Our Staff
Don Marsh
Executive Director
Don is a retired ELCA Deacon with over 38 years of congregational CYFM experience. He is passionate about learning and serving others.
thedonmarsh@gmail.com
Cassie Mugler
Toledo Area Coordinator
Hey there! My name is Cassie and I am the Service Learning Site Coordinator for Toledo, OH! I have served in this role since 2017. I was born and raised in Toledo and I LOVE to show people the city and serve alongside them. I currently reside in a suburb with my husband, daughter, and our golden retriever. I believe passionately about raising leaders with a servant heart and teaching others about my community.
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Sarah Nichols
Duluth Area Coordinator
Sara Nichols is a youth minister and praise leader with a service heart and a love for adventure. She has lived in Duluth her whole life, so is very knowledgeable and familiar with the area, its needs, and the best adventures to have. You'll likely meet her new son, Elijah, and her sidekick, Ole the golden retriever, as you serve side by side together. She is energetic, passionate, and a great conversationalist who can't wait to meet you and your group in this beautiful place!
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Michelle Basner Ketepa
Detriot Area Coordinator
Michelle Ketepa has lived in Southeast Michigan for the past 20 years. She has 25 years of experience in parish youth ministry, and is currently an elementary teacher in Warren, MI. She is an active volunteer in her Presbyterian congregation leading confirmation classes and advocating for cross generational activities. She has 3 daughters (ages 13, 19, and 22) making her main hobbies attending school sporting events and driving the mom taxi service.
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Adam Stockton
SLC Webmaster
Pastor Adam Stockton is originally from Findlay, Ohio, and grew up in Richardson, TX. His undergrad degrees are in Psychology and Business Management. He graduated from TCU with a Master's of Divinity with specializations in pastoral care, military chaplaincy, and ethics. He has also served as a trauma chaplain at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas for his Clinical Pastoral Education while being involved in cultural immersion studies. He also holds a certification in Youth and Family Ministry from Wartburg Seminary, Connected Leadership and Christianity & Ecology from Yale. He is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Education focusing on Belonging and Motivation in non-profit organizations. His career prior to ministry involved leading technical teams at AT&T, Microsoft, and Apple as well as being a Firefighter. He enjoys blacksmithing, fishing, camping, photography, tennis, hockey, biking, shooting, archery, and playing video games. He and his wife Marlette were married in 2017, and they have a daughter named Alaina.
adam@ntnl.org
Jillian McCorison
North Shore Lake Superior Area Coordinator
Jillian McCorison has lived between Duluth and Two Harbors for the past 10 years. She worked in youth ministry for 12 years before becoming a stay at home mom for 6 years. She now works at a local school in the Title program, helping young readers grow their skills and love of reading. You will likely meet her son, Trygg, who loves meeting and interacting with all the groups who come to serve on the North Shore. Jillian loves spending time with her family exploring this beautiful place they call home and spending as much time as possible sailing on Lake Superior!
Linda Vannoy-Castillo
San Francisco Bay and Puerto Rico Area Coordinator
A teacher, pastor, missionary, storyteller, author, conference speaker, life coach and adventurer who is passionate about glorifying God and helping people find purpose in Him. She’s a California Bay Area native who enjoys sporting colorful hair and riding motorcycles. Her heart for her “backyard” and the world was placed inside her as a young child by her single mom. She loves to say YES to Jesus to go anywhere at any time so that she can share the love and hope of Jesus to the “one” who is right in front of her. Come on an adventure with her as she shares her heart for those living in her community.
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Jenny Schloesser
Twin Cities Area Coordinator
Jennifer Schloesser who has been with SLC since day one. Jenny is a mother of 5 who is as creative as they get when it comes to parenting. She is an active member of Augustana Lutheran Church where she was a super volunteer for Don Marsh when he served there and then moved naturally into leadership at SLC when it was founded in 2016.
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Rachel james
Twin Cities Area Coordinator
Rachel James loves to serve and lead in her community. As the Director of Children, Youth and Family Ministries at First Lutheran Church Columbia Heights for the past 11 years, Rachel has brought youth into leadership and service in the local church & in the world. Rachel is also an elected official, serving on the City Council for the City of Columbia Heights. With her husband and two teens at home, you can often find Rachel hiking in the MN State Parks or enjoying the amazing diverse restaurants in the city.
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Jen Engquist
Denver Area Coordinator
Jen is a North Dakota native with a wealth of service learning experience. She currently serves as the Director of Brake Bread, one of the leading hunger serving agencies in Denver. Madison: Born and raised in Colorado, Madison has had a love for the city and its blend of nature since childhood. A recent graduate of Colorado State University, she is ready to help make an impact in one community a a time.
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Jason Swartz
Rochester,MN Area Coordinator
Jason and his family have called Rochester home since 2009. Jason's wife, Heather is a Rochester native and local school teacher. Jason has personally led over 120 short-term missions teams to Rochester, Belize, Cuba Puerto Rico, Haiti, Jamaica, Mexico, Israel, the Dominican Republic, and more since 2006. Jason taught elementary school out of college for 3 years before the Lord called him into short-term missions leading in 2006. He finds joy in connecting people and groups to great service and ministry opportunities! We hope you can serve with him soon!
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Brady Banks
Nashville Area Coordinator
Brady is the founder of Turnaround Collective, a spiritually formative community for young(er) adults—and those young at heart—called to experiment with, re-establish, and re-invigorate the good news practices of Jesus in relationship with others. He uses pilgrimage, spiritual practices, and cohort intensive settings to lead individuals into their unique spiritual vocations. Brady has served as an executive for local and statewide nonprofits in Nashville, Tennessee and loves using his knowledge of Nashville organizations to create great experiences for SLC participant groups. He has an MDiv from Harvard Divinity School and is currently completing his DMin at Pacific School of Religion of the Graduate Theological Union at Berkeley. He is married to the Rev. Kristin Clark-Banks of Forest Hills United Methodist Church, father to Thaddeus, and dog-father to Henri. He's a live music fan and loves all things Tennessee sports.
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Kelly Nieman-Anderson
Chicago Area Coordinator
Kelly Nieman Anderson is a pastor with a heart for youth ministry and social justice. After 12 years of serving youth groups and churches, she now works for a social services organization and loves welcoming everyone to her favorite city! When she’s not talking about justice or Jesus, then she’s probably at home with her rescue cats, riding her e-bike, or trying new foods. Her spouse David will also join groups on the ground in Chicago - he's an experienced educator with a heart for service and a mind for logistics
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Stephanie Metzendorf
Rochester,MN Area Coordinator
Stephanie is a current special education teacher who has 8+ years of experience serving youth and working as a youth director in an ELCA Lutheran Church. She has lived in Milwaukee for over 11 years and just adores the city! Stephanie is 23 years old and enjoys organizing individuals to serve and learn within a new environment.
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Rev. Thadd Book
Phoenix,AZ Area Coordinator
My name is Thaddeus Book. I currently serve as Associate Pastor of Desert Cross Lutheran Church in Tempe and Gilbert, Arizona. I have previously served churches in Ohio and Pennsylvania. My wife, Laura, and I have two children, Lincoln and Everett. I root for the Green Bay Packers in the winter and Chicago Cubs in the summer. I enjoy reading novels, running in the evenings, road trips and hiking with my family.
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Rev. Jeff Lowery
Portland, OR Area Coordinator
Rev. Jeff Lowery is an Ordained Deacon in the United Methodist Church who has more than 10 years experience leading Service Learning Trips in the Portland metro area. In his spare time Jeff loves to play guitar and write songs. www.jefflowerymusic.com
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Allie Brandt
Albuquerque, NM. Area Coordinator
Hello! My name is Allie Brandt and I am excited to start my first year as the Service Learning Site Coordinator in Albuquerque, NM. I was born and raised in Minnesota and graduated from the University of Minnesota, Morris with a BA in Psychology. I spent time serving with the Minnesota Reading Corps before completing my Education Specialist degree in School Psychology. I’m a wife and mother of two young children. Everyday, my husband and I get to raise our kids, teaching them to learn from and serve our neighbors! We have been fortunate to have lived in and explored many places within and outside of the United states, including Iowa, Arizona, Italy and, most recently, New Mexico! I currently reside in Albuquerque, NM and work as a Multigenerational Ministries Coordinator. I am passionate about providing our youth with a variety of service learning opportunities; to offer opportunities for them to interact with and learn from people of all walks of life.
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