Faculty/Speakers Bios

The Rev. Dr. Charles G. Ackerson is Rector of All Saints' Episcopal Church, Baldwin. He serves as Examining Chaplain of the Diocese of Long Island and is also a member of the Chapter of the Cathedral of the Incarnation, Garden City. Dr. Ackerson has served on the Christian Education Commission of the Dioceses of Albany, New Jersey, and Long Island, and he has been a workshop coordinator, presenter, and consultant in each of these dioceses. For ten years, he served on the faculty of the Mercer School of Theology as Professor of Christian Education. Also for the Diocese of Long Island, Dr. Ackerson designed and coordinated the "Christian Education Workshop Series" and chaired the Christian Education Task Force. Dr. Ackerson holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Philosophy from Hunter College of the City University of New York, a Master of Divinity from the Philadelphia Divinity School, a Master of Arts in Philosophy from the State University of New York at Stony Brook, and a Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Psychology and Statistics from the State University of New York at Albany.

Canon Louise M. Baietto is Deputy for Finance and Administration for the Diocese of Long Island where she has served since 1990. Prior to joining the diocese, she was the Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer of LISC (Local Initiatives Support Corporation), a national non-for-profit organization created by the Ford Foundation, where she previously held an administrative position. She has a Masters in Business Administration from St. John's University, Jamaica, NY. Canon Baietto also serves on the financial faculty of the CREDO Institute, a clergy wellness initiative created by the Church Pension Group. She formerly served as Secretary of the Conference of Diocesan Executives (CODE), an organization in which she is still an active member.

The Rev. Deacon Elizabeth A. Belasco has served on Diocesan Council, the Department of Planning and Evaluation (Chair), the Commissions on Christian Formation and Liturgy and Music, and is a five-time Deputy to General Convention, as well as serving on the Mercer Board of Trustees, and as a member of the Search Committee for Bishop-Coadjutor. She served as chaplain at Ground Zero, Memorial Park (wherethe unidentified remains are stored), and to tsunami victims in Sri Lanka. She is also active in the Cursillo movement, and has taught several Scripture courses at The Mercer School as well as courses concerning the Diaconate. A retired high-school science teacher and supervisor, Dn. Belasco holds a BS from Queens College, an MA and PhD from New York University, and is a graduate of the Center for Christian Spirituality at the General Theological Seminary, as well as the Mercer School of Theology.

Dr. Karyn Carlo received her MDiv and PhD in Systematic Theology from Union Theological Seminary in New York City. As a candidate for ordination in the American Baptist Churches, she currently serves as the Interim Pastor of The Church-in-the-Garden in Garden City, Long Island. Dr. Carlo is a retired New York City Police Captain. In her former career, and through her life experience, she has witnessed much violence in the world. Therefore, much of her work focuses on the way in which the cross, as the central symbol of the Christian faith, serves to both normalize and disrupt these patterns. Dr. Carlo is the author of The Cross and the Women of Galilee: A Feminist Theology of Salvation (Ann Arbor: ProQuest LLC, 2009) and has made numerous presentations, led workshops, and facilitated retreats on a variety of biblical and theological topics.

The Rev. Canon Lynn A. Collins, D. Min. is Priest-In-Charge and healer at St. John's Church, Hempstead. She was appointed to Diocesan Council and is chair of the Diocesan Stewardship Committee, a former National Staff Officer, and a Deputy to the 2009 General Convention. She has served as a missioner in several countries as the National Staff Officer. Canon Collins earned her M. Div. and D. Min. at NYTS, Anglican Studies at GTS, taught at Howard Divinity, DC, Claremont Episcopal School, LA, and at Oxford University, UK. She is the former Rector of St. John's Church, Los Angeles, and St. Paul's Church, Ohio.

The Reverend Simon Foster serves as Rector of St. John's of Lattingtown. Father Simon was ordained in the UK in 1992 and his ministry has included lecturing and facilitating discussion in the parish, other churches and faith communities, community colleges and at C.W. Post. His themes have varied from Celtic spirituality, Marxism and the Church, the gender of God, sexuality and theology and recently on whether spirituality and economic crisis are mutually exclusive themes. He was a Conference speaker in England on church growth, renewal and evangelism and was Diocesan Urban Poor Officer. His main motivation is a deep love for God and the Church and God's people outside the traditional church as well as in it. His ministry is spent among the churched and unchurched alike and is rooted in Daily Eucharist and Morning Prayer. He preached recently in Manhattan on the theme of why church could be so deadly and boring in relation to the Gospel imperative of abundant life. A Fall project in his parish is for 'Atheists and Agnostics and those who are not sure' entitled "Spirituality on tap," meeting in a local restaurant. Fr. Foster has been a leader along with his colleague of a parish going through transition and spirituality has been key to that transformation which has produced varying expressions of Christian spirituality and ministry in a traditional but post modern context.

The Very Rev. Christopher D. Hofer has been the Rector of the Church of St. Jude, Wantagh, since July 2004. He is active in Diocesan affairs serving as Secretary of Convention (and subsequently serving on Diocesan Council and Departments of Council as an ex officio member), Secretary of the Archdeaconry of Nassau, Dean of the South Nassau Deanery, SHE/CAP/RAP instructor, and Deputy to the General Convention (2009). He is an active member of the Episcopal Urban Caucus. Fr. Hofer was Associate Missioner with the Episcopal West Side Shared Ministry in Cleveland, Ohio, where he served on the Board of Trustees for the Episcopal Community Services Foundation and Community Corners. He attended graduate school in Communications at Kent State University and graduated summa cum laude, Communication Studies, from Walsh University, North Canton, Ohio.

The Rev. Darryl James serves as Rector of Grace Church, Jamaica, Queens. After receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1976, Fr. James matriculated at the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta for an experiential year. The late Rt. Rev. John M. Burgess, first African-American diocesan bishop in the Episcopal Church, then recruited Fr. James to Yale University, where he received the M. of Div. degree in 1979. As an Episcopal priest for twenty-three years, a part of his ministry has involved exposing young people to opportunities in higher education. He has encouraged and sponsored tours to colleges and universities throughout the United States. As a member of the Chicago Board of Education from 1990–1995, he worked effectively to develop policies where "children were first." In the Diocese of Long Island, he was recently appointed as a member of the Investment Committee and the Episcopal Health Service Board of Managers. In the community, he represents the parish on the Queens Federation of Churches and the Downtown Jamaica Development Corporation. He is member of the Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.

The Reverend Charles F. McCarron is currently the Executive Director of Episcopal Community Services in Long Island. Fr. McCarron has been a non-profit administratorfor 18 years and was formerly the administrator of Catholic Charities Health Services, a Medicaid-funded outpatient medical and dental facility, and special needs housing program for economically disadvantaged people living with HIV and AIDS on Long Island. Father McCarron has also served on the NYC Department of Health HIV/AIDS Prevention Planning Council, the executive Committees of The Nassau and Suffolk County HIV/AIDS Commissions, The Nassau/Suffolk Ryan White Planning Council, and the steering committee of the Nassau/Suffolk Health Systems Agency. He is currently on the board of Episcopal Community Services in America and APICHA, the Asian AIDS agency. Fr. McCarron has graduate degrees in Church History, Spirituality and Law. The Rev. John E. Morrison, III holds degrees from Dartmouth College, Hofstra University, and SUNY @ Stony Brook. He has also studied at Oxford and Cambridge under the auspices of the C. S. Lewis Foundation and is a graduate of the Mercer School of Theology. Formerly Professor of Literature and Theology at Mercer, Fr. Morrison has published more than a dozen articles on C. S. Lewis, and his book, To Love Another Person: A Spiritual Journey through Les Miserables, was published in June 2009.

The Rt. Rev. Lawrence C. Provenzano was ordained and consecrated Bishop of Long Island on September 19, 2009. He has come to Long Island from the Diocese of Western Massachusetts where he was rector of St. Andrew's Church for more than ten years. He founded and administered "The Formation Center" at the parish, which offered theological education for Lay Pastoral Assistants of the diocese. Concurrently, he was Chief Chaplain of the Massachusetts Corps of Fire Chaplains providing oversight and pastoral care to more than 130 clergy in the single largest ecumenical ministry in Massachusetts. For the diocese, Bishop Provenzano chaired the Commission on Ministry, was a member of the committee on clergy continuing education, dean of the Hampden Deanery, and chair of the Finance Committee. He was a deputy to the General Convention of the Episcopal Church in 2000 and in 2009.

Mrs. Kathryn Sides chairs the Christian Formation & Education Committee at St. James, St. James, where she has served in a variety of leadership roles in the last 15 years. Within the Diocese of Long Island, she is a co-chair of the Commission on Ministry (Division of Continuing Education) and a member of the Board of the George Mercer Jr. School of Theology. She holds a master's degree in philanthropic studies from Indiana University, is currently pursuing an additional master's degreecombining theology and leadership at Fuller Theological Seminary, and holds an undergraduate degree in English. She is the director of development for a local independent school.

The Rev. Dr. Fred Vergara is Program Officer of Asian American Ministries in the Evangelism and Congregational Life of the Episcopal Church Center. He is author of a number of books, including Mainstreaming: Asian Americans in the Episcopal Church and Evangelism and Mission in the Age of Globalization.

Ms. Angela Zimmerman has been in the field of youth, family and community development for over thirty years. Her experience spans a continuum of opportunities and venues – family intervention at a maximum security correctional facility and local juvenile detention center; design/implementation of a model community group home; administration of a local not for profit youth/family development agency to her work at Nassau County Youth Board. She has been at Youth Board for 25 years as: Coordinator, Teen Pregnancy/HIV/AIDS Consortium; Administrator, Office of Program Development; and, over the last decade as the Director of Development, Training and Legislative Advocacy. Throughout her career, Ms. Zimmerman has been integrally involved in all aspects of community organizing; advocacy; program and resource development; strategic planning; service implementation/evaluation and professional development and currently sits on over 15 statewide and local task forces/coalitions, related to youth and family development issues. She holds several training certificates, a bachelor's degree from St. John's University and a Masters in Public/Health Care Administration from C.W. Post.