Introducing the 2026 Trinity Leadership Fellows Cohort
Trinity is thrilled to welcome the newest cohort of Trinity Leadership Fellows. These 27 fellows were selected from nearly 500 applicants representing a wide range of nationalities and faith traditions.
Since 2022, the Trinity Leadership Fellows program has educated, inspired, and connected emerging faith-inspired leaders from across the globe.
The cohort-centered program offers participants the opportunity to form a tight-knit community of learning and spirituality alongside peers, mentors, instructors, and issue experts. Part of Trinity’s broader commitment to build generations of faithful leadership, the program—which is open to lay and ordained leaders of all religious backgrounds—equips emerging faith leaders with the tools to address urgent needs in their communities and make a difference in their congregations.
Rob Garris, executive director, Trinity Leadership Fellows, emphasized these fellows’ call to action during a challenging time for both the church and the world: “These fellows embody the spirit of the Trinity Leadership Fellows program in their dedication to service. Across faiths, including Buddhism, Islam, and Christianity, and from around the world, they all in their various callings and professions are inspired by their faith to serve the urgent needs of their communities and congregations. We look forward to welcoming them to Trinity and building their capacity to serve as leaders.”
The selection of this cohort marks a milestone for the Trinity Leadership Fellows program, notes Christopher Washnock, Trinity’s program director, Leadership Development: “This will be the fifth cohort of fellows, who join an expanding network of change-makers hailing from every continent, anchored in faith and a commitment to applying innovative solutions to complex challenges.”
The 2026 fellows will convene for a weeklong, in-person session at Trinity Church in New York City this September. During the first year of the program, they will take online courses to strengthen the core competencies needed for effective leadership. The second year of the fellowship will be dedicated to implementation projects, informed by the first-year curriculum and serving the needs of their communities. Upon successful completion of the program, these fellows will be inducted into the Trinity Society of Fellows, where they will join other program alumni in lifelong service and friendship.
Please join us in congratulating our 2026 Trinity Leadership Fellows!
2026 Trinity Leadership Fellows
Charlie Baczyk-Bell
Charlie Baczyk-Bell is a priest and doctor whose Christian faith compels him to work for the flourishing of all people, especially those overlooked by society and the church. He is a founding trustee of Together for the Church of England and is active in research and practice across both medicine and theology. He serves as an attending forensic psychiatrist at one of England’s high-security psychiatric hospitals; a fellow in medicine and public theology at Girton College, University of Cambridge; and an honorary clinical lecturer at King’s College London. He is also an associate vicar, visiting scholar, research fellow, and volunteer hospice chaplain.
JD Bauman
JD Bauman is the founder of Christians for Impact, a nonprofit dedicated to equipping Christians with the tools to maximize their career impact on the world’s most pressing problems. In this role, he leads a global team that organizes conferences, provides career mentorship, and fundraises for international development initiatives. Passionate about evidence-based philanthropy, JD leads the Christian effective altruism movement, bringing a thoughtful Christian presence in a largely secular arena. He enjoys connecting and encouraging impact-driven young professionals and experienced faith-based leaders. He is a member of St. Luke’s Cathedral in Orlando, Florida, and a Master of Divinity candidate at Virginia Theological Seminary.
Komlan Abalo Braly
Komlan Abalo Braly is the founder of Speech Spark Initiative in rural Togo, a teacher-led education reform model recognized by UNESCO’s Hamdan Prize (2024) and HundrED’s 2026 Global Collection as one of the world’s most impactful K-12 innovations. Formed in the Benedictine tradition at Monastère de l’Incarnation d’Agbang, he has reached more than 3,000 students and trained more than 200 educators across West Francophone Africa through structured pedagogy, social-emotional learning, and education for sustainable development. A 2026 Global Teacher Prize top 50 finalist and a Mandela Washington Fellow, Komlan demonstrates how faith-driven, community-led innovation can transform education in under-resourced contexts through collaborative leadership and local empowerment.
Will Bryant
The Rev. Will Bryant is rector of the historic Church of the Transfiguration in Saluda, North Carolina. A proud Tar Heel, he holds degrees from UNC-Chapel Hill and Church Divinity School of the Pacific in Berkeley, California. He was ordained a priest in 2021 at the Cathedral of All Souls in Asheville, North Carolina, where he served for three years as an associate. Will is an alumnus of the Episcopal Church’s Young Adult Service Corps (YASC), having spent two years in international mission with the Mission to Seafarers in Hong Kong and at St. Paul’s Within the Walls Episcopal Church in Rome, Italy. He and his wife, Molly, live in West Asheville.
Njuhi Chege
Njuhi Chege holds an MA in International Peace Studies from the University of Notre Dame and is a trained mediator at the New York Peace Institute. She is a human-centered design researcher at Sonder Collective, a Helsinki-based research organization. She focuses on maternal health vulnerabilities to ensure health systems respond with equitable, data-driven care that centers the lived realities of mothers and their children. Based in Brooklyn and Nairobi, the new mother of twins relishes visiting the Brooklyn Public Library and Karura Forest.
Ameerali Palamadathil Chembanthodika
Ameerali Palamadathil Chembanthodika is a regional planning architect and faith-based development practitioner from Kerala, India. He holds a master’s degree in social work and certifications in Islamic theology, with experience leading projects across 20 states and more than 1,500 marginalized communities. He founded the Initiative for Development Research and Practice (IDRP) and pioneered “Climate Fiqh,” an Islamic jurisprudential framework for faith-based climate resilience. His congregational social work curriculum established a department of societal development at Darul Huda Islamic University. Guided by the vision of creating a compassionate world, his work advances justice, inclusion, and systemic reform through policy innovation and community empowerment.
Catherine Connolly
The Rev. Catherine Connolly is an Episcopal priest serving in Charlotte, North Carolina, where she lives with her husband and two daughters. Her leadership is focused on empowering lay ministries, shaped by a conviction that invitation and collaborative discernment help people flourish into their vocation. Originally from the UK, she studied theology at the University of Oxford, holds an MA in theology from Durham University, and was formed for ministry at Ripon College Cuddesdon, Oxford. She is committed to cultivating communities where all are welcomed into active, faithful service.
Kelsey Davis
The Rev. Kelsey Davis is an Episcopal priest, former professional athlete, and collegiate coach. She is co-founder of Christian Athlete Circles, host of the Spirit of Sport podcast, and co-author of The Athlete Devotional: 40 Days of Spiritual Practice. Kelsey serves as bishop’s deputy for disaster response and recovery in Western North Carolina, vicar of St. George’s Episcopal Church, and on the NCAA Common Ground leadership team. A graduate of the University of Portland, Vanderbilt Divinity School, and Iona WNC, she is a certified narrative Enneagram teacher passionate about spiritual practice, leadership, and the sacramental life as pathways to resilience and courageous action. An enrolled member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, she lives in Asheville, North Carolina, with her wife and two children.
Kate Fields
As a multi-generational Tennessean, Rev. Kate Fields, DMin, loves the hills, people, and music of Nashville. Her love for the land led her to complete a BS and MS in biology. As a biologist-turned-priest, she completed a Master of Divinity degree at Vanderbilt Divinity School and a Doctor of Ministry in land, food, and faith formation at Memphis Theological Seminary. Kate loves serving as a chaplain at St. Augustine’s Episcopal Chapel, which operates in an ecosystem of ministries that St. A’s launched. She organizes around food justice and helps faith communities deepen community around the table by investing in the local Nashville-area food system.
Cecilia Flores
Cecilia Flores is the daughter of Filipino immigrants who grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. She has spent over 15 years working with communities of faith to address poverty and injustice in the United States and Central America. She holds an MA in global development and social justice from St. John’s University, grounded in the cultural traditions and wisdom of her elders. Passionate about storytelling and community organizing, she has represented the U.S. as one of 20 delegates to the World Meeting of Popular Movements with Pope Francis (2021) and Pope Leo XIV (2025). She serves as executive director of the Catholic Volunteer Network and lives in the Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex, where she is above all a passionate mother to Kiara and Jacob, committed to raising the next generation of people who believe another world is possible.
Paul Flynn
Paul Flynn is the rector of St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church in Henderson, Nevada. Before his ordination in 2024, he practiced law in New Hampshire for 30 years, representing primarily towns and schools. He also served as the town administrator for two New Hampshire communities before heeding (finally) God’s call to attend seminary and to ordained life in the Episcopal Church. He and his spouse, Jude, live with Annie, a six-year-old Cavalier King Charles spaniel, and they have five adult children and two grandchildren between them.
Tina Francis
Tina Francis, born to South Indian parents and raised in Dubai, grew up between languages, liturgies, and loyalties—fluent in the grammar of the in-between. At 17, she left for Canada. She earned a BA in communications and a diploma in television broadcasting, and she has told stories through cameras, microphones, and now the pulpit. Tina holds a Master of Divinity degree from the Seminary of the Southwest in Austin, Texas, and will be ordained to the priesthood in the Diocese of Olympia in July 2026. She serves as a curate at St. Julian of Norwich Episcopal Church in Austin, where she shares her life with her husband and their son. Her spiritual life was deeply shaped by the work of teachers like Richard Rohr, who helped her trust that God is often found in mystery, longing, paradox, and love. She loves her mother's masala chai, the great indoors, and poetry.
Milton Gilder
Milton Gilder hails from Long Beach, California, and currently resides in New Haven, Connecticut. Milton graduated from Yale Divinity School, where he completed a Master of Divinity in Black religion and Anglican/Episcopal studies. Before graduate school, Milton worked in education technology and nonprofit management, working to expand access to technology in K-12 classrooms and scaling youth leadership programs. In his free time, Milton enjoys cooking, photography, reading, and theological writing. He completed a BA in public policy and international studies and post-baccalaureate studies in secondary education at Duke University, and he is currently pursuing ordination in The Episcopal Church.
Taylor Gonzales
Taylor Gonzales is a Latino missionary and church planter in The Episcopal Church, serving in Jerome, Idaho, where he leads Calvary Life Church with his wife, Lisa. Together they lead a bilingual mission centered on preaching, discipleship, and practical outreach, including serving families through a local diaper ministry and ongoing community support. Gonzales’s ministry is shaped by his own story of transformation from addiction and incarceration. He is currently preparing for ordained ministry while continuing to build and serve a local church.
Alyssa Kaplan
Alyssa Kaplan is the pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church of Manhattan and executive director of Trinity Place Shelter, a shelter for LGBTQIA+ young adults experiencing homelessness in New York City. Alyssa earned her Master of Divinity degree from Union Theological Seminary, where she worked with New Sanctuary Coalition, shaping her commitment to immigration justice. She holds a BA in Political Science from the University of Pennsylvania. She previously served as a pastor and mission developer in Baltimore, building bilingual and Spanish-speaking worshipping communities with immigrant neighbors. Alyssa believes the church is called to be a hub of community organizing, collective care, and neighborhood-based ministry—connecting, resourcing, and empowering people to act together for the dignity and flourishing of all. She loves all things women’s sports and spending time in Central Park with her wife and their dog.
Palak Khanna
Palak Khanna is chief of operations at the Civic Science Collective, where she bridges the gap between scientists and communities on polarizing issues. Raised in an interfaith Hindu-Buddhist household, she developed an early interest in celebrating difference and finding common ground. She holds a master’s degree from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, where she studied how culture, including faith, shapes negotiation approaches. As a U.S. diplomat in China during COVID-19 and later in Paraguay, she saw firsthand how religious perspectives shaped policy decisions. Palak is an active member of the Tufts Alumni Buddhist Sangha and the Insight Meditation Community of Washington, D.C. Through her practice and her work, she remains committed to a future where every community has a voice in the conversations that shape their lives.
Robert Kozak
Robert Kozak is assistant chaplain and missioner at Holy Trinity Brussels, the Anglican Pro-Cathedral at the heart of Europe. He previously served as sacrist and head of liturgy at St Paul’s Cathedral, London, where he shaped worship and led major national services. Before this, he was priest-in-charge of the Parish of Letchworth and assistant curate at All Saints, Leavesden. Raised in Poland, he trained for ministry at Westcott House, Cambridge, and was ordained in 2015. He holds an MA in systematic theology from King’s College London. Robert enjoys travelling and singing, and lives with his partner and their two cats.
Jedidiah Montalvo
Jedidiah Montalvo serves as Latino missioner and church planter in Liberal, Kansas, for the Episcopal Diocese of Western Kansas. He received his Master of Divinity degree from Palm Beach Atlantic University and has spent his career in youth development within church and nonprofit settings in both South Florida and New York City. He is a candidate for Holy Orders currently working on developing new episcopal communities within the Latiné population in Southwest Kansas. His focus lies in the intersection of ecumenical spiritual community and social systems of care.
Carrington Moore
Rev. Carrington George Moore is a pastor, community organizer, and nonprofit executive known for his compelling preaching and justice-centered leadership. Ordained in the Progressive National Baptist Convention, he serves as senior pastor of East Friendship Baptist Church in Washington, D.C. He previously served as executive director of common cathedral, a faith-based nonprofit that uniquely serves the unhoused, where he secured a $1.25 million grant to launch the Center for Transformational Preaching and Public Theology. He holds a Master of Divinity degree from Boston University School of Theology and is a doctoral student at Union Theological Seminary, researching Black cultural memory as a sacred practice that sustains identity and fuels liberation. He is deeply grateful to share life as the husband of Schnelle and the father of their son, Langston.
Amy Newell-Large
Rev. Amy Newell is a hospitality teacher and design-thinking leader serving as rector at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in Parker, Colorado. Drawing on her background as a hospitality manager in the craft beer industry, she is grounded in the intersection of hospitality culture and incarnational community-building. A Master of Divinity graduate of the Church Divinity School of the Pacific (CDSP), Amy believes lasting, systemic change is community-led: developing lay leaders, building collaborative structures, and guiding communities to share power and ownership. Through design thinking and hospitality, she guides congregations through organizational transformation, dismantling top-down structures in favor of communal discernment that centers communities as agents of change, fostering belonging and bearing witness to God’s beloved community.
Harry Ochieng
Harry Ochieng is a faith-driven entrepreneur, impact investor, and venture builder advancing spiritual formation, social impact, and inclusive innovation. He serves as investment lead at the Assistive Technologies for Disability Trust (AT4D), stewarding capital and venture support to scale solutions that enhance dignity and independence for people with disabilities. A lay minister and leadership mentor at CITAM Woodley, he disciples emerging leaders and serves as evangelism and prayer coordinator for the CITAM Business Forum. He also founded a Christian marketplace fellowship mobilizing professionals to address societal challenges and model servant leadership.
Beatrice Osumba
Beatrice Osumba is a Master of Divinity student at Virginia Theological Seminary, class of 2026, and an emerging ministerial leader with interdisciplinary training in social work, health care, and theological education. She holds a bachelor’s degree in social work and social administration from Uganda Christian University. Currently engaged in Anglican Ministry Formation, Beatrice’s vocation is rooted in community development, pastoral care, and faith-based leadership. She is deeply committed to empowering vulnerable women and working alongside marginalized communities through both practical support and spiritual accompaniment. Before joining the seminary, she worked in faith-based settings, emphasizing holistic care and addressing social, emotional, and spiritual needs, particularly among those who are often overlooked or underserved. Grounded in the theology of compassion and reconciliation, she believes strongly in the ministry of presence: accompanying others with dignity, attentiveness, and love as a transformative expression of God’s grace. She brings a passion for servant leadership and a vision for nurturing resilient, hope-filled communities through integrated social and spiritual engagement.
Claire Repsholdt
The Rev. Claire Repsholdt pastors the Lutheran Church of Our Savior in Patchogue, New York, and Gather: Long Island, an itinerant ministry for young adults. She delights in her vibrant intergenerational community, which makes “Love One Another” into a serious mission and incarnates Christ through exuberant worship, fellowship, and service. Claire stays inspired by volunteering with Jobs with Justice, a curious and creative community of labor activists who fight for workers’ rights. In all things, Claire aspires to create liberating communities, where everyone has the freedom to be who they are now and to grow into who they are called to be next.
Samintang
Samintang is a first-generation Indonesian social impact leader and award-winning climate communicator. She serves as co-Founder of Climate Catalysts Indonesia and deputy director of grantwriting at Climate Cardinals. An awardee of UNDP Youth4Climate, NAAEE 30 Under 30, and Citizen Diplomacy Action Fund, she is also the program director of REWILDING Minds, an Indo-Pacific citizen science program, and lead for Tarbiyah for Climate. In this capacity, she works to fast-track interfaith environmentalism through a holistic eco-theology program. In her free time, she enjoys finding stillness in nature and tracing how hidden geometries of 14th-century seafaring wisdom can navigate today’s climate uncertainty.
Kunchapu Shankaraiah
Kunchapu Shankaraiah is a development professional working with marginalized tribal communities in India to advance livelihoods, social justice, and access to rights. He currently serves as a team coordinator, leading initiatives impacting nearly 100,000 households across southern India. With over 12 years of experience in rural development and a background in social sciences, he has worked across diverse geographies and tribal contexts. His expertise includes livelihood promotion, social inclusion, gender, natural resource management, and improving access to entitlements for underserved communities.
Alex Smith
Alex Keivahn Smith is a faith-rooted leader dedicated to advancing economic justice and strengthening community institutions through cooperative power. As deputy director at the Community Purchasing Alliance, he helps congregations, schools, and nonprofits work together on everyday decisions to build financial resilience and redirect resources into local economies. Trained in both data science and theology, Alex brings an integrative approach to leadership, grounded in a faith that asks: Even when we don’t agree on everything, what can we do together? He lives in Washington, D.C., with his partner.
Alex Swain
The Rev. Alex Swain is an Episcopal priest in Tucson, Arizona, serving as vicar of St. Andrew’s and as the assistant for intergenerational ministries at St. Philip’s in the Hills. Swain received his Master of Divinity degree from Virginia Theological Seminary in 2025. With a bachelor’s degree in biology and a master’s degree in neuroscience, Swain is interested in the intersection of science, faith, and discipleship. In 2024 he became a vowed member of the Canon Orders of St. Benedict and is motivated by the ways ancient spiritual practices support people in the 21st century, particularly in addressing the needs of the world.
Zhane Tiopira Tāhau
Zhane Tiopira Tāhau is a Māori (Indigenous New Zealander) Anglican priest in Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand. Ordained at 23, he serves as archdeacon, providing pastoral and spiritual leadership for Te Aute College and Hukarere Girls’ College—two of the last Māori Anglican secondary schools. He also serves on the Tairāwhiti Episcopal Leadership Team, supporting the bishop and the growth of Indigenous ministry. Zhane is chairperson of a tribal authority serving four Māori tribes to which he belongs. His ministry is focused on the flourishing of Indigenous communities through faith leadership. In 2025, he was a semifinalist for Young New Zealander of the Year. He lives with his wife, Hinauri, on their ancestral lands of Ōmāhu.
Anna Woofenden
The Rev. Anna Woofenden is a parent, spouse, and priest. After graduating with a Master of Divinity degree from Earlham School of Religion, she served as the founding pastor of the Garden Church in San Pedro, California, a congregation that took an empty city lot and turned it into an urban garden and outdoor sanctuary. Anna now leads the 200-year-old St. John’s Episcopal Church in Northampton, Massachusetts. Anna’s greatest joys are spending time with her spouse and daughter, cultivating their backyard garden, and leading communities in the work of collaboration, sustainability, empathy, justice, healing, welcome, and peace.