Board & Advisors

David Horn

Education: B.A. (Bethel College); M.A. in English literature (Baylor University); M.Div. (Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary); Th.D. (Boston University School of Theology).

David Horn has ministered in a variety of settings: camping, campus ministry, and as a pastor in the local church. For nine years he worked in two Christian colleges in student development, as an instructor in the English and General Studies departments, and as Dean of the Chapel.

For eight years he served as pastor of an historic church that underwent an exciting period of spiritual and institutional renewal, First Congregational Church of Hamilton, MA. He has recently completed an additional three years as Interim Senior Pastor of the same parish.

For twenty years, David served on the faculty of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary as the Director of the Ockenga Institute where he oversaw a wide range of educational programs and centers involving church renewal, global evangelism, marketplace ministry and cultural engagement, youth ministry, preaching, online education, and alumni services.

He is ordained in the Conservative Congregational Christian Conference (CCCC), and is active in the leadership of the First Congregational Church of Hamilton, Massachusetts. David is married to Cecilia and has two grown children (Will and Molly) and three grandchildren.

Esther T.J. Lee '16

Lawyer

Esther T.J. Lee ’16 graduated from Cornell University as a Merrill Presidential Scholar with a degree in Industrial and Labor Relations. While a student at Cornell, she was the founding editor-in-chief of the Cornell Claritas, a student-run journal of Christian thought, and a small group leader for many semesters of Bible studies. After graduating from Cornell, she went out to complete her J.D. degree at Columbia Law School and then a clerkship on the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. Esther currently lives in NYC with her husband Alex, where she is working at a law firm and becoming a self-taught home baker in her small NYC kitchen.

Andrea Lodge

Teacher, Writer/Editor, Youth Worker

Andrea Lodge has worn many hats: teacher, writer/editor, youth worker, homeschooling parent, master gardener, old-house renovator. She packed up her young family three different times to undertake sabbaticals with her husband, an ecologist – from Nairobi to California. Lodge (B.A., Covenant College; M.A., Wheaton College) has published many articles and is the author of Peter Veldman: Dutch Immigrant, American Entrepreneur. Through it all, she has been motivated and moved by friendships, story, community, and a deeply rooted love of the outdoors. Lodge and her husband recently moved to Ithaca after living for 30 years in South Bend, IN. She is the mother of three adult children.

Adrienne Hein Nystrom '20

Tour Operator

Adrienne is a hospitality enthusiast hailing from Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration, BS ’20. She has experienced the work of Chesterton House firsthand as a student, then resident, and as a fellow for hospitality and civic engagement on staff for two years after graduation. With experience in the international luxury lodging and restaurant industry, Adrienne now works as the Operations Coordinator and Assistant Tour Director for First Century Voyages, a boutique travel company owned by Chesterton House founder and former director Karl Johnson. Adrienne recently moved just outside of Spokane, Washington, with her husband John, who she met at Chesterton House alongside many dear friends. She is continually drawn to the work that Chesterton House does to extend both table and intellectual hospitality in an increasingly tense campus climate, and is delighted to serve on the board.

Lindel Smith '91

Auto Industry Executive/Consultant

Lindel Smith ’91 is a 30+ year automotive industry veteran having worked for 7 different brands on 5 continents. He led the global product marketing for the Ford Ranger pickup and Everest SUV, the US national advertising & facility design for Land Rover, and the corporate strategy team at Kia America. He presently works as an industry consultant.

Lindel earned a BS with distinction in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Cornell, where he served as President of his fraternity, Sigma Chi Delta, and was one of a very select few engineers globally to be hired as a permanent employee at Nissan Technical Center in Japan. Lindel also earned an MBA at UCLA Anderson in International Business & Marketing, and studied abroad at Keio University. He is fluent in Japanese.

Lindel lives with his wife Miya, a Japanese kintsugi artist and metalsmith, in Southern California, where they are members of Saddleback Church. Miya and Lindel have served as small group leaders, art ministry volunteers, and leaders of Japan outreach missions, helping to raise relief funds after the Great Tohoku earthquake in 2011, and mobilizing and training dozens of mission teams to work with local churches in Japan in community outreach and church planting as part of the Saddleback PEACE plan.

Miya and Lindel have two sons. Their eldest, Kainalu, is presently pursuing a PhD in Chemistry at UCLA, and their youngest, Koa, is a high school senior, active in 3 varsity sports and the film/drama programs. In his free time, Lindel enjoys a variety of sports and fitness activities, and the adventure of traveling to new places and the great outdoors.

Gary E. Thompson ’81

Lawyer

Gary is Senior Counsel to an international law firm, focusing on pro bono matters and community service.  For nearly 40 years, Gary was a nationally recognized M&A lawyer, serving for many years as co-head of the firm’s M&A practice.  Gary represented public and private companies in connection with domestic and cross-border mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, strategic partnerships, carve-out transactions, minority investments, and governance matters.

Gary earned a BA in History from Cornell and a JD from Boston University.  At Cornell, he was active in several musical groups and was inducted into the Quill & Dagger Senior Honorary Society.  Active in alumni affairs, Gary is a Life Member of the Cornell University Council and is past President of the Cornell Club of Central Virginia.  Gary is also active in the community, having served as President of the Boy Scouts of America’s Heart of Virginia Council, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of St. Michael’s Episcopal School, and a member of the Advisory Board of Trinity Episcopal School.

Gary and his wife have two adult children and attend Reveille United Methodist Church in Richmond, Virginia, where among other things he has served on Church Council, numerous committees, and as a confirmation mentor.

David Williamson

Professor at Cornell in the School of O.R.I.E.

David Williamson is a professor at Cornell in the School of Operations Research and Information Engineering (ORIE). He previously worked as a Senior Manager at the IBM Almaden Research Center in San Jose, California and a Research Staff Member at the IBM Watson Research Center in Yorktown Heights, New York. His degrees (bachelor, masters, and doctorate) are all from MIT. He lives with his wife and three children in Ithaca. In his rare moments of spare time he enjoys reading and road biking.

Nelson Mead '81

Chief Investment Officer at Cornell Pochily

Nelson graduated from Cornell University in 1981 with a degree in business management and marketing from what is now the Dyson School and has worked in financial services since 1984. He became a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® practitioner in 1989 and a Chartered Financial Analyst® charterholder in 2003. Prior to joining Cornell Pochily in 2010, he was vice president and senior portfolio manager for HSBC Private Bank. Nelson has served numerous local non-profits as volunteer and board member, including 21 years as an Elder at Covenant Love Community Church in Dryden, NY. He is a volunteer firefighter and served as Assistant Chief of the Freeville, NY Fire Department. He is now serving as the Treasurer of the department. He served on the Chesterton House Board previously for 9 years, much of that time as Treasurer. Nelson and his wife Kathy have three adult children and three grandchildren and reside in Freeville, NY.