Within a world on fire, Global Immersion is forming Reconciling Leaders. They’re faith-formed-and-fueled leaders across sectors who are leveraging their influence to forge conflict-competent teams and immersive programs that mend internal, interpersonal, and institutional divides.
In four years, and in partnership with leading centers for reconciliation around the world, we’ve cultivated over 150 Reconciling Leaders from seven countries through the Journey of Hope cohort.
Today, we’re thrilled to welcome the members of the 2024 North American cohort. Each is acutely aware of the widening divides in their institutions and cities. In this election year, they are choosing to become the kinds of leaders who move toward the conflicts with the tools to transform, and they’re learning how to invite others to do the same.
Learn more about Journey of Hope and how we’re forging and supporting a global community of Reconciling Leaders. We welcome your interest in participating in the 2025 cohort.
Katie Calvert is a creative who convenes local artists and collaborates with them to awaken others to the beauty of God’s restorative wingspan. She’s a member of the Madison County Remembrance Project, working to remember and honor those whose lives were lost at the hands of lynch mobs in Alabama. She’s a Reconciling Leader committed to using the artistic tools in her hands to raise and inspire peacemakers.
Sammy Choi serves as the Director of Adult Ministries at Seattle Community Church, where he forms and guides communities to move toward, rather than away from, the cultural, political, and faith divides in the Seattle area. He’s a Reconciling Leader leveraging curiosity and compassion to form peacemakers in his context.
Steve Fawver is the Co-Lead Pastor at Wayside Friends Church, a welcoming and affirming Christ-following Quaker Church in Newberg, OR. He’s a Reconciling Leader who offers pastoral companionship for wonderers and wanderers and is committed to crafting welcoming, brave, and wise communities.
Dr. Rahn Franklin, Jr. leads institutional diversity and inclusive excellence initiatives at Bethel University in St. Paul, MN, and is a part of the Diversity Commission with the Coalition of Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU). He’s a Reconciling Leader committed to shaping conflict-competent cultures, culturally intelligent leaders, and communities of courageous learners.
Nathan Geer is the Director of Residence Life at George Fox University in Newberg, OR. He’s a Reconciling Leader committed to helping leaders and institutions reach for their potential in faith, leadership, education, and relationships.
Dani Kilgore Dani Kilgore is a Pastor and leader within the Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC). She is the incoming Lead Pastor at Church Without Walls in Berkeley, CA, and Executive Director of Journey to Mosaic. This non-profit cultural immersion coalition invites individuals to explore the issues of racism and discrimination in their contexts and actively engage in sustainable solutions. She’s a Reconciling Leader adept at awakening the imaginations of majority-culture people of faith to the adventure of reconciliation.
Lindsay Knox serves as the Vice President of Enrollment and Marketing at George Fox University in Newberg, OR, and as a member of the Research Advisory Board for the National Association for Christian College Admissions Professionals (NACCAP). She’s a Reconciling Leader committed to deploying her unique hospitality and strategy skill set to help individuals, teams, and institutions realize their potential.
Meredith McKay is the incoming Director of Campus Ministry at Gonzaga University in Spokane, WA, and a doctoral student at the Candler School of Theology at Emory University. She’s a Reconciling Leader committed to trauma-informed care in the context of campus ministry.
Jean Meredith is a Florida-based Presbyterian Minister (retired) and teacher. She’s a Reconciling Leader adept at using her table to convene women of myriad backgrounds in experiences that generate solidarity.
Eline Nelson is the Director of Audit Management and Risk Management Services for World Vision U.S. (WVUS) and recently served as the co-chair of the WVUS Diversity and Belonging Staff Advisory Council. She’s a Reconciling Leader who utilizes her analysis and evaluation skills to help institutions and individuals address the gaps between who they are and who they could become.
Eric Paul serves as the Executive Director of West Hawaii Mediation Center and the Coordinator for Justice and Compassion for the Church of the Nazarene in Hawaii. He’s a Reconciling Leader deploying facilitation and mediation skills to transform conflict and pursue restorative justice.
Ben Preiss is an Emergency Medicine Physician currently serving as the Medical Director and Deaconess Hospital Ethics Chair in Spokane, WA. He’s a Reconciling Leader committed to forging conflict-competent cultures and teams within the healthcare industry.
Emily Perry is Executive Director and a Lead Teacher for the Circle of Atonement, a nonprofit sharing the spiritual path of A Course in Miracles. Utilizing her skills as an author, trainer, and facilitator, Emily is a Reconciling Leader committed to sharing Course principles of holiness, equality, and worth of all beings.
Riley Powell is a theologian committed to discovering and offering a more spacious theology that generates a wider embrace of difference. She’s an Arizona-based Reconciling Leader utilizing the tools of hospitality, convening, facilitating, and teaching to dismantle the walls that divide us.
Elizabeth Sherwood is the Co-Lead Pastor at Wayside Friends, a welcoming and affirming Christ-following Quaker Church in Newberg, OR. Through teaching, convening, and facilitating both in the church and community, Elizabeth is a Reconciling Leader committed to the dismantling of the strongholds of racism and homophobia in her context.
Joanne Sorenson has served as an Evangelical Lutheran pastor (retired) and is currently the Founding Director of In Our Hands, a Minnesota-based non-profit organization featuring traveling service and learning programs. Embracing the power of immersive learning, Joanne is a Reconciling Leader committed to transforming individuals and groups into participants in the Beloved Community.