Top row: Lyssa Jenkens, James Coakley, Ed Proulx, Ric Jones, Diggit McLaughlin, Nathan Ryan, Mark Robel, Jim Keen. Middle row: Mae Gibson Wall, Jennifer Thomson, Miranda Hovemeyer, Mickey Kranz, Jennifer Kelleher, Laura Shennum.  Bottom row: Kristen Rohm, Charlotte Lehmann, Karen Quinlan, Kelly Kilmer Hall.  Not Pictured: the Rev. Lynn Acquafondata, Jean Brophy, the Rev. Leddy Hammock, Nathan Hollister, Kendra Koza, Paul Kent Oakley, Robert Stillman, Jill Sunde.

The Reverend Lynn Acquafondata is pursuing a DMin as a half-time student.  She received her MDiv from United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities (Minnesota) and was ordained as a UU minister in 2000.  Currently she works as an End-of-life Guide and Owner of Final Journey Home, LLC.  Lynn was the ministerial representative to the Ohio-Meadville Board of Trustees and has recently started a three years term on the board of the Funeral Consumers Alliance of Western Pennsylvania.  She is mother to Adam, 19, and Benjamin, 17.

Jean Brophy is pursuing an MDiv half-time in the residential format.  She resides in Evanston where she is a member of the Unitarian Church of Evanston.  There she has served on the Hospitality Committee and has volunteered in other capacities.  She serves on the Board of Heartland Housing, a part of the Heartland Alliance.  Jean has two children: Lydia, 15, and Maya, 12.

James Coakley is pursuing an MDiv as a part-time TouchPoint student.  He is from Appleton, Wisconsin where he has been a member of the Fox Valley UU Fellowship for 14 years.  There he has been a Lay Minister, Coming of Age Mentor and a member of the Choir.  Outside of the church he has been active in the local GLBT Network.  He is married to Margit Kindel and has two children: Christiana, 17, and Alex, 15.

Mae Gibson Wall is pursuing an MDiv as a full-time TouchPoint student.  She has been a member of Mesabi UU Church in Minnesota for two years.  There she has served on the Program Planning Committee.  She has volunteered with Child Haven International in India and in 2008 won the Elie Wiesel Prize in Ethics for her essay God in Our Ethics.  She is the first recipient of the President's Scholarship for Excellence.  She is married to Matt Wall.

The Reverend Leddy Hammock is pursuing a DMin as a part-time student.  She serves as the minister of Unity Church of Clearwater (Florida) and has done so for the past 28 years.  There she has been involved in the Religious Education as well as serving on various Ministry Teams of the Association of Unity Churches, International such as Church Growth and Development, Spiritual Renewal, Music Ministry and Spiritual Social Action.  As a child she occasionally attended UU church in St. Louis, Missouri and has been instrumental in interfaith activates with the UU church of Clearwater.  She is married to Russell and has three children and four grandchildren.

Lyssa Jenkens is pursuing an MDiv in the TouchPoint format as a half-time student.  She is from Dallas, Texas where she has been a member since 1993.  There she has been a part of Lay Ministry, Strategic Planning, a Trustee and President, OWL Teacher, and part of the Philanthropy Program.  She recently started working for the Dallas Women's Foundation after eight years as Chief Economist and Vice President of Business Information and Research for the Dallas Regional Chamber.  Lyssa served on the Meadville Lombard Board of Trustees, see her Trustee Bio.  She is married to Patricia (Trish) Houck and step-mother to Reily Houck, 13.

Ric Jones is pursuing an MDiv in the TouchPoint format as a full-time student.  Ric hails from Ontario Canada, where he lives in Oshawa with partner the Rev. Robert Hunter (ordained by the Association of Unity Churches International).  He is a member of the lay-led UU Congregation of Durham where he has been a greeter, choir member, a part of the Caring and Membership Committee, Worship Committee as the Service Coordinator and Leader, Lay Chaplain and Board member.  He has previous vocational ministry experience as he served as an Assistant Pastor at First Assembly of God in Aurora, IL.

James Keen is pursuing an MDiv in the TouchPoint format as a half-time student.  He lives in North Augusta, SC where he has been a member of the UU Church of Augusta for the past six years and serves as the president of the Board.  Other contributions to the congregation include Celebrations Committee Chair, Adult Religious Education Chair, and Transition Team member.  Jim is married to Sarah and father to Lucas, 4, and Jack, 1.

Jennifer Kelleher is pursuing an MDiv in the TouchPoint format as a half-time student.  She has been a member of the UU Church at Washington Crossing (New Jersey) for seven years, and before that she has attended First Parish Church of Plymouth, MA since she was 10.  At Washington Crossing she was a founding member of the Young Adult Group,  a Worship Associate, and has been involved in the Covenant Task Force, Religious Education, Social Action, and is a Choral Performer.  She is a project manager for BioCentric, Inc., a medical communications company.

Kelly Kilmer Hall is pursuing an MDiv in the TouchPoint format full-time.  She is from upstate New York where she is a member of First Unitarian Church of Rochester.  There she has been both a Religious Education Assistant and teacher.  She is a freelance writer whose articles focus on family, health and parenting.  She is married to Thomas Hall and has four children: Emma Kilmer, 12, Soren Kilmer, 9, Jude Hall, 3, and Lucy Hall, 18 months.

Nathan Hollister is pursuing an MDiv in the TouchPoint format as a full-time student.  He is a third generation UU and been a member of congregations in Colorado, Tennessee, and Connecticut as well as the Church of the Larger Fellowship.  He and his wife Robin live in North Carolina where he has been a member of the Eno River UU Fellowship.  There he has been a Youth Group Advisor, chair of the Conflict Resolution Task Force, and a worship associate.  Nathan goes by Nato and is a certified brewer.

Miranda Hovemeyer is pursuing a Master of Arts in Religion as a residential and full-time student.  She hails from Colorado where she was the Religious Education and Exploration Coordinator at Namaqua UU Congregation for the past year.  This was her first encounter with UUism but she is looking for a religious education which is beyond the three Abrahamic religions.  She is aiming to teach and work towards religious tolerance.

Kendra Kozak is pursuing an MA as a residential student and will begin coursework in January.  Kendra lives in Oak Park where she has been a member for a year at Unity Temple UU Congregation.  There she has been a part of the Young Adult Group, participant of the Caring Committee, and Youth Group Advisor.  She is a contract specialist for the United States Department of the Interior.  She is married to David Ferry, and they recently had a baby in May 2009.

Mickey Kranz is pursuing an MDiv in the TouchPoint format as a part-time student.  She is from Garden City, New York where she has been a member of the UU Congregation of Central Nassau for 19 years.  There she has been chair of the Worship Arts Committee, a Sunday School Teacher for the Senior and Junior High, member of the Board of Trustees, Finance Committee, and chair of the Nominating Committee.  She is married to Eric Kranz and mother to Michael, 30.

Charlotte Lehmann is pursuing the Dual MDiv and Master in Leadership Studies Degree Program as a residential, full-time student.  She has been a UU since childhood and most recently a member of First Universalist Church in Auburn, ME.  She has been chair of the RE Committee, a Worship Associate, member of the Social Justice Committee and Welcoming Congregation Committee.  She is licensed as a professional geologist, a part of the Geologist Society of Maine, and the Treasurer of the Lewiston-Auburn Community Forest Board.

Margaret (aka Diggitt) MaLaughlin is pursuing an MDiv as a half-time residential student.  She has been affiliated with UUism most of her life, and a member of First Unitarian Society of Westchester (New York) since 1990.  She is leader of the Small Group Ministry and Chair of the Continuing Religious Education Committee and has served as chair of the Sunday and Holiday Services Committee, and has served on the Ministerial Search and the Ministerial Relations committees.  Diggit is mother to Lydia Betsy, 25.

Ed Proulx is pursuing an MDiv in the TouchPoint format as a part-time student.  He has been a member of Greenville UU Fellowship (South Carolina) since 2005 where he has been active with fundraising, youth RE, and building and grounds.  He works as a Senior Retirement Plan Consultant and has served on the Board of the Greer Cultural Arts Council.  He is married to Francine and is father to MacKenzie, 9, and Morgan, 12. 

Paul Kent Oakley is pursuing an MDiv in the TouchPoint format as a full-time student.  He is from Mount Vernon, Illinois where he has been a member at Mount Vernon UU Fellowship for four years.  There he has been co-chair of the Programming Committee, as well as for the Music Committee.  He is a staff accountant and has degrees in English, Asian Studies, and Accountancy.  His partner is Walter Lazenby and he is father to Mary Lumdstedt, 32, Elisabeth Martell, 30, and Suzanne Hartrich, 27.

Karen Quinlan is pursuing an MDiv as a full-time residential student.  She lives in Indiana where she has been a member of First Unitarian Church of Hobart, Indiana for about six years.  She is the Worship Committee Co-Chair and has been Chair of the Welcoming Congregation Committee and an RE teacher.   She is an Ecological Resource Specialist and volunteers at the Shirley Heinze Land Trust, Inc.  She is married to Paul and is mother of Catherine, 3.

Mark Robel is pursuing an MDiv as a part-time student in the TouchPoint format.  He is a member of First Parish of Milton, Massachusetts where he has served on the Worship Committee.  He is a nurse practitioner at Massachusetts General Hospital for Children.  His partner is Thomas Lescoe and he is father to Mark, 13.

Kristen Rohm is pursuing an MDiv in the TouchPoint format as a full-time student.  She is from Santa Barbara, CA where she has been a member of Live Oak UU Congregation for 15 years.  There she has served as the Nominating Committee Chair, and as Co-Chair of the Worship Ministry. She has been President of the congregation and served on the Board of Directors for the Santa Barbara Rape Crisis Center.  She is married to John Gleason and is mother to Ellen, 16, and Colin, 14.

Nathan Ryan is pursuing an MDiv as a full-time student in the TouchPoint format.  Nathan has been a UU since childhood.  He lives in Dallas, Texas where for the past two years he has served as the Director of Lay Ministry at First Unitarian Church of Dallas.  Before that position he served as the Director of Lifespan Religious Education and as Religious Education Administrator at Live Oak UU Church of Cedar Park, Texas.  He recently finished a three year term on the Southwestern UU Conference Board of Directors.  He is married to Lauren Ryan.

Laura Shennum is pursuing an MDiv as a full-time student enrolled in the TouchPoint format.  She is from Omaha, Nebraska where she has been a member of Second Unitarian Church of Omaha for seven years.  There after volunteering in Family Enrichment Ministry and on the Religious Education Committee, she has served as the Director of Religious Education.  She has also served as president of the Parent Teacher Organization at Parkview Heights Elementary.  She is married to Don and mother to Siena, 9, Conor, 5 and Bree, 3.

Robert Stillman is pursuing an MDiv as a half-time residential student.  He has been a UU for ten years and a member of First Unitarian Church of Chicago where he has served on the RE Council and Men's Club.  He has a background in Sales and Marketing management.  He is adoptive father to Douglass, 19, Emily, 17, Matthew, 6 and Jenna, 5.

Jennifer Thomson is pursuing an MDiv as a full-time residential student.  She has been a UU for 16 years as a member at the United UU Society of Mukwonago in Wisconsin.  There she has Co-Chaired the Stewardship Committee, Chaired the Membership Committee, Co-Chaired the Auction Committee, and served on the Religious Services Committee.  She has also been a board member of the Christians for Equality in Wisconsin.  She is a teacher at the University of Wisconsin- Whitewater where she teaches English.  Jennifer is mother to Rebecca, 20, and Ellen, 18.