Our leadership.
A team with deep experience in startups, social innovation and community-building.
Daniel Pryfogle
Sympara cofounder and CEO; founder of Signal Hill, an award-winning brand and leadership consultancy; founder of Senior Correspondent, the nation's first media venture that amplifies the voices of veteran journalists and older adults for the good of society; author of More Mission: A Nonprofit Adventure in Senior Living and coauthor of Faith in the World: Mark Gibbs and Vesper Society, Being God's Lively People
daniel@sympara.org | Twitter: @daniel_pryfogle
Michael-Ray Mathews
Sympara cofounder and public theologian-in-residence; deputy director of Faith in Action, the multi-faith community organizing network; president of Alliance of Baptists, the nation's leading progressive voice for Baptists; visiting professor of public theology, American Baptist Seminary of the West; co-editor of Trouble the Water: A Christian Resource for the Work of Racial Justice
michael-ray@sympara.org | Twitter: @mrmathews
Shirley Nelson
Sympara's First Friday Community facilitator; interspiritual counselor and life skills coach; founder of San's Sacred Circle, which offers retreats and workshops; former vice president of the Council for Health and Human Service Ministries of the United Church of Christ; author of The Many Faces of Prayer: A Healing Balm in the 21st Century
A need for belonging
“Most of us don’t feel like we are members of a community, we just live or work next to each other. The great missing conversation is about why and how we might be together.”​
— Margaret J. Wheatley and Myron Kellner-Rogers, The Community of the Future
Our board.
Rabbi Elan Babchuck
Providence, RI
Sympara board chair; founding director, Glean Network; director of innovation, Clal - The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership
Rev. David Gregg
Chicago, IL
Regional executive minister, American Baptist Churches of Metro Chicago; Ph.D. candidate, University of Chicago
Henry Lloyd
Austin, TX
Cofounder and humanitarian initiatives manager, WaterFIRST; acquisitions and asset manager, Blue Duck Properties, LLC; finance major, University of Texas
Rebekah Galloway
Austin, TX
Resident counselor, Episcopal Student Center at the University of Texas; instructor, St. Thomas Catechetical School at St. John Orthodox Church
Shahzad Khan
Austin, TX
Software engineer and business analyst; founder, Frame of Mind Consulting, LLC
Rev. Kathi McShane
Los Altos, CA
Senior pastor, Los Altos United Methodist Church; founder, The Changemaker Initiative in partnership with Ashoka; former vice president, Pacific School of Religion
Dr. Janice Odom
Raleigh, NC
Provost faculty fellow for outreach and engagement and director, The Caldwell Fellows, North Carolina State University
Our advisors.
Sister Kathleen Atkinson, OSB
Bismarck, ND
Founder, Ministry on the Margins; author, God Is Always There: Psalms for Every Moment and Letting Go, Letting God: 21 Centuries of Faith
James R. Doty, MD
Los Altos, CA
Professor of neurosurgery; founder and director, Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCARE), Stanford University; author, Into the Magic Shop
Christopher Gergen
Durham, NC
Cofounder and CEO, Forward Cities; founding partner, HQ Community; fellow and faculty, Duke University Innovation & Entrepreneurship Initiative; co-author, Life Entrepreneurs: Ordinary People Creating Extraordinary Lives
Madison Gove
Austin, TX
Program manager, Social Innovation Initiative, McCombs School of Business, University of Texas at Austin
Tuck Kamin
Austin, TX
Brand consultant; age strategist; founder, Age Circus; author, Design Your Age
Lee Anne McClymont
Hillsborough, NC
Founder, Elder Innovators of the Triangle; fellow, Global Institute for Experienced Entrepreneurship; former administrator, Weill Cornell Medical College
Clark Rinehart
Raleigh, NC
Director of community, Loading Dock Raleigh (coworking/entrepreneurial community)
Glenn Robinson
Austin, TX
Interim director, Global Programs and Innovation, Texas Global, University of Texas at Austin; consultant to National Science Foundation; advisor to startups, incubators and nonprofits
Rev. Dr. Kenton Smith
Los Gatos, CA
Spiritual director, The Contemplative Center of Silicon Valley; cofounder, Soul Work Studio
Rev. Robert Wilkins
Oakland, CA
Managing principal, HIIP Group Ltd.; former CEO, YMCA of the East Bay; executive board officer, San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR); board chair, Beneficial State Foundation
Jill Epner Willett
Cary, NC
Director, Adams Apprenticeship, Kenan-Flagler Business School, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; cofounder Ripe-NC Food Accelerator; founder, Triangle Food Makers; founder, Coaching for Cooks