The Chaplaincy Institute's clergy live out their calling to spiritual service through many paths. Some of our clergy work in traditional chaplaincy roles within hospitals and hospice, while others are called to more diverse community ministries. (Click on each clergy person's link for more information.)
Rev. Nancy Bancroft
Rev. Nancy Bancroft is a Chaplain for the Hospice of the East Bay. She was ordained as an Interfaith Minister in January 2004, earned a certificate as a spiritual director, and is a Board Certified Chaplain (Associate) through the Association of Professional Chaplains. She is currently continuing her studies as a seminary student at GTU (Graduate Theological Union) in Berkeley, CA. She completed her clinical training (CPE) at Sequoia Hospital in Redwood City, CA and has also worked at Kaiser Hospital in Vallejo, CA. Nancy mentored the EFM (Education for Ministry) program at St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church, is a Reiki Master, and is a graduate of the Nine Gates Mystery School, where she served on staff for several years. Prior to her chaplaincy, Nancy spent the majority of her working life as an organizational development consultant specializing in the intersection of information technology and organizational effectiveness. She completed her MBA at Clark University. Nancy is the author of three books: The Feminine Quest for Success (Berrett-Koehler), Implementing SAP R/3 (Manning Publications, First and Second Editions), and New Partnerships for Managing Technological Change (John Wiley).
Rev. Donna Belt
Rev. Donna Belt, an interfaith minister, is the founder of SpiritWorks—a transformative art and writing studio where she works with individuals and groups in a ministry of creativity. Donna moved to Raleigh, North Carolina with her husband, Jim after living in Asia and Europe, where they raised their two children and she studied art, coordinated writing and creativity classes, and contributed to a number of intercultural, religious and hospice publications. She views the creative process as a means to living in the moment—where limitations are unlearned, and where illness and grief are gently healed from the inside.
Rev. Leslie Boies
Rev. Leslie A. Boies, M.A., has been a leadership development coach, facilitator, and teacher for over twenty-five years. Growing up in India, Lebanon, and Italy, she became an avid student of cultural diversity, languages, and varieties of religious expression at an early age. In the 1980’s, Leslie worked for The Ladakh Project, an international non-profit organization dedicated to promoting locally-based, sustainable alternatives to conventional development and the global consumer culture. She lived at Green Gulch Farm Zen Center and Tassajara Monastery for three years, where she received the Buddhist precepts and was lay ordained by Tenshin Reb Anderson. Ultimately she discerned that her calling was to help integrate spirituality and healing into “the marketplace.” For the past ten years, she has coached and consulted to leaders and their teams at NCAL Kaiser Permanente Regional Offices. Her expertise is in the area of emotional intelligence and using mindfulness to transform moments of pain, competition, and confusion into insight, compassion, and right action. She earned a B.A. in Comparative Literature from Stanford University and an M.A. in Organizational Psychology from John F. Kennedy University. In 2007, as a further expression of her Bodhisattva vows to “embrace and sustain all beings,” she was ordained as an Interfaith Minister at The Chaplaincy Institute. In addition to consulting at Kaiser, she currently provides spiritual coaching to individuals wishing to uncover and express their authentic spiritual nature.
Rev. Amy Brucker, M.A.
Rev. Amy Brucker is a creativity catalyst who helps people turn their lifework into inspiring careers. After serving as Co-director of The Chaplaincy Institute for three years, Amy resigned in order to found "Lifework in Action" which supports and educates ministers and other spiritual and wellness professionals as they grow their private practices and small businesses. Amy continues to serve as core-faculty in the Dreamwork program and is also a board member. You can read more about Amy and her work by clicking here: www.amybrucker.com.
Rev. Caryl Hurtig Casbon, M.A.
Rev. Caryl Hurtig Casbon, M.A., works through the Center for Courage and Renewal to create Circles of Trust programs nationally and internationally for clergy, hospice, medical groups, and educational leaders. She also serves as the Anamcara Project Director with the Sacred Art of Living Center—international and interfaith educational programs that address spiritual suffering and transformation at the end of life. Her ministry is about creating sacred space for the voice of the soul, care for people in transition (especially at the end of life), and story-catching and writing in service to all of these places. She earned a Masters in Applied Behavioral Science degree from Whitworth College's Leadership Institute in Spokane, Washington. She is co-author of the User’s Guide for A Hidden Wholeness: A Journey Towards an Undivided Life, published with the recently released paperback version of A Hidden Wholeness, and editor of The Anamcara Project Story Book. She lives in Bend, Oregon, in the high desert of the Cascade Mountains, with her husband, Jay, and three cats.
Rev. Jim Christiansen, Ph.D.
I am a management consultant, working primarily in Europe and the Middle East. I was born in California and grew up in the Midwest, but I have lived in Europe since 1989. My work focuses on management, but I work frequently with international teams which include people from a wide variety of faith backgrounds: Christian, Moslem, Hindu, Buddhist, Secular Humanist, Sikh and others. I find that my work at ChI has helped me work more effectively with the huge variety of people I encounter in my daily work.
Rev. Karuna Gerstein
Rev. Karuna Gerstein holds a B.A. in interpersonal communication from California State University, Hayward, and is an ordained Interfaith Minister through the Chaplaincy Institute of the Arts and Interfaith Ministries in Berkeley. She is the author of "Spirituality of Aging: Stirring the Spirit", a chapter in the book Awakening to Aging: Glimpsing the Gifts of Aging (October 2009), ed. Myrtle Heery, Ph.D. and Gregg Richardson. Karuna serves the community as a minister, chaplain, Spiritual Director/Counselor, Dreamworker and teacher of many spiritual practices. She became an Interfaith Minister to learn from the richness of all the worlds’ major faith traditions, and to explore the connections among them. She has long believed that we need to focus on what connects us, and learn from the richness of our differences. Each faith tradition offers vital life teachings and interweaves the most important messages of compassion, love, tolerance, generosity, faith, honor and joy. To honor, explore, and recognize the wonder and beauty of each faith tradition is to practice the deepest and most profound spirituality—genuine heart connection with each other and with the Divine. Karuna’s ministry is meeting you where you are on your journey, encouraging, witnessing, guiding, and learning from and with you—in gratitude for the opportunity!
Rev. Debra Hansen
Rev Debra Hansen, M.A. lives in northern Michigan where she works as a life and leadership coach (www.identitymatters.org) and interfaith minister. Her passions include personal growth and development and bringing people together in new ways. She has a growing interest in social justice, eco-theology, and new paradigms for sustainable living. She spent a month working at Damanhur, the world's largest eco-village.
Deb completed an internship and residency at the Detroit Medical Center's Sinai-Grace Hospital in a challenging and rewarding inner city environment. She offers labyrinth walks and retreats and was founder and chair of the Labyrinth Project of Northern Michigan. She volunteers in a variety of community service organizations and enjoys kayaking, hiking,and making pottery. Several years ago, she walked the 500-mile pilgrimage route from the French Pyrenees to Santiago de Compostela, Spain. She had a 20-year career with IBM in marketing and communications. She has lived and worked in Europe and thrives in multicultural environments,speaking fluent French and some German.
Deb received a B.A. from Aquinas College and an M.A. from Marquette University. She studied coaching at New York University and Coach U. She was ordained in October 2007.
Rev. Jennifer Howard
I am thankful to ChI for the powerful initiation it provided me into my own distinct Ministerial identity. The ChI cauldron cooks each student into the becoming that is singularly theirs. It is a sacred circle, a tribe of mystics and seekers and pioneers. For me ChI affirmed my strengths and broadened my perspective. ChI introduced me to the tools for converting my mystic inclinations into assets for Ministry. It forged my confidence to lead groups for meditation and dream work as well as working with individuals in spiritual care. ChI helped me to step into the authority of my own acquired wisdom, enhanced by the vast wealth of spiritual teachings that are the inheritance of humanity. As in all things, it is what you make of it. And I am still making of it all that I can. So far my ministry involves helping others get in touch with their inner mystic, and for me, this is play more than work. Blessings to all who undertake this journey. May your spiritual evolution be quickened and your own distinct mission be magnified and honed.
Rev. Virginia Hubbs, MSW, D.Min.
Rev. Virginia Hubbs, MSW, D.Min Rev. Dr. Virginia Hubbs is an interfaith minister and consultant who helps nonprofit organizations, universities, and religious organizations achieve their goals through successful grant proposals, staff training in planning and program development, and program evaluation. A published author, Virginia has worked with organizations in multiple areas including university student exchange, community food systems, and interfaith spirituality. She has extensive international experience, initially as a Peace Corps Volunteer and then as a consultant to government and nonprofit organizations working toward greater gender equity around the world. Virginia is a ChI alumna and holds a B.A. in French from Temple University, an M.S.W. in Social Policy from the State University of New York at Albany, and a Doctorate in Ministry from Wisdom University.
Rev. Leslie Kagan, M.Ed., M.B.A.
Rev. Leslie Kagan, M.Ed., M.B.A. (www.kaganassoc.com), is Chair of the Board of Directors of the Chaplaincy Institute, is an interfaith minister and co-founder of Kagan Associates, LLC, a consulting firm that specializes in helping organizations and individuals transform themselves through a process of discovery, vision, focus, and conscious action. She is widely recognized as a creative business strategist and facilitator of organizational growth, leadership team development, and strategic planning, helping clients in a breadth of industries act collaboratively to create their futures.
Leslie has maintained a healthy perspective in her organizational consulting practice through her interfaith chaplaincy, completing 2 units of CPE at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, training as a pediatric hospice volunteer with HealthCare Dimensions Hospice, an affiliate of Dana Farber Cancer Institute, and participating in Caring Canines, a program to take registered therapy dogs to visit nursing homes, hospitals, schools and assisted living facilities with their handlers as a community service. An alumna of The Chaplaincy Institute, she holds a B.A. from Simmons College, an M.Ed. from Boston University, and an M.B.A. from Northeastern University, graduating first in her class.
Rev. Sharon Leman, MLA
Earning my Master’s degree in Creation Spirituality in 2006 unraveled much of the spiritual fabric I’d held for so long. My time at ChI helped weave the loose ends into a broader perspective. Through ordination as an interfaith minister and completing classes towards my certificate in spiritual direction I have realized new-found confidence and commitment to the charge of ministry. My ministerial calling focuses on creating a heart-bound container that is both caring and grounded to support those facing loss, life threatening illness and grief through group facilitation, working with clients one-on-one (including spiritual direction), and providing education. Any comments or inquiries are welcome. Please feel free to contact me through www.spirit-care.com.
Rev. Sharon Grace Luther
I have created many Memorials and Celebration of Life services. It began in 1990, when I was invited to deliver a scripture reading at a memorial service for a friend’s husband. The Memorial Service was scheduled to begin but the priest had not arrived because of some confusion on the time. Without thought or hesitation, I volunteered to officiate. I had attended so many funerals and memorials over the years where the bereaved had been left sad and hopeless following the service. At last, this was my opportunity to offer comfort and share my own positive interpretation of eternal life. The service surprised everyone—including me! Invitations to do other memorials quickly followed.
As part of my practicum at the Chaplaincy Institute, I wrote a guide for memorial and funeral celebrants as a way of "paying it forward" and sharing from the rich experiences that I have been blessed to be part of. I love ceremonial ministry of all kinds, and have also cultivated a wedding ministry, which beautifully complements and balances my work with those who grieve.
When I am asked if I have a church, I answer that I am a minister for the "un-churched." I serve everyone, including those with and without a faith tradition. I believe we are all precious children of the Most High God. If we forgive one another and forgive ourselves, we can assist in healing our communities and ultimately the world. As the song says: "I’d like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony."
Rev. Theresa (Teri) Masters, BCC
Rev. Teri Masters is Director of Pastoral Care at Pacific Unitarian Church in Rancho Palos Verdes, California. She is an Interfaith minister (ChI 2002) and a Board Certified Chaplain through the College of Pastoral Supervision and Psychotherapy. Teri completed 4 units of Clinical Pastoral Education at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center/Miller Children's Hospital, a large urban hospital in the Los Angeles area. She was then employed as a hospice chaplain for 3 years before taking her current position in 2006. As Director of Pastoral Care, Teri provides pastoral care to congregants and staff, trains and supervises a team of Lay Pastoral Associates, coordinates the Small Group Ministry program, recruits, trains, and supports coordinators for the Love in Action Ministry (meals, rides, etc.), facilitates a grief support group, and leads occasional Worship services on pastoral care topics. She also officiates at weddings, memorial services/funerals, and baby and home blessings for those who have no church home or who are looking for an Interfaith perspective for their ceremony.
Rev. Vicki Joy McClure, MAPM, BCC
Vicki Joy McClure is a Resident Chaplain at a small hospital in Central Texas. She has been married for 36 years to Jeff McClure; they have five grown children and two grand-children. Vicki Joy was ordained as an Interfaith Minister by ChI in 2007, and is a Board-Certified Chaplain with the APC. She also has a Bachelor of Science degree in Social Work, along with a Master of Arts in Pastoral Ministry from the Episcopal Seminary of the Southwest in Austin. Humor, the leavening of her ministry, keeps it "rising in love." Vicki Joy believes that knowing and accepting oneself as being Divinely beloved is the major work of the spiritual journey. She speaks regularly on her experiences with relationship, transformation, and silence through the method of Centering Prayer. She has found that the strength she gains from sitting quietly in the Presence allows her to serve more effectively and be more fully present to others in her work and life.
Rev. Cameron McKinley
Rev. Cameron McKinley was ordained as an interfaith minister through the Chaplaincy Institute in May 2002. Her ministry has included dream work, spiritual direction, energy healing work, and shamanic counseling for private clients and hospice patients. She is an advocate for integrative medicine and chairs the Community Council of California Pacific Medical Center's Institute for Health & Healing. Cam holds a Masters Degree in writing. She manifests these skills primarily in poetry and as a partner of Word Salad, a naming business.
To see the full list of ChI Ordained Clergy, click here.