Meet the Coordinating Committee

Jennifer Ashbaugh, Liaison

Graduated from the University of Tulsa in 2004
Email Jennifer

Favorite musician or band:
Duke Special
Favorite book: i capture the castle by dodi smith
Where do you go when you feel in need of spiritual renewal?
Running by the river or driving with the music blasting.
Name one woman who has helped you get where you are today.
My mom.
What do you love about NNPCW?
I love that I can travel 8,000 miles from home, find a NNPCW alum in a coffeeshop, and she will be the one person to keep me sane. I love that it is the conversations I have with these women that help me make sense of my life and my faith.

Monica Ajak

Email Monica

College:
Montgomery College
Rockville, Md.
Hometown:
Houston, Tx. and Silver Spring, Md.
Favorite Musician or Band:
Rascal Flatts, Colbie Caillat, T.I. and Kanye (just for right now of course)
Favorite Book:
Any John Grisham book
If you could be any superhero, who would you be and why?
I would have to be Storm from X-Men because she changes the weather and everyone knows the weather’s super important to me, ha-ha.
Where do you go when you feel in need of spiritual renewal?
My rooftop. It’s extremely relaxing and has a gorgeous view of the horizon. I feel I do my best “spiritual renewal” there.
Name one woman today who has helped you get where you are today?
Wow, just one? I’d have to say my mom, of course.
What do you love about NNPCW?
I learn something new about myself, my faith and something going on in the world every time I’m with these ladies. It’s pretty amazing!
What is your favorite quote?
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine as children do. It's not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own lights shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

Hailee Barnes

Email Hailee

College/Major:
University of Montana, Nursing
Hometown:
Missoula, Montana
Favorite Musician or Band:
Kayne West
Favorite Book:
Women: An Intimate Geography
If you could be any superhero, who would it be and why?
I’m not a big superhero fan, but if I could have a superpower I would want to be able to fly
Where do you go when you feel in need of spiritual renewal?
I hike the mountain behind my house and look out over the city and other mountaintops
Name one woman who has helped you get to where you are today.
Noelle Tennis Gulden
What do you love about NNPCW?
I love the time of fellowship that we have together at leadership events and other smaller gatherings
What is your favorite quote?
“The heart has its reasons of which the mind knows nothing.” — Pascal

Stephanie D. Cockerm

Email Stephanie Cockerm

College/Major:
Grambling State University
Grambling, Louisiana
Hometown:
Monroe, Louisiana
Favorite Musician or Band:
GSU Band and all sorts
Favorite Book:
The Holy Bible, romance books
If you could be any superhero, who would it be, and why?
Superwoman, “S.” I would like to be superwoman because she loves to help people cope with their problems
Where do you go when you feel in need of spiritual renewal?
I go to a large body of water and sit
Name one woman today that has helped you get where you are today.
My dear mother, Ruth J. Cockerm
What do you love about NNPCW?
That they are very open-minded and inclusive

Iyana Ife Davis

Email Iyana

College/Major:
Spellman College/English Major (Creative Writing Minor)
Atlanta, Georgia
Hometown:
Queens, New York
Favorite Musician or Band:
Jill Scott
Favorite Book:
Child of God, by Lolita Liles
If you could be any superhero, who would you be and why?
Yanster the Monster
Where do you go when you feel in need of spiritual renewal?
Esther circle on my campus. It is a women’s bible study that focuses on women’s issues. Much like CoCo, they created safe space for women, and the worship experiences are very similar. If you’re ever in the ATL, I would love for any of you lovely ladies to come
Name one woman who has helped you get where you are today.
Helen Davis
What do you love about NNPCW?
The sisterhood, respect and safe space
What is your favorite quote?
“Amor est vitae essentia. Love is the essence of life.”

Maisha Johnson

Email Maisha

College:
San Francisco State University
San Francisco, Calif.
Hometown:
Stockton, Calif.
Favorite Musician or Band:
Diana Krall
Favorite Book:
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
If you could be any superhero, who would you be and why?
I'd be Empower Woman, with the ability to empower anyone who needs it. I would help them to realize that they have the strength and power to get out of any harmful situations and to help themselves and others, and better the world.
Where do you go when you feel in need of spiritual renewal?
I go to my church, where I can find an amazing sense of love and spirituality. Or anyplace where I can escape from the rest of the world, even if it's just sitting at home alone with my own thoughts.
Name one woman who has helped you get where you are today.
My mom, who has always believed in me and never failed to remind me that I am capable of anything I put my mind to.
What do you love about NNPCW?
I love the opportunity to share my experiences and passions with a group of amazing women who are passionate about some of the most important issues in our world today. I love the strong spiritual sense of the group. And the grits.

Julie Kimball

Email Julie

College/Major:
Whitworth University, Theatre
Spokane, Wash.
Hometown:
Spokane, Wash.
Favorite Musician or Band:
Beyonce
Favorite Book:
The Paper Bag Princess
If you could be any superhero, who would it be, and why?
Wonder Woman — she has good accessories
Where do you go when you feel in need of spiritual renewal?
On a walk through nature
Name one woman who has helped you get where you are today.
All of the Kimball women.  Each challenges me and teaches me in different ways
What do you love about NNPCW?
I love that all persons are welcome, accepted and embraced here
What is your favorite quote?
“Guide my feet lord, take my hand.”

Tracy Lentz

Email Tracy Lentz

College/Major:
University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Elementary Education/Special Education
Greensboro, North Carolina
Hometown:
Blowing Rock, North carolina
Favorite Musician and Band:
Pretty much any country music star
Favorite Book:
The Precious Present
Where do you go when you feel in need of spiritual renewal?
The mountains, which I also feel honored to call home
What do you love about NNPCW?
Connections and networking, close group of women with a common purpose

Hillary Mohaupt
Liaison to the General Assembly Council

College/Major:
Macalester College, History Major (American Studies and French Minor)
St. Paul, Minnesota
Hometown:
Rockford, Illinois
Favorite Musician or Band:
Carrie Newcomer, Dar Williams and Linda Lemay
Favorite Book:
Anything that poetically makes me contemplate our existence on earth
If you could be any superhero, who would you be and why?
Dorothy Day was a real-life superhero!
Where do you go when you feel in need of spiritual renewal?
I point myself toward the Mississippi River and go until I get there
Name one woman who has helped you get where you are today.
All those persevering women in my family
What do you love about NNPCW?
I’m enamored with each woman’s incredible ability to ask the hard questions and to seek the real truths
What is your favorite quote?
“Ose dans la pleine mesure de tes possibilities.” —Thomas Aquinas (Dare, in full capacity of yourself.)

Elsbeth Pollack

College/major:
University of Kansas
Lawrence, Kan.
Hometown:
Pittsburgh, Pa.
Favorite Musician or Band:
Dispatch, Tracy Chapman, Mike Doughty
Favorite Book:
Right now it would be between Sophie´s Choice and The Baron in the Trees, but it changes constantly!
If you could be any superhero, who would you be and why?
One that could read minds (does one exist)?  But I would have to be able to turn it on and off.  Don’t want to hear everyone’s business all of the time!
Where do you go when you feel in need of spiritual renewal?
Anywhere in nature, especially near running water.  The sounds reminds me of the Spirit and its presence in my life, even though I often don’t recognize it.
Name one woman who has helped you get where you are today.
Carol Roth, my pastor when I was growing up, always pushed the importance of women in the church and of the power and intelligence that we have.
What do you love about NNPCW?
The women, the community.  The space to challenge and discuss.  A more open theology and dialogue!
What is your favorite quote?
I am a quote hog, so this is incredibly hard! But two of my favorites would have to be: “Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind. ‘Pooh!’ he whispered. ‘Yes, Piglet?’ ‘Nothing,’ said Piglet, taking Pooh's paw. ‘I just wanted to be sure of you.’" (A.A. Milne)

Or 

"I'm producing too many stories at once because what I want is for you to feel, around the story, a saturation of other stories that I could tell and maybe will tell or who knows may already have told on some other occasion, a space full of stories that perhaps is simply my lifetime, where you can move in all directions, as in space, always finding stories that cannot be told until other stories are told first, and so, setting out from any moment or place, you encounter always the same density of material to be told." (Italo Calvino)

Jennifer Rock, Liaison

Email Jen Rock

College and Major:
Maryville College (Class of 2003)/History
Maryville, Tn.
Hometown:
Louisville, Ky.
Favorite Book:
The Perks of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
What do you love about NNPCW?
It doesn't matter what I do, I can not seem to get away. I welcome that wholeheartedly.
What is your favorite quote?
I love you- Anonymous

Jennifer Ross

Email Jennifer

College:
Rhodes College
Memphis, Tenn.
Hometown:
Naples, Fla.
Favorite Musician or Band:
Indigo Girls
Favorite Book:
Franny and Zooey  by J.D. Salinger
If you could be any superhero, who would you be and why?
I don't think I would be just one superhero, I think I would take characteristics from a lot of different superheros. The ability to fly from one, the gift of super strength from another and the ability to be invisible from another.
Where do you go when you feel in need of spiritual renewal?
The chaplain's office at Rhodes College is one of my favorite places to go when I need spiritual renewal. It is a place to discuss whatever is going on in your life, a place to read or pray, and a place to just be still and listen for the Word of God.
Name one woman who has helped you get where you are today.
There have been so many inspirational women in my life that have helped me get where I am today: sisters, youth leaders, professors, ministers and friends. But the most influential and inspirational woman in my life is my mom. My mom gives up everything for my sisters and me, helping us to set and reach our goals, doing so with patience, encouragement and love.
What do you love about NNPCW?
NNPCW gives young women the ability to participate in the church, to shape the future of the church and to understand God's calling to them and the church. NNPCW provides young women with a space to discuss social issues in the context of a loving God. This is what I love about NNPCW; it not only shows young women can be a strong presence in the future church, but that they can also be a model of Christ's love for us in the present church.

Bethany Ruhl

Email Bethany

College:
University of Kansas
Lawrence, Kan.
Hometown:
Lawrence, Kan.
Favorite Musician or Band:
Jimi Hendrix and Foo Fighters
Favorite Book:
Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
If you could be any superhero, who would you be and why?
I would be Catwoman. Cats are beautiful creatures who express themselves and do what they want. They are powerful.
Where do you go when you feel in need of spiritual renewal?
I go somewhere peaceful in nature to write by myself, or I go to a trusted spiritual leader. I also like to read about the spiritual paths of other people.
Name one woman who has helped you get where you are today.
Judith Galas
What do you love about NNPCW?
I love how NNPCW brings about humanitarian change guided through a spirituality of freedom and equality.

Rachael Whaley

Email Rachael

College/Major:
Maryville College
Maryville, Tennessee
Hometown:
Muncie, Indiana
Favorite Musician or Band:
Dempsey’s and Trans-Siberian Orchestra
Favorite Book:
God’s Politics, by Jim Wallis
If you could be any superhero, who would you be and why?
This is a pretty difficult question because I don't know any! How about Extra-Time Lady? I would have the ability to add hours to the day on a whim. Lame, I know, but useful
Where do you go when you feel in need of spiritual renewal?
I don't seek any one place, but I find solace in lots of different locations. My best friend's couch, my campus worship space, the fitness center or a green tea latte and my trusty Bible
What do you love about NNPCW?
Seeing new faces and getting to know new friends! I love the Network because it allows me to be in fellowship with other women in college who are wrestling with similar issues, conflicts and burdens. And we laugh a lot
What is your favorite quote?
“I cannot control how I am perceived, I can only control how I am presented.”