Staff
Born and raised in the Midwest, Rev. Mieke Vandersall recieved her B.A. in Anthropology from The College of Wooster. She arrived in New York City in 1998 and began working with the international human rights organization The National Labor Committee. Called back to serve the Presbyterian Church, she was the Coordinator for Presbyterian feminist organization Voices of Sophia. She also began her studies at Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York. From the beginning of her time in New York City, Mieke was actively engaged in Presbyterian Welcome, serving as Secretary, Co-Moderator and then being hired as Interim Coordinator. When hired as the Coordinator, Mieke and Presbyterian Welcome approached the New York City Presbytery to validate our ministry, and Mieke was then ordained into this position in August 2004.
Paul Mowry graduated with academic honors from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts with a BFA in filmmaking. He spent the next ten years working in studio film distribution and production in New York City. He then took an inadvertent turn and spent five years as a manager in corporate banking. Seeking work he hoped would more effectively shape the community, he became a certified mediator and implemented peer mediation programs in troubled NYC public middle schools, mostly in the Bronx. He eventually became a conflict resolution and diversity trainer working across the country with both adults and teenagers. In the winter of 2005, he decided to answer a lifelong call and pursue the ordained ministry, as did his father and grandfather. He received his Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York (as his grandfather did) and is currently in the ordination process, under care of the Presbytery of NYC and First Presbyterian Church of Brooklyn.
Along with his partner of 22 years, Joe, Paul is the proud papa of an amazing two-year old daughter, Ellie, pictured here with him.
Meagan Manas came to New York in 2005 after graduating Summa Cum Laude from The Ohio State University with a degree in Hebrew. She received her MDiv from Union Theological Seminary in 2008, where she focused on preaching and worship and received the Karen Zeigler Feminist Preaching Prize for her thesis work on creating and performing sermons with and in community. A candidate in the ordination process in the Pittsburgh Presbytery, Meagan lives in Brooklyn with her husband, Dan, where she loves going to the green market and exploring the local food scene.