Writer Bios

Katherine Leary Alsdorf is the Founder and Director Emeritus of Redeemer’s Center for Faith & Work. She received her MBA from the University of Virginia and now travels from her home in New York to work with churches around the country. She assisted Tim Keller in writing Every Good Endeavor: Connecting Your Work to God’s Work.

Mary Amendolia earned her Master of Arts in Christian Spirituality from Heythrop College, University of London, with a focus on the visual arts and spiritual transformation.  She trained for ministry at Wycliffe Hall in Oxford, England, where she earned a Certificate in Christian Apologetics and an Oxford Diploma of Ministry.  Additionally, Mary holds a Bachelor of Arts in Art History in Italian Renaissance Art. Currently, Mary is an Associate with Coracle, an organization dedicated to spiritual formation and kingdom action. Mary speaks at retreats, enjoys international travel, learning about other cultures, reading, painting, being outdoors and all things Italian.

Susan Anderson worked for several years at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she earned a Ph.D. in Mass Communication in 1997. During graduate school, she was an active member of InterVarsity’s Graduate Christian Fellowship group. Now she spends her time balancing parenting, writing, and house-tending. She and her husband Dean have two beautiful (and active!) daughters, Kendra and Carolyn, adopted from Ethiopia and China.

Heather Reneé Ardrey is an Ordained Elder in the Church of the Nazarene. She is a former Intervarsity Graduate Staff Worker. She, her husband Dave, and their two kids live on a two-mile-long island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Heather currently spends her time caring for her kids while waiting for whatever is next in her vocation. In her free time, she can be found scuba diving, painting, or writing. 

Michelle Arnold is a contemporary painter whose faith plays an integral part of her work. During the years she spent living and working in Italy for Gordon College’s study abroad program, she steeped herself in the Renaissance masters, the rhythms of the Catholic liturgy, and the intimacy and beauty of daily Italian life. 

After her return from Italy she received at Post-Baccalaureate Certificate from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and went on to earn a Master of Fine Arts degree from University of New Hampshire.

She has taught in the Studio Arts department at several Boston-area colleges, but recently relocated from the Boston area to Ohio. In addition to numerous private collections across the US, her paintings can be found in the collection of the Valparaiso University Chapel, Rivier College, and Gordon College. She is represented by Sloane Merrill Gallery in Boston. Her work can be viewed and purchased at michellepaine.com. 

Kelly Aukema is a biochemist doing postdoctoral research at the University of Minnesota’s Biotechnology Institute. Her research involves efficiently harnessing the energy of the sun by using light-harvesting cyanobacteria to symbiotically feed a second species of genetically enhanced bacteria, which in turn produce hydrocarbons, a potential biofuel. She enjoys teaching research methods, providing informal career counseling, and mentoring students. Kelly is married to Brian Aukema, McKnight Land Grant Professor at the University of Minnesota. They are the parents of two young boys.

Jessica Cooke Bailey is a third year postdoctoral fellow at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio and studies the genetics of age-related eye disorders. She earned her PhD in Molecular Medicine and Translational Science from Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, focusing on the genetics of diabetes and kidney disease. She and her husband recently had a baby girl and they also have two miniature dachshunds. They are active members of Fairmount Presbyterian Church in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, where they especially enjoy helping with the youth activities. Jessica's hobbies are reading, crafting, and sewing.