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Staff Profiles

 

Elbert Brown

Ambassador of Welcome

Elbert Brown

Elbert is the first face you will see when you enter the big red doors. You will be greeted by a smile as big as those doors. Elbert is a native of the Cayman Islands and has been part of BSM since its opening in 2005. Elbert knows the building like the back of his hand and cares for it the way he cares for his children. Elbert has been married for over 40 years to his wife Zilfia.

 


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Becca Blake

Facilitator of Transformative Arts
becca@broadstreetministry.org

Becca BlakeBecca was born and raised outside of Baltimore, MD, where she learned to call everyone "hon" as she grew up in a huge, crazy, loving family. Ever since she can remember, Becca has loved people, the arts, and the church, and these passions manifest themselves in her work at BSM as the Facilitator of Transformative Arts. She grew up going to magnet art schools where she "majored" in drawing and photography, and then took a break from art-making to go to college at Eastern University for Theology and Creative Writing. A semester at Oxford University led her to plunge herself into academia at Princeton Theological Seminary, but the longer she studied the more she realized she had been avoiding a call to ministry in the Church. During her time at PTS she interned both at Trenton Psychiatric Hospital and BSM, and after graduating in May 2009 she stayed on at BSM and continues to incorporate the arts into several aspects of BSM life. She also assists with worship planning, moderates the blog, and is part of the Breaking Bread team.

Becca is passionate about breaking down the stigmas surrounding mental illness and the effectiveness of the arts in spiritual expression and psychological healing, and she believes that the beauty of God lies within every person. In her non-existent spare time, she enjoys creating art, singing in the Motley Order choir, exploring the Philly art scene, watching all kinds of films, dancing the night away, buying too many magazines, and going on adventures with her loved ones.

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Edd Conboy

Director of Counseling Services
counseling@broadstreetministry.org

Edd Conboy

Edd is not your typical therapist. He combines his training and real world business experience in his effort to help clients get unstuck and create new pathways in their lives. Edd also works with individuals whose normal stress has advanced into a state of distress, supporting them as they move into effective action, and begin to sustain joy in their lives as they strive to attain their life goals.

A seasoned therapist with more than twenty years experience in the field, Edd has worked as a coach and consultant to bring the skills, knowledge and expertise of the psychotherapeutic community into non-traditional settings in addition to his work as a private practitioner. While working with people from all walks of life—from business, community and non-profit leaders to inner-city youth, he is particularly effective working with a wide range of individuals facing unique stresses like those of world-class professional and amateur athletes, survivors of trauma, as well as couples with chronically ill children.

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Erika Funk

Youth Initiative Minister
erika@broadstreetministry.org

Growing up on the beaches of Southern California, beaches shaped Erika's outlook on life. It has also shaped her understanding of what it means to be the church and made her empathetic for those who don't understand church. On the West Coast, where church attendance averages 7%, church is an option of the minority. Church is one's family of choice not necessarily one's family of origin. First Presbyterian Church of Santa Monica became Erika's spiritual family at a young age and guided her into leadership roles as a teen.

She began working with teenagers at 17, accepted her first position as a youth director at 19, and realized she had a lot to learn at 19 and a half. It was at a church youth camp that Erika found her call to ministry confirmed. Graduating from San Francisco Theological Seminary in 1993 Erika turned east and took the position of Associate Pastor for Christian Education and Mission at First Presbyterian Church in Pensacola, Florida. During her six years there Erika served as a leader for many Montreat Youth Conferences, the 7% conference for young P.C.U.S.A. pastors, and The Covenant Network of Presbyterians. She also served on the boards of many non profit groups such as United Ministries (serving the homeless), United Way, Community Drug and Alcohol Commission and Leadership Pensacola. In 2000 Erika moved back to California to serve as Associate Pastor of The Federated Church in Placerville. Over the last 20 years Erika's passion has been for youth with an emphasis in mission and service. She's taken groups to Mexico, San Francisco, Native American reservations and the Appalachians. Erika sees her move to Philadelphia and work with Broad Street Ministry as a continuation of her commitment young people, especially those who are unconnected from or uncertain about the church.

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Andy Newgren

Pastoral Immersion Program Co-pilot
newgren@gmail.com

Becky White Newgren

Coming straight from the Midwest, Andy has adopted the East Coast as home since 2004 and Philly since 2007. Once he acknowledged that his childhood vocational goal of playing in Italy’s Serie A (that’s soccer...the real football) was never going to come to pass, he traversed the Midwest for a few years before making the obvious choice to attend library school and eventually seminary. He found his way to BSM as the first seminary intern in 2005 when looking for a church with a unique voice and simply stuck around. Along with his partner Becky, Andy directs the Seminarian Immersion Program believing tomorrow’s theological leaders can learn a great deal from this community on “being” and “doing” church. His daytime hours are spent in a library helping folks use technology for academic pursuits or roaming bookshops for the next book he’ll only half complete.

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Becky White Newgren

Pastoral Immersion Program Co-pilot
Becky@archstreetpres.org

Becky White Newgren

Becky strongly identifies with her hometown of Bloomington, Illinois (no, not Bloomington, Indiana). If you ask her, she will tell you all about Beer Nuts, Laffy Taffy, State Farm and Steak-n-Shake. As part of her venture to Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, Becky was a springboard diver, all of which taught her to discern which end is up. She spent four years doing youth ministry mostly in Michigan before pursuing a theological education at Princeton Seminary. Ordained and ready to go, Becky spent a couple years in the suburbs of Philly before making the move to fully engage the city. Currently, Becky is the Minister for Families at BSM's sister congregation, Arch Street Presbyterian Church. Though initially drawn to the church at a young age because the games were fun and the boys cute, Becky remains committed to the church because she believes God enlivens our lives and spurs us to live deeply in community with all people. Becky, her partner Andy, and their young daughter live in the seminary house, where they direct the Seminarian Immersion Program.

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Sarah Desilva

Coordinator of Personal Care
sarahannedesilva@gmail.com

Sarah DesilvaSarah DeSilva spent most of her formative years in New Jersey, and will always be a Jersey girl at heart, but has happily transitioned to the city of brotherly (and sisterly) love. Sarah attended Eastern University and graduated with a degree in Anthropology. Her passion for people and culture lead her to spend a year in Haiti learning the Kreyol language and immersing herself in the Haitian culture.

Sarah can be found singing with the Motley Order Choir here at BSM, laughing with her friends, falling asleep in Rittenhouse Park, making cool art, or listening to some pretty awesome tunes. When she’s not doing any of that, she can be found here, at BSM…and she is pretty excited to bring the best personal care to BSM that Philly has ever seen!

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Hannah Lyon

Youth Initiative Program Coordinator
hannah@broadstreetministry.org

Hannah LyonHannah grew up in North Carolina where she played the part of preacher’s kid with “pride,” which is appropriate because her last name is homophonic with lion, her favorite animal. Large felines are a theme in Hannah’s life as she dedicated four years cheering for the Wildcats of Davidson College. (Go Cats!) In an effort not to fulfill your stereotypes about cheerleaders, Hannah studied religion at Davidson and discovered her love for Reformed Theology. She relocated to the Philadelphia area in 2010 only to discover there was more Yankee in her than she had previously been allowed to believe. Hannah found Broad Street Ministry through her work with youth and children at Swarthmore Presbyterian Church. Her love for wild animals and theology naturally led her to pursue a Master’s of Divinity at Stellenbosch University in South Africa in 2011. Having finished her degree program in one year – much to the chagrin of fellow masters of divinity who took the American 3 year route – Hannah is back at BSM, the perfect landing pad for reacclimation and redirection. South Africa taught Hannah a lot about the importance of historical narrative, the socio-political realities of theological ideals, how to be a friend from far away, and love; with these lessons she’s hoping to develop an authentic understanding of what it means to be church here on Broad Street. She is excited to be working with the Youth Initiative, having the opportunity both to absorb all that Broad Street Ministry is and to share it in meaningful ways with young people. When not at Broad Street Ministry, Hannah can be found looking for a hobby.

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Dwayne Grant

Go to Guy (a.k.a. 'Da Man')

Dwyane Grant

Dwayne grew up on the streets of New York. He came to Philadelphia in ’96 for a change of scenery and attended Slippery Rock University. Dwayne fell in love with, and was adopted by Broad Street Ministry in 2008, where he found family. He spends his time here taking care of the building and watching out for his co-workers. Outside of BSM Dwayne enjoys donating his time to volunteer organizations and is a recent graduate of Ready Willing and Able. His favorite color is brown. He’s De’Angelo’s biggest fan and loves working with the seminarians.

 


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Brittany Mellinger

Postmaster General
brittany@broadstreetministry.org

Dwyane Grant

Brittany grew up in Lancaster County, went to Eastern University to study Elementary Ed, soon fell in love with Philly and Sociology and traded her farm fields for city streets. Her passion for food has been amplified by her proximity to the Italian market and plethora of South Philly restaurants. She is happiest when wandering around new places and the great outdoors, most recently trying her hand at organic farming in Ecuador this past fall. She is excited to be practicing her ABCs by helping with the mail sorting as BSM's newest postmaster general.

 

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"Big Mike" Hill

Hospitality Enforcer

Mike HillLast November, Mike moved out of Ready Willing an Able where he had been enrolled for 9 months.  It was there that Mike met Dwayne who talked Mike into applying for the job of Hospitality Enforcer. So far Mike has had a great experience here at BSM. His favorite part of the job is seeing people that he cared about during the 3 years he spend on the streets sleeping in Love park. Before he was accepted to the Ready Willing and Able program he stayed at Ridge Shelter for a year after serving 12 years in the state penitentiary. Mike has resolved to stay off the streets from now on. His recovery has been a wonderful awakening experience, and he still gets teary eyed talking about it because he feels so much better about himself today. He now keeps in touch with his two living children, and finds joy in their smiles. Mike loves being at Broad Street Ministry and enjoys the company of the people he works with. His favorite color is blue, and he prefers spaghetti and meatballs to cheese steaks any day.

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Tony Moore

Music Man, Choirmaster, Talent
tonyizdope@gmail.com

Tony Moore

Anthony A. Moore (AKA) Tony Moore was born in Philadelphia, PA and spent his early childhood in Okinawa, Japan and Europe. He began his career in the music industry as a bassist for local groups and churches in the City of Philadelphia. He founded gospel recording group Tony Moore & Jehovah's Chosen (TMJC) and has released two independent albums entitled "Love Lifted Me" and "Action Figures." Tony is currently working with Rock Star Entertainment, founded by Vidal and Dre, executive producers for such recording artists as: Floetry, Jill Scott, Usher, Michael Jackson, Mariah Carey, and Chris Brown. As assistant music supervisor, Tony has written songs for the action thriller film, "Cover," produced by Bill Duke (X-Men 3) starring Vivica A Fox, Patti La Belle, Lou Gossett Jr, Maya, and Leon (Five Heart Beats), and Aunjanue Ellis (Ray). "Cover" was released in February 2008. Tony also worked on a new Vivica A Fox movie which is being filmed in Philadelphia.

Tony has established a partnership with Mike Lemon Casting Agency. Through this partnership TMJC has been cast in multiple commercials, movies, and television appearances.

At the hub of all this activity, Tony Moore became the musical director for Broad Street Ministr,y under the guidance of Pastor Bill Golderer. Tony is responsible for weaving a unique sound for the BSM Motley Order Choir, integrating other musical influences in the community and being the 'glue' that binds it all together.

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Liam O'Donnell

Arts Marshall
liam@broadstreetministry.org

Liam Odonnel
Liam O'Donnel was born July 3rd, 1979 at Jefferson Hospital in Philly. As a child he had dreams of either being a writer or a superhero. Liam grew up in the Philadelphia area, collecting comic books and going to punk and hardcore shows. He didn't grow up in the church, but found his way there as a teenager. He is a skeptic at heart but prays that through the practice of love, justice can be made real. If he could see any band (living or dead) play a concert it would have to be a multi band bill. Velvet Underground would open, followed by Black Sabbath (when Ozzy was in it), and then on to Crass and then Snapcase before KRS-1, Chuck D, and the guys from A Tribe Called Quest closed the show with a mind-blowing freestyle session.

Liam spends most of his time reading or watching movies, and when he isn't doing these things he is arguing about the books he has read or movies he has watched with his friends.  Liam writes and performs poetry, has been in one touring band, and generally goes to shows at an obsessive rate. He finished his ThM. at PTS in the religion and society dept in 2009, and stilll hopes they will let him write about horror movies and liberation theology some day. Liam dreams of one day being awesome, and hopes the best for all God's children.

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Claire Kalala

Development Coordinator

Liam Odonnel

Claire Kalala, a newcomer to Philadelphia, was born and raised in the Washington D.C. area. After completing her first two years of undergrad and earning an Associates degree at Montgomery College in Rockville, Maryland, she transferred to the University of the Arts as a painting/drawing major. Claire has been into colors and canvas for the majority of her life and is glad that she can explore those things in such a cool city. When she isn't at school, work, or working on her art and design company, she loves to hang with friends, learn about how others live, and listen to cool tunes. She is excited to join the Broad Street Ministry family and is looking forward to serving the Philadelphia community in whatever way she can.

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David Van Houten

Dean, Center for Subversive Theology
djvh@comcast.net

Dan Van Houten

"I'm just some skinny white guy from west of West Philly."

I run to avoid reality and am learning how to do yoga to counter the physical and mental effects of over 30 years of running. Caffeine is my drug of choice and I'm addicted to buying books. I have two sons who remind me daily what's real, but aren't really sure what I do. I'll follow my wife wherever she goes (because she's my corporate sponsor). I specialize in non-paying jobs and like poetry and sad, angry music. My best friend says I'm too cynical to be religious. I've studied Spanish, Greek, Hebrew, Latin, French and German but have forgotten almost everything I've learned and still struggle to write a coherent English sentence. When I grow up I want to be rap star, yeah, because

I'm just another white man with a Ph.D, trained in the obscure art of theology.
You'll never see my face on mtv, no, I studied at a school of divinity.
Like I said before, I can't dance, I can't sing.
I'm a poser, fake, imposter,
Just like my bling bling.

And I almost forgot,
Calvin is my co-pilot.

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Ranald Lindsay

Chef

Ranald Lindsay





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Marylou Fusco

Hospitality Manager
marylou@broadstreetministry.org

Marylou FuscoMarylou Fusco was born and raised in New Jersey but has lived in Philly for so long it’s become home. In her former life she worked with pregnant teens, managed a shelter kitchen, and wrote for a weekly newspaper. At Broad Street she’s busy re-acquainting herself with walk-in freezers, number 10 cans, and the search for fresh produce. She’s excited to be part of a community that serves as a catalyst for expression and change.

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Melinda Berkman

Director of Finance and Administration
melinda@broadstreetministry.org

Melinda BerkmanGrowing up as a child of a military man, Melinda has lived many different places. She is happy to now call Philadelphia home (although her heart may always belong to Alaska). After graduating with a Masters in Economics from University of Alaska Fairbanks, she worked as fisheries economist for the State of Alaska. Deciding Juneau was too small, she packed her bags and moved to Manhattan, met the love of her life and moved with him to Philadelphia. Working in for-profit for most of her career, she is happy that she was able to make the transition to non-profit with such a wonderful organization. She lives in Center City with her husband, Mike and her 2.5 year old son, Teddy.

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Carrie Kitchen-Santiago

Managing Director
carrie@broadstreetministry.org

Carrie Kitchen-Santiago

Carrie is a native of Philadelphia and has lived and worked in the region all of her life except for a brief stint in Washington D.C. very early in her career. She is passionate about addressing the causes and impacts of urban poverty and has dedicated her career to this pursuit. She has 17 years of program and project management experience, primarily related to social services, and has a particular expertise in workforce development programming and policy. Prior to coming to the Broad Street Ministry, Carrie served as the Sr. Director of Training and Policy at the Philadelphia Workforce Development Corporation, a large non-profit agency that oversees a majority of the public funding that comes to the City for job training and employment assistance programming. At PWDC Carrie led a department that identified and implemented strategies and tools for building capacity among PWDC’s sub-contractors to run workforce development programs more effectively. She also forged partnerships with systems and organizations across Philadelphia in order to leverage resources and enhance the ability of PWDC and its sub-contractors to serve over 21,000 welfare recipients per year. In addition, Carrie conducted public policy research, analysis and education related to welfare and poverty. Prior to that, Carrie worked in several capacities for Congreso, one of the largest social services agencies in Greater Philadelphia serving the Philadelphia Latino community. At Congreso Carrie conducted fundraising activities and developed and managed education, training and employment placement programs for low-income youth and adults. Prior to that, Carrie worked for the Center for Greater Philadelphia at the University of Pennsylvania, a nonprofit agency dedicated to facilitating regional cooperation between Philadelphia and the suburbs. At the Center Carrie designed and managed the Greater Philadelphia High school Partnership, a service-learning program that brought over 800 urban and suburban students together from 80 schools across the region to design and carry out community-service projects. In a radio address to the nation, former President Clinton singled out the Partnership, calling it a "stunning success" and a "model for the nation." The Walt Whitman Center for the Culture and Politics of Democracy at Rutgers University praised the Partnership as "an innovator in the field of service learning." Carrie has a Masters degree in Public Affairs and Urban and Regional Planning from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University and Bachelors of Arts degree in American History from the University of Pennsylvania. Carrie is proud to represent and serve Pennsylvania on the Board of Directors for the National Association of Workforce Development Professionals (NAWDP), and when not working, enjoys spending time with her husband, Rob (usually scheming how they can get more sleep), playing with her two, very energetic, young sons, Marcos and Andres, and vigorously lifting weights at the gym so that she can survive her sons using her as a human jungle gym. Before having kids, when Carrie actually had an exciting personal life, she enjoyed hiking and Latin dancing with her husband and was a director, writer and performer in an all-female, musical comedy troupe.

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Bill Golderer

Convening Minister
bill@broadstreetministry.org

Bill Golderer

Bill is the founding pastor and convener of the Broad Street Ministry in Philadelphia. BSM is an innovative ministry that emphasizes hospitable outreach, civic involvement, and creative expression. Prior to that, Bill served as the founding Director of the Center for Church Life at Auburn Theological Seminary in New York City where he was also a lecturer in Reformed theology at Union Theological Seminary whose campus Auburn shares. Auburn and Union have long been pioneers on the landscape of bringing a progressive theology to bear upon and be relevant to the culture. His work at Auburn also included creating opportunities for multifaith understanding in our post-9/11 world, and addressing the coming crisis of leadership that will confront the church in the coming decades. To learn more about the work of Auburn Seminary, visit www.auburnsem.org.

Prior to that, Bill served as Associate Pastor for Youth, Young Adult and Public Church Ministry at the Fourth Presbyterian Church of Chicago. His time there was spent mainly integrating the Gospel with the demands of everyday life through fellowship, advocacy/outreach programs, public forums, and discernment exercises. While serving in Chicago, Bill helped to found a national network of Presbyterian clergy under the age of 40--called the 7 percent. The group takes its name from the statistic that only 7 percent of clergy currently serving the Presbyterian Church U.S.A are under the age of 40. To learn more about the ministry of Fourth Church, visit www.fourthchurch.org. To learn more about the 7 percent, visit www.bmbweb.com/sevenpercent/.

Sebastian
Sebastian

Prior to that, Bill was the Founding Director for Religious Outreach for The Interfaith Alliance in Washington D.C. This membership organization that has grown to over 150,000 members works to promote interfaith cooperation around shared American values of civic participation, freedom of religion, diversity, and civility in public discourse and to encourage the active involvement of people of faith in the nation's political life. To learn more about "TIA's" work, visit www.theinterfaithalliance.org.

Sebastian
Deacon

In 2009, Bill extended his pastoral ministry in Philadelphia when he became the Pastor of Arch Street Presbyterian Church.  Since 1851, Arch Street Presbyterian has been a worshipping congregation in the heart of Center City Philadelphia.  Since Bill has arrived and assembled a dynamic team of lay and professional leadership, ASPC has undergone a rapid and dramatic revitalization. The congregation aims to be a dynamic Sunday morning worshipping community, a church that welcomes children and families of every configuration, a church that meets the needs of the people who work in the buildings around it (and those who wish they were employed there) as well as a center for arts and culture.  To learn more about ASPC,
please visit: www.archstreetpres.org. 

His energies away from ministry are devoted to having fun with his wife, Julie, reading, cooking, manically listening to sports radio, and marveling at the wonder that are his sons, Sebastian and Deacon.

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