Meet the Staff
Chel Avery, Communications & Publications Coordinator, coordinates the publications of QuakerPress and QuakerBridge Media. Before joining FGC’s staff in October of 2010, she worked with a wide variety of Quaker programs, claiming to be a contender for the world record in number of Friends organizations served within a single lifetime. She feels strongly that writing and publishing are a precious form of Quaker ministry. A member of Goshen Monthly Meeting in Pennsylvania, Chel originally came to Friends through the Madison Monthly Meeting in Wisconsin and often refers to herself as a “displaced Midwesterner.” Also known as “Michel,” Chel says that nature and the outdoors are very important to her (almost as important as science fiction). chela@fgcquaker.org
Susan Lee Barton joined the FGC staff in September 2010 as the Conference & Administrative Associate. Most of her time and energy goes into supporting the annual Gathering and other conferences. Before coming on board here in Philadelphia, Susan Lee was on the other side of the state working as co-manager of Pittsburgh Friends' meetinghouse, and before that as Midwest Field Staff for Friends World Committee for Consultation Section of The Americas. Susan Lee loves singing, reading, and clever and insightful buttons, which you would know after spending just a little time with her. She is a member of Clear Creek Meeting in Ohio Valley Yearly Meeting. susanleeb@fgcquaker.org
David Botwinik came on board Friends General Conference December 1993. As Publications Associate he is responsible for the design and composition of FGC's print media, including but not limited to, QuakerPress Publications, the Advance Program, QuakerBooks catalogs, advertisements, and FGConnections. For two years much of David's time was used to edit, arrange, design and typeset Worship in Song: A Friends Hymnal. David has worked in the music publishing field since receiving his graduate degree in music from Temple University in 1977. His career in publishing has included editing, arranging, engraving, and design. In addition to his work at FGC, he operates his own business, Willow Graphics. David combines his love of music, history and culture by playing in two music groups, Faith & Practice ("when good Quakers go bad," folk and bluegrass music) and Castlerock (Celtic). He has previously played with two Civil War music groups, the Libby Prison Minstrels and the Cumberland Blues, performing music of the nineteenth century and the American Civil War. Together with other musicians he has recorded three albums of popular nineteenth century songs in which he sings, plays guitar, banjo, piano and bass. His research into early American music has led him, along with a musical colleague, to compile and edit an extensive book on popular songs of the min-nineteenth-century (not published). David has two adult children.davidb@fgcquaker.org
Elaine Crauderueff is the Ministries & Quaker Quest Coordinator. She is involved in many ministry programs and coordinates the Quaker Quest project throughout the United States and Canada. Part of her responsibilities include working with monthly meetings and the amazing Quaker Quest travel team volunteers, who she trains and mentors. Elaine has worked for numerous Quaker organizations before coming aboard here in 2007, where she found a convergence of the right job with her skills and gifts. She is a member of Radnor Meeting, outside of Philadelphia, but is originally from Yellow Springs, Ohio, and she still misses her village. elainec@fgcquaker.org
Barry Crossno is the General Secretary of Friends General Conference (FGC). Prior to becoming General Secretary in June of 2011, Barry served three years on the FGC Development Committee from 2006-2009 and also served on the Quaker Quest Travel Team from 2008-2010. Barry brings to FGC a concern for the vitality of the Religious Society of Friends as a whole and in particular a focus on making the Quaker way more visible and accessible for seekers.
Prior to joining FGC, Barry was the Development Manager at Pendle Hill from September 2008- June 2011. While there he served as Clerk of the Information Technology Working Group, as a member of the Ministry and Worship Committee, and helped develop and lead the Quaker Spiritual Practices workshop that was offered by Pendle Hill in the summer of 2010. During that time, Barry was named a recipient of The Clarence & Lilly Pickett Endowment for Quaker Leadership and also was given the Rising Star Award by Fundraising Success magazine.
Before arriving in Philadelphia, Barry was Marketing Director & Sales Support Manager for two jointly owned electronics recycling companies. As a company spokesperson, Barry successfully lobbied members of the Texas legislature for the passage of the 2007 Texas Computer Take-Back law. This effort was led by Texas Campaign for the Environment (TCE) and the TCE formally recognized Barry for his efforts at the 2008 TCE annual meeting. Simultaneously, he served on the education committee of the U.S. Green Building Council, Dallas Chapter.
In addition to his corporate experience, Barry has a long track record of success as a professional fundraiser. He was Director of Development for the McKinney Avenue Contemporary in Dallas, TX, Interim Development Director for the Taos Center for the Arts in Taos, NM, and Development Coordinator for Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT) then located in Taos, NM.
Barry holds a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Dallas and a Master’s degree from Southern Methodist University. He is currently a member of Dallas Friends Meeting in Dallas, Texas. He loves to hike in the mountains, adores the desert southwest, and enjoys reading non-fiction on topics from spirituality to progressive business practices. As a Texan, he’s never eaten a bowl of Chili con Queso he didn’t like. barryc@fgcquaker.org
Eric Evans is the Nurturing Ministries Associate. Eric travels from time to time with Quaker ministers as an elder/companion-in-ministry. He lives in South Philadelphia (“Yo, how you’se doin’?”) with Matt Clark, his partner of fourteen years, and their goofy little dog. Eric is a deeply committed member of Central Philadelphia Monthly Meeting, where he is involved up to his eyeballs. He has served on his meeting’s Worship & Ministry, Nominating, Necessitous Cases and Gifts & Leadings Committees. erice@fgcquaker.org
Deborah Fisch began working for Friends General Conference in the spring of 1998 and currently serves as Associate Secretary for Ministries, with many responsibilities including coordinating the Traveling Ministries Program. Deborah works from her home in Des Moines, Iowa when not on the road or in the Philadelphia office. She is a member of Paullina Monthly Meeting in rural NW Iowa, a part of Iowa Yearly Meeting Conservative. Deborah has served on several monthly and yearly meeting committees, as well as the Friends Journal Board of Managers and Scattergood Friends School Committee. In the summer of 2010 she completed 20 years of service at the clerking table of her yearly meeting, 8 as assistant clerk followed by 12 years as presiding clerk. She carries a minute to travel in the ministry endorsed by her yearly meeting. deborahf@fgcquaker.org
Graham Garner joined FGC in 2003 as Manager of QuakerBooks, mainly concentrating on consignments, booktables for meetings and special events, ordering stock, and searching for (or hopefully being told about) new Quaker-related books. Recently, he has been up to his elbows in-taking some rare and fascinating second-hand books. Graham has a long history with bookstores, having worked in various ones on and off since he was eleven. Before coming over to the states, he spent fifteen years working for Britain Yearly Meeting’s bookshop in London. Other past jobs have included freezing peas and painting electric motors for dentist’s chairs and tank turrets (before he became a Quaker, of course). Graham lives with his wife, Lucy Duncan, and eight year-old son, Simon, at Friends Southwest Burial Ground, where he is the Caretaker and Manager. When he can find the time, he likes to mess around with old bikes, old books and listen to music. He also has a great interest in Utopian Tolstoyan communities of the 1890's after discovering he lived next door to what had been the anarchist "Croydon Brotherhood Church" all his childhood days. Though he is still a member of Sutton Preparative Meeting in England, he attends Goshen Friends Meeting in West Chester. grahamg@fgcquaker.org
Michael Gibson, the Faith & Play Coordinator, joined the FGC staff in August of 1999. A perpetual student, he has an undergraduate degree in music and graduate degrees in teaching English (M.A.) and in religious studies (M. Div.). In his previous "lives" he has been a telephone operator, a musician, a college English/ESL instructor (in Japan and in the US), a lay pastor, and a private tutor, among other things. After exploring Quaker faith and practice from a distance for over 20 years, he joined the Religious Society of Friends in 1997. He lives in Woodbury, New Jersey, with his partner, Charlie, and is a member of Mullica Hill Meeting. His hobbies and passions include photography, reading, writing, travel, hiking, learning, teaching, and, of course, music. michaelg@fgcquaker.org
Vanessa Julye is the Ministries Coordinator for the Friends General Conference Ministry on Racism Program. She leads workshops and speaks on issues regarding racism, focusing on its eradication and the healing of racism's wounds. Vanessa has established several organizations to empower people of Color. She worked for a couple of years with the Green Circle Program, a human relations program that helps children and adults understand and appreciate difference. Prior to that she was the Associate Secretary of Friends World Committee for Consultation, Section of the Americas for many years.
Vanessa is the author of The Seed Cracked Open: Growing Beyond Racism (Quaker Press of FGC, 2006) and co-author of Fit for Freedom, Not for Friendship; Quakers, African Americans and the Myth of Racial Justice (Quaker Press of FGC, 2009). She has written several articles, as well as the Foreword for Margaret Hope Bacon's pamphlet, Sarah Mapps Douglass, Faithful Attender of Quaker Meeting: View from the Back Bench (Quaker Press of FGC, 2003).
Vanessa is a member of Central Philadelphia Monthly Meeting, where she serves on the meeting's Committee for Racial Healing and Wholeness. She travels under a concern for addressing Racism in the Religious Society of Friends with a minute to travel in the ministry from her meeting. Central Philadelphia Monthly Meeting also provides a support committee that meets with Vanessa on a monthly basis. She has a website for her ministry. Vanessa lives in West Mount Airy with her husband, Barry Scott. They have three adult children and a grandson. She enjoys quilting, needlepoint, cross stitch and photography. vanessaj@fgcquaker.org
Carrie Karhnak-Glasby takes great pleasure in serving as Development Manager for Friends General Conference. Since January 2003, she has been helping to raise the money that enables FGC to carry out its many programs. She is continually inspired by the dedication and service of her colleagues and FGC's many committed volunteers. Carrie is a member of Central Philadelphia Monthly Meeting. She currently serves her meeting as a recording clerk and a member of the finance committee. Her journey to Quakerism began on the west coast, where she first joined Eugene (Oregon) Monthly Meeting and then spent a year at the Ben Lomond Quaker Center in California. She cherishes how FGC has helped her to build connections with Friends across the United States and Canada. Carrie makes her home in the Germantown section of Philadelphia with her wife Kathleen, son Timothy, daughter Alma, and dog Jack. carrieg@fgcquaker.org
David Kosbob joined the staff in December 2010 and is the Communications and Bookstore Assistant. Originally from Virginia, David (or Kosbob) has been living in West Philly since graduating from Guilford College in 2007, where he was a Quaker Leadership Scholar and earned a degree in Art/Photography. His favorite things involve warm weather, plentiful sunshine, and large bodies of water; he’s fond of mountains as well, and the moon when the sun isn’t available. When he has to be inside, he likes to geek out over music. David was born into Goose Creek Monthly Meeting, BYM, where he still attends when he goes home to see the family. davidk@fgcquaker.org
Patsy Arnold Martin joined FGC staff as Junior Gathering Coordinator in the fall of 2005. She works closely with the Conference Coordinator, Conference Assistant, and Junior Gathering Committee clerks to shape the Junior Gathering program, for infants through those finishing eighth grade. Patsy lives in Bedford, Virginia with her husband Tony. She is a member of Roanoke (VA) Monthly Meeting and currently serves on the Nominating Committee. She has 30 years experience in both public and private education. Her husband Tony teaches in Bedford and is clerk of Nominating for Roanoke Meeting. Her daughter Angie teaches Spanish at Friends Academy in Glen Cove, NY, and son Jacob is an aspiring actor in Hollywood, California. Patsy also coordinates the Adult Education Program for her local school system in Bedford. She enjoys living in a small town where they have a very large garden and four laying hens in a portable chicken coop in the backyard. patsym@fgcquaker.org
Ken Miller is Fiscal and Property Manager for Friends General Conference and Assistant Secretary/Treasurer for Friends Meeting House Fund. He began working at FGC in April 1973 as Conference Coordinator for the Gathering of Friends and after 18 years in this position he moved into an administrative position. He now manages the FGC property, is treasurer of the building's Condo Association, and is the liaison between FGC and the FGC accountant for financial statements, payment of bills, payroll and budgeting. Ken assists in the administration of the Friends Meeting House Fund which provides loans and grants to Monthly Meetings and investments in Friends Meeting House Fund Mortgage Pool Notes. Ken is a member of Doylestown Meeting (PA). He enjoys working on his 1700s farmhouse and trying to keep up with his children Hannah and Haley. kenm@fgcquaker.org
Jerimy Pedersen fills the Associate Manager position at QuakerBooks, where he orders books from publishers and determines proper payment, amongst many other duties and responsibilities. Before joining us here at FGC in 2000, Jerimy worked in a number of other bookstores. He lives in West Philly and is an attender at Central Philadelphia Monthly Meeting. jerimyp@fgcquaker.org
Chris Pifer is our Webmaster, which means he does a little bit of everything related to the web including maintaining the server, developing content, writing the e-newsletter, graphic design, and database management. He also supports other programs in using the web effectively. Chris started with FGC in 2008 as Conference Associate for about six months before moving into his current position. Prior to that, his entire professional career has been working for Quaker organizations, including a stint with AFSC focusing on civil liberties and economic aspects of the federal government. Originally from Wisconsin, Chris was born into Eau Claire Monthly Meeting. He really grew into his Quaker identity, though, by going to a college with no Quakers and realizing how important it was to him. After attending a consultation on Quaker leadership sponsored by the Shoemaker Fund, Chris became clear that the life and death of Quakerism depends on Monthly Meetings. For him, FGC is the best place to support those meetings. One of the ways he is doing that is by working on a project to provide Monthly Meetings with useful, effective websites, as well as a complete rebuild of the FGC website to make it more constituency-focused. When Chris isn’t working here, he does independent web consulting, plays multiple musical instruments, and likes to take pictures. One of the highlights from his previous life in Washington, DC was managing the European tours of a small DC-based professional theater company. chrisp@fgcquaker.org
Nicole Rayborn serves as the Administrative Associate, supporting Central and Executive Committees and the General Secretary amongst other things. She joined the staff in 2008. Prior to working for FGC she worked as a project manager. She is a member of Mullica Hill Monthly Meeting in New Jersey. In addition to being a Quaker, she is also a mom, wife, daughter, sister, baker, crochet-er, and friend. nicoler@fgcquaker.org
Madeline Schaefer began her position as the Quaker Quest & Communications Intern in October of 2011. She helps to develop educational tools for future workshop facilitators around the country, as well as find new ways of sharing Quaker Quest’s work with the wider Quaker community. Madeline grew up in the Philadelphia area, where she attended Radnor Monthly Meeting every Sunday for 18 years. In 2005 she graduated from Germantown Friends School and set off to explore life away from her Philadelphia Quaker community. After spending four years in Minnesota studying English Literature at Carleton College, Madeline traveled to New Zealand where she lived with a Quaker community on the North Island for nine months and attended various Quaker youth retreats. Back in the North East, she now lives in West Philadelphia and attends the West Philly Worship Group from time to time. During her free time, Madeline enjoys riding her bicycle, writing poetry and producing her Quaker audio program, Friend Speaks My Mind. She prefers her pop culture aged and her eggs poached. madelines@fgcquaker.org
Kathy Stepkowicz, as the Development Associate, handles the processing of donor gifts and correspondence. After twenty-five years in corporate America, she left to study Holistic Spirituality at Chestnut Hill College. She joined the staff here at FGC in October 2009 and has been a big help streamlining data management for Development. In the future, she’d like to put her graduate studies to work in the field of spiritual companionship. Kathy was born and raised in Philadelphia and has been an active streetdancer and spoken-word poet since high school. kathys@fgcquaker.org
Traci Hjelt Sullivan is the FGC Conference Coordinator, which means most of her time is spent focusing on FGC’s Annual Gathering. She moved to the Philadelphia area in 2006 after almost 14 years in northern California where she and husband Walter were Co-Directors of the Ben Lomond Quaker Center, a small retreat and conference center. Traci’s interests include sacred chant and promoting the movement of the Spirit among groups. She is a member of Providence Meeting, PhlYM, but worships at Green Street Meeting. She continues to grow into the belief that one does not have to choose between being loving and truthful. Traci and Walter have two young adult daughters, Rebecca and Grace Sullivan, who have long experience with parents who are both Quaker employees. They strike a (usually) graceful balance between being supportive of their parents and reminding them that family life is important, too! tracis@fgcquaker.org
Michael Wajda has led FGC's Development Program since September 1996. Michael has overall responsibility for FGC's development program. He manages major and leadership gifts for FGC and travels to visit with individual donors and meetings. He serves on the FGC Administrative Team along with the General Secretary and Lucy Duncan and Deborah Fisch.
Thanks to Michael's skillful help and deep commitment, FGC has undertaken and nearly completed two major fundraising efforts, the Nurturing Quakerism Campaign (1998-2001) and the Stoking the Spiritual Fire of Quakerism Campaign (2006-present). Together these two campaigns have raised more than $7.0 million dollars for FGC.
Michael has worked as field staff for Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, serving as Coordinator of Salem Quarterly Meeting from 1973 to 1977. He helped establish Central Finger Lakes Monthly Meeting (part of New York Yearly Meeting) in 1987; and from 1998-2002 he served as clerk of the Meeting on Worship and Ministry of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting. He is a graduate of the School of the Spirit Spiritual Nurturers program and currently serves as Clerk of its board.
Michael is married to Alison Levie and has three children: Lisa Wajda Edwards, who is grown, married, and lives in Greensboro, NC; Morgan Wajda-Levie who lives in Austin, Texas and is active in Austin Meeting; and Dylan Wajda-Levie, who teaches Spanish at the North Country School near Lake Placid, NY.
Michael travels widely among Friends leading workshops and retreats, as well as giving talks on various Quaker subjects at Friends meetings. Together, with his wife Alison, he has taught Quakerism as part of the Quaker Studies Program in Philadelphia Yearly Meeting and traveled in the ministry for Friends General Conference. In April 2001, Michael and Alison gave the 38th Annual J. Bernard Walton Memorial Lecture at Southeastern Yearly Meeting. Shaped by the Light: The Quaker Experience of Worship, Community, and Transformation. Michael also wrote a recent Pendle Hill Pamphlet, Expectant Listening: Following God's Thread of Guidance. Both are available from QuakerBooks of FGC.
Michael and Alison are active members of Goshen Monthly Meeting, located near West Chester, PA. michaelw@fgcquaker.org
Keira Wilson is the Associate for Quaker Quest, a dynamic community growth program. Through facilitating Quaker Quest programs in the U.S. and Canada, she provides resources and support for meetings interested in building community and outreach. In the office, she is the primary contact coordinator for Quaker Quest events. Keira is a member of State College Friends Meeting, where she is from originally, but has been attending the West Philly Worship Group since relocating to the city. Prior to that, she earned a bachelor’s degree from Guilford College, where she was a Quaker Leadership Scholar, and a Masters of Education from UNC Greensboro. Always active in community service, Keira plans on committing to new projects here in Philadelphia. Her other interests include hula hooping, bluegrass music, and roller derby. keiraw@fgcquaker.org
