AMERC maintains a roster of Appalachian mentors or consultants who can help plan and conduct educational experiences in the region, thus insuring a quality program. The mentors are knowledgeable about the region and able to guide the consortium members in selecting persons, organizations or other resources in the Appalachian region that will enrich the planned educational experiences.
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2007
Roster of AMERC Mentors |
Dr. Carr is currently Associate Professor of Christian Education and Director of Parish Ministry for West Virginia Wesleyan College in Buckhannon, West Virginia. His courses cover a range of topics, including church leadership, outreach ministry, Appalachian Studies, West Virginia History, and 20th century U.S. history. He also serves as a member of the Appalachian Development Committee, the Congregational Community Development committee of the Commission on Religion in Appalachia, and the West Virginia United Methodist Conference.
Marvin received his D.Min. from Methodist Theological School in Ohio (1983), STM from Union Theological Seminary (1973), a Masters in History from West Virginia University (1967), M.Div. From Duke Divinity School (1959), and a B.S. in Management from West Virginia University (1956). Dr. Carr has been a visiting scholar at Duke University, Drew University, and with the Appalachian Mission Education Committee. He was a pastor for two United Methodist churches in West Virginia (1959-74) and traveled to Britain and Germany numerous times, leading student and tour groups.
Rev. Brian Cole, a native of southeast Missouri, serves as the coordinator of the Sabbath Project in Black Mountain, North Carolina. The Sabbath Project seeks to build bridges between congregations and parishes in western North Carolina and the environmental movement. Prior to the Sabbath Project, Brian served on the AMERC educational staff from 1992 to 1998. Rev Cole has led immersion courses throughout the Appalachian region and has lectured on 70 seminary campuses in the US on issues concerning rural context and community, ecology and Christian discipleship, and ecological concern and the mission of the Church. He also serves as a consultant with the Environmental Leadership Center at Warren Wilson College in Swannanoa, North Carolina.
Brian received a B.A. in Economics from Murray State University (Murray, Kentucky) and his M.Div. From Southern Seminary (Louisville, Kentucky). He served as a rural pastor in central Kentucky. Brian is a licensed lay preacher in the Episcopal Church. He resides in Black Mountain, North Carolina, with his wife, Susan Weatherford. Brian's son, Jess, is 4½ years old.
Brian's articles and essays have appeared in the following publications: Aging and Spirituality, Appalachian Heritage, The Gospel and our Culture, Lutheran Theological Seminary Bulletin, Creation Care, The Green Pulpit Journal, The Iron Mountain Review, and Heartstone.
Dr. Lon Oliver is the Executive Director of AMERC. He has been a mentor for AMERC since 2001.
Lon is also serving the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Kentucky as the Kentucky Appalachian Ministry (KAM) Associate Regional Minister. KAM is a cooperative mission of Homeland Ministries and the Christian Church in Kentucky on behalf of the whole church through Kentucky Appalachian congregations. This ministry is focused on meeting the social, economic, educational and spiritual needs of people in the area, as well as serving the wider Church by sharing distinctive gifts and experiences from the people and their congregations. In addition, Lon is also serving as the Small Membership Congregation Consultant for the rural church.
Lon grew up in Casper, Wyoming and attended Northwest Christian College in Eugene, Oregon where he received his undergraduate degree. Lon then received both his Master and Doctor of Divinity degrees from Lexington Theological Seminary in 1997 and 1998 respectively.
Sharon Leatherman
Sharon Leatherman is currently the Executive Coordinator for United Methodist Appalachian Development Committee. Sharon holds an A.A. degree in General Studies with emphasis on Human Development from Hagerstown Community College and a B.A. degree in Law and Society from Hood College in Maryland. Sharon was born and reared on a farm in the mountains of West Virginia.
Sr. Robbie is the Executive Director of the Catholic Committee of Appalachia serving the 27 Catholic dioceses within the Appalachian region. The Catholic Committee of Appalachia (CCA), founded in 1970 by bishops, clergy, religious and laity working the Appalachian region, provides support, education, advocacy and collaboration among the Catholic dioceses located aross the 13 states. The two Appalachian pastoral letters, This Land is Home to Me: A Pastoral Letter on Powerlessness in Appalachia (1975) and At Home in the Web of Life: A Pastoral Letter on Sustainable Community in Appalachia are from the work of this committee. The Catholic Committee of Appalachia, using the lens of Catholic Social teaching, also works in partnership to address numerous critical issues facing this region and its people. Her particular interests include the role of women in community and church, building sustainable communities, ecological concerns, prisons and the criminal justice system, and social change through the lens of faith.
Since 1995, Sr. Robbie has worked with various nonprofit organizations throughout Appalachia as a consultant, board member and staff. While serving as Small Business Technical & Development Specialist for the Human and Economic Development Corporation in Berea, KY she developed the curriculum to teach women in eastern Kentucky how to run their own businesses.
Sr. Robbie also serves as a collegiate staff member with the Commission of Religion in Appalachia, an ecumenical initiative promoting collaboration between church and communtiy with a strong commitment to the work of justice. In addition, Sr. Robbie serves as a trustee for the Catholic Committee of the South and on the Board of Directors for the Christian Appalachian Project, the Appalachian Ministries Educational Resource Centera nd the New Ventures Network -- a national entrepreneurial network, serving women in religous communities and beyond. In addition, she is a member of the Lexington Diocese Peace & Justice Commission and serves on her community's Peace and Justice Advisory and Ecology Committees.
Sister Robbie has been a member of the Sisters of St. Francis, Oldenburg, Indiana since 1984. She has a Bachelor of Science in Finance and Accounting from Southwest Missouri State University (1983) and an MBA (Master in Business Administration) from St. Louis University (1995).
Dr. Poage is consultant to AMERC for institutional advancement and financial management. he served as Executive Director of AMERC from 2000 to 2004 and as AMERC's Interim Executive Director in 1999. Ben has mentored the Central Appalachian J-term, sponsored by Columbia Theological Seminary, since 1987. In addition, he taught the Family Farm Ministry course and coordinated the experiential learning site placements for the summer term from 1987 to 1999.
Ben is a graduate of the University of Missouri, with a degree in Agricultural Economics. He received the M.Div. degree from Lexington Theological Seminary in 1968, and the D.Min. Degree from LTS in 1992. Dr. Poage's D.Min. project was a manuscript for publication entitled The Tobacco Church: A Manual for Congregational Leaders. From 1986 until his retirement in 1999, Ben served as an Associate Regional Minister of the Christian Church in Kentucky for Kentucky Appalachian Ministry.
Ben has more than 35 years of varied ecumenical and Appalachian community-related experience. He founded the Human/Economic Appalachia Development (HEAD) Corporation in Berea, KY, and now serves as its Board President. He has also served as staff for the Commission on Religion in Appalachia (CORA) in Knoxville, TN.
In addition to editing two editions of The Tobacco Church: A Manual for Congregational Leaders, Ben also wrote a chapter on the Church and Family Farm Ministry in Central Appalachia in Christanity in Appalachia and has recently authored The Church in Central Appalachia 1990 - 2000: A Study of Membership and Religous Bodies.
Currently Rev. Cheek serves on the Core Leadership of the Advent Spirituality Center and helps lead a Micah 6 Project under the Bonner Scholars Foundation. A native of North Carolina, Pauline earned a BA from Wake Forest University in 1956, a M.A.T. in English from Duke University in 1957, and an M.Div. From Earlham School of religion in 1992. Pauline served on the adjunct faculty at Mars Hill College, directed the Appalachian Room of the library, and worked with the Personal Development Seminar Program. She has also worked extensively with youth through 4-H. This is the fourth year for Pauline to serve on the AMERC faculty.
Pauline's ordination by Mars Hill Baptist Church in 2001 was the fulfillment of a call to ministry which she felt since childhood. She engaged in Appalachian studies, including participation in the Appalachian Studies Association, the Appalachian Consortium, and Berea's Appalachian Summer Seminar. Prompted by a seminar in biography at the National Humanities Foundation and the National Oral History Association, Pauline conducted numerous oral history projects, helping Appalachians tell their stories, and she received four North Caroline Humanities grants and two Appalachian Fellowships from Berea College. She spent one year doing research at J.C. Campbell Folkschool in Brasstown, NC, and another at Pine Mountain Settlement School in Kentucky.
Pauline's publications include an article in: NOW & THEN, NORTH CAROLINA LIBRARY JOURNAL, AN APPALACHIAN SCRAPBOOK, a history of the hooked-rug industry in Madison County, NC, and with Brian Cole, "The Call of Place in Denise Giardina's Saints and Villains," THE IRON MOUNTAIN REVIEW, XV (Spring 1999)
Rev. Blair is currently the Vice President for Enrollment & Academic Services, Assistant Professor of Administration & Leadership for The Criswell College in Dallas Texas. He provides leadership for all phases of enrollment services & academic programs development. He teaches in the area of Disability Studies and Christian Leadership.
Danny earned his Master of Divinity at Beeson Divinity School, Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama in 1995. He is a Candidate for Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Research (Major) and Administrative & Educational Leadership (Minor) at University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.Between 1996 & November 2001, Danny was Director of Admissions and Recruitment for Beeson Divinity School in Alabama. He supervised the application and admissions process for the master's degree program. He also served on several committees such as the scholarship committee and the steering committee for ATS re-accreditation study (2000-2001).
During March 2000-November 2001, Danny was Consultant for Religion & Disability Program at the Lakeshore Foundation in Birmingham, AL, where he consulted with local congregations and denominational agencies about inclusion of people with disabilities and assisted in development of a model for integration of disability awareness into seminary curricula.
Danny's publications include a published survey of ATS member seminaries entitled, "Theological Education and the Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities."
Fr. John S. Rausch, a Glenmary priest, writes and teaches from his base in Berea, Kentucky. A frequent consultant with local development groups for more than 25 years, he has organized three worker-owned businesses in Central Appalachia. To serve the business needs of Appalachian cooperatives in the 1970s he organized the Mountain Management Institute. He has conducted numerous tours of Appalachia, and served as teaching staff for AMERC from 1994-1999.
John international experience includes teaching with Coady International Institute, Antigonish, Nova Scotia, and conducting workshops in Ghana, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Bangladesh and Haiti. With a masters in economics, he writes a monthly syndicated column called "Faith and the Marketplace" that appears in 24 Catholic newspapers. John's hobbies include jogging and cooking.
Frank Hare is a "native-born, life-long Appalachian" who became "native-born" in the 1960s when the Appalachian Regional Commission boundaries were established and "life-long" in the 1990s when Columbiana County, Ohio, where he had served for 13 years, was added to the region. He has worked fifty years with small membership congregations ranging from 8 to 75 members in various parish and cooperative ministry arrangements involving 2, 3 and 4 congregations. Some of this 50 years has been concurrent with fifteen years of service with the Presbyterian/Reformed Coalition for Appalachian Ministry, three summers of administering the AMERC internship program and twelve years as Mayor of Amesville, Ohio. Frank received his B.A. from Muskingum College in 1952, A.BD from Pittsburgh-Xenia Theological Seminary in 1955 (replaced with M.Div. in 1965) and an M.Th. from Pittsburgh-Xenia Seminary in 1958. Continuing Education includes: Mission Conferences, Appalachian Ministry Seminars, Rural Church Network and Bangor Seminary Small Membership Church Conferences. Frank's family includes his wife, Catherine, 5 children and 11 grandchildren.
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Appalachian
Ministries Educational Resource Center
298 Harrison Road Berea, KY 40403
Phone: 859-986-8789 Fax: 859-986-2576
E-mail: loliver@amerc.org