Leadership & Steering Committee (Archive UL)

Brittany Barkus is a student at Wartburg Theological Seminary. She is currently pursuing a Masters of Divinity degree at Wartburg and hopes to be ordained in Word and Sacrament ministry with the ELCA.  Brittany is a graduate of Valparaiso University and a deaconess with the Lutheran Diaconal Association. She has worked with youth of all ages as a public school teacher and in youth ministry roles in churches. After graduating, Brittany served with the ELCA’s Young Adults in Global Mission program in Cairns, Australia at a Lutheran school and church. She currently serves as vicar at One in Faith Parish in Northeast Iowa and is passionate about building worship settings that are welcoming and inclusive.

Cogan Blackmon is a native of central Indiana and a graduate of Valparaiso University, where his passions for ministry and facilitation were cultivated. He obtained his Master of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary while going through the Candidacy Process for the ELCA. Most recently, Cogan finished internship at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Glendale, AZ. He and his family are now relocating back home to central Indiana as Cogan awaits his First Call. Leading reflective conversations with congregations and non-profits to increase clarity of mission and shared commitments is some of the work Cogan finds most meaningful. When away from work, Cogan enjoys camping with family, coffee with friends, and spending time with his hands in the soil.

Lindsay Fertig-Johnson is a Lutheran deaconess and fundraising professional passionate about building and sustaining relationships. She is currently the Director of Development at The Festival Center, a justice-focused community center in the Adam’s Morgan neighborhood of Washington DC. Previously, she worked at Concordia College – New York where she was the Director of the Center for Leadership and Service, the Director of Engagement, and Campaign Coordinator over the course of her four year tenure. She holds an Associate of Arts in religion from Cuyahoga Community College, a Bachelor of Arts in global service and theology from Valparaiso University, a Masters of Science in Business Leadership from Concordia College – New York. She is a published artist and a candidate for ordained ministries of Word and Sacrament through the Metro New York Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and a Master of Divinity student at Wartburg Theological Seminary. 

Micah Louwagie (they/he) was raised in southwestern Minnesota on their family dairy farm. They have a Bachelor’s of Religion from Gustavus Adolphus College and a Master of Divinity from Wartburg Theological Seminary. Micah currently resides in Dubuque, IA with his wife, Wes (they/them) and two cats. Micah’s passions include transgender theology, baking sourdough bread, good coffee, biking, and admiring how cute their cats are.

Juniper Linberry is a recent graduate of Luther Seminary and is awaiting a pastoral call in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. They are also a consecrated deaconess with the Lutheran Diaconal Association, and their ministry passions include music, preaching, and nurturing community through storytelling. They live with their wife and a very fluffy dog.

DaMisha McFarland-Pollock  is currently a third-year MDiv student from the Southwestern Pennsylvania Synod of the ELCA. A candidate for Word and Sacrament Ministry, Misha attends Wartburg Theological Seminary located in Dubuque, Iowa. She has a concentration in Rural Ministry and is currently serving her internship in a 3-point parish in the Nebraska Synod. She  loves snow, going on hikes with her spouse, writing poetry, and baking. She has recently started learning how to kayak.  Spending time in nature is how she centers herself and connects with God.

Originally from South Carolina, Mallory Morris has lived in Texas since 2005 and is coming to consider herself a transplant-Texan. Mallory was recently approved for ordination to the Ministry of Word and Sacrament in the Northern-Texas Northern-Louisiana ELCA and is excited for the chance to serve wherever God would lead her! As she waits for the first-call process to unfold, Mallory is taking the opportunity to spend time with her husband (Robert), her dog (Jesse), and her cat (Luther). She’s also taking the opportunity to rediscover her creative, athletic, and nerdy hobbies, which include playing video games, reading, writing, and training to run her 14th half-marathon.

Linnea Peterson is in their mid-twenties and lives in Minneapolis. They work for 1517 Media, the Publishing House of the ELCA. In their spare time, they enjoy reading, writing, and going on long walks.

Melina Thurmond is a 2021 graduate from Augustana College who now works in Georgia as a Youth and Family Ministry Coordinator. She loves taking advantage of the warmer weather down here by hiking, kayaking, swimming, and enjoying the outdoors!

Fiona Carson lives in St. Paul (but is from Minneapolis) and currently works as a Project Manager for the Minnesota Association of County Social Service Administrators (MACSSA). Previously she worked for the Lutheran Center for Faith, Values, and Community at St. Olaf College, where she also graduated from in 2018. She is a member of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in South Minneapolis and spent a year in Eswatini (a small country in Southern Africa) as part of the ELCA’s Young Adults in Global Mission program. She sees faith and justice as fundamentally interconnected and is interested in global Lutheranism. In her free time she likes to spend time in northern Minnesota, listen to music, and laugh with her long-time boyfriend Luc.

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