual Guidance Program Class of 2024 and is a graduate of Transforming Community: Leading Contemplative Prayer Groups and Retreats Program. She is Episcopalian and has followed the Christian contemplative path for many years, which includes being a Shalem Society member, an oblate at Holy Wisdom Monastery and holding an MA in Spirituality. Liz lives in Evanston, Illinois and is continually healed by God’s Presence in Lake Michigan.

Laura Neal is a graduate of Nurturing the Call: Spiritual Guidance Program and Soul of Leadership. She is an artist, inter-spiritual companion, retreat leader and credentialed executive coach with the mission to normalize Spirit in the workplace. She serves Shalem as a small group leader for the Heart Longings Program and sits on the Board of Directors.

Cheryl Notari is a spiritual director and a retreat leader who has worked with church boards, congregations and individuals in discerning God’s call. Cheryl is a graduate of Shalem’s Nurturing the Call: Spiritual Guidance Program and is also a licensed clinical psychologist who teaches as an adjunct in a master’s in counseling program.

Christopher O’Rouke is a practicing psychotherapist and spiritual director in Boston, MA. He is particularly interested in the contemplative and monastic Christian traditions.

Diane Paras, an Episcopal laywoman, is a graduate of our Nurturing the Call: Spiritual Guidance Program and is on the staff of that program. A spiritual director for over 20 years, she also leads contemplative prayer groups and programs. She is active in her church and community in various companioning ministries.

Emily Schwenker is ordained in the Presbyterian Church (USA) to the Validated Specialized Ministry of Spiritual Direction. She is the Associate for Spiritual Formation and Direction at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Wilmington, DE, is a member of the adjunct faculty at Lancaster Theological Seminary and a graduate of Shalem’s Nurturing the Call: Spiritual Guidance Program.

Lisa Senuta

Heather Strang is a graduate of Nurturing the Call: Spiritual Guidance Program, a spiritual director, retreat leader, and former chef who lives in Annapolis, Maryland. She is on the leadership team of the Retreat House and delights in holding sacred spaces for story-telling through spoken word poetry. She is on the healing prayer team with her church.

Kathleen Talvacchia (she/her) is an educator, scholar, conflict mediator and spiritual director. She is contextual theologian with interests in practical theology, Christian practices of marginalized communities, and Queer theology. Kathy is passionate about partnering with others through the work of spiritual discernment, learning, and relationship building in diverse contexts. She is a graduate of Shalem’s Nurturing the Call: Spiritual Guidance Program.

Francie Thayer is the Director of The Retreat House at St. Paul’s Hillsboro, a new ministry of the Episcopal Diocese of Easton, and is a graduate of Shalem’s Nurturing the Call: Spiritual Guidance Program. She is also a graduate of Virginia Theological Seminary and offers spiritual direction to several current seminarians.

Andrea “Ani” Vidrine is a graduate of our Transforming Community: Leading Contemplative Prayer Groups & Retreats and Nurturing the Call: Spiritual Guidance programs. She is an interfaith minister, licensed clinical social worker, spiritual director, CEU provider, yoga instructor, and former massage therapist who has served in multiple clinical settings, especially as a psychotherapist in private practice and with hospice as social worker, chaplain, and volunteer coordinator. She is on the staff of our spiritual guidance program and holds a Ph.D. in Integral & Transpersonal Psychology, her research focus being the Enneagram Personality Typology System.

Elizabeth (Liz) Ward, former Director of Shalem’s Nurturing the Call: Spiritual Guidance Program, is a graduate of this Program and has served as a spiritual director for Virginia Seminary since 1994. She is an experienced retreat leader and is as a discernment facilitator for the Diocese of Virginia. She also serves on staff for Shalem’s Transforming Community: Leading Contemplative Prayer Groups & Retreats and the Going Deeper: Clergy Spiritual Life and Leadership Programs. Her ministries are further informed by Master’s degrees in English and International Relations.

Matthew Wright is an Episcopal priest, writer, and retreat leader working to renew the Christian Wisdom tradition within a wider interspiritual framework. He is a graduate of Shalem’s Transforming Community: Leading Contemplative Prayer Groups & Retreats Program and serves as priest-in-charge at St. Gregory’s Episcopal Church in Woodstock, NY.