Dennis Adams
Instructor, Spiritual Retreat
Dennis is a retired United Methodist Pastor who has served First UMC Roanoke Rapids, Pine Forest UMC, Campus Minister – Methodist College, Campground UMC, St. James UMC – Greenville, and is currently the interim pastor for Westminster UMC. He received his Bachelor’s Degree from Atlantic Christian College, his M.Div. from Duke University, and his D.Min. from Columbia Theological Seminary, with a focus on Spiritual Formation. He was trained as a spiritual director through the Sursum Corda Institute and completed a two-year program through the Shalem Institute for leading contemplative prayer groups He has lead Spiritual Formation Groups in the areas of Lectio Divina, Centering Prayer, and Contemplative Prayer. He is an Oblate of the Order of St. Benedict, affiliated with St. John’s Abby in Collegeville, MN.
Dennis is married to Lee Marshburn Adams, his wife of 44 years. She has taught middle school math at Arendell Parrott Academy for the past 24 years. They have a daughter Anna who is married to Michael Petrin. They live in South Bend, IN.
Lynn Benson
Instructor, Holistic Stewardship
Lynn is a Deacon in Full Connection with the NC Annual Conference and currently serves as the Director of Legacy Giving in the United Methodist Foundation. A 2013 graduate of Duke Divinity School, Lynn received a Master of Divinity with a concentration in Christian Education. Lynn’s undergraduate degree is in Business Finance from East Carolina University. Lynn served as the Christian Education Director at Rosemary UMC in Roanoke Rapids from 2013 to 2016. Her current role with the United Methodist Foundation allows Lynn to connect her passion for finance, particularly stewardship, with her education and experience in Christian Education.
Lynn has been married to her high school sweetheart, Marty, for 34 years. Together they have an adult son, Gray, daughter, Lillie, and son-in-law, Lee. Lynn became “Gran” on 10/31/19 when Lillie and Lee’s son Luke arrived. In her spare time, Lynn leads small-group classes in personal finance, spends time gardening, and enjoys Praying in Color.
Marty Cauley
Instructor, Relational Discipleship and Small Group Ministries
Fueled by a love for gourmet coffee, North Carolina BBQ, and a desire to make the world a better place, Marty has served in many capacities, most recently the Director of Planter and Partner Development with New Faith Communities in the North Carolina Conference. He is also a professional ministry and life coach committed to helping pastors and congregations more effectively connect with their community.
An ordained elder in United Methodist Church, Marty previously spent five years traveling the Southeast as the Director of Ministry with Young People for the Southeastern Jurisdiction. He has also journeyed to Africa to work with orphans after raising tens of thousands of dollars to fund one of the early empowerment projects with ZOE Ministry. He has volunteered in his local community to build homes with Habitat and build community by working with a local low-income school and as a board member for Peacemakers Family Center. As a blogger, speaker, and motivator, Marty uses humor and story telling to engage his audience and help them find hope during difficult times.
LuAnn Charlton
Instructor, Spiritual Retreat
An ordained elder in the NC Conference, LuAnn currently serves as the senior pastor at St. Mark’s UMC in Raleigh. Prior to this appointment, LuAnn has served as Associate Pastor at Hayes Barton UMC (Raleigh) and Pastor of Bethel UMC (Snow Camp). Through all of her ministry, LuAnn has maintained a focus on ministries of Spiritual Formation.
Before entering ordained ministry, LuAnn served as a Christian Educator at First United Methodist Church in Cary and Apex United Methodist Church. She also served as the Associate Director for Disciple Bible Outreach Ministries of North Carolina. In addition to her M.Div. from Duke Divinity, LuAnn holds a master’s degree in Training and Development from NCSU and a bachelor’s degree in Speech Communication from UNC-Chapel Hill. She has also attended the Upper Room’s Two-Year Academy for Spiritual Formation.
Rick Clayton
Instructor, Holistic Stewardship
An ordained elder in the UMC, Rick was appointed to Hayes Barton in June 2004. He began his ministry within the United Methodist Church in September 1977 as Youth Director of First United Methodist Church in Wilson, North Carolina. During his tenure in Wilson, Rick completed a Master of Religious Education degree from Southeastern and a Master of Divinity from Duke. He was appointed as associate minister to First Church during his nine year tenure. It was in this pastorate that Rick married Joy Butler from Clearwater, Florida. The two of them graduated from Atlantic Christian/Barton College. Joy majored in Music Education with a focus in voice. She started her teaching career at Greenfield School in Wilson. Their two children, Ryan and Alyson, were born in Wilson.
Rick has served as senior pastor at Saint Paul United Methodist in Rocky Mount, Louisburg United Methodist, Saint Francis United Methodist in Cary, and now Hayes Barton. Beyond his ministry in the local church, Rick has chaired numerous boards and institutions within the North Carolina Conference. He served as chair of the board for the Methodist Home for Children during the addition of the Jordan Center, and his gifts were used by the North Carolina Annual Conference for seventeen years in developing annual themes, set designs, and productions for the annual conference gatherings.
Carl Frazier
Instructor, Shaping Servant Leaders and Building Ministry Teams
The Rev. Carl Frazier has been the Lead Pastor at First UMC Cary since 2010. Prior to this appointment, he has served as a District Superintendent and senior pastor of Saint Luke UMC (Sanford), Hay Street UMC in (Fayetteville), and Saint Francis UMC (Cary).
Carl describes himself as one who “daily strives to be a disciple of Jesus, a seventh generation Methodist, a North Carolinian born and raised.” He is husband to Mary-Ellen, dad to Elizabeth (and her husband Jason) and Ellen, and Pop to JP and Bennett. The Fraziers enjoy travel, movies and theater, reading, walking together (not hiking, walking) and Braves baseball.
Teresa Holder
Instructor, Conflict Management
Teresa Holder, Ph.D., is Professor of Communication and Head of the Department of Communication at Meredith College. She has more than 20 years of experience in college teaching, higher education administration, and nonprofit public relations management. She has led more than 100 workshops, including training on conflict resolution for managers. She has also published numerous articles on the topic of managing conflict in leadership roles.
Her volunteer work includes lay leadership at her church, with a focus on small group ministry. From personal experience and having grown up as a preacher’s kid, she understands the unique joys and challenges that come with working in ministry!
Denise Honeycutt
Instructor, Missional Ministry
The Rev. Dr. Denise Honeycutt, pastor of Merritt’s Chapel UMC in Chapel Hill, is a passionate and enthusiastic follower of Jesus Christ. She has served as the lead pastor of small and large sized congregations, and for ten years was on the Virginia United Methodist conference staff as the Director of Mission and Global Justice. She also served as a United Methodist missionary to Nigeria, West Africa, where she taught theology and biblical studies at Banyam Theological Seminary.
Denise served the denomination as the Executive Director of UMCOR, (United Methodist Committee on Relief), the Executive Director for the Center for Mission Innovation, and a mission interpreter for the Southeast Jurisdiction.
She and her husband, Rev. Pat Watkins, live in a small passive solar home they built in Pittsboro.
Korrel Kanoy
Instructor, Self-Awareness and Self-Care
A college professor for over 30 years, and now Professor Emeritus at William Peace University, Korrel has taught many courses on adult development, child development, general psychology, and emotional intelligence.
Through her work as Senior Partner at Developmental Associates, LLC, Korrel specializes in helping individuals and organizations maximize their performance by developing emotional intelligence and leadership skills. She also works with educational institutions to select and the best teachers and leaders and to develop programs to infuse emotional intelligence into the curriculum. She has led professional workshops and delivered keynote addresses for educational, non-profit, and public sector organizations. Over 500 people, from students to CEOs, have benefited from individual coaching with Korrel.
Korrel is the co-author (with Steve Stein and Howard Book) of The Student EQ Edge: Your Academic and Personal Success, along with two companion books: The Student EQ Edge: Facilitation and Activity Guide and The Student EQ Edge: Student Workbook. She also authored Annie’s Lost Hat, a picture book for 3-6 year olds that teaches emotional intelligence lessons through the story, and The Everything Parent’s Guide to Emotional Intelligence in Children: How to Raise Children who are Caring, Resilient, and Emotionally Strong.
Martha McLean
Instructor: Shaping Servant Leaders and Building Ministry Teams
Martha K. McLean is the Pastor of Christian Formation at First UMC-Cary, Chair of the Capital District Committee on Ordained Ministry, and former Lead for the NCCUMC Office of New Faith Communities Leadership Team. Martha’s passion for ministry is centered in helping all persons come alive in Christ by re-imagining life with God; she enjoys teaching, preaching, strategic planning and visioning to accomplish this goal.
Martha graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill with a degree in Business Administration, and received her Masters of Divinity from Duke. Martha has extensive business experience as she and her husband, Ken, owned and operated a design, construction, and real estate business in the NC mountains for 17 years. She also served as District Director for a US Congressman until God’s calling into ordained ministry. Ken is an NC State and Duke Divinity grad, who is also an Elder serving in the NCCUMC. They have two grown children, Anne and John. Martha enjoys hiking, reading, gardening, and cooking.
Ronda Moore
Instructor: Relationships and Team Building; Leading and Managing People; and Leading Change
An organization and human performance consultant, Ronda brings over fifteen years of experience with leading management consulting firms and financial services organizations to the Center for Leadership Excellence. As a consultant, Ronda has partnered with business and community leaders throughout the country to provide solutions related to talent management, leadership development, learning design and development, communications, and stakeholder engagement.
Ronda has a passion for working with leaders to solve problems related to human performance, and cherishes her role as a faculty of the Center for Leadership Excellence because it allows her to apply her experience and knowledge to help equip pastors and laity for their important roles in the body of Christ. Ronda is a dynamic facilitator and Fellows have often commented on the high level of engagement and interaction they experience in her sessions.
A native of Charlotte, NC, Ronda completed her undergraduate studies at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Ronda also earned a master’s degree in Adult Education from North Carolina State University, where she was inducted into Phi Kappa Phi. Ronda is married to Warte T. Moore and has a four year old daughter, Bazley Grace. They live in Raleigh and are members of Edenton Street United Methodist Church.
Ismael Ruiz-Millan
Instructor: Intercultural Competency and Cultural Humility
Ismael is an ordained elder in the North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church, and currently serves as Director of the Hispanic House of Studies and the Director of Global Education and Intercultural Formation at Duke Divinity. Originally from Sonora, Mexico, Ismael has served the conference in a number of contexts, including “Unidos por Cristo” in Grimesland and Brookland-Brooksdale UMCs in Roxboro (now New Brook UMC). In July 2020, he will shift into his new role in the conference, as the Superintendent in the Heritage District.
Ruiz-Millan has developed and taught courses on pastoral care to pastors and laypersons from Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Peru. He has taught at the Course of Study at Duke on Missions and World Christianity, focusing in Latin America. He has developed seminars, workshops, and learning opportunities on Cultural Humility and Leadership for UMC pastors in North Carolina. Additionally, Ruiz-Millan serves in different boards including the North Carolina Conference Board of Ordained Ministry, the Board of Directors of the General Board of Global Ministries, the Executive Committee of the National Plan for Hispanic/Latino Ministries, and the Executive Committee of the Hispanic Summer Program. He regularly leads educational, cultural, and language immersion trips to the Mexico-US border and Guatemala.
Patrick Soter O’Neil
Instructor: Servant Leadership and Communication
With over 25 years of leadership and communication experience, Patrick Soter O’Neil helps people and organizations create break-through solutions using insights, assets, and opportunities. He has collaborated with people from all walks of life – attorneys, news reporters, entrepreneurs, railroad engineers, information technologists, CEOs, non-profit founders, medical technicians, hamburger company mascots, airplane mechanics, government workers, bankers, industry analysts, college professors, race car drivers, politicians, and an Ironman Triathlete nun, just to name a few.
He earned a Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina, School of Media and Journalism; a master’s degree in Integrated Marketing Communication from Northwestern University, and a bachelor’s degree from East Carolina University. He is a frequent adjunct professor at N.C. State University Department of Communication. Patrick serves on the board of the Kilgoris Project, a faith-based non-profit organization that educates children in western Kenya. He lives in Raleigh with his wife and two children.
Gray Southern
Instructor: How to Measure What Matters
Gray Southern is the Capital District Superintendent. He previously served The Apex UMC Family, the former Durham District, St. James Church in Greenville; Trinity Church (Durham); West Nash (Wilson), Oriental,; and St. Paul (Associate) in Goldsboro. Gray grew up in Smithfield, NC, and graduated from Smithfield-Selma Sr. High School before going to UNC-Chapel Hill. He subsequently attended Yale Divinity School and received a D.Min. from Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, GA. Gray was a part of The Lily Endowment’s Pastor-Theologian Program which was also a formative part of his life.
Involved in spiritual formation, children and youth ministries, missions, and camping ministries, Gray has also enjoyed working with pension, insurance, and sustainability matters in the church. He was a member of General and Jurisdictional Conferences in 2008, 2012, 2016/2019. Gray and his wife Susan, a former public school teacher, have two children: Kirk (married to Giselle) and Mary-Gray.
Lisa Yebuah
Instructor: Reaching More and Diverse People
Lisa Yebuah is the pastor of the Southeast Raleigh Table, the newest worshipping community of Edenton Street UMC, and also serves on the Cabinet as the Spiritual Director and Advisor for Inclusion and Equity. She’s a 1999 graduate of Wofford College and a 2004 graduate of Duke University Divinity School. Life in ministry is at the heart of who she is. When asked, Lisa sums up her vocation through the lens of Mark 2: “I’m trying to help people in the pews become less concerned about the holes we make in our roofs and become more holy restless about our friends who’re bound to their mats.” Beyond ministry, Lisa is a professional people watcher, a biscuit-eating CrossFitter, and a seasoned trash-talker during the football season.