October 4, 2019 | Cornell Campus | No Cost
“The only Christian work is good work well done.”
Dorothy L. Sayers
About the Conference
This conference occurs alongside the dedication of Chesterton House’s newly purchased women’s residence. Chesterton House, a center for Christian studies at Cornell, has had a vibrant living-learning community for 8 years, and with the expansion of our property lines, we are able to offer to more Cornell students a place to come to ask deep questions about the Christian tradition, the world, and of themselves.
As we celebrate a space for women to grow in the Christian faith through intellect, the church, and all those mundane and glory-stricken moments of daily life in community, we could think of no better person than Dorothy Sayers to serve as namesake for this conference. As a scholar, writer, poet, playwright, and translator, Dorothy Sayers (1893-1957) breathed truth into the lie that our work is an act divorced from the reality and ordering of Christ. She taught us with whimsy, wit, and mystery that the whole of our lives is inextricably enmeshed with the creator. And that as a Church, we must be a people in pursuit of excellence in all ways. Perhaps put best in Sayers’ own words from her renowned essay, Why Work:
“The Church’s approach to an intelligent carpenter is usually confined to exhorting him not to be drunk and disorderly in his leisure hours, and to come to church on Sundays. What the Church should be telling him is this: that the very first demand that his religion makes upon him is that he should make good tables… No crooked table legs or ill-fitting drawers ever, I dare swear, came out of the carpenter’s shop at Nazareth. Nor, if they did, could anyone believe that they were made by the same hand that made Heaven and earth.”
It is our hope that this conference will be a time to assess in community what precisely the Lord asks of us in the particularities of our vocations, that we might leave rejoicing together in straight table legs, the sound of a drawer shut smoothly, and yes, God himself.
Schedule
12:30pm | Registration Opens
Physical Sciences Building Room 120
1:30pm | Welcome Address
Physical Sciences Building Room 120
2:30pm | Panels on Vocation, Session 1
*Clark Hall
Law & Econ
Clark 294 B
Entrepreneurship
Clark 294 E
Vocational Ministry
Clark 294 F
3:45pm | Panels on Vocation, Session 2
*Clark Hall
Tech
Clark 294 B
Science
Clark 294 E
Failure
Clark 294 F
4:45pm | Closing Remarks
Clark Hall 294 B, E & F
5:00pm | Break for Dinner
Various Locations
8:00pm | Keynote Address with Andy Crouch ’90
Statler Auditorium
*Clark Hall and PSB are connected
Parking Info: The closest lot to the conference is the Toboggan Lodge lot. To park and pay quickly, we recommend that you download the ParkMobile app and set up an account before you arrive. If you’d prefer to pay by card when you arrive, you can go to the Hoy Rd Parking Booth to purchase a parking pass. Please plan 10-15 minutes in order to park and walk to the conference.
Accessibility: The most accessible entrance is the Clark Hall entrance next to Bailey Hall.
Wi-Fi Info:
-Select Cornell-Visitor from the list of available Wi-Fi networks on your device; this will take you to the Cornell-Visitor registration screen.
-Enter your name and email address, check the box to accept the terms of use and click Register.
-Click Log In on the confirmation screen.
Panelists
Wendy Larson '00
Managing Partner for Pirkey Barber Law Firm
Read bioWendy Larson '00
Managing Partner for Pirkey Barber Law Firm
Wendy Larson is a managing partner at the law firm Pirkey Barber in Austin Texas. As a trademark litigator, Wendy has the privilege of working with some of the world’s most beloved and famous brands.
Wendy has been recognized by numerous ranking publications, including The Best Lawyers in America, Chambers and Partners, The World’s Leading Trademark Professionals, and the Top 250 Women in IP.
Wendy graduated from Cornell University with a degree in psychology in 2000, and earned her law degree from the University of Southern California School of Law in 2004.
During her time at Cornell, Wendy found a home in Intervarsity and Bethel Grove Bible Church.
Praveen Sethupathy '03
Associate Professor of Biomedical Sciences at Cornell University
Read bioPraveen Sethupathy '03
Associate Professor of Biomedical Sciences at Cornell University
Joy Ike
Singer-Songwriter
Read bioJoy Ike
Singer-Songwriter
Joy Ike is passionate about the intersection of faith and culture, the call to create art with integrity and excellence, and connecting with others through her music. As an artist who has been compared to the likes of Sara Bareilles, Nina Simone, Norah Jones, and Regina Spektor, her honest, bittersweet songwriting has earned her the chance to open for a number of national touring acts including Tyrone Wells, Deas Vail, SHEL, Butterfly Boucher, Allen Toussaint, Cody Chestnutt, and more. As a singer/songwriter, storyteller, and public speaker, Joy believes that music and art have the power to transform hearts and connect people who would otherwise be strangers (at best) and enemies (at worst). Joy is passionate about art as a vehicle for change, empowerment, and empathy and sees art as a way to openly and thoughtfully advocate for the voiceless.
Clarence Lee
Assistant Professor at the Johnson Graduate School of Management
Read bioClarence Lee
Assistant Professor at the Johnson Graduate School of Management
Professor Clarence Lee is an assistant professor at the Johnson Graduate School of Management, where he is a Breazzano Family Sesquicentennial Fellow. Professor Lee’s research examines the drivers behind consumer adoption, usage, and purchase dynamics of digital goods, where he models consumer behavior using Bayesian statistics, structural econometrics, and machine learning techniques. Digital products and platforms, such as the ones produced by many Silicon Valley and NYC tech start-ups, are increasingly present in almost all consumer interactions. In such settings, understanding consumer choice and the dynamics of engagement and usage become critically important in order to acquire, serve, and retain consumers. He currently teaches Digital Marketing and Data Analytics & Modeling at both the Ithaca and Cornell Tech campuses.
Professor Lee received his doctorate from Harvard Business School and holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in electrical engineering and computer science from MIT. Prior to pursuing graduate studies, he has conducted nanotechnology research at IBM and space system design at MIT Lincoln Laboratory.
Esther T.J. Lee '16
Lawyer
Read bioEsther 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.
Keith Kressin '98
Senior Vice President, Product Management Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.
Read bioKeith Kressin '98
Senior Vice President, Product Management Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.
Keith Kressin is currently senior vice president of product management for Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. (QTI). He is responsible for Qualcomm’s Snapdragon product roadmap and technologies. This includes setting competitive feature, schedule and cost targets for all Qualcomm Snapdragon products. He leads technology management for all core processing technologies at Qualcomm which includes AI, GPU/Gaming, CPU, camera, video, security, I/O, memory, audio and more. Kressin collaborates closely with product management, engineering, and procurement teams across the organization to ensure Qualcomm maintains worldwide product and technology leadership. He also has responsibility for market research and competitive analysis, and provides technology support to multiple business units including mobile, automotive, IoT, computing, and AR/VR. Kressin has worked in a number of engineering, marketing, and strategic planning roles within semiconductor companies for over 20 years. Before joining Qualcomm in 2008, Kressin worked at Intel, leading several marketing and planning teams within Intel’s desktop, chipset, WLAN, and laptop groups. Prior to Intel, Kressin worked in several hardware and software design engineering roles at Texas Instruments. Kressin holds a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering from the Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE), a Master of Science in electrical engineering from the University of Colorado, and a Master of Business Administration from Cornell University. He is the author of the text “Understanding Mathematics: From Counting to Calculus” and lives in San Diego. Keith is married with three children, including a daughter who is currently a Junior in Cornell’s Computer Science Program.
Catherine Crouch
Professor in the Department of Physics at Swarthmore College
Read bioCatherine Crouch
Professor in the Department of Physics at Swarthmore College
Catherine Hirshfeld Crouch is Professor of Physics at Swarthmore College, where she has taught since 2003. Dr. Crouch has extensive expertise in both materials physics and pedagogical best practices for college and university science. She earned her PhD. at Harvard University studying electrical transport in nanofabricated quantum dots, and then remained at Harvard in a dual postdoctoral fellowship in materials physics and physics education with Eric Mazur. She has published more than twenty peer-reviewed experimental physics research articles and has involved twenty Swarthmore undergraduate students in her experimental work; she has also published a dozen peer-reviewed articles examining the effectiveness of methods for teaching introductory physics. Her work developing and evaluating introductory physics for life science students is currently supported by two National Science Foundation grants. In the fall of 2018, she was elected to the Chair succession of the American Physical Society’s Forum on Education for 2019-22.
Since the summer of 2017, Dr. Crouch has been the faculty director of Swarthmore’s Collaborative STEM Inclusive Excellence initiatives to expand support and resources for students in the sciences during the regular academic year. She also taught in the Swarthmore Summer Scholars program during summers 2016 and 2017 for underrepresented and first-generation students in the sciences.
Matt Brown
Founding Pastor of Resurrection Brooklyn & VP of Strategic Partnerships for the CCO
Read bioMatt Brown
Founding Pastor of Resurrection Brooklyn & VP of Strategic Partnerships for the CCO
Matt Brown is the Founding Pastor of Resurrection Brooklyn, a network of neighborhood churches in New York’s largest borough. In addition to his pastoral responsibilities, Matt is also the Vice President of Strategic Partnerships for the Coalition for Christian Outreach, a national campus organization and ministry partner to Chesterton House. He and his wife, Deb, live in Park Slope, Brooklyn with their three children: Flannery, Charlotte and Walker.
James Noronha ’09
TURBOCAM Energy Solutions General Manager
Read bioJames Noronha ’09
TURBOCAM Energy Solutions General Manager
As a student ready to go to engineering school, James was interested in learning cutting edge science and dreamed of creating new technologies. He also loved competing with his track team, and looked forward to the next challenge. He found it when he saw the news from the fronts of the Iraq and Afghan wars—stories of Marines fighting through cities and up mountains with camaraderie and a drive to create a better world.
James trained in ROTC while studying mechanical engineering. He spent most of his summers at Marine training schools, but interned at TURBOCAM during two available breaks. When he graduated he went into active duty service and selected infantry as his specialty, which he knew would give him direct leadership in the most challenging situations. The Marine Corps delivered as expected, and sent him from training school to a battalion on its way to Afghanistan. He trained the Afghan Army and coordinated their operations from a group of outposts in Helmand Province. After they returned, he commanded Marines in training exercises throughout the Pacific.
He came to work at TURBOCAM after he finished his service. He found that many of the skills he learned in the Marines were valuable at TURBOCAM.
“My leadership principles applied perfectly. I knew I needed to keep my team informed, and to ensure projects were understood, supervised, and accomplished. I knew how a small mistake or delay as a leader would cause everyone else an untold amount of misery. I had seen that listening and allowing initiative enables a team to work with speed and inspiration. And I knew I needed to be technically proficient, and be willing to do any work that I expected anyone else to do.”
James is now the General Manager of TURBOCAM Energy Solutions. He enjoys working with his team to engineer new metal technologies and processes, and he finds the new applications exciting. With TURBOCAM exploring new markets and opportunities around the world, he’s sure there will be adventure ahead.
Carl F. Neuss '76
Founding Principal of Pacific Cascade Group, LLC
Read bioCarl F. Neuss '76
Founding Principal of Pacific Cascade Group, LLC
Carl F. Neuss is Founding Principal of the Pacific Cascade Group (“PCG”) family of companies based in Orange County, CA. Neuss graduated from Cornell University with a B.S. in Civil Engineering, received his Master of Engineering degree at UC Berkeley, and earned his MBA at Harvard Business School. Neuss is an active supporter and Advisory Board Member of Chesterton House. In addition, Neuss currently serves as Advisory Board Member for the Cornell University Baker Graduate Program In Real Estate where he has taught graduate courses in real estate investment and venture structuring. Also, Neuss has served as Board Member of the Harvard Center for Housing Studies.
Sarah Hamersma
Associate Professor of Public Administration and International Affairs and a Senior Research Associate in the Center for Policy Research
Read bioSarah Hamersma
Associate Professor of Public Administration and International Affairs and a Senior Research Associate in the Center for Policy Research
Alex Pothen '84
Professor of Computer Science at Purdue University
Read bioAlex Pothen '84
Professor of Computer Science at Purdue University
Alex Pothen is a Professor of Computer Science at Purdue. His research interests are in combinatorial scientific computing (CSC), parallel computing, and bioinformatics algorithms. He is a Fellow of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics. He is the Chair of the SIAM Activity Group on Applied and Computational Discrete Algorithms. He served as the Director of the CSCAPES Institute, a pioneering research center in CSC (2006-2012), Director of Purdue’s Computing Research Institute (2008-2010), and Associate Head of computer science (2015-2018).
David Moriah '72
Founding Director of Cornell Outdoor Education
Read bioDavid Moriah '72
Founding Director of Cornell Outdoor Education
Lisa P. Christian
Executive Director for Community Faith Partners
Read bioLisa P. Christian
Executive Director for Community Faith Partners
Lisa P. Christian currently serves as the Executive Director for Community Faith Partners (CFP) and just completed an MDiv from Liberty University. Lisa received a bachelor’s degree in Spanish from Purdue University and later an MA in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) from Wheaton College in Wheaton, IL. Lisa was bi-vocational while serving as a missionary to Russia for some 15 years. Lisa also served as a cross-cultural worker in the Middle East for 5 years. She will pursue a Ph.D. in Theology and Christian Apologetics in the spring. Lisa loves spending time with family, traveling, reading, and sports.
Clifton Chang '96
Chairman of the Board; Human Resource Director
Read bioClifton 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.
Hannah Eagleson
Director of Grad & Faculty Development
Read bioHannah Eagleson
Director of Grad & Faculty Development
Frederick Barber '87
CEO of Response:AI
Read bioFrederick 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.
Student Moderators
Temitayo Sanusi
Government Major
Read bioTemitayo Sanusi
Government Major
Temitayo is a student studying Government, Business and Crimes in the College of Arts and Sciences.
Chad Fiechter
Grad Student in Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management
Read bioChad Fiechter
Grad Student in Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management
Chad was born and raised on a farm in Northeastern Indiana. After an undergraduate degree in Agricultural Economics, Chad returned to work with his family in the farming operation. The ten years working on the family farm provided a great laboratory to experiment with different businesses ideas and business philosophy. Along the way, the desire to push deeper into the theoretical and quantitative analysis of business grew and ultimately led to the pursuit of a MS degree at Cornell’s Charles H Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management.
Chad is married to an amazing woman, Christen. They have one son, Wilder, who was born during their time in Ithaca. As a family, they love to be outside and host family and friends for any occasion.
Jenna Kressin
Computer Science Major
Read bioJenna Kressin
Computer Science Major
Carley Eschliman
Atmospheric Science and Communication Major
Read bioCarley Eschliman
Atmospheric Science and Communication Major
Sophia Jeon
Physics Major, Spanish and Education Minors
Read bioSophia Jeon
Physics Major, Spanish and Education Minors
Organizers
Chesterton House: A Center for Christian Study at Cornell has gathered a number of kindred ministry leaders, alumni, faculty, and students to help organize the Sayers Conference. In collaboration, we have dreamed up a conference to bring a diversity of voices, generations, and callings together to think through what it means to do work to the glory of God. Leaning on the wisdom of alumni, the conference schedule includes two breakout panels and a keynote address from writer, Andy Crouch ’90.
A special thanks to the organizers and cosponsors of this year’s Sayers Conference:
Christian Union
Since 2002, Christian Union has worked to help bring sweeping spiritual change to America. The ministry’s work is focused in three areas: developing bold Christian leaders at the most strategic and profoundly influential universities in America; building networks of Christian leaders in cities; and promoting national revival through the Christian Union Day & Night online ministry.
Claritas: A Journal for Christian Thought
The Cornell Claritas is an ecumenical, interdenominational Christian publication that was founded on the hope of starting thoughtful Christian conversations within the academic community. Through our journal, blog, and events, we seek to articulate and connect the truth of Christ to every person and every study. We are a member of The Augustine Collective, an independent network of Christian journals on college campuses.
CRU
Originally founded as Campus Crusade for Christ in 1951 as a ministry on the UCLA campus, Cru is a community passionate about connecting people to Jesus Christ. Our purpose is helping to fulfill the Great Commission in the power of the Holy Spirit by winning people to faith in Jesus Christ, building them in their faith and sending them to win and build others and helping the body of Christ to do evangelism and discipleship through a variety of creative ways.
InterVarsity
InterVarsity is a vibrant campus ministry that establishes and advances witnessing communities of students and faculty. We believe that God has called us to reach every corner of every campus and that when you change the university, you change the world. For over 75 years, InterVarsity has had a vital presence on hundreds of college campuses, courageously proclaiming Jesus as Lord and Savior, engaging in discipleship around Scripture, and loving people of every ethnicity and culture.
Johnson Christian Fellowship
Johnson Christian Fellowship aims to develop an inclusive Christ-centered community to strengthen and support students as they actively pursue a relationship with God and others. JCF is centered around weekly small group meetings where we encourage each other in our spiritual growth through Bible study, sharing, and prayer. Once a month, we try to gather the larger community together in social events or service activities.
Veritas at Cornell
The Veritas Forum invites students and faculty to ask life’s hardest questions. With a commitment to courageous discourse we put the historic Christian faith in dialogue with other beliefs and invite participants from all backgrounds to pursue Truth together.
Campus on a Hill
COAH is a group that facilitates the networking and collaboration between Christian Fellowships and local Churches at Cornell and the Ithaca community towards the continual work of seeing God’s name proclaimed and glorified on Cornell’s campus. We aim to unite the body of Christ at Cornell by creating a culture of gospel centered discipleship through promoting and planning events that encourage edifying worship, great preaching and teaching, life changing community, strong emphasis on evangelism, concern for social justice, and cultural engagement.
Chinese Bible Study
CBS is a student-run Christian fellowship at Cornell that seeks to know Christ and make Him known. This purpose is accomplished through gospel-centered preaching, teaching, and study of the Bible; worship and prayer; community and discipleship; evangelism and mission. We are a tight-knit community committed to pointing each other towards Jesus! We have weekly large group gatherings, small group Bible studies, prayer meetings, and dinners. We welcome people of all ethnicities, beliefs, and backgrounds to join.
Christian Legal Society
CLS is a fellowship of Christians dedicated to serving Jesus Christ through the practice and study of law, the defense of religious freedom and life, and the provision of legal aid to the needy. Founded in 1961, Christian Legal Society (CLS) seeks to fulfill God’s command found in Micah 6:8 by bringing glory to God by inspiring, encouraging, and equipping Christian lawyers and law students, both individually and in community, to proclaim, love, and serve Jesus Christ through the study and practice of law.