In 2017 Interfaith Winston Salem will kick off the New Year with some new additions to our board of guidance. In 2016 we bid farewell to Darlene May and Iman Khalid Griggs after each successfully completed two terms on the board. We thank them for their service and wish them luck in future endeavors. Beginning in 2017, five new members of the Interfaith Winston-Salem Board of Guidance will begin their first term after being elected during the December 2016 Board of Guidance meeting. Each will begin an initial two-year term on the board. Interfaith Winston Salem officially welcomes the following new board members:
Abby Catoe is a Master’s student at Wake Forest University School of Divinity. Originally from Winston Salem, she currently resides in East Bend where she owns and runs a landscaping business. Abby identifies as Christian.
Jeremy Moseley holds a Master's in Public Health. From Kinston, NC, he currently resides in Durham and identifies as Christianity through AME Zion. He is a Health Care Administrator at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.
Rev. Michele Sevacko finds her spiritual home in New Thought/Metaphysics. She considers herself a child of the universe as she has lived in many places throughout her life. Rev. Sevacko holds a Master of Metaphysical Sciences from the University of Metaphysics and a Doctor of Philosophy specializing in Pastoral Counseling from the University of Sedona. She also completed a certificate program in World Religions Through Their Scriptures via Harvard X as well as Interfaith & Intercultural Understanding Level i & ii at Association for Global New Thought & Common Ground.
Nelly van Doorn-Harder was born and raised in the Netherlands where she earned her PhD on the topic of women in the Coptic Orthodox Church of Egypt at the Vrije Universiteit of Amsterdam. Before moving to the United States, she was director of a refugee program in Cairo, Egypt, and taught Islamic Studies at universities in the Netherlands (Leiden) and Indonesia (Yogyakarta).
Rev. Byron Williams is a columnist, author, and the former pastor of the Resurrection Community Church in Berkeley, CA. He is now President and CEO of the Kairos Moment a progressive theological think-tank in Winston-Salem. He is also host of the NPR-affiliated broadcast The Public Morality. Williams is the author of the bestselling “1963: The Year of Hope and Hostility,” which won the 2014 International Book Award for U.S. History. His previous book, “Strip Mall Patriotism: Moral Reflections on the Iraq War,” is a series of essays. In 2010 and 2011, Williams' work was nationally recognized by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), which nominated him for “Columnist of the Year.” Williams has spoken across the country and appeared on numerous television and radio
Tracy Widener is a native of Winston-Salem, NC now residing in Advance, NC. She has no religious affiliation or belief system. Tracy has 13 years of experience volunteering in the Forsyth County School District and Davie County School District. Her interest in faith traditions has led her to Interfaith Winston-Salem. Believing that the community will benefit greatly from the Interfaith W-S mission. Tracy volunteers her time helping Interfaith Winston Salem accomplish that mission.