Rev. Dr. David Vásquez-Levy serves as President of Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley. A committed pastor, a nationally recognized higher education and immigration leader and a sought after speaker, Rev. Dr. Vásquez-Levy leads at the intersection of faith, higher education and social change.
Rev. Dr. Vásquez-Levy serves on the Consortial Council and Board of the Graduate Theological Union, is co-founder of La Colectiva: Latine Presidents and Deans of ATS schools, and is a member of the executive leaders group of AshokaU campus network and the Asociación para La Educación Teológica Hispana. He also serves on the Advisory Council for Encore.org.
Rev. Dr. Vásquez-Levy regularly contributes a faith perspective to the national conversation on immigration. He has consulted on a number of documentaries on immigration, labor and human rights and is the author of publications that explore migration stories in sacred texts and in people's lives. Originally from Guatemala, Vásquez-Levy has lived in four countries, including working on refugee resettlement in Canada, and taught courses and led international study and service trips across the globe.
Dr. Elizabeth Ferris is a Research Professor at Georgetown University in the Institute for the Study of International Migration (ISIM). She served for nine years as a Senior Fellow and Co-Director of the Brookings Project on Internal Displacement. She has extensive professional background in the areas of refugees and migration specifically, and justice and peace more generally. Dr. Ferris notes that she believes “in ecumenism and in the power of churches to bring about change in our troubled world.” Dr. Ferris spent 20 years working in the field of international humanitarian response, most recently in Geneva, Switzerland at the World Council of Churches. She was an earlier Director of the Church World Service Immigration and Refugee Program in New York. Dr. Ferris is a Quaker (Friends General Conference) and has attended a United Church of Christ congregation for the last ten years.
Martin Ferenczi has successfully served as CEO and CFO in various private sector companies, focused on combatting fraud through technology. Currently, he serves as Principal of Martin Ferenczi LLC, advising start-ups and established companies in the payments, authentication, and identity spaces. Martin Ferenczi LLC is also an independent contractor to Oliver Wyman, a leading global management consulting firm.
Mr. Ferenczi graduated from Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management and earned a PMD from Harvard Business School. He has appeared on Bloomberg and on CNBC, among media outlets. Mr. Ferenczi holds both British and American passports. He speaks English, French, Italian and German. He is based in Washington, DC.
Rev. Dr. Karen Georgia Thompson is the newly elected General Minister and President of the United Church of Christ. Rev. Thompson is the first woman and first woman of African descent to serve as leader of the denomination.
Prior to this call, Rev. Thompson served in the national setting of the United Church of Christ for 14 years – two years as Minister for Racial Justice, eight years as Minister for Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations and four years as the Associate General Minister for Wider Church Ministries and Co-Executive for Global Ministries. She was elected as AGM in 2019. Her passion for justice and equity moved her work on behalf of the UCC into a global context, affording the opportunity to participate globally in efforts to reduce the marginalization experienced by African descendant peoples and other communities globally.
Before joining the national staff, Rev. Thompson served in the Florida Conference United Church of Christ as a Pastor and on the Conference staff as the Minister for Disaster Response and Recovery. She also worked in the nonprofit arena for over 10 years in senior leaderships positions.
Rev. Thompson earned a Bachelor of Arts from Brooklyn College in New York, a Master’s in Public Administration from North Carolina Central University in Durham, NC, and a Masters of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary in New York. She also studied Public Policy at Duke University and earned her Doctorate in Ministry at Seattle University. She was awarded an honorary doctorate from Heidelberg University.
Phil Atkins-Pattenson is a retired Partner in the international law firm Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP, one of the country’s top law firms. Prior to his retirement, he was a Partner in the Business Trials Practice Group, where he tried complex business cases and argued several precedent-setting cases on appeal. He was recognized annually by his peers as a “Super Lawyer” in Business Litigation, was a recipient of a California Attorney of the Year award and a Sheppard, Mullin Pro Bono Attorney of the Year award. He is the former Co-Managing Partner of the firm’s 100+ lawyer San Francisco Office.
Mr. Atkins-Pattenson joined the CWS Board of Directors in January 2020 and currently serves on the Audit and Risk and the Governance Committees of the Board. He is a member of the Board of Directors of Corus International, Inc., also an International NGO, where he serves as Vice-Chair of the Board and as a member of the Executive and the Audit and Risk Committees of the Board. He is Vice-President of the Glenbrook HOA Board of Directors and is also a member of the Board of the Glenbrook Water Cooperative in Glenbrook, Nevada (at Lake Tahoe), where he now resides.
Mr. Atkins-Pattenson holds an A.B. from Stanford University, a Masters of Divinity from Harvard Divinity School, where he was a Rockefeller Fellow, and a J.D. degree from the University of San Francisco School of Law, where he was the Articles Editor for the Law Review .
Rev. Chris Dorsey currently serves as President of Disciples Home Missions of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), based in Indianapolis, IN. An ordained Disciples minister, Dorsey received his Bachelor of Science from the University of Texas at Austin and earned a Master of Divinity from Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary. He is a Ph.D. candidate at the Divinity School of the University of Chicago.
Rev. Dorsey has taught at a variety of academic and theological institutions and previously served as a local church pastor, university chaplain at Clark Atlanta University, and as the vice president of development and marketing at Chicago Theological Seminary. Previously, he served as assistant professor of theology and preaching at Western Theological Seminary, where he taught classes on Preaching Foundations; Race, Culture, and Reconciliation; Theologizing Violence; and the Theologies of Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Martin Luther King, Jr.
Rev. Dorsey currently leads a ministry that works with higher education and leadership development programs. Part of his work with young adults includes helping young people connect with opportunities to give and to serve the common good. He is particularly interested in how to better connect young people with the mission and work of CWS. Rev. Dorsey believes that CWS helps to gather resources from across the ecumenical church and distribute them to communities where it is most needed.
Nobi Kaneko is the Founder and President of Kaneko and Associates, an executive search/leadership consulting firm since 1988, with locations in Tokyo and Newport Beach, CA. The firm specializes in executive search and leadership consulting in the areas of professional services, insurance/banking, consumer goods and high technology sectors. Previously, he served as Senior Minister at First Christian Church, Tucson, AZ and Foothill Christian Church, La Crenscenta, CA. Mr. Kaneko earned a Master of Divinity from Texas Christian University and did additional studies at San Francisco Theological Seminary and University of Cambridge. Since transitioning to the corporate world, he has become an advocate for inclusivity and diversity. He holds an expansive and ecumenical view of the Church and represents a bridge between the faith-based community and the business world. He is currently a Global Board Member and Asia Chair of the Association of Executive Search Consultants and Leadership Consulting (AESC). He is also a member of 30% Club/Japan, a global campaign to increase gender diversity at board and senior management levels.
Ms. Susan Krehbiel is the Associate for Migration Accompaniment Ministries for Presbyterian Disaster Assistance in the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. where she is responsible for directing PDA’s support to regional bodies, local congregations, national and international partners in refugee and asylum-related ministries. Susan has 30 years’ experience working with refugees and immigrants, as an advocate for refugee rights. Prior to coming to PCUSA, Susan worked for Lutheran Immigration & Refugee Service (2003-2011), Church World Service (Director of the Miami Office from 1994-1999) and as a consultant with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). As Vice President for Protection & Programs at LIRS, she led the agency in program and policy development with particular attention to the treatment of unaccompanied children. Susan has worked closely with other non-governmental agencies, the US government and international organizations to promote national and international policies to protect these vulnerable populations and provide appropriate services for their recovery and success. Susan has contributed to a number of articles and published reports and is a frequent workshop presenter. Susan also serves part-time as the Social Justice Consultant with the Presbytery of Baltimore. She is an ordained ruling elder and member of Catonsville Presbyterian Church, outside of Baltimore, MD. She has an MA in Latin American Studies from the University of Texas at Austin and a BA in Spanish from the College of Wooster.
Dr. Samuel Mwenda is the CEO and General Secretary of the Christian Health Association of Kenya, “a technical support organization for member Church health facilities with core mandate in advocacy, lobbying, representation, health systems strengthening, programmes development, resource mobilization and capacity building.” Under his leadership, CHAK has expanded its support for Protestant churches’ health facilities and programs across Kenya, including signing a milestone Memorandum of Understanding between the Kenyan government and faith-based service providers. Dr. Mwenda received the 2016 Christian International Health Champion Award from Christian Connections for International Health. Before joining CHAK, Dr. Mwenda served as the CEO of the 250-bed Maua Methodist Hospital in rural Kenya and served as a medical officer for the Ministry of Health in rural Kenya.
Harriett Jane Olson has served as chief executive officer of the United Women in Faith’s national administrative and policymaking arm since 2007. United Women in Faith is a nearly 800,000-member organization within the United Methodist Church in the United States. United Women in Faith members give approximately $15 million a year for work with women, children, and youth in the United States and around the world. UWF operates the Church Center for the United Nations in New York City, a retirement home for deaconesses and missionaries in North Carolina, a publication and distribution network, and a series of mission education and leadership development events annually. Through these events and their connections around the world, UWF staff and members are inspired, prepared, encouraged, and celebrated for their direct service and advocacy for justice.
A Harvard Law School graduate, Ms. Olson practiced real estate and environmental law (1983-96) at a N.J. law firm that is now part of Day Pitney before working for the church full-time. From 1996-2007, Ms. Olson was senior vice-president for publishing, editor for church school publications and United Methodist Church book editor at the United Methodist Publishing House in Nashville, TN. Ms. Olson has a bachelor's degree from Houghton College in Houghton, NY, where she serves on the Board of Trustees. Ms. Olson previously served on the CWS Board when the Board was still a representative board. Ms. Olson is based in New York City.
Wendy Patten is a respected leader, strategist, advocate, and grant maker who works to advance human rights, gender equality, justice, and the rule of law in the United States and globally. She has held leadership roles in the U.S. government, multilateral organizations, foundations, and civil society organizations working at the international, national, and community level. She helps organizations design and implement inclusive, high-impact strategies on a wide range of human rights, refugee, and related policy issues.
Wendy spent over a decade with the Open Society Foundations and Policy Center. There she designed and led advocacy initiatives and advocacy-oriented grantmaking on human rights in U.S. national security and on refugee protection. She conceptualized and co-created multi-stakeholder advocacy campaigns, built coalitions for developing and executing strategies for legislative and policy reform, and managed relationships with Congress, the Administration, international organizations, advocacy partners, and grantees. She has also served as OSCE Special Representative on Gender Issues, as Director of Multilateral and Humanitarian Affairs at the National Security Council, and held senior roles at Human Rights Watch, the ABA Rule of Law Initiative, and the U.S. Department of Justice. Earlier in her career, she was a legal aid lawyer representing immigrant and refugee women and children.
Wendy received her Juris Doctor (J.D.) from Harvard, studied international relations at the University of Strasbourg, and received her B.A. from Princeton University. She has taught women’s human rights at Georgetown University.
Rick Santos is the President and CEO of Church World Service. Prior to assuming this role in 2021, Mr. Santos was most recently the President and CEO of IMA World Health. He has more than two decades of experience working for and with faith-based organizations, including more than 10 years of living and working in Asia. Mr. Santos is an expert in engaging and partnering with civil society in the development process, and his developmental approach includes building and prioritizing robust local and regional partnerships—communities, organizations and networks—which he believes are the key ingredients to successful and sustainable development work.
Mr. Santos holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Johns Hopkins University’s Carey Business School, a Master of Theological Studies degree from Harvard Divinity School, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from George Washington University. Learn more about him here.
Angela Spencer-James is a senior business leader with a track record of success directing client and internal firm initiatives. With cross-industry insight advising companies on successful tax strategies, coupled with creating her own business practice and firmwide diversity, equity, and inclusiveness (DE&I) initiatives, Angela provides unique, insightful, innovative, and trusted advice. She frequently advises global enterprises regarding sensitive, high-profile US and international taxation matters and has significant experience partnering with and influencing C-suite leaders and diverse boards, with strategic, actionable goals.
She received a Master of Law - Taxation (LLM-Taxation) from New York University School of Law, a Master of Business Administration (MBA-Taxation,) from John’s University, and a Bachelor of Laws (LLB-Law) from the University of East London in London, UK.
Ambassador (ret.) Mark C. Storella is Professor of the Practice of Diplomacy at Boston University. He was a United States Foreign Service Officer for over three decades serving as Ambassador to Zambia, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees, and Migration (where he oversaw the U.S. Refugee Admissions program), and Dean of the Leadership and Management School of the Foreign Service Institute. Ambassador Storella also served as Humanitarian Counselor at U.S. Mission Geneva and as Senior Coordinator for Refugees and Internally Displaced persons at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. At BU, Ambassador Storella teaches courses on humanitarian crises, health diplomacy, global governance, U.S. foreign policy and international negotiation. Ambassador Storella previously was Senior Department of State Fellow and Dean and Virginia Rusk Fellow at Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service where he taught graduate and undergraduate courses.
Ambassador Storella is recipient of the Presidential Rank Award, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Excellence in Service Award, the Thomas Jefferson Award presented by American Citizens Abroad, and several Department of State superior and meritorious honor awards. He received his AB from Harvard College and an MALD degree from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. He also serves as a board member of the Norwegian Refugee Council – USA.