Caitlyn Bailey is a Chaplain Supervisor and ACPE Certified Educator working at VCU Health in Richmond Virginia where she completed her CPE and Supervisory Education training. Caitlyn is also an affiliate faculty member in the Department of Patient Counseling at VCU. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology, and Master's Degrees in Patient Counseling and Supervisory Education, all from Virginia Commonwealth University. She also holds a Master of Divinity Degree from Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond, Virginia. Caitlyn is an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church and serves as an affiliate minister in a local congregation. Caitlyn is interested in integrating the arts into CPE curriculum and building resilient caregivers as part of CPE training. When she is not at work, Caitlyn enjoys entertaining, table scaping, cooking and going on adventures with her husband Jamey and son, Shep. 

Bettyanna Bremer has served in chaplaincy ministry for over twenty years and she is excited to bring that experience into her work as an Educator. She serves as the Director for Spiritual Care and Education for Atrium Behavioral Health Davidson. In addition, she serves as Chair-Elect for ACPE’s Advocacy Committee. Bettyanna is an ordained Elder in the Church of the Nazarene. She lives in Charlotte, North Carolina with her husband John and they are the proud parents of their adult children, Josiah and Bethany.  In her free time, she spends time with her grandsons John and Ben. She also enjoys antiquing, tea parties, Marvel movies, and playing with her miniature dachshunds Jazzy and Missy.

Sandra Comerie-Smith is board certified chaplain at Norwalk Hospital. Her journey moved from being a double board certified physician for 30 years, to an ordained senior pastor in the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church for 8 years and now in specialized ministry as a chaplain and a CPE educator. She continues to function as an associate minister and an instructor for ordination classes in her denomination.  She feels she has come full circle taking care of the whole person – body, mind and spirit.  She is especially interested in the emotional life and functioning of leaders, especially those of faith.  

Sandra loves to learn and is an avid reader. She enjoys the beach and riding the waves with a surfboard. She also enjoys exercise and combines consistent power walking with weight training.  Observing nature as she walks and dancing to gospel music and reggae make her feel alive. She has a wonderful supportive community of friends and family which includes her husband of 45 years, her three children and their spouses. Her deepest love is to worship and have a deep meaningful, trusting relationship with the God who created her.  

Rev. Marissa Danney is a Chaplain Supervisor at UCSF Medical Center in San Francisco, California. In her free time, Marissa enjoys making music on her cello or her vocal chords. She finds solace in her garden and comes alive hiking and playing with her two stepdaughters and her husband, Stefan.

Sahra Harding joined the Cleveland Clinic Spiritual Care team in 2014 as a Chaplain Resident and continued in the training process to become an ACPE Certified Educator in 2020. She has served as a Priest for The Episcopal Church since 2010, after earning a Master of Divinity from The General Theological Seminary in New York City. Her Bachelor of Arts is in Literature and Creative Writing from The University of California, Santa Cruz. Sahra and her husband, Aaron, live and play with their young daughter in the Old Brooklyn neighborhood of Cleveland.

Brooks Heard is an ACPE Certified Educator at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. He completed his Certified Educator Training at Palmetto Health in Columbia, South Carolina, and is an ordained Baptist minister. 

In his spare time, he loves to travel, cook, read, and spend time with his growing family which includes his wife Ricki and their three-month-old daughter Brooklyn. As an educator and the current Annual Campaign Chair for the Foundation for ACPE, Brooks hopes to continue to serve in various capacities in ACPE and advance research around spiritual care competencies and interprofessional education.

Rebecca Highfield is a Certified Educator at Mary Washington Healthcare in Fredericksburg, VA. She completed her residency and certification education at Virginia Commonwealth University Health System. Rebecca grew up in Texas and attended the University of Texas, followed by Phillips Theological Seminary.

She is ordained with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). She enjoys sewing, baking, and binging on superhero shows with her husband and two children. She also has a spoiled shih tzu-poodle mix who demands her attention during Zoom calls. 

Marika Hull is the Certified Educator and staff chaplain at Saint Anne’s Hospital in Fall River, MA. She grew up in a Ukrainian immigrant community and is endorsed by the Eparchy of Stamford of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. Recently, at her initiative, Saint Anne’s was granted Candidate Center status and they are currently working toward full accreditation. In her spare time, Marika likes to walk in her neighborhood with her husband, watch movies with her youngest daughter who is finishing her graduate studies, and play “Rock, Paper, Scissors” on FaceTime with her grandsons. Marika is thankful to her CPE Educators, her colleagues in the Northeast region, and the staff and volunteers at ACPE for their exceptional training and support.  

Rabbi Shulamit Izen is an ACPE Certified Educator at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, MA. Shulamit completed her ACPE educator training at the Cleveland Clinic (2015-2018). Prior to her time in Cleveland, Shulamit worked in Boston as a chaplain at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and as a rabbi/chaplain for Hebrew SeniorLife.

Shulamit is a Board Certified Chaplain through the Association of Professional Chaplains (2014). Shulamit holds rabbinic ordination from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College (2013), where she specialized in issues related to aging and Judaism. She has a BA in Religion from Brown University (2007).

Rev. Abina Johnson is the CPE Manager at University Medical Center New Orleans. She is a board-certified chaplain with the Association of Professional Chaplains, and an ordained minister with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. She holds a B.A. degree in film/journalism from Bennett College in Greensboro, NC, and a M.Div. degree from Wake Forest University School of Divinity.

Abina completed her Certified Educator training at University California San Francisco, an extended CPE unit and two years as a chaplain resident at Wake Forest Baptist Hospital in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. She enjoys creatively utilizing her film background to support student’s learning needs.

Chaplain (Lieutenant Colonel) Mark C. Lee is the Chief of Theater Spiritual Resilience at the Army CPE System.  He is currently serving in Wiesbaden, Germany where his fun pastime includes driving his BMW on the Autobahn (especially in those Unlimited Speed Limit areas!). 

Chaplain Juliana Lesher is an ACPE Certified Educator at South Texas VA Health Care System in San Antonio, Texas. She also serves as the National Director of VA Chaplain Service. In her spare time, Juliana enjoys swimming, singing, playing piano, and spending quality time with her family, friends, and cat. 

Rabbi Yonason Meadows, MSW is an ACPE Certified Clinical Pastoral Education Educator and Staff Chaplain at UnityPoint Health Meriter Hospital in Madison, Wisconsin.  He is an ordained Orthodox Jewish Rabbi, having studied in several yeshivot both in the United States and in Israel, including such prestigious schools as Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary, Talmudical Academy in Miami Beach, Florida, and Yeshivas Dvar Yerushalayim in Jerusalem.

He received his master’s in social work at the Wurzweiler School of Social Work before beginning his training as a chaplain and a CPE Educator.  He has been married to Michele for almost 24 years and is the proud father of six wonderful children, ranging in ages from 13 to 22.  His hobbies include reading everything he can get his hands on, kayaking, walking in the woods, listening to music, movies, and cooking.

Rev. Sally Pelinka Miller is the Educator at Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital in Barrington Illinois along with its sister hospital, Sherman in Elgin. Sally enjoys spending time with her husband, Bryan, and their three teenaged children, Ben, Ayden and Emily. She loves walking her Irish Newfoundland, Lu Lou (who she thinks is the most beautiful living creature on the planet).

In her free time Sally does freelance writing, watercoloring, poetry and literature reading and yoga. She is particularly and forever grateful for her Chaplain Educator colleagues and friends who've been invaluable in 'seeing' her through the supervisory journey. 

Rev. Biser Ovcharov is an ordained Baptist minister in the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. He was certified by the Association of Clinical Pastoral Education as an ACPE Certified Educator in November 2019. He completed his CPE Residency at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, Texas and Methodist Health System and his supervisory education at Methodist Health System in Dallas, Texas. Biser joined Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center in April 2018. For fun, Biser enjoys playing recreational tennis, outdoors activities with his family, or having a movie night.

Carolyn Remaklus currently works at UNC Rex Healthcare in Raleigh, North Carolina as a CPE Coordinator and Clinical Educator. Carolyn loves working on jigsaw and word puzzles, taking morning walks in the cool air, and listening to Baroque and Celtic music.

Michael Rogers is the CPE Manager for Baptist Health Medical Center in Little Rock, Arkansas.  He graduated from Columbia International University with a Bachelor of Arts in Pastoral Ministries and Bible, and received his Masters of Theology in Pastoral Ministries from Dallas Theological Seminary. He is currently a doctoral candidate at Colgate Rochester Crozier Divinity School where he is pursuing a Doctor of Ministry degree in Transformational Leadership. 

Michael completed his CPE residency and CEC training at Spartanburg Regional in Spartanburg, South Carolina. He is married to his wife Dr. Teresa Rogers and they have one daughter, Michaela. Since relocating to Arkansas last year, Michael enjoys sitting outside on his patio and listening to 60s music with his dog.

Rev. Crystal Schmalz is an ACPE Educator at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Ann Arbor, MI. She is married to Luke, and together they parent Norah Grace, an adventurous and curious toddler. Crystal is passionate about chaplaincy education and research, spiritual care and art, and caring for healthcare professionals who experience second victim trauma. Crystal enjoys gardening, folk music, and living into her Native Anishinaabe heritage and identity.

Patricia Symonette Gary is a native of Nassau, Bahamas. She was active from childhood in her local church Ebenezer Baptist that was pastored by her father Bishop Elkin Symonette, Sr. She served in various capacities and was ordained in 1995.  Patricia is a Certified Educator (2019) with the Training and Counseling Center at St Luke’s, and serves as Director for Spiritual Health at Wellstar Atlanta Medical Center for the past six years.

She completed her Doctor of Educational Ministry degree (D.Ed. Min.) at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia in May 2020. Patricia is married to her best friend Bert and her hobbies include singing, cooking, traveling, dancing, and playing the guitar.

Trina Williams-Johnson is the Certified Educator for New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington, NC. She is currently pursuing a DMin in Professional Education and Leadership at Eccumenical Theology Seminary with plans to graduate May 2021. She enjoys writing poetry, leading Poetry as Healer workshops, traveling and eating her husband's great meals. 

Rev. Tracey Wilkinson serves as an ACPE Certified Educator with Advocate Aurora in Oshkosh, Wisconsin and leads the Aurora Kettle Moraine CPE program. She is an ordained Unitarian Universalist minister, with a background in psychotherapy and parish ministry. Tracey is an alum of Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York, and of Pacifica Graduate Institute in Santa Barbara, where the focus is on tending the soul in the world.

She loves participating in the Relational Cultural Theory community of practice and she is interested in getting a CoP started that focuses on emotional intelligence and CPE. She grew up in England, and it continues to remain a spiritual home for her. In the midst of the pandemic, she is blessed to be living with her college-aged daughter and their lovey pup, Faith. 

Rev. Nancy Wood is the primary ACPE Certified Educator for PeaceHealth, Northwest Network. This September she will celebrate the twentieth anniversary of her ordination as a minister in the United Church of Christ. Nancy is happily married to David Lein. She is the proud mother of Meg and Rye and the grateful stepmother of Gabe and Avi. She loves to sing, knit, sew, bike, hike, backpack, and read. She is a huge fan of musicals and knows the words of just about every show tune out there.