We’re excited to welcome a variety of faith leaders and policy experts to our Lutheran Day to inspire and inform our advocacy as church together!
The Rev. Dr. Chad Rimmer joined Lenoir-Rhyne as rector and dean of Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary (LTSS) in April 2023. In this role, Rimmer serves as the lead academic and church administrator for LTSS and works to further develop the seminary to an exemplary status within the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America.
Rimmer is rostered in the ELCA NC Synod, which is the land and peoples that formed him. In the U.S., he has been an adjunct lecturer at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary, the United Lutheran Seminary and served congregations in York, Pennsylvania and Copenhagen, Denmark. His vocation as a teaching theologian led him on a global, ecumenical path of theological education in Scotland, France and Senegal with people of diverse contexts, cultures and bio-regions across the Lutheran communion. Most recently, Rimmer served as program executive for theology and practice at the Lutheran World Federation Department of Theology, Mission and Justice in Geneva, Switzerland. This role included teaching across the seven regions of the Global Network for Theological Education and Formation.
His research interests include the intersection of theology and natural sciences, social ethics, climate justice and aesthetics. At LTSS, Rimmer teaches in the areas of eco-theology and ethics, constructive theology, liturgy and worship.
He is the author of many books and journal articles, including co-author of “Contemporary ecotheology, climate justice and environmental stewardship in world religions” (Ecothee volume 6, Orthodox Academy of Crete Publications), “Religion, Sustainability and Education pedagogy, perspectives, and praxis towards ecological sustainability,” “We Believe in the Holy Spirit, Global Perspectives on Lutheran Identities” (Evangelische Verlagsanstalt Leipzig/Lutheran World Federation) and “Greening the children of God ‐ Thomas Traherne and nature’s role in the ecological formation of children” (Pickwick Publications, reprinted in 2021 by Lutterworth Press).
Rimmer is married to Claire, and they have four human kids and one canine kid named Lucy. Away from seminary, he is likely backpacking in the mountains, playing guitar, climbing a tree, growing, cooking or running.
Rob Altenburg is the Senior Director for Energy and Climate at PennFuture. With over 33 years of expertise in environmental, climate, and energy issues, he regularly works with policymakers and industry experts to shape sustainable energy policies. In addition to testifying before various governmental bodies, including the White House and the U.S. Senate, he has been featured in major media outlets like ABC, NBC, NPR, and Fortune Magazine. He has also co-authored a book chapter on federal climate policy and frequently speaks to community groups about these issues.
Outside of PennFuture, Rob is an adjunct professor teaching environmental law at Widener Commonwealth Law School and teaches undergraduate courses in law and ethics at Eastern Mennonite University. Before his current role, he spent nearly 22 years with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, working on air quality, energy, and public health issues. He has also served in the U.S. Army Reserve, commanding a Combat Engineer company.
Rob holds a law degree from Widener Commonwealth Law School and is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania and before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Liliyana Beck, member of St. Andrew Lutheran Church in Perkasie, will present her project, “REBUILD-Renewing Every Bond, Understanding Individual Lives and Dreams.” The program aids youth reintegration into the community post-incarceration, offering Bible studies, financial and job search seminars, and support groups. Her mentor has been the Rev. Dr. Patricia Davenport, former bishop of SEPA Synod.
Bob Besecker spent his early years in Waynesboro, Franklin County, PA. He served in the US Army during the Vietnam War as a Military Police Operations and Training Sergeant ending his service in 1968. He then enjoyed a 30 year career in lending and banking last employed in that career by a predecessor of Truist Bank.
After a long tenure as a volunteer Bob began a second career with the Boy Scouts of America in Reading PA serving as the CFO for a three county area of Berks, Schuylkill, and Carbon Counties. He retired from that position in 2013 after 16½ years of service.
A resident of Douglass Village, a manufactured home community in Douglassville, Berks, PA, Bob began his tenure as the village’s co-chair of their Rent Issues Committee in February 2022. The village had been sold to an out-of-state private equity firm and large rent increases were on the way. He went on to found and direct the Coalition of Manufactured Home Communities of Pennsylvania which occupies most of his free time today.
Bob has been married to Suzanne for 55 years, has two sons Rob and Brian, and four grandchildren.
Flora Cardoni is PennEnvironment’s Deputy Director. In that capacity, Flora oversees much of PennEnvironment’s climate, clean energy, and field organizing work, directing staff and mobilizing volunteers around the state to fight climate change and promote good clean energy policy in Pennsylvania. She is also a member of Pennsylvania’s Climate Change Advisory Committee.
Joey Chin (he/him) is the Hunger Advocacy Fellow – Advocacy Communications with the ELCA advocacy staff in Washington, D.C. He grew up in the greater Seattle area and earned a degree from The University of Washington in communication and political science. He was previously and elementary school teacher and loves reading new books. Most recently Chin began pursuing Master of Divinity at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C.
Will Fuller currently serves as the Pennsylvania State Lead for Common Ground USA, focused on bringing together diverse civic sector leaders across PA to build resilience toward political violence as a foundation for durable societal change and collective problem solving. Prior to this role, he spent 7 years leading faith-based community organizing efforts in the Philadelphia suburbs.
In addition, he serves on the Board of Directors of Camphill Soltane, which provides an inclusive setting for achieving creative development, social engagement, clinical therapy, meaningful employment for adults with intellectual differences and the broader community of southeastern PA.
A 2010 alumnus of Teach for America Greater Nashville, he holds an undergraduate degree in history from the University of Kentucky, a M. Ed. from Lipscomb University, and an M.A. in Theological Studies from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. An avid University of Kentucky and Atlanta Braves fan, in his free time he enjoys music, hiking, barbeque, reading, spending time with people, and perfecting Southern US and Oaxacan cuisine. A son of western Kentucky, Will currently resides in Phoenixville, PA.
Cindy is the Director of Community Development Initiatives at Regional Housing Legal Services, a position she has held since May 2017. This is Cindy’s second engagement with Regional Housing. From 1986 – 2004, Cindy was a staff attorney representing community organizations engaged in the development of affordable homes. She also staffed the PA Housing Law Project, a support center for the state’s legal services programs on issues including evictions, foreclosure, manufactured home communities, and homelessness.
From 2004 to 2017, Cindy was the Policy Director at the Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania where she worked on initiatives to increase resources for affordable homes and to address vacant and abandoned properties. Among the legislation enacted while Cindy was with the Housing Alliance were the creation and funding of the state housing trust fund known as PHARE, the expansion of the Manufactured Home Community Rights Act, the Blighted and Abandoned Property Conservatorship Act, and the Land Bank enabling statute.
Early in her career, Cindy worked at Philadelphia Neighborhood Housing Services in East Frankford, Philadelphia as the Homeownership Coordinator.
Cindy graduated from George Washington University and the Temple University Beasley School of Law.
Erin Gabriel spends time working directly with lawmakers at both the state and federal level with a goal of making health care more accessible and affordable for all of Pennsylvania’s families. Prior to joining PHAN’s team, Erin had been involved in disability and health care advocacy for over 15 years. All three of her children have disabilities including her youngest who is medically complex with multiple disabilities. Erin was the National Director of Advocacy for Little Lobbyists, as well as the Pennsylvania State Chapter Leader for Little Lobbyists Pennsylvania: a family led organization advocating for the health care, education, accessibility and inclusion of children with complex medical needs and disabilities. Erin has also worked with state grassroots disability organizations like PA Action Protecting Disability Rights, and groups like PennAutism to educate lawmakers and candidates and to take on issues at the grassroots level, including mounting a successful campaign to stop then Governor Corbett from instituting copayments for disability-related Medicaid services. When Erin is not working in advocacy she enjoys spending time with her family camping, boating and of course taking her youngest to Disney World as often as possible.
For nearly twenty years, Adam has led public policy efforts to ensure everyone can live healthily and safely in their communities. Since leading CeaseFirePA in 2020, he has strategically expanded the Commonwealth’s gun violence prevention advocacy organization’s efforts to ensure everyone can live free from gun violence. That includes securing more than $200 million to fund community violence-prevention programs, moving the first gun safety bills through the PA House in years, and developing CeaseFirePA’s collaboration with 130-plus member-activists, including veterans, physicians, clergy, and violence survivors under the Common Agenda to End Gun Violence.
Before joining CeaseFirePA, he worked to protect everyone from dangers in the marketplace at U.S. PIRG where his independent investigations into toxic toys, dangerous cars, contaminated food and other threats received national coverage on CBS This Morning, The New York Times, and elsewhere. Prior to that, he spent more than a decade advocating for clean air and water in Pennsylvania at the local, state and national level.
Adam lives in South Philadelphia with his wife and kid, Elonie, where he enjoys studying history, exploring the city, and cooking.
Over the past 11 years, Patrick Keenan has developed data and analysis at the Pennsylvania Health Access Network to advance patient-focused solutions to lower prices, improve affordability, reduce access barriers, and drive quality and equity in coverage and access to care. He built PHAN’s statewide consumer assistance program that has enrolled over 25,000 individuals and families in coverage and resolves nearly 10,000 issues a year, especially in disconnected and rural communities. He serves on numerous state workgroups, frequently testifies before state government, and is often quoted in the media. Prior to joining PHAN, he spent more than a decade developing and implementing community-based programs and has a graduate degree in human services.
Katie Kerr is the Government Relations Coordinator at the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank, where she advocates for programs that support the charitable food network. While a student at West Chester University, Katie developed a passion for addressing basic need insecurity and continues to champion programs that support neighbors. Additionally, Katie is a board member of the Period Project Harrisburg, an organization dedicated to addressing period poverty in central Pennsylvania.
A fifth-generation Pennsylvanian, Jason is the Board President of the Pennsylvania Youth Congress Foundation and served as the organization’s first Executive Director. He has been involved with social justice activism for over 15 years as the first person to work at the statewide level with LGBTQ youth in Pennsylvania.
While in college at the University of Pennsylvania, Jason helped ignite the work of organizing LGBTQ youth leaders throughout the commonwealth in forming an independent and youth-led statewide advocacy movement through PYC. In his role as Executive Director, he has organized numerous statewide campaigns, presented at dozens of state and national conferences, delivered testimony before city councils and state legislative committees, and drafted policies to advance the welfare of Pennsylvania LGBTQ youth.
Jason began his journey as an advocate in 2009 within his hometown of Lower Merion, PA. Upon learning that there were no statewide non-discrimination protections for LGBTQ people in Pennsylvania, he became determined to help pass a local law to do so. After two years of working with civic leaders across the township, which is one of the largest municipalities in the state, the Lower Merion Township Board of Commissioners unanimously adopted the ordinance. This victory provided him the opportunity to organize with advocates in nearly a dozen other Philadelphia suburbs to pass their own ordinances.
Jason has received numerous distinctions for his advocacy including being named one of the top 12 LGBTQ student leaders in the United States by Campus Pride. At the University of Pennsylvania, he has served as the Vice-Chair for Political Affairs of the Lambda Alliance and the Chair of J-Bagel, Penn’s Jewish LGBTQ community. At the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, he served as President of OUTlaw.
In 2015, Jason was selected by the National Park Service to participate in the official 50th Anniversary Selma to Montgomery March as one of 70 youth from across the country. He spoke at the United Nations for the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia in 2017. In 2018, Jason was appointed to serve as a member of the inaugural Pennsylvania Commission on LGBTQ Affairs, an advisory council he helped spearhead the creation of. His work has been profiled in newspapers and blogs across the county.
He was named a Person of the Year in 2018 by the Philadelphia Gay News. In 2022 and 2023, Jason was named to City & State PA’s Pride Power 100 list. Jason was selected to be a member of Governor Shapiro’s Transition Team in 2022, the first known LGBTQ advocate to be named to a transition team in Pennsylvania.
Jason completed both an undergraduate and a master’s degree at the University of Pennsylvania, and is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. Jason is now an environmental lawyer based in Montgomery County.
Christine Mangale is the Director of the Lutheran Office for World Community (LOWC). She serves as Main Representative of The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) at United Nations Headquarters in New York. She is responsible for the public policy advocacy of the church to international organizations. With over 15 years of experience, Christine provides global leadership on matters relating to international development, socio-cultural affairs, and women’s rights. Before taking up the Directorship role at LOWC, Christine served as the Program Director in the same office, where she led and managed advocacy activities for the office. Prior to joining the LOWC, she worked at the Kenya Evangelical Lutheran Church, and served as the youth secretary for the Lutheran Communion in Eastern and Central Africa.
Christine has contributed essays and co-edited the first, second and third editions of the Ecumenical Women at the UN’s Guide to Advocacy handbook. She has contributed a chapter on Faith and Feminism in a resource book for FBO’s called Affirming Women’s Human Rights. Christine also served on the Executive Committee of the NGO Committee on Migration as Vice Chair. In addition, she serves as a board member and volunteers for Mpanzi, a grassroots organization that promotes education, peace, and development in rural African communities. Christine earned her degree in Political Science from the City University of New York – Lehman College, and a Master of Science in International Affairs at the New School in New York.
Christine Moffett (she/her) serves as the Program Director for Environment and Energy Policy with the Witness in Society, D.C. office-based team, within the Service and Justice unit of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Christine brings a background in both environmental science and political science. She holds a Master of Political Science Degree from the Vrije Universiteit of Amsterdam in Global Environmental Governance, Climate Change and Sustainability. In addition, she brings experience conducting community needs assessments in accompaniment with tribal nations. In this role with the ELCA, she advocates to the federal government around issues of stewardship of creation, environmental justice, climate change, sustainability, among others, all guided by ELCA social teachings.
Annamary Oslikova, member of Evangelical Lutheran Church of Waynesboro, is presenting her project, that will feature a video highlighting the inequalities immigrants and minorities face in agricultural work and what we can do to take action. She has been mentored by the Rev. Elizabeth Peter Eckman of St. John’s Shiremanstown.
Governor Josh Shapiro appointed PA Food Policy Council Director Dawn Plummer in February 2023. Prior to then, she served as executive director of the Pittsburgh Food Policy Council for more than eight years. In that time, she built a strong leadership team and cross-system relationships with government, nonprofits, universities, food and farm businesses, and community organizations. During her tenure, the Pittsburgh area council achieved significant policy and systems change including the completion of the region’s first comprehensive Greater Pittsburgh Food Action Plan; the passage of a robust urban agriculture code in the City of Pittsburgh; the creation of the Pittsburgh Food Justice Fund which will invest $3 million into food infrastructure in communities facing conditions of food apartheid and lack of healthy food access; passage of the Good Food Purchasing policy at the state’s second-largest school district, Pittsburgh Public Schools; and successful advocacy for the creation of the PA Farm Bill.
She earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania and master’s degree in Political Science from the City University of New York’s Graduate Center. Plummer also holds a certificate of Local & Regional Food Policy Leadership from the Chesapeake Food Policy Leadership Institute of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. A native Pennsylvanian, she was born and raised in the Harrisburg area, lived in Philadelphia, and has called Pittsburgh home for over a decade.
Carla Reyes comes to CeaseFirePA with a background in domestic violence advocacy and education with additional experience in quality assurance for child and family welfare services. During their time as an educator, Carla began to dive deeper into the ways different forms of violence are interconnected and the need for strong advocacy and policy, leading them to CeaseFirePA. As the Partnerships Coordinator, Carla works to develop common ground, drive partners to take action, and support advocacy and education activities.
Julio is the Political Director at the Pennsylvania Immigration Coalition (PIC), where he keeps coalition members informed on pending immigration legislation, executive orders, and rulemaking. He also provides analysis and advocacy recommendations on legislative campaigns. Before joining PIC, Julio worked at One Fair Wage, advocating for the elimination of the subminimum wage for tipped workers in IL, NY, CO, MA. Originally from Chicago, Julio spent 10 years working in community development, immigration, and education before relocating to Philadelphia with his family.
Stephanie Wein is PennEnvironment’s Clean Water & Conservation Advocate. She oversees PennEnvironment’s campaigns to keep Pennsylvania’s water clean from stream to tap, and protect our wildlife and ensure our natural heritage is protected for generations to come.
