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.

Jimmy Myers

Senior Post Doctoral Academic Associate

Jimmy Myers is Senior Post-Doc Academic Associate at the Chesterton House. Prior to his posting at the Chesterton House, Jimmy has served as the Director of Young Adults at First Presbyterian Church in Houston, Texas. He completed his Th.D. in the New Testament at Duke Divinity School in May 2025, where he defended a dissertation on the relation of Luke and Paul’s theology under the guidance of Prof. C. Kavin Rowe. Jimmy also holds a B.A. in philosophy from Covenant College and an M.T.S. from Duke Divinity School. Jimmy is recipient of Duke Divinity School’s Richard and Judith Hays New Testament Scholarship (2020–25), Th.D. Fellowship (2020–25), Excellence in Bible Award (2017), and Petry Scholarship (2015–17). He received first prize in both the Goodwin Prize for Excellence in Theological Writing (2020) and First Things’ premier essay contest (2015). His scholarship has appeared in Catholic Biblical Quarterly, Religions, Journal for the Study of the New Testament, Journal of Theological Interpretation, First Things, and Religious Studies Review. Jimmy and his wife Mary Lynn Myers have three daughters: Lila, Kitty, and Adele.

Ryan O'Dowd

Senior Academic Advisor

Ryan O’Dowd is the Pastor of Christ Church of Atlanta and Senior Academic Advisor at Chesterton House. Ryan started volunteering with Chesterton House in 2010 while serving on Air Force active duty at Cornell ROTC. He briefly served on the governing board before joining the staff in 2013. His academic research focuses on biblical wisdom and law and their intersection with Christian ethics. He has written several essays and book chapters as well as five books on topics related to biblical law and wisdom literature including “The Preacher’s Hebrew Commentary on Deuteronomy” (Hendrickson, 2024) and “Proverbs” (Zondervan, 2017). Ryan is a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy (1994), Reformed Theological Seminary, and the University of Liverpool (PhD). He and his wife, Amy, have three grown children and recently moved to Atlanta with their youngest daughter.

Select publications:

Books:

• The Preacher’s Hebrew Commentary on Deuteronomy (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson) forthcoming
• Proverbs, ESV Bible Expository Commentary (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2022)
• Proverbs, Story of God Biblical Commentary (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2017)
• Old Testament Wisdom Literature: A Theological Introduction, with Craig Bartholomew (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Academic Press, 2011)
• The Wisdom of Torah: Epistemology in Deuteronomy and the Wisdom Literature, FRLANT (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2009)

Articles and chapters:

• “Pain and Danger: Unpleasant Sayings and the Structure of Proverbs,”Catholic Biblical Quarterly, 80 (2018) 619–35
• “Aesthetic Shaping of Agur’s Oracle in Proverbs 30:1–9,”Inner Biblical Allusion in the Poetry of Psalms and Wisdom, eds. Mark Boda, Kevin Chau, Beth Tanner, Society of Biblical Literature (Atlanta: Sheffield Phoenix Press, 2018) 103–119
• “A Prophet in the Sage’s House? Origins of the Feminine Metaphors in Proverbs,”Riddles and Revelations: Explorations into the Relationship between Wisdom and Prophecy in the Hebrew Bible, eds. Mark Boda, Russell Meek, William R. Osborne (LHBOTS; London: Bloomsbury/T&T Clark: 2018) 165–79
• “Wisdom and Poetry,” The Old Testament: A Christian Companion, ed. Hywel Clifford (Norwich: SCM Press, 2016) 101–129
• “Epistemology in Ecclesiastes: Remembering What It Means to Be Human,” The Words of the Wise are Like Goads: Engaging Qohelet in the 21st Century, eds. Mark Boda, Tremper Longman III, and Cristian Rata (Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2013) 197–219

Teresa Oh

Program Coordinator

Teresa earned her Bachelor of Science in Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell University in 2020. After graduation, she returned to Ithaca to serve in college campus ministry at Bethany Christian Campus Church. Teresa also worked for six years in the hospitality industry, and she served in administrative support and financial coordination roles before joining Chesterton House.

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.

Laurie Wernly

Women's Adjunct Chaplain

Laurie was born and raised in Nashville, TN. She is a graduate of Davidson College and Duke Divinity School. Laurie has many years of ministry experience, having previously worked as a chaplain at Ithaca College, volunteered with Young Life, and led small groups of college women from her church. She and her husband have lived in Ithaca since 2011, where they attend Bread of Life Anglican Church. She homeschools her two children on their small homestead, surrounded by bees, chickens, and apple trees.

Karess Linzer

Communications and Marketing Assistant

Karess Linzer graduated from Stephen F. Austin State University with a BS in Dance and Secondary Education. Over the years, she has served in ministry and mission-driven organizations, leading student and women’s ministries. Karess has also served as a Director of Marketing and Communications for over a decade, helping share stories of faith and transformation across multichannel platforms.

Her passion for spiritual formation and authentic community has shaped every season of her work, drawing her to spaces where people can encounter Christ in meaningful ways. At Chesterton House, Karess supports writing, marketing, and communications, helping tell the story of what God is doing in and through the students on campus. She lives just outside of Houston, Texas, with her two beautiful children.

Keyasha Petty

Campaign Manager & Development Assistant

Keyasha is a faith-led, results-driven leader with more than two decades of experience serving within nonprofit organizations. She is known for her ability to bring complex visions to life—translating strategy and proven methods into measurable impact while fostering healthy relationships, collaboration, growth, and purpose-driven leadership.

As the former Vice President at a national network of women’s pro-life medical clinics, Keyasha helped expand the organization from 16 to 54 locations across seven states and guided its growth from a $787,000 budget to over $3.9 million annually. Her work has been a guiding path to building systems that empower people and sustain meaningful impact in the communities they serve.

Keyasha’s journey began in education in 2001, while still in high school, supporting foster and Title I youth through tutoring and mentorship programs across 12 California school districts. Later, she served in Japan as the Protestant Director of Religious Education, leading family ministries and youth programs while studying Nonprofit Business Management at Liberty University.

Now the founder of her own consulting firm, Keyasha continues to serve faith-based and community organizations with creativity, compassion, and excellence. A native of Orange County, she finds joy in travel, ministry, and creating experiences with her husband and six children—connecting faith, business, and community wherever she goes.

Madison Chambers

Project Management Coordinator

Born and raised in Georgia, Madison graduated from Georgia College and State University with a degree in Communications, with a concentration in Strategic Marketing and Business Administration, where she also met her husband, now a travel nurse. Together, they’ve built a life marked by adaptability, adventure, and faith, embracing each new season as it comes.

Madison began her career in sales with Milwaukee Tool, where she developed a strong foundation in leadership, communication, and excellence. Over time, she felt drawn toward work that blended her creative gifts with her desire to serve a deeper purpose. That calling led her to focus on combining experience and drive to partner with ministries and mission-driven organizations.

Her greatest joy is working with teams whose daily rhythms flow from time with God and whose work exists to further His Kingdom. Through strategy, storytelling, and design, Madison seeks to help others encounter the love of Jesus in meaningful, tangible ways.

Anna McBane

Ministry Intern

Anna McBane graduated from Samford University with a B.A. in Christian and Religious Studies and a minor in English. Throughout her time at Samford, she was passionate about studying embodied theology and the transformative power of storytelling. On campus she served as president for Samford’s chapter of Theta Alpha Kappa, the national honor society for religious studies and theology. Within her local church, she was involved in both women’s ministry and youth ministry and thoroughly enjoyed getting to foster those relationships. Anna is also an artist and writer who is bent on the revelation of beauty and truth. In her free time, she enjoys running, spending time with friends and cooking.

Audrey Stavrand

Ministry Intern

Audrey Stavrand grew up in Rhode Island and earned her degree in Biological Sciences from Cornell University in 2025. While at Cornell, she conducted research in virology, held a leadership role in a student club supporting a local nursing home, and was actively involved in Christian organizations such as Cru Cornell and Chesterton House. She is currently applying to medical school with the goal of serving others through both healthcare and ministry. Outside of work, Audrey enjoys spending time in, on, or near the water.

Joaquin Rivera

Joaquin Rivera is a recent graduate from Cornell University who majored in Industrial & Labor Relations and minored in Classics and Southeast Asia Studies. Through his study of Labor Relations, Joaquin became fascinated by labor history and is interested in how better designed workplaces can give dignity and purpose to one’s work. Having lived for 2 years as an undergraduate resident at Chesterton House, in addition to receiving a Classical Christian high school education, Joaquin has a deep appreciation of the Christian intellectual tradition and loves the ways in which Chesterton seeks to integrate Christian thought with the academic mission of the university. As an undergraduate, he was involved in Cornell’s Asian & Asian American Center, the Cornell Filipino Association, Cru, Claritas: a Journal of Christian Thought, as well as the Shakespeare Troupe at Cornell. He deeply loves the Cornell community and is excited to continue loving the campus well through Chesterton House ministry.