Our Team

Mario Alfaro directs EMF, which equips grassroots Hispanic-led faith-based organizations to align their faith with their organizational practices, their relationship with the public, and their public policy engagement. He has 20 years of experience working with leaders of faith-based organizations to help them impact their communities.

Madi Allen is the Director of Family and Caregiving Policy at the Center for Public Justice. In this position she leads CPJ’s efforts to develop and advance policy solutions that strengthen families and support caregivers. Madi is a Covenant College alum with a degree in Community Development and received her Masters in Public Health from the University of Virginia. 

Kelly Bronson is the Program Manager for Preaching Reformed: From Polarization to Principled Pluralism. In this role she manages the day-to-day operations of the program which helps preachers to practice and reflect on the work of preaching and political discipleship. Before CPJ, Kelly worked in various ministry and non-profit roles. She graduated with a degree in International Studies from the University of Central Florida and studied at Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis, MO.

Dawn Brotherton is the Director of Development at the Center for Public Justice. With a PhD in Human and Organizational Systems from Fielding Graduate University, and an undergraduate degree from Gordon College, she has worked with nonprofits, schools, and Christian organizations to strengthen their capacity to fulfill their mission. Dawn lives in Harrisburg, PA with her husband and three children.

Stanley Carlson-Thies is the Founder and Senior Director of the Institutional Religious Freedom Alliance, a division of the Center for Public Justice. He is an expert on the federal Faith-Based Initiative and served in the inaugural White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.

Debora Haede is a multilingual communications professional who enjoys implementing communications strategies for faith-based organizations. She is a graduate of Calvin University.

Ally Harnsberger is the Operations Assistant at the Center for Public Justice. Before joining CPJ, Ally worked with Galen Medical Group (Chattanooga, TN) and Dominion Christian School (Herndon, VA). Ally is a graduate of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and an alumna of the Fourth Fellows Program based out of Fourth Presbyterian Church (Bethesda, MD).

Zachary Lee is the Managing Editor for the Center for Public Justice where he helps lead the production of articles for CPJ’s online publication. A Chicago native, he’s a graduate of Cornell University who often writes about film and culture at places like RogerEbert, Sojourners, and Christianity Today.

Rosalind Niemeier is the Communications Associate at the Center for Public Justice.  She graduated from Calvin University with a BA in International Relations and Spanish.

Mary Kathryn serves as the Director of Student and Early Career Engagement with the Center for Public Justice. Her passion for flourishing communities, especially in her hometown of Pittsburgh, PA, drew her to public service. After graduating from Wheaton College (IL), she worked on Capitol Hill. She most recently served in the Office of Congressman Chris Deluzio (PA-17), and additionally worked with the House Committee on Administration and the Office of Senator Bob Casey (PA). She is getting married in April to a fellow running enthusiast from Vermont. 

Girien Salazar (pronounced “Gideon”) is the Director of Faith-Based Policy and Research at the Center for Public Justice (CPJ). Girien’s non-profit leadership experience includes roles as Executive Director of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference (NHCLC), Director of Development at The Philos Project, Director of Development at Nelson University, and service on non-profit, local, and state boards such as the Latin American Heritage Society, San Antonio Parks and Recreation, and OneStar National Service Commission Board in Texas.

Girien holds a Bachelor of Science in Church Ministry and a Master of Arts in Theological Studies from Nelson University and is completing his Doctor of Philosophy in Leadership Studies at Dallas Baptist University. A U.S. Navy veteran, he served eight years as a Religious Programs Specialist and was honorably discharged at the rank of Petty Officer 1st Class.

Stephanie Summers is the CEO of the Center for Public Justice. She received her M.S. in Nonprofit Management from Eastern University, and is a recipient of the inaugural Duke Divinity Reflective Leadership Award.

Chelsea Langston Bombino, J.D., is a program officer with the Fetzer Institute. Her work as a Fellow with CPJ focuses on increasing public understanding of the importance of religious freedom for faith-based organizations of diverse faiths and mission areas.

Charles Glenn, Ph.D., is Professor Emeritus of Education Leadership and Policy Studies at Boston University and co-chair of the International Conference on School Choice and Education Reform. His extensive publications detail pluralist education systems worldwide.

Clarke Cochran, Ph.D., is Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Texas Tech University, and the author of numerous books and articles in health care policy, religion and politics, and Catholic social teaching.

Gideon Strauss, Ph.D., is the Academic Dean and Associate Professor of Worldview Studies at the Institute for Christian Studies in Toronto, Ontario.

Rev. Dr. Harold Dean Trulear is Associate Professor Emeritus of Applied Theology at Howard University School of Divinity and the National Director of Healing Communities.

Rev. Dr. Matthew Kaemingk is the Richard John Mouw Assistant Professor of Faith and Public Life and Director of the Richard John Mouw Institute of Faith and Public Life at Fuller Seminary. Matthew’s research and teaching in ethics explores questions facing Christians serving in politics, culture, and the marketplace.

Meg Jenista is an ordained pastor in the Christian Reformed Church of North America, serving two churches for a total of 15 years. In conjunction with her PhD studies, Meg serves as the Project Director for The Center for Public Justice’s Compelling Preaching Grant Initiative, Preaching Reformed: From Polarization to Principled Pluralism. Pastoring in Washington DC from 2012-2023, she is eager to better understand the role of preaching in relation to political discipleship. Standing at the intersection of public and practical theologies — specifically the disciplines of political theology and preaching — she finds compelling resources for her research interests in the Neo-Calvinist tradition, especially the Dutch Reformed Church of South Africa; in decolonial hermeneutics and homiletics; and in the field of public theology more broadly. 

Dr. Michelle Kirtley is a Senior Research Analyst in the Department of Molecular Genetics & Microbiology, Duke University. Prior to joining Duke, Michelle was a consultant on Bioethics and Public Policy at the Center for Bioethics & Human Dignity and a science and health policy advisor for two members of Congress.

Robert Joustra, Ph.D., is associate professor of politics & international studies at Redeemer University. He is an editorial fellow with The Review of Faith & International Affairs, and author, co-author, and co-editor of several books.

Steven E. Meyer, Ph.D., is the Dean of Graduate Studies and Chairman, National Security Program and Professor of National Security Studies, Daniel Morgan Graduate School, and the Former Deputy Chief of the CIA’s Balkan Task Force. He served 25 years as a U.S. intelligence professional.

Timothy Sherratt, Ph.D., is Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Gordon College and author of Power Made Perfect? Is there a Christian Politics for the Twenty-First Century? ( 2016)

Vincent Bacote, Ph.D., is Professor of Theology and Director of the Center for Applied Christian Ethics at Wheaton College in Wheaton, IL.
His recent titles include Reckoning with Race and Performing the Good News: In Search of a Better Evangelical Theology (2021), and The Political Disciple: A Theology of Public Life (2015), and stand alongside nearly two decades of publications on race, culture and faith.

John Baas is the Vice President of Advancement for Dordt University and lives in Iowa.

Mikala Jansen works as a CPA and small business owner in Tucson, Arizona.

David Koyzis a Global Scholar with Global Scholars Canada and has a PhD in government and international studies from the University of Notre Dame.

Ruth Melkonian-Hoover is professor of political science and international affairs at Gordon College, where she has taught since 2005.

Jeff Ming Liou is the National Director of Theological Formation for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA.

Claire McWilliams-Doty is Lead Auditor at the Environmental Protection Agency and lives in Maryland.

Pastor Kathy Pointer is co-pastor of Greater Fellowship Full Gospel Baptist Church and the Executive Director of Kingdom Care Elder Village.

Matt Reiffer is the Vice President of Infrastructure Programs at ACEC and lives in Maryland.

Denise Strothers, Ph.D., is the National Director of Operations for Healing Communities and lives in Maryland.

Kelly Tien is a retired finance and accounting executive and lives in Colorado.

Ryan VerWys is the CEO of ICCF Community Homes and lives in Michigan. 

Amy Vitale has served as Government Affairs Counsel at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty since 2016.

Amy L. Sherman, Ph.D., is a Senior Fellow at the Sagamore Institute where she directs the Center on Faith in Communities (CFIC), a capacity building initiative for congregations and faith-based and community-based organizations. She is a frequent speaker/trainer at gatherings for congregational and nonprofit ministry leaders.

Rev. Dr. Barbara Williams-Skinner is CEO and co-founder of Skinner Leadership Institute. Dr. Williams-Skinner is a trusted advisor, public policy strategist, faith and community leader, author, lecturer, educator, executive coach, and mentor. She and her late husband, Tom Skinner, founded the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Prayer Breakfast that annually attracts over 3000 leaders across the nation.

Bruce MacLaury is President Emeritus of The Brookings Institution. He is a former vice president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and also served in the U.S. Treasury Department and at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in Paris.

Ambassador Clyde D. Taylor is a former U.S. Ambassador to Paraguay. He is the former executive director of the Una Chapman Cox Foundation, which supports the Foreign Service Foundation, and a board member for several non-profit organizations.

Corwin D. Smidt is the former Director and a current Research Fellow of the Paul B. Henry Institute for the Study of Christianity and Politics at Calvin University. Dr. Smidt specializes in American electoral politics, presidential primaries, the political news media, campaign politics, and dynamics in American political behavior.

Judy Dean is Professor of International Economics in the Brandeis University International Business School. Judy’s research focuses on international trade and economic development. She serves as a Senior Fellow at the Rimini Centre of Economic Analysis.

Mark Noll is Professor Emeritus of History at the University of Notre Dame. Noll is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and in 2006 he received the National Endowment for the Humanities medal at a White House ceremony.

John J. Dilulio, Jr. is the Frederic Fox Leadership Professor of Politics, Religion, and Civil Society at the University of Pennsylvania.