Workshop and Discussion Leaders

	Name	Pronouns	Bio
	The Rev. Stephen Cheyney	he/him	The Rev. Stephen Cheyney (he, his, him). Stephen is the University Minister at UNC Charlotte, the largest university in the Carolinas and directs Niner United the Episcopal Campus Ministry that works ecumenically with three other mainline denominations. He also holds the position of Honors Faculty and has designed four very popular courses at the university.
	Dr. Liz DeGaynor	she/her	Elizabeth DeGaynor is Assistant Professor of Practical Theology and Christian Formation at Virginia Theological Seminary. Her research, writing, and teaching often focus on the intersections of religion, education, and politics, especially in schools (public, charter, private, homeschooling). She has engaged with young people in multiple ways throughout her career: a teacher to high school, college, and graduate students; the editor and project manager of the new Journey to Adulthood curriculum for youth grades 6-12; and as the Academic Ministry Coordinator of Duke Youth Academy for high school students. She has degrees in English Literature and Theology from University of Michigan, University of Virginia, and Duke Divinity School.
	Cailee Franklin	she/her	Cailee Franklin is the Associate Univeristy Minister at UNC Charlotte. Among her myriad of responsibilities, she finds immense joy in organizing mission trips, pilgrimages, and retreats, where her adept organizational skills have successfully engaged and guided hundreds of students.
	Ben Garren	he/him	Ben is the Episcopal Chaplain to the University of Arizona and Program Director for Beloved in the Desert Episcopal Service Corps. He is currently highly distracted by the resource and factory building game SATISFACTORY.
	Rev. Charles Graves IV	he/him	Rev. Charles Graves has served as Campus Missioner at Houston Canterbury (serving five public colleges & universities) since 2019. He also serves as a member of the Episcopal Church Executive Council and a deputy to the 81st General Convention. Originally from Baltimore, Charles now lives in Houston with his husband Chris & their puppy Cece.
	The Rev. Dr. Portia Hopkins		Portia is delighted to find herself serving as chaplain at The Belfry, the Lutheran Epsicopal Campus Ministry to the University of California at Davis and to Sacramento City College. She comes to ordination and to campus ministry after many years as a college professor and administrator. Her ministry is dedicated to exploring the creation of a safe, brave, peaceful, and sacred space for young people.
	Shannon Kelly	she/her	Shannon is currently serving on the Presiding Bishop’s Staff as the Director of the Department of Faith Formation and Officer for Young Adult and Campus Ministries for The Episcopal Church. She convenes a network of both ministers and young adults to teach, mentor, train, and build relationships in order to equip and empower people to share their story as the body of Christ in God’s continuing mission of reconciliation in the church and world. Shannon’s passion and vocation has focused on advocating for and ministering with children, youth, and young adults through the churches she has served and through the communities in which she has lived. Since 1998 she has served in congregations in California and New York, served as a Chaplain at University of Wisconsin-Madison, and on the Diocesan Staff as Assistant to the Bishop for Christian Formation in the Diocese of Milwaukee. She wrote and edited God of My Heart, a book of prayers written by youth, for youth. She lives on Cape Cod in Forestdale, MA with her husband, The Rev. Dr. Thomas Ferguson and their son.
	Kevin Matthews	he/him	Kevin Matthews is in this 18th year as the Campus & Young Adult Missioner in Greensboro, NC, serving UNC Greensboro, Guilford College, and Greensboro College.
	Joe Merlino	he/him	Joe Merlino is principal of Emergent Mission, a consulting and coaching firm that helps Episcopal faith communities in the areas of stewardship, relationship development and mission advancement. Joe brings over 35 years of business, organizational and relationship development experience from his time in the for-profit sector. Since 2010 he has worked at the congregational level, provided capital campaign consulting for the Episcopal Church Foundation, and currently offers programming for Episcopal Camps and Conference Centers and the National Association of Episcopal Schools. Joe has worked with campus ministries throughout the country through a program funded by YACM, which has given him considerable insights into the particularities of campus ministry fundraising and development.
	Rita Powell	she/her	The Reverend Rita Teschner Powell is the Episcopal Chaplain at Harvard, where she leads a diverse community committed to exploring the future of religion and Christianity through innovative engagement with ritual, liturgy, art, music, and poetry. She has lived and worked in South Dakota, with the Taizé community in France, and at Trinity Church in Copley Square, Boston. She recently earned her MFA in poetry. She is also an avid KPop fan, yoga teacher, and distance runner.
	The Rev. D. Scott Russell	he/they	Scott served as Episcopal Chaplain at Virginia Tech for 10 years (2003-2013) and began serving as Episcopal Chaplain at Rutgers University in 2016. For this openly queer priest, ministry with and to the queer community has been at the center of his years of service and leadership. Scott currently serves as the chair of the LGBTQ Commission for the Diocese of New Jersey and is a deputy to General Convention in 2024.
	Allen Wakabayashi	he/him	Allen serves as Chaplain at the Episcopal Church at Princeton, a church serving the campuses of Princeton University and Princeton Theological Seminary. After many years serving in campus ministry in the Evangelical world, Fr. Allen felt irrevocably drawn into the Anglican tradition and was later ordained as a priest. He was born and raised in Chicago and grew up in an active Japanese American church community. When he is not serving on campus, Fr. Allen enjoys getting out on local ponds and lakes to do a little bass fishing. He is married to his wife, Diane, who is also an ordained priest.
	Alan Yarborough	he/him	Alan is the Church Relations Officer for The Episcopal Church Office of Government Relations, where he helps oversee the Episcopal Public Policy Network and develops policy advocacy, dialogue, and civic engagement resources. Prior to this, he spent three years working in Haiti through the Young Adult Service Corps. He holds a BS in economics from Clemson University and an MS conflict analysis and resolution from the Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution at George Mason.
	Mary Cat Young	she/her	The Rev. Mary Cat Young has been engaged with campus and young adult ministry for over 20 years in Minnesota, Massachusetts, South Carolina, New York and now Chapel Hill, North Carolina. She loves being a Mom, singing, listening to podcasts and audio books, and enjoying time at the lake (from which she will be virtually joining the conference!)