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.

 

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.

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/

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.

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.

Kathy Khang is the author of 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Patty Kirk is writer in residence and associate professor of English at John Brown University in Siloam Springs, Arkansas. After earning her MA she spent a decade roaming the globe before returning to the U.S. to earn an MFA in creative writing at the University of Arkansas. There, she met her husband Kris, a cattle rancher, and settled down with him on a farm in Oklahoma, where they raised their two daughters. Kirk is the author of several books including The Gospel of Christmas, Confessions of an Amateur Believer, and Starting from Scratch, a spiritually-focused food memoir.  Kirk’s blog and more information about her books can be found at amateurbeliever.com.

Aubrey Kleinfeld serves as a Licensed Professional Counselor at her alma mater, Messiah University. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business from Messiah and a Master’s degree in Counseling from Shippensburg University. She has been honored to practice counseling for the last 14 years, the last three at Messiah and the other eleven at a local community agency. She lives with her partner, Josh and their three daughters in York, Pennsylvania. They enjoy reading, hiking, cycling, and watching the sun rise and set.

 

Aundi Kolber is a licensed professional counselor (MA, LPC), an author, and a speaker living in Castle Rock, Colorado. She has received additional training in her specialization of trauma- and body-centered therapies and is passionate about the integration of faith and psychology. She has written for Relevant, CT Women, and (in)courage. As a survivor of trauma, Aundi brings hard-won knowledge about the work of change, the power of redemption, and the beauty of experiencing God with us in our pain. Aundi is happily married to her best friend, Brendan, and is the proud mom of Matia and Jude.

Adele Konyndyk Gallogly is a writer living in Hamilton, Ontario. She holds an MFA in creative writing from Seattle Pacific University, with an emphasis in fiction. In her spare time she explores used book stores, walks the Niagara escarpment, and eats more cheese than she should. To read more of her reflections on literature and life, go to adelegallogly.wordpress.com.

Amy Whisenand Krall, ThD, is Assistant Professor of Biblical and Theological Studies and Assistant Program Director in the School of Humanities, Religion, and Social Science at Fresno Pacific University. Her research focuses on the role of singing in Christian maturity according to the letter to the Colossians. She completed her doctorate at the Divinity School at Duke University, where she studied New Testament with an interdisciplinary focus in Theology and the Arts, particularly music. Before her doctoral studies, Amy studied for her BA at Whitworth University, taught English at a vocational school in Germany on a Fulbright grant, and completed her MDiv at Princeton Theological Seminary.

Natalia Kwok is currently pursuing her master’s degree in Occupational Therapy at the University of Southern California. Upon graduation, she hopes to use her degree to specialize in developmental disabilities. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband Nick (who works for Greek Intervarsity) and baby boy. In her spare time, she loves to try new foods, travel, and spend time at Disneyland with her her family.

Christina Bieber Lake is the Clyde S. Kilby professor of English at Wheaton College where she teaches classes in contemporary American literature and literary theory. Her most recent books include The Flourishing Teacher: Vocational Renewal for a Sacred Profession and Beyond the Story: American Literary Fiction and the Limits of Materialism. The Pre-school Retreat and Master Class she designed for teaching faculty can be found online. Christina also coaches, consults, and occasionally blogs at christinabieberlake.com.

Andrea Lama is the Executive Assistant for Collegiate Ministries at InterVarsity and a graduate student at Dallas Baptist University studying Christian Ministry with a Concentration in Leading a Nonprofit. Andrea and her husband, Bijay, live in Madison, Wisconsin, where Bijay also works for InterVarsity. They share a heart for ministry to Nepal and Nepali people. 

Caroline Lancaster serves as InterVarsity’s Associate Director for Multiethnic Initiatives. She is a second-generation South Asian American that has lived in California, Singapore, Boston, and most recently, outside of Chicago. She left a career in marketing and design to become a campus minister with InterVarsity at Boston University. Caroline is a certified Cultural Intelligence Trainer and participated in Rev. Dr. Brenda-Salter McNeil’s Reconciliation Leaders Cohort. She has been married to her wonderful husband for nine years, and is a mother to two boys.

Phyllis J. Le Peau worked with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship for over two decades in St. Louis and the Chicago metro area. She is also the author of several Bible study guides published by Zondervan and InterVarsity Press, including the LifeGuide Bible Studies Acts, Love, and Women of the New Testament. She and her husband, Andy, coauthored the LifeGuide Bible Study Grandparenting. They have four married children and thirteen grandchildren.

Bronwyn Lea graduated from law school and seminary in her native South Africa, before settling in sunny California where she worked in college ministry while her husband completed his PhD. She is passionate about raising her three little kids, and writing and teaching women to be fully-equipped and fully-loved disciples of Christ. Her writing has appeared in numerous publications, including Christianity Today’s Her.meneutics, RELEVANT, Think Christian, and Start Marriage Right. She belongs to the Redbud Writers Guild. Find Bronwyn on Facebook or Twitter, or follow her blog at www.bronlea.com, where she writes about the holy and hilarious.

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