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HELM Leadership Fellows Alumni
The HELM Leadership Fellows Program is yielding a new crop of leaders. Alumni are paritipating at all levels of the church, serving in congregational pastors, regions, and national panels.
- More than 70 students have graduated or are currently participating in the HELM Leadership Fellows Program since the program began in 2001.
- Several HELM Leadership Fellows have served as volunteers for general ministries such as the 2020 Vision Team, the Disciples Leadership Institute, Global Ministries, the Young Adult Commission, Disciples Men, and the Task Force on Undergraduate Education, as well as regional panels.
- More than a dozen graduates pastor or are in ministry-related professions. Many other graduates are in socially oriented such as teaching, social work, social justice, and environmental causes.
- 24 regions have had students participate in the program.
Here's a quick look at what our graduates are doing now.
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2009
| Class of 2008 |
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| Jean Ellen Cowgill
(Dartmouth College, Lexington, Ky.) |
Chris Miller-McLemore (Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tenn.) is an energy conservation corpsmember in Fort Collins, Colo., helping residents of low-income housing areas install weatherproofing, thermostat controls, and other energy saving measures. |
Kelly Rand (Texas Christian University, Olathe, Kan.) is the coordinator of Rural Assistance Services at Catholic Charities in Fort Worth. She is also studying for her master's in social work at the University of Texas in Arlington. |
| Class of 2007 |
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| Carissa Cullumber
(Bethany College, Indianapolis) earned her Master's in Social Work from Indiana University- Purdue University Indianapolis and works for Hamilton County (IN) as a therapist for juveniles in the two lower-security residential programs.
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Tiffany Curtis
(Chapman University, Claremont, Calif.) is pursuing her master's of divinity at Harvard Divinity School.
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Rebekah Cypert (Bethany College, Allen, Texas) is studying for a Master’s in Divinity at Brite Divinity School and working at a Metroplex-area church. She also serves on the Young Adult Commission.
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| Emily Brooke McIntyre (Hampton University, Beaumont, SC) is pursuing her master’s degree in counseling education in Virginia. |
Cassie Poncelow
(Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colo.) is a libraran at Rocky Mountain High School in Fort Collins pursuing a graduate degree in counseling.
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| Titus James, Jr.
(Kansas State University, Wichita, Kan.) currently lives in New York City. |
Amanda McFarland (Centre College, Paris, Ky.) is in law school at Northern Kentucky University.
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| Class of 2005 |
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Sara Blackwood
(Texas Christian University, El Paso, Texas) is the Assistant Curator of the Visual Resources Collection at Arizona State
University.
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Sarah (Carter) Merz
(William Woods University, Garden City, Kan.) teaches high school English in the Fairfax County, Va., district in suburban Washington D.C.
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Natalie (Dixon) Ervin
(Eureka College, Wellington, Kan.) received her M.Div. from Phillips Theological Seminary in May 2009 and is associate minister
to Altoona Christian Church, Altoona, Iowa.
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Laura Jennison Reed (Mount Holyoke College, Spokane, Wash.) is an M.Div. student at the Disciples Divinity House of the University of Chicago and serves on term on the General Board.
Prior to moving to Chicago, she was involved in the Northwest Region's transformation process.
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Brandon Johnson (Transylvania University, Cedar Falls, Iowa) graduated from the Yale University Divinity School in 2008 and is an associate pastor of United Church of Santa Fe, New Mexico.
| Krista Johnson
(Chapman University, Greenwood, Ind.) is studying conflict transformation at Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, Virginia.
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Emily Klingenfus
(Grand Valley State University, Grand Rapids, Mich.) is a graduate
student in civil engineering at the University of Kentucky. She is also active in
children's and youth ministries at two congregations.
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Jeremy Spitzer (Virginia Tech,
Winchester, Va.) lives and works in Raleigh, North Carolina.
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Valerie (Steffen) Foltz
(Drury University, Shawnee, Okla.) is pursuing her MA in the Christian Formation and Soul Care program at Denver Seminary. She and her husband, Lewie, are members of Riverside Baptist Church.
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Ralph Wesley
(Delaware State University, Washington, D.C.) is associate producer and
on-air personality for WTEM SportsTalk 980 in Washington, D.C., and is
pursuing a career in voice-over. He also serves on the General Conference of Disciples Men's Executive Committee.
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Alison Williams (Indiana University,
Indianapolis, Ind.) teaches middle school in Columbus, Indiana. She served three years on Disciples Home Missions' Young Adult Commission, including a year as co-moderator.
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| Class of 2003 |
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| Diana Batzka-Hodges
(Lynchburg College '03, Jacksonville, Fla.) earned her M.Div at the
Disciples Divinity House at Vanderbilt in 2009. She has served on the Young Adult Commission since 2007, including two years as the moderator. She currenty serves as the resident minister at First Christian Church in Montgomery, Ala. |
Kelly Johnson- Hill (University of Otago '03, Dunedin, New Zealand) is an M.Div. student at Duke University. |
Laurie Budlong- Morse
(Pacific Lutheran University '03, Kirkland, Wash.) earned her M.Div at the Pacific School of Religion (affiliated with the Disciples Seminary Foundation) and is the co-pastor (with her husband, Scott) at First Christian Church in Helena, Montana. |
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| Sarah (Olson) Bradbury
(Northwest Christian College '03, Ontario, Ore.) is working with her
parents in a hospice program. She and her husband, Mark, live in
Meridian, Idaho. |
Jessica Wright (Culver-Stockton College '03, Lorena, Texas) now lives in Waco, Texas |
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Higher Education & Leadership Ministries
of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
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