Board & Advisors

"The academy struggles with articulating the critical concepts of being and meaning necessary for human flourishing. For Christian students and scholars at Cornell, Chesterton House is the preeminent organization for the sharpening of minds and souls."
Jonathan Butcher, Professor, Biomedical Engineering & Chair, Chesterton House Faculty Advisory Committee
Chesterton House collaborates closely with Christian faculty at Cornell. The Chesterton House Faculty Advisory Committee assists the director and staff with public lectures, visiting scholars, and courses for credit. In addition, Chesterton House helps convene faculty gatherings during the academic year. Many of these faculty members engage Chesterton House students via Sunday Night Dinners and faculty discussion panels. The Chesterton House Board maintains at least one tenured Cornell Faculty member.

Governing Board

Clifton Chang '96

Chairman of the Board; Human Resource Director
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Clifton Chang '96

Chairman of the Board; Human Resource Director

Clifton Chang is the HR Director at AdelFi Credit Union. His career in human resources has included both corporate and church ministry. He has worked for Johnson & Johnson, Allergan, and Mariners Church. He graduated from Cornell University with a degree in Industrial & Labor Relations and has his MBA from the University of Southern California. A journey on a train ride one day inspired him to follow Jesus. He has lived and worked in New York, New Jersey, Washington D.C., Shanghai, and now resides in Southern California with his wife and their two children.

Frederick Barber '87

CEO of Response:AI
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Frederick Barber '87

CEO of Response:AI

Dr. Frederick Barber ’87 is the CEO of Response:AI, a market research technology firm. Dr. Barber has built several marketing strategy and analytics businesses, and previously served as Chief Analytic Officer of Meredith Xcelerated Marketing, now part of Accenture Interactive. Fred earned a BA magna cum laude in Sociology from Cornell where he served on the Student Assembly, and was inducted into the Quill & Dagger Senior Honorary Society. He holds a Masters in Demography (Georgetown), and a Doctorate in Strategic Leadership (Regent University), where his work focused on the role of spiritual disciplines in entrepreneurship. Fred and his wife Alice have three daughters and attend Trietsch Memorial UMC in Flower Mound, TX. Dr. Barber has also advised the Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell, and for ten years he oversaw a mission support organization, His People Africa Missions, in South Africa and Namibia.

Jonathan Butcher

Professor in Cornell's Meinig School of Biomedical Engineering
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Jonathan Butcher

Professor in Cornell's Meinig School of Biomedical Engineering

Jonathan Butcher is a professor in the Nancy E. and Peter C. Meinig School of Biomedical Engineering at Cornell University, where he has taught since 2007. He received his BS and MS in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Virginia in 2000, and a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Georgia Tech in 2004. Jonathan participated in the starting of the very first Christian Study Center at the University of Virginia as a student. Jonathan’s research focuses on understanding how tissue assembly and maturation during embryonic development are controlled by mechanical signaling, and in turn how these developmental signaling pathways are reactivated in postnatal diseases. He applies this information to engineer new regenerative and therapeutic strategies for cardiovascular diseases. Jonathan is also the Founding Director of Undergraduate Studies for the undergraduate major of Biomedical Engineering at Cornell, which began in 2015. He has a passion for building student community and exploring the intersections of science, engineering, and the human condition. He and his wife Christine live in Ithaca NY with their five children.

David Horn

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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
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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
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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.

Vivek Mathew

Executive Director
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Vivek Mathew

Executive Director

Dr. Vivek Mathew (B.S.E. Princeton, M.Div Princeton Seminary, B.Phil Oxford, MA/PhD Cornell ’19) was born and raised in Defiance, Ohio. From Ohio, he moved to New Jersey to study computer science at Princeton and then to New York City where he worked for eight years in quantitative finance at Morgan Stanley. While in New York he attended Redeemer Presbyterian Church (where he met his wife Jeanie), and eventually returned to Princeton for seminary training. Interests in historical theology and philosophy led him overseas to the UK to read the B.Phil in philosophy at Oxford University. Since 2013 he has been at Cornell,  completing his doctorate in 2019 at the intersection of metaphysics, philosophy of religion, philosophy of language, cognitive science, and history of philosophy. He was one of five nationwide fellowship recipients for cross-training grants given by the Society of Christian Philosophers and the Templeton Foundation. As director of Chesterton House, he has been one of several leading second-generation directors within the study center movement. He teaches regularly on various topics on student religious life, philosophy, theology, and pastoral care. Beyond Cornell, he has spoken nationally on contemporary challenges for campus ministry to audiences at Princeton, Oxford, Cornell, Duke, University of Pennsylvania, University of Minnesota, and other venues, as well as many other church and parachurch organizations. He and Jeanie and their three children attend Bread of Life Anglican Church in Ithaca.

Adrienne Hein Nystrom

Tour Operator
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Adrienne Hein Nystrom

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
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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
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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.

Faculty Advisory Committee

Rosemary Avery

Chairperson of the Department of Policy Analysis and Management
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Rosemary Avery

Chairperson of the Department of Policy Analysis and Management

Rosemary Avery received her Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa in 1971, her Honors in Science degree from the University of Pretoria in South Africa in 1982, and her Master’s of Science (1984) and Ph.D. degrees (1988) in Family Resource Management from The Ohio State University. Dr. Avery joined the Cornell University faculty as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Consumer Economics and Housing in 1988. She was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure in the department of Policy Analysis and Management in 1994, and to the rank of Professor in 2000. She currently serves as Dean and House Professor in Flora Rose House on Cornell’s West Campus.

Chris Barrett

Professor of Applied Economics and Management
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Chris Barrett

Professor of Applied Economics and Management

Chris Barrett is the Stephen B. and Janice G. Ashley Professor of Applied Economics and Management and International Professor of Agriculture in the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management;, as well as a Professor in the Department of Economics. Dr. Barrett is a Faculty Fellow of the David R. Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future where he co-directs the Food Security Working Group. He lives with his wife, Clara, in Lansing, NY, where they raised five children.

Jonathan Butcher

Professor in Cornell's Meinig School of Biomedical Engineering
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Jonathan Butcher

Professor in Cornell's Meinig School of Biomedical Engineering

Jonathan Butcher is a professor in the Nancy E. and Peter C. Meinig School of Biomedical Engineering at Cornell University, where he has taught since 2007. He received his BS and MS in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Virginia in 2000, and a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Georgia Tech in 2004. Jonathan participated in the starting of the very first Christian Study Center at the University of Virginia as a student. Jonathan’s research focuses on understanding how tissue assembly and maturation during embryonic development are controlled by mechanical signaling, and in turn how these developmental signaling pathways are reactivated in postnatal diseases. He applies this information to engineer new regenerative and therapeutic strategies for cardiovascular diseases. Jonathan is also the Founding Director of Undergraduate Studies for the undergraduate major of Biomedical Engineering at Cornell, which began in 2015. He has a passion for building student community and exploring the intersections of science, engineering, and the human condition. He and his wife Christine live in Ithaca NY with their five children.

David Williamson

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

Praveen Sethupathy '03

Associate Professor of Biomedical Sciences at Cornell University
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Praveen Sethupathy '03

Associate Professor of Biomedical Sciences at Cornell University

Praveen is an Associate Professor of Biomedical Sciences at Cornell University. He received his BA degree from Cornell University and his PhD in Genomics from the University of Pennsylvania. After completing a post-doctoral fellowship at the National Human Genome Research Institute under the mentorship of Dr. Francis Collins, he moved in 2011 to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Genetics. In 2017, he returned to Cornell University as an Associate Professor. Praveen has authored over 85 publications, and has served as a reviewer for over 35 different scientific journals. Honors include selection by Genome Technology in 2011 as one of the top 25 rising young investigators in genomics, as well as a Faculty Merit Award in 2016 for outstanding teaching and mentoring. Praveen has been an invited speaker for the Veritas Forum, served on the advisory board for the AAAS Dialogue on Science, Ethics, and Religion, and currently serves on the Board of Directors for the BioLogos Foundation. He lives in Brooktondale, NY with his wife and three children.

Advisory Board

Ken Blanchard

Advisory Board Member
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Ken Blanchard

Advisory Board Member

Ken Blanchard ’61 is one of the leading management experts in the world. He is the cofounder and Chief Spiritual Officer of The Ken Blanchard Companies, an international management training and consulting firm, and the author of over 40 books. The One Minute Manager (William Morrow, 1982) has sold over 15 million copies and has been translated into 37 languages. In addition to being a renowned author, consultant, and speaker, Ken also spends time as a visiting lecturer at his alma mater, Cornell University, where he is a trustee emeritus.

Donald A. Carson

Advisory Board Member
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Donald A. Carson

Advisory Board Member

Donald A. Carson is research professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. A prolific writer and active guest lecturer, Carson has written, or edited over 40 books, including The Gagging of God (Zondervan, 1996). He is also the Chair of The GRAMCORD Institute, a research and educational institution designed to develop and promote computer-related tools for biblical research. Carson presented Chesterton House’s inaugural Institute of Biblical Studies in 2002. Click here for audio.

Andy Crouch

Advisory Board Member
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Andy Crouch

Advisory Board Member

Andy Crouch is partner for theology and culture at Praxis, an organization that works as a creative engine for redemptive entrepreneurship. His two most recent books—2017’s The Tech-Wise Family: Everyday Steps for Putting Technology in Its Proper Place and 2016’s Strong and Weak: Embracing a Life of Love, Risk and True Flourishing—build on the compelling vision of faith, culture, and the image of God laid out in his previous books Playing God: Redeeming the Gift of Power and Culture Making: Recovering Our Creative Calling.

Andy serves on the governing boards of Fuller Theological Seminary and the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities. For more than ten years he was an editor and producer at Christianity Today, including serving as executive editor from 2012 to 2016. He served the John Templeton Foundation in 2017 as senior strategist for communication. His work and writing have been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Time, and several editions of Best Christian Writing and Best Spiritual Writing—and, most importantly, received a shout-out in Lecrae’s 2014 single “Non-Fiction.”

From 1998 to 2003, Andy was the editor-in-chief of re:generation quarterly, a magazine for an emerging generation of culturally creative Christians. For ten years he was a campus minister with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship at Harvard University. He studied classics at Cornell University and received an M.Div. summa cum laude from Boston University School of Theology. A classically trained musician who draws on pop, folk, rock, jazz, and gospel, he has led musical worship for congregations of 5 to 20,000. He lives with his family in Pennsylvania.

Ard Louis

Advisory Board Member
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Ard Louis

Advisory Board Member

Ard Louis, Ph.D. ’98 is a Reader in Theoretical Physics at the University of Oxford, where he studies problems on the border between chemistry, physics, and biology. He received his Ph.D. in theoretical physics from Cornell University.  He is also International Secretary for Christians in Science and serves on the European advisory board of the John Templeton Foundation. He has written for the BioLogos Foundation, where he sits on the Board of Directors.

Eleonore Stump

Advisory Board Member
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Eleonore Stump

Advisory Board Member

Eleonore StumpPh.D. ’75, is the Robert J. Henle, S.J., Professor of Philosophy at Saint Louis University. Prior to completing her Ph.D. in medieval studies at Cornell, she was the valedictorian of Grinnel College and received an M.A. in Biblical Studies from Harvard. Author of several works in medieval philosophy, philosophy of religion, and metaphysics, Stump has served as president of the Society of Christian Philosophers, and president of the American Catholic Philosophical Association. She delivered the prestigious Gifford Lectures at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland in 2002. Click here to hear Stump’s lecture The Desires of the Heart and the Problem of Evil (Goldwin Smith Hall).

Drew Trotter

Advisory Board Member
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Drew Trotter

Advisory Board Member

Drew Trotter is the Executive Director of the Consortium of Christian Study Centers. He has written on film and popular culture for over thirty years in such publications as Books & CultureChristianity Todayand Critique, and in the field of Biblical studies published Interpreting the Epistle to the Hebrews (Baker, 1997). Drew teaches a seminar entitled Show and Tell: How to View a Movie Responsibly, and is presently working on a book of the same name. A well-respected Bible teacher, Drew has lectured and preached at seminaries, churches and colleges throughout the United States and Canada on a wide variety of topics from discipleship in the Gospel of Matthew to the cultural impact of Bob Dylan.

Chesterton House Painting