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Co-Director:  The Rev. Charles Christian Adams is the Presiding Pastor of the Hartford Memorial Baptist Church in Detroit – the leading Black church in the city of Detroit, with an illustrious history of community building, capacity building, and civil rights. With an M.Div. from Union Theological Seminary (NY) and further certification from the Summer Leadership Institute at Harvard Divinity School (MA), as well as work with the World Council of Churches, Rev. Adams brings deep knowledge of the challenges and rewards pastoral leaders experience as they work in Metropolitan Detroit. He also participates in the governance of several social service agencies and ecumenical confederations in Detroit.

In addition to the insights he brings in terms of pastoral leadership in each of its dimensions, Rev. Adams will help participants contextualize Metropolitan Detroit as a particular ministry setting, particularly with regard to his extensive experience in bridging significant racial, ethnic, religious, cultural and economic divides.

Co-Director:  The Rev. Canon Dr. William J. Danaher, Jr. is the Rector of Christ Church Cranbrook and Canon for Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations at the Episcopal Diocese of Michigan. He received his Ph.D. from Yale University School of Graduate Studies in Religious Ethics (2002) and has worked as an Associate Professor at Sewanee (TN), The General Theological Seminary (NY), and Huron University College (ON) in the United States and Canada. He also served as Dean of the Faculty of Theology at Huron. Since taking up his position in 2014, Christ Church Cranbrook has experienced dramatic growth in terms of its profile, programming, ministries, membership, and attendance. In 2016, he was named Pastor of the Year by the Metropolitan Christian Council: Detroit-Windsor.

Associate Director: The Rev. Manisha Dostert is Senior Associate Rector at Christ Church Cranbrook. She received her M. Div. from Duke Divinity School and is an ordained Lutheran-ELCA pastor. She has served in Episcopal congregations for the past thirteen years and co-led the federation of an Episcopal and a Lutheran church. She brings an ecumenical lens to her ministry. She has also served on the racial reconciliation committee for the NC Synod-ELCA and participates in racial reconciliation programs in both the Southeast Michigan Synod-ELCA and the Episcopal Diocese of Michigan. She has widely shared her story as a woman of color growing up as a non-Christian.

Program Facilitator: The Rev. Dr. James B. Lemler is a nationally known leader, educator, consultant, presenter and pastor. Having retired from active ministry in the Episcopal Church, he serves as the Vice President of the Allen Whitehill Clowes Charitable Foundation, an Indianapolis Foundation of which he has been a director and officer since 2003. He brings a wealth of experience in the areas of religious and non-profit leadership, education and leadership development, philanthropy and advancement, and organizational change. He received his D. Min. from Christian Theological Seminary (MN), and he has done extensive continuing studies and certification in adaptive leadership.