Contributors

Taina Diaz-Reyes 

Sunday Discussion Leader

Taina Diaz-Reyes (she/they) graduated from the George Washington University with a BA in Geography and Sustainability, then with a MDiv/MA in Sustainability dual degree from Wake Forest University in 2019. She is currently a PhD student in the School of Sustainability at Arizona State University. She is passionate about liberation for historically oppressed and marginalized communities and engages this passion through research, writing, and facilitating cross-cultural dialogue on Indigenous knowledge systems, theology, food, equity, climate justice, and spirituality. A lifelong member of the ELCA, Taina is committed to working towards justice and decoloniality in the Church. She also served as the 2021 Hunger Fellow with the ELCA Advocacy office in Washington, DC. 

Baird Linke

Tuesday Discussion Leader

Baird Linke (he/him) is a second-year candidate for Word and Sacrament ministry through the Montana Synod and studying at Wartburg Theological Seminary. His ministry work has taken him from the mountains of northwest Montana to Buenos Aires, Argentina, to South Minneapolis, and home again to Helena, MT where he works for Our Redeemer’s Lutheran Church. Baird is passionate about environmental and economic justice and pastoral care. He is an outdoor nut and when he isn’t doing homework he is outside running, mountain biking, rock climbing, and backpacking with his dog Kintla. Both Baird and Kintla welcome your prayers as they prepare to receive their internship assignment this spring!

DaMisha McFarland-Pollock

Meditation & Reflection Creator

My name is DaMisha McFarland-Pollock (she/her) and I am a second year residential MDiv student attending Wartburg Theological Seminary located in Dubuque, Iowa.  I have a concentration in Rural Ministry and will start internship this summer.  I am President of the BIPOC student organization on campus.  I am the Student Activities Committee Chair.  I work on campus in the Library, at the Papua New Guinea Museum, and in the Admissions Office.  I am married to a commercial architect who is LEED certified.  I love snow, going on hikes, write poetry, and baking.  Finding and using sustainable products is one of my passions.

Julie Gerrish

Meditation & Reflection Creator

My name is Julie Gerrish (she/her) and I am a third-year MDiv Student at PLTS with a concentration in Climate Justice. I live in so-called Berkeley, CA on Ohlone land, but I come from so-called Phoenix, AZ near the Gila River tribes, also on stolen land. I grew up in the suburbs of Ahwatukee, AZ and learned the most about climate collapse during and after my time living in Fatick, Senegal through the Young Adults in Global Mission (YAGM) program. After lots of reflection, I now recognize myself as part of creation, and am trying to live less anthropocentrically than I was raised. The most important lessons I have learned from Climate Justice work/studies are: listening, forgiveness, teamwork, and creativity. 

Mariana Catano

Speaker: Migration

Mariana Catano (She/her) is a second-year International Development graduate student at American University. She has worked with various international organizations that promote democratic governance, human rights, and sustainable development in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Mariana is passionate about the development of marginalized communities, with most of her research focusing on refugees, forced migration, and environmental displacement. She is currently an Intern at Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services (LIRS). Mariana is originally from Pereira, Colombia but has lived most of her adult life in Washington, D.C. In true Colombian fashion, she loves coffee, music, and nature.

Rachel Wyffels

Speaker: Hunger Advocacy Fellow

Rachel Wyffels (she/her) is a Hunger Advocacy Fellow with Lutheran Advocacy-Minnesota, a state public policy office in the ELCA Advocacy network. Her areas of focus include affordable housing, hunger, and climate justice. Rachel is a graduate of St. Olaf College, when she served as president of the St. Olaf Student Congregation Council. She will pursue an MDiv at Luther Seminary next year for ordination in word and sacrament.

Pastor Anna Silco

Video creator: Climate Change in Shishmaref, AK

My name is Anna Silco and my husband, Aaron, and I are Pastors at Shishmaref Lutheran Church in Shishmaref, Alaska. We love spending time outdoors, especially hiking, and are excited for a baby boy to join our adventures in August. I also enjoy watercolor painting, and creating prayerful time-lapse art that you can check out on my Instagram @prayerincolor 

Rev. Dr. Soliette Lopez

Speaker: Youth Creation Care in the Lutheran Church of Nicaragua

Rev. Dr. Soliette Lopez serves a pastor of the Iglesia Luterana de Nicaragua Fe y Esperanza (ILFE), and in addition to her theological education also has a medical degree. Rev. Soliette also serves as a joint missionary between the South Dakota Synod of the ELCA and the Service and Justice Area of the Churchwide Office to the ILFE. Her main responsibilities, amongst many others, include stewarding the companion synod/church relationships between the ELCA and ILFE, leading programming for various pastoral and diaconal ministries for the ILFE, and pastoring a community of individuals in the town of Masaya. Rev. Soliette is fluent in Spanish and English and is based in Managua, Nicaragua