Writer Bios

We couldn't offer The Well to our readers without the generous contributions of our writers. Read through their bios to learn from their stories and click through for links to the articles they have written. If you are interested in writing for The Well, explore our Writer's Guidelines.

Sally Ivaska is the wife of David, mother of four sons, and proud grandmother of Zadie Marie. She has a master of arts in teaching from the University of Wisconsin and a master’s in linguistics from Northeastern Illinois University. Her passions — small group Bible study and all things cross-cultural — have taken many forms over the years: hosting international students, coordinating small groups for her church, serving as the International Student Advisor at North Park University, and training African students to study Scripture inductively and write their own discussion materials. Sally is never far from a book or a friend and enjoys life most when her “plate is full.”

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Leslie Iwai is an installation artist who draws upon her multidisciplinary background in mathematics, chemistry and architecture to create interactive and material rich environments.

“Two important questions I ask when I am making something are ‘How is it?’ and ‘What is it?’, usually in that order. Through this, I am inevitably led to new connections and uncovered narratives. One of my favorite seminars in graduate school was Craft and Scholarship where I happened upon the threads between the woven, the engine and the feminine. Between the hardness and softness of these three, my work rests.”

Leslie Iwai lives and works in Middleton, Wisconsin where she makes her art, teaches, untangles knots and occasionally goes to an orchard with her husband.

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Carolyn Custis James

Carolyn Custis James is involved in equipping women through the Whitby Forum and Synergy. She is the author of several books, including The Gospel of Ruth: Loving God Enough to Break the Rules (Zondervan, 2008).

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Jennifer Jao is an infectious disease specialist at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. She conducts HIV maternal child health research both domestically and in West Africa. She lives in New York City with her husband, Greg, and their two daughters.

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Sandy Jap holds the Sarah Beth Brown Endowed Professorship of Marketing Chair at Emory University in Atlanta. She teaches channel strategy and retailing management for MBA, executive, and undergraduate programs, and the marketing strategy seminar in the PhD program. She's published widely, is an international speaker and consultant, and has won numerous awards for her impact on the field. She received her PhD from the University of Florida (Go Gators!) and enjoys spending time with her kids. Tennis, red wine, and Cape Cod summers come in a very close second.

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Katherine Jeffrey

Katherine Jeffrey graduated with a Masters in Christian Studies from Regent College when the world was young. Since then she has been a professional book editor and freelance writer, academic wife, homeschooling mom, and occasional dabbler in the literary arts. Her slim sheaf of poems owes to the encouragement of Vincent van Gogh: “if you hear a voice within you say ‘you cannot paint,’ then by all means paint and that voice will be silenced.” A transplanted Canadian, she lives with her husband David on Lake Whitney in central Texas.

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Christine Jeske

Christine Jeske has a PhD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and teaches anthropology at Wheaton College. She has lived in Nicaragua, China, and South Africa and authored two books, Into the Mud: True Stories from Africa and This Ordinary Adventure: Settling Down Without Settling. She now lives in an old farmhouse named the Sanctuary, complete with a dozen chickens, three pigs, innumerable weeds, two children, and one wonderful husband.

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Sara Carroll Johnson

Sara Carroll Johnson holds a doctorate in clinical psychology from Georgia Southern University. She lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico where she is completing a postdoctoral fellowship in health psychology with a focus in palliative care. While her clinical work is primarily with older adults, her dissertation research was focused on mental health and suicide prevention in graduate students. In her spare time, Sara can be found cycling, walking along the Rio Grande, and serving in her parish.

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Sarah Cowan Johnson

Sarah Cowan Johnson serves as the Executive Pastor of Sanctuary Church, a family of neighborhood congregations in Providence, Rhode Island. Her passion to provide strategic leadership within apostolic systems was cultivated during her years on staff with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, where she served as the Area Director for Rhode Island & Southeast Massachusetts prior to joining the Sanctuary team. She has been married to her husband Greg for 13 years and they have two boys, ages 8 and 5.

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Jennifer Brown Jones

Jen is an Adjunct Professor of Old Testament with Ecclesia College. After finishing her PhD coursework, she and her husband Casey moved to the mountains of Utah to provide more opportunities for their special needs son. Their whole family enjoys the year-round outdoor opportunities in their area, especially hiking and downhill skiing. Because of Jen's and Casey's commitment to supporting their son, Jen primarily works from home, serving the church through her online teaching and her blog.

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Joy Jordan-Lake

Joy Jordan-Lake, adjunct professor at Belmont University in Nashville, is the author of three books, including Grit & Grace: Portraits of a Woman’s Life. She served as a Baptist chaplain at Harvard University and has tought writing and literature at Tuft University and Baylor University. An enthusiastic advocate for micro-enterprise loans, she helps the impoverished begin their own businesses to support their families. Joy and her husband are the parents of three children. You can read more at her website.

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Jo Kadlecek is a former waitress, soccer coach, and camp counselor who’s always loved a good story. She has written hundreds of articles as well as two memoirs, four novels, three books of non-fiction and three Bible studies. She’s the senior writer at Gordon College, on the communication arts faculty there, and a frequent retreat speaker. Find out more at http://www.lamppostmedia.net/

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Priscilla Lasmarias Kelso

From one of the central islands in the Philippines to the academic world of Boston, Priscilla Lasmarias Kelso has worked with international education after years of teaching American literature in the U.S. and overseas. She did her graduate work on Nathaniel Hawthorne at Stanford University and has worked at the University of Pennsylvania, Northeastern University , Sonoma State University, and Silliman University, a Presbyterian school in the Philippines. Recently retired with her husband, Bart, she is committed to providing educational opportunities for young women in the developing world. The Kelsos have a grown daughter, Rachel, who works with global philanthropy. Priscilla served on the board of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship for ten years.

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Katie Hope Kennedy

Kate Hope Kennedy is a PhD student in Musicology at Princeton University. Her studies have focused on liturgical music from theological and historical angles. Kate earned her BMus at Wheaton College, and her MAR in Liturgical Studies at Yale Divinity School. She will write her dissertation on the Sanctus music from the 12th century. Once graduated, she hopes to teach music and religion at a liberal arts college. In the meantime, when not in the library, she can be found singing, hiking, and cooking.

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Kathy Khang is the author of Loving Disagreement: Fighting For Community Through the Fruit of the Spirit (NavPress, 2023), Raise Your Voice: Why We Stay Silent and How to Speak Up (IVP, 2018) and one of the authors of More Than Serving Tea (IVP, 2006). She is a writer, speaker, and yoga teacher based in the north suburbs of Chicago.

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Grace Ji-Sun Kim

Dr. Grace Ji-Sun Kim is an Associate Professor of Theology at Earlham School of Religion, as well as the author or editor of 15 books, most recently, Healing Our Broken Humanity; Intercultural Ministry; and Embracing the Other. She is a co-editor of the Palgrave Macmillan Book Series, “Asian Christianity in Diaspora.” Kim is on the American Academy of Religion's Board of Directors as an At-Large Director. She writes for The Huffington Post, Sojourners, TIME, and more of her writing can be found on her own website. Englewood Review of Books included her in the list of "Ten Important Women Theologians That You Should Be Reading." Kim is an ordained minister within the PC (USA) denomination.

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Andy is a Northwestern University InterVarsity alum. He served on campus there for seven years and now serves as the Multiethnic Resource Director in the Multiethnic Initiatives/Creative Labs department overseeing InterVarsity’s Ministry Playbook. One of his favorite aspects of hospitality is planning for food that meets guests where they’re at while also stretching them a little. They’ve both served on InterVarsity staff for fifteen years, been married for eight years, and live in Urbana, IL with their two-year-old son. Their guest room is always ready.

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Madeline is a University of Illinois InterVarsity alum. She is currently the Assistant Area Director serving the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and surrounding colleges. One of her favorite aspects of hospitality is helping people feel like they can help themselves to anything in the kitchen.

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Jeanne Porter King

Jeanne Porter King, PhD, is an author, consultant, pastor, and leadership coach specializing in women's leadership. A trusted teacher and guide who has taught leadership at both the undergrad and seminary levels, Dr. Porter King is the founder and president of TransPorter Group Inc., a consulting company focused on leadership development. She is passionate about developing existing and emerging women leaders. Her goal is to encourage and empower more Black women to lead well. She lives in South Holland, Illinois, with her husband, Pastor Carl E. King.

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Kim King (JD, University of Alabama) served as an attorney and executive in the law department of Exxon Mobil Corporation for over thirty years prior to leaving to pursue speaking and writing. She continues to practice privately assisting nonprofits and the under-served. She is a member of the leadership team of Women Doing Well Initiatives, an affiliate of Generous Living, which provides education and tools for women to facilitate generosity. Most recently, she joined the Board of Trustees of Thrivent Trust Company, a Christian financial services company. Kim lives in Houston, Texas.

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