Kay Spiritual Life Center

Rabbi Ken Cohen

Hillel Executive Director and Jewish Chaplain
AU Phone: x3322
Email: rabbi@american.edu

Ken has been at AU since 2001, but has served pulpits in Cardiff, Wales and Columbia, Maryland. He enjoys amateur radio, classical music, studying Jewish texts and riding his bicycle with his family. A former broadcaster with the BBC, he is widely published. His passion is working with and on behalf of Jewish college students.

Donna Denizé

Baha'i Chaplain
AU Phone: x3329
Personal Phone: (202)537-6478
Email: donna_denize@cathedral.org

Donna Denizé, of Haitian-American descent, is the author of the poetry chapbook, "The Lover's Voice" (1997) and a book of poems, "Broken Like Job" (2005). Her poems have appeared in anthologies such as Hungry As We Are; WPFW Poetry Anthology; Weavings 2000, and magazines, Provincetown Arts, Gargoyle, World Order, Innisfree Journal of Poetry, and Orison. She holds degrees from Stonehill College and Howard University, where she was a student of poet Robert Hayden, while he served as Consultant to the Library of Congress. She served two years on The Folger Poetry Board, and has also contributed to scholarly books and journals, including Shakespeare Set Free, published by the Folger Shakespeare Library and Teacher’s Digest, an educational magazine from The Corporation for Public Broadcasting. She was also one of eight invited teacher's for The Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s eight part mini-series, In Search of the Novel (aired nationwide, 2000-present).
 
In 2003, she was awarded by Williams College the George Olmsted Jr., Prize for excellence in secondary teaching, and in 2004, she was appointed to the board of trustees of The American Shakespeare Center (ASC) in Staunton, Virginia. She currently teaches literature at St. Albans School for Boys, where she has taught Shakespeare, American literature, and freshman English for 20 years, and during the summer, teaches in “The Cathedral Scholars Program,” an outreach program of academic enrichment which serves students from 18 different D.C. public schools.

Mike and Jen Godzwa

Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship Chaplains
AU Phone: x3476
Personal Phone: (202)363-1544
Email: mgodzwa@american.edu

Both graduates of a Central Bible College (Mike 1996, Jen 1997), they completed their campus ministry internship at Eastern Michigan University in the spring of 1998 and received their national appointment as Chi Alpha Campus Ministers that September. Mike and Jen have served as the directors of Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship at American University since the fall of 1999 and were ordained with the Assemblies of God in May of 2003.

Mike enjoys good coffee, watching Yankees baseball, and has run 7 marathons. Jen likes reading, hunting for bargains, and hanging out with friends. Both Mike and Jen have a mutual fascination with their sons Samuel, Levi, and Nathanael.

Rev. David Gray

Presbyterian Chaplain
AU Phone: x3329
Email: davidegray@yahoo.com

Rev. David Gray is the Presbyterian Chaplain at American University. He also serves as an Associate Pastor at Georgetown Presbyterian Church and is Director of the Workforce and Family Program at the New America Foundation, a non-partisan, centrist think tank.

Rev. Gray is a former Acting Assistant Secretary for Policy at the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), where he managed the DOL offices of regulatory policy, programmatic policy, compliance assistance/technology, and economic analysis/research. He advised the current Secretary of Labor on a variety of policy issues, staffed a number of White House working groups, and represented the U.S. abroad in negotiations in Mexico and Chile.

Rev. Gray has also served as Counsel to the U.S. Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs, and as a legislative and policy aide to Members of the House and Senate. He has worked in business at Procter and Gamble and Ward Steel, is the author of Faith In Service, 1015, and Butterflies and Rainbows, and is a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He is a graduate of Yale College, Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, Northwestern University School of Law and Wesley Theological Seminary.

Mindy Hirsch

Hillel Associate Director
AU Phone: x3322
Email: mindy.hirsch@american.edu

After 6 years of work in the Hillel world, Mindy Hirsch now serves as our Interim Associate Director. She is a native of the east coast, but after 4 years in Wisconsin, her heart remains in the Midwest. Her favorite foods include macaroni and cheese, challah, Kedem wine and ruggelach. Mindy recently finished her MFA in Film and Electronic Media at American University's School of Communication. When not on campus you can find her relaxing in her garage (ask her about it), exploring Maryland, or taking in a local rugby match.

Marinetta Cannito Hjort

Baptist Chaplain
AU Phone: x3329
Personal Phone: (703)536-1810
Email: marinetta@msn.com

Marinetta Cannito Hjort has been the Baptist Chaplain at American University, in Washington, D.C. since August 2000.  She is also an international trainer and consultant on Restorative Justice and Nonviolent Conflict Transformation, and a certified mediator and facilitator of Victims/Offenders encounters. 

Marinetta regularly gives lectures on Restorative Justice at the Washington Semester of Law and the School of Public Affairs on the American University campus, and has occasionally assisted Prof. Howard Zehr in instructing the Restorative Justice class at Eastern Mennonite University, VA.  In April of 2008 she presented the Restorative Justice paradigm at Yale Divinity School during the workshop on Women, Religion and Globalization.

Marinetta introduced the Restorative Justice paradigm in her native country, Italy, through articles and presentations in various Universities and settings.  In May 2005 she conducted a Restorative Justice workshop during the National Conference, “Finding Ways to Overcome the Culture of Mafia” in Palermo, Italy.  Since then, she has been training members of the anti-mafia group in Palermo and Catania on Restorative Justice approaches, and has been researching and writing about the challenges posed by organized crime to the restorative justice practice, also in the field of Human Trafficking and Smuggling in Mexico, in collaboration with the organizations PROTEJA and PRODERECHO.  

She holds a Masters degree in Theology from Wesley Theological Seminary and a Masters degree in Conflict Transformation from the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding at Eastern Mennonite University.

Marinetta is fluent in Italian, English, Spanish and French.

Martha Kerley

Roman Catholic Chaplaincy Office Manager
AU Phone: x3327
Email: kerley@american.edu

Martha joined the AU Catholic Chaplaincy Staff as the Office Manager in November 2008. She has twenty years of experience as a computer programmer analyst working for two major corporations. Martha earned a B.S. in Information Systems/Computer Science from the University of Maryland, along with a B.S. in Textiles and Apparel from the U of MD. Martha feels fortunate to now be a part of the AU Catholic Chaplaincy Staff.

Kimberly Martin

SGI Buddhist Chaplain
AU Phone: x2377
Email: kmartin@american.edu

Kimberly Martin serves as Buddhist Chaplain representing Soka Gakkai International – USA, a Buddhist lay organization of Nichiren Buddhism. She began her practice of Nichiren Buddhism in Jackson, Mississippi twenty years ago. As a Buddhist in Mississippi, she pioneered community outreach, public relations and interfaith participation on behalf of the SGI community. She successfully arranged for books on Buddhism to be donated to area college libraries and local public libraries. “I wanted to make information on Buddhism easily accessible, especially to students who may not encounter it otherwise.”

She joined the Interfaith Alliance of Mississippi later becoming vice president, representing SGI Buddhist in many activities. As a member of the interfaith community she chaired several committees and planned many special events focusing on inclusiveness, diversity and tolerance. “I felt it was important to give American Buddhism a face and to become part of a larger community.”

Becoming part of the Kay community has been a rewarding experience, especially through interacting with students. The SGI Student Group meets every Friday in Kay’s new small chapel, discussing Buddhist teachings and chanting together, both important parts of the Nichiren practice.

Kimberly can also be found on campus working as Assistant to the Chair in the Department of Public Administration in the School of Public Affairs.

Fr. David Mott, OP

Roman Catholic Chaplain
AU Phone: x3294
Email: priest@american.edu

Father David John Paul Mott, OP is a Dominican friar, a Catholic priest of the Order of Preachers. Fr. David graduated from the University of Virginia in 1984, having studied German Literature, mathematics, and computers. He worked at the General Services Administration in Washington, DC for two years before returning to Charlottesville, Virginia to work as a programmer and systems analyst for ten years. As a Charlottesville resident, Fr. David became very active at the University of Virginia parish of St. Thomas Aquinas. It was later in life that he discovered and joyfully answered his vocation.

After entering the Dominican Order in 1997, Fr. David completed his studies in philosophy and theology, earning the Bachelor of Sacred Theology and Master of Divinity degrees from the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, DC. He also completed Master of Science in Pastoral Counseling at Loyola College in Maryland. Since his ordination to the deaconate in 2003 and to the priesthood in 2004, Fr. David has served briefly at Holy Innocents Parish in Pleasantville, New York, St. Ann Parish in Washington, DC, St. Louis Bertrand Parish in Louisville, Kentucky. Fr. David served two years as Associate Pastor and Coordinator of Youth Ministry at St. Pius V Parish, Providence, Rhode Island.

At the invitation of Most Reverend Donald W. Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington, Fr. David Mott, OP was appointed Catholic Chaplain to American University beginning July 1, 2007. Fr. David is thankful for the opportunity to serve, praise, and celebrate our Catholic Faith and Tradition at American University, giving all glory to God.

Kevin Offner

InterVarsity Christian Fellowship Chaplain
AU Phone: x3329
Personal Phone: (202)546-3326
Email: koffner@verizon.net

Kevin Offner has been on staff with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship for 21 years, serving at Harvard University, M.I.T, and Brown University, and currently at five universities in the Greater Washington, DC area. He is also working on his Ph.D at The Catholic University of America, focusing on the Early Church Fathers. He has been involved in many Catholic-Protestant dialogues and he's interested in writing his doctoral dissertation on Saint Augustine, showing how both Catholics and Protestants have drawn deeply from this man's writings.

Kevin has been married to Amy for eleven years and they have a 19-month old son, David. Kevin currently serves as an elder in the PCA (Presbyterian Church in America), at Grace Presbyterian Church, which meets in China Town in Washington, DC. The Offners live on Capitol Hill and enjoy exercising their gifts of hospitality with the students to whom they minister.

Rev. Mark Schaefer

United Methodist Chaplain
AU Phone: x3304
Personal Phone: (202)486-6061
Email: schaef@american.edu

Reverend Mark A. Schaefer is the United Methodist Chaplain at American University. Mark grew up in Upstate New York and studied Russian Language at SUNY Albany. He studied law at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. and received his Master of Divinity degree from Wesley Theological Seminary, adjacent to the AU campus. Mark is an ordained United Methodist minister in the Baltimore-Washington Conference of the United Methodist Church, and has been serving the AU campus full-time since 2002.  Mark is also an adjunct professor in the Philosophy and Religion Department in the College of Arts and Sciences teaching courses in Western Religion and New Testament.

Carolyn Seaton

Episcopal/Anglican Chaplain
AU Phone: x3329
Personal Phone: (301)585-2063
Email: cseaton1@starpower.net

Carolyn Seaton has served as Episcopal-Anglican Chaplain at the Kay Center since 2002. She loves every minute of her time there, because the Kay students and staff are vitally involved in strengthening  their connections to their own faith traditions while learning about others and working together for the greater good of the AU community, as well as the world outside its gates. She has a B.A. in Literature, a Master's degree in Mental Health from The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and currently studies at Wesley Theological Seminary next door. She has worked as a writer, teacher, and counselor, particularly with high school and college students, most recently at George Washington University, the College Preparatory program at Georgetown University, and as a tutor in private practice.  She is a member of St. Alban's Episcopal Church in D.C., is married, and has two daughters in college. She travels anytime she can, loves visiting new cities, reading international fiction, discussing theology, and music of many varieties.

Sylstea Sledge

Gospel Choir Chaplain and Director
AU Phone: x3329
Personal Phone: (301)805-5627
Email: sledgenote@aol.com

Sylstea C. Sledge, music educator and composer, is a native of Washington, DC.  He is the only son of proud parents, Tammah L. Sledge and the late Sylister Sledge.  The musical talents of playing the piano and making up songs were discovered very early when Sylstea would visit his Uncle Elisha’s and Aunt Emma’s house and play on their old up-right piano.  His musical talents were also nurtured in the Sunday School Department at the Trinidad Baptist Church and the Guiding Star Baptist Church.  While continuing to build a stronger musical foundation, blessed teachers: Rev. Rosalynd Reed-Walker, Professor Bernard Barbour, Mrs. Beatrice Gilkes and Dr. Raymond Jackson were among the first inspiring mentors.

While at Hampton University, Sylstea was dedicated to the curriculum of music education and spreading the gospel through music with the University gospel choir, “His Chosen Sounds.”  Being highly inspired by Hampton’s rich choral history and professors, Sylstea began another level of the journey of songwriting and arranging.  An original composition, “I Can Depend On God” was received at the Hampton Ministers’ Conference in 1985 and was later recorded by Minister Jeff Jacobs and the International Praise Workshop Choir.  In 1989, he became active in the arena of the Gospel Music Workshop of America and in 1999 one of his songs, “I Woke Up This Morning” was selected and recorded on the album entitled “GMWA Live in Philadelphia.”  This organization gave more exposure, not only with the gospel music genre, but opportunities on a national scale. In 2005, he made his acting debut and arranged original music for a BET film entitled “A Multitude of Mercies”.

Sylstea continues to share his choral arrangements, lecturing and conducting music ministry workshops in the local Washington, DC vicinity, Vienna, Austria, Hawaii, Bermuda, Poland and Italy.

Professionally, Sylstea holds a Bachelor of Science from Hampton University and a Master’s of Music Education from the University of Arkansas. He is a former music teacher of the Prince George’s County Public School System, Adjunct Professor at American University-Gospel Choir, full-time Minister of Music at the First Mount Zion Baptist Church in Dumfries, Virginia, Member of the Gospel Music Workshop of America.

Dr. Karin Thornton

Associate Roman Catholic Chaplain
AU Phone: x3326
Personal Phone: (202)364-8785
Email: thonrton@american.edu

Karin Thornton was born in Berlin, Germany and attended schools in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. after completing the Swiss High School Matura, she studied at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in German Literature. Following a year of studies in Germany, in Cologne and Tuebingen, she was admitted to the Graduate School of Columbia University where she completed her studies with a Ph.D. She also holds a certificate in Pastoral Ministry, "Education for Parish Service" from Trinity College in Washington, D.C. Karin Thornton has one daughter and two sons. She recently celebrated her 25th anniversary of being the Associate Catholic Chaplain at American University. During her first year of Studies in "Education for Parish Service" she was asked to be a team member on the ECHO - Encountering Christ in Others - retreat at American University. She was subsequently asked and happily accepted to be the Associate Catholic Chaplain. She is a "Lady Commander of the Holy Sepulchre" and the recipient of the "Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice" award by Pope John Paul II. Karin finds it a great joy and a privilege to be a part of a vibrant Catholic Community at American University.

Ven. Bhante Katugastota Uparatana

Buddhist Chaplain
AU Phone: x3329
Personal Phone: (301)946-9437
Email: kuparatana@gmail.com

In 1981 Ven. Dr. Henepola Gunaratana, the president of Washington Buddhist Vihara invited Bhante Katugastota Uparatana to join the temple as a resident monk. Upon arriving, he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy at University of District of Colombia. He has served as the Buddhist chaplain at American University in Washington, D.C. since 1989 where he also teaches Vipassana meditation. In an effort to nourish Theravada Buddhism among the Sri Lankan, American and foreign born people in the United States, Bhante Uparatana founded the International Buddhist Center in Wheaton, Maryland in 1996.

A few years ago, Bhante Uparatana was appointed the co-president of the International Buddhist Committee, which encompasses all Mahayana and Theravada temples and centers in the Washington metropolitan area, and year 2000 he was appointed to host International Vesak, a celebration of Vesak by all of the temples and centers collectively.