Our Leadership
A team with deep experience in social innovation
and community-building
Daniel Pryfogle
Cary, NC
Sympara cofounder and CEO; CoGenerate Innovation Fellow; founder, Senior Correspondent, the nation's first media venture that amplifies the voices of veteran journalists and older adults for the good of society; founder, Signal Hill, the award-winning brand and leadership consultancy; member, National Civic Collaboratory; adjunct instructor, Wake Forest University School of Divinity; 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
Michael-Ray Mathews
San José, CA
Sympara cofounder; former deputy director and chief faith officer, Faith in Action, the multifaith community organizing network; past president, Alliance of Baptists, the nation's leading progressive voice for Baptists; visiting professor of public theology, Berkeley School of Theology; co-editor of Trouble the Water: A Christian Resource for the Work of Racial Justice
michael-ray@sympara.org | Twitter: @mrmathews
Shirley Nelson
Cleveland Heights, OH
Sympara's First Friday Community facilitator; interspiritual counselor and life skills coach; founder, San's Sacred Circle, which offers retreats and workshops; former vice president, 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
Bryan Franklin
Washington, DC
Senior consultant; former board chair, Sympara; deputy director, LISC DC; Fulcrum Fellow; licensed minister
Cort Gross
San Francisco, CA
Senior consultant, finance; former executive director, JPMorgan Chase Community Development Bank; former vice president/business development officer, Self-Help Federal Credit Union; former vice president/CFO, BRIDGE Housing Corporation
Rabbi Craig Marantz
Newton Centre, MA
Senior consultant, theology and culture; freelance Reform rabbi; cofounder, 5959 Chicago, a cultural destination
C. Sara Minard, Ph.D.
Boonton, NJ
Senior consultant, social impact; founder and CEO, Manarine, LLC; associate director, Mockler Center for Faith and Ethics in the Public Square, Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary; adjunct professor of practice, Babson College
Ancel Romero
San Francisco, CA
Senior consultant, affordable housing; founder, The Ancel Romero Management & Consulting Group; former president, HumanGood Affordable Housing; member, board of directors, Archdiocese of San Francisco's Real Property Support Corporation; past president, Affordable Housing Management Association of Northern California and Hawaii
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. Dr. David Gregg
Chicago, IL
Regional executive minister, American Baptist Churches of Metro Chicago
Henry Lloyd
Austin, TX
Sympara board treasurer; cofounder and humanitarian initiatives manager, WaterFIRST; acquisitions and asset manager, Blue Duck Properties, LLC
Rebekah Galloway
Austin, TX
Resident counselor, Episcopal Student Center at the University of Texas at Austin
Shahzad Khan
Austin, TX
Software engineer and business analyst; founder, Frame of Mind Consulting, LLC
Rev. Kathi McShane
Los Altos, CA
Sympara board vice chair; senior pastor, Los Altos United Methodist Church; founder, The Changemaker Church Movement in partnership with Ashoka
Our Board
Shahzad Khan*
Austin, TX
Board chair; software engineer and business analyst; founder, Frame of Mind Consulting, LLC
Daniel Rodrigo Galindo
Bulverde, TX
Managing director, Allivate Impact Capital; SVP/director, community development and strategy, Woodforest National Bank
Rev. Lauren Lisa Ng
Novato, CA
Senior program officer, Berkeley School of Theology
Brooke Wirtschafter
Los Angeles, CA
Director of community organizing, IKAR; former commissioner, City of Los Angeles Human Relations Commission
Rev. Jordan Braswell
Charlotte, NC
Program officer, LISC Charlotte; fellow, Knight Emerging City Champions
Rebekah Johns*
Austin, TX
Clinical director, Episcopal Student Center Counseling Center at the University of Texas at Austin; clinical supervisor, Any Baby Can
Lee Syria
Newton, NC
President and CEO, EveryAge, past chair, LeadingAge North Carolina
Past Board Members:
​
Rabbi Elan Babchuck*
Executive vice president, Clal; founding executive director, Glean Network
​
Mitali Dhar
Former Google executive; cofounder, Disco Dialogues
​
David Gregg (deceased)*
Regional executive minister, American Baptist Churches of Chicago
​
Henry Lloyd*
Investment analyst, Alaska Permanent Fund Corp.
​
Rev. Kathi McShane*
Cofounder, The Changemaker Initiative; director of learning and innovation, Texas Methodist Foundation and Wesleyan Impact Partners
​
Janice Odom*
Director, The Caldwell Fellows, North Carolina State University
​
Yonat Shimron
National reporter and senior news editor, Religion News Service
​
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* Founding Board Member
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 (deceased)
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
Founding partner, Forward Impact Solutions; cofounder, Forward Cities; founding partner, Raleigh Founded; 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 (deceased)
Austin, TX
Brand consultant; age strategist; founder, Age Circus; author, Design Your Age
Lee Anne McClymont (deceased)
Hillsborough, NC
Founder, Elder Innovators of the Triangle; fellow, Global Institute for Experienced Entrepreneurship; former administrator, Weill Cornell Medical College
Clark Rinehart
Raleigh, NC
Founder, Coworking NC; cofounder, Trailblaze Development
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