Marissa Koeller

Operations Director

Originally from Los Angeles, Marissa earned a BFA in Musical Theatre from the American Musical and Dramatic Academy before moving to New York City to work as a professional actor. In the height of the COVID-19 shutdowns, she expanded her knowledge in digital marketing through Columbia University’s Business School of Executive Education. She combined this with her experience in web/graphic design to start her own business in digital marketing. 

Marissa is passionate about creating spaces and communities where young Christians can embody their faith knowing they are not alone in this world. At Chesterton House, she manages the operations of our residential, events, and regular programming to facilitate these spaces of encounter, while also having a hand in the marketing and communications to share these opportunities with the campus. She is simultaneously pursuing a Master’s of Divinity at Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary.

Lisa Cooper

Adjunct Chaplain

Lisa Cooper serves as a part-time Adjunct Chaplain at Chesterton House, providing spiritual support for women in the community. She works as a senior copywriter at RevelationMedia, a media company focused on creating and distributing quality Christian content to the world for free. She also freelances for a variety of publications including data-reporting for Barna and writing academic articles for The Christian Research Journal. She has a passion for poetry; her poems have been published in a variety of literary magazines and online venues including The Book of Penteract, an anthology of formal and constrained poetry.

She is a graduate of Geneva College (B.A. English) and The American Lutheran Theological Seminary (M.A. Religion). Her published works range from practical to academic, from creative to data-driven, and from children’s content to current events—all kinds of topics and all kinds of tones—all to know Jesus better and to make Him known. She has volunteered and otherwise worked in ministry settings for over ten years including children’s ministry, college ministry, and women’s ministry. Her church home is Trinity Lutheran Church in Ithaca.

Lisa grew up in Connecticut, and still considers herself a New Englander, even though she has since lived in five other states. She now lives in Groton, NY with her husband Jordan and her two sons. She particularly enjoys baking, Russian literature, keeping houseplants alive, playing guitar, singing, and crocheting.

Stevie Lazenby

Senior Office Manager

Stevie Lazenby graduated from The Ohio State University with a degree in Social Work and worked with special needs populations until departing the workforce to start a family. In addition to raising a family, she has filled her time participating in various volunteer activities. She also enjoys baking, paper crafting, hiking, running, biking, and gardening.

Katlyn Wilhoit

Executive Manager

Katlyn Wilhoit graduated from Liberty University with a degree in Special Education and Elementary Education. Both during and after graduating, Katlyn worked alongside numerous nonprofit organizations, including campus ministries and churches, in several different administrative and leadership roles. She is currently a stay at home, homeschool, mother of three children.

Whitney Antley

Residential and Academic Administrator

Whitney Antley is a midwestern girl, a huge Ohio State buckeye fan who has lived in that great state most of her life. She graduated from Lee University in Tennessee with a degree in Elementary Education and a minor in Religion. She went on to teach in various school settings: public, private, online and now currently, homeschool. Whitney has served beside her husband in church ministry for the last 11 years and has always enjoyed being involved in the local church. In her free time, Whitney likes to knock off bucket lists goals; the most recent was running a half-marathon and marathon. She is currently enjoying life as a stay at home mom/homeschool teacher to her 3 daughters. One of Whitney’s biggest desires and goals in life is to be an encouragement to others, to walk with people in their struggles and to point them to Christ, always.

Melanie Krol

Alumni Engagement & Development Assistant

Melanie Krol graduated from Olivet Nazarene University with a BA in Psychology/Sociology and an MA in Organizational Leadership. During her time as a student, she served as a Resident Assistant, which sparked her passion for college ministry. After graduation, she joined Olivet’s Student Development team as a Resident Director, spending six transformative years witnessing God’s heart for students and His redemptive work in their lives.

Eventually, Melanie returned to her home state of Wisconsin, where she dabbled in sales for a few years before marrying her incredible husband and embarking on a new chapter of building their home and family. Joining the Chesterton House team is a full-circle moment for Melanie, combining her love for college ministry, writing, and the flexibility to prioritize her family.

Aidan Charron

Fellow

Aidan graduated from Hope College in Holland, MI with a BA in Christian History and Theology as well as Philosophy. During his time at Hope he has enjoyed participating in the Nykerk Cup Competition as a Play Moraler and an Even Year Play Morale Coach where he helped to create funny (sometimes not) skits and build the set for the play. Additionally, he was a subject editor and then Editor-in-Chief for the Bell Tower, Hope’s Journal for Christian Undergraduate Research. In his freetime, Aidan enjoys being involved in local churches by helping play music or building relationships with people and families at the church. Aidan also likes to watch good films or shows, read, or listen to music in his free time.

Gabrielle Dowers

Fellow

Gabrielle Dowers received her BA in Political Science from Wheaton College. While at Wheaton, she had several leadership positions in the school’s program called Passage that aims to welcome in new freshmen and transfers. Over the summer, she worked with an organization called Prosperous Youth Foundation in Chiang Mai Thailand, where she taught English to children in youth homes. In her free time, Gabby enjoys singing, spontaneous adventures and finding new coffee shops. After her time at Chesterton House she hopes to get her MA in International Development in the UK.

Maria Lee

Fellow

Maria Lee graduated from Cornell University with a B.S. in Communication and a minor in American Indian and Indigenous Studies. During her time at Cornell, her studies centered around environmental, science, and health communication and education. She is passionate about community service and promoting literacy in underrepresented youth and community service. Maria has been involved with ministry throughout her time at Cornell and is very eager to be a part of the Chesterton House team.